Dividends paid by central public-sector enterprises (CPSEs) in 2024-25 are set to be the highest ever, with the government receiving 69,873 crore so far. A government official said he was hopeful the receipts would touch 70,000 crore in the last week of the financial year.
Earlier bidders in the SHAKTI auction were finding it difficult to meet their PPA obligations owing to shortfall in coal supply. The industry lobby has urged the Centre to review the guidelines and allow former participants as well.
India's jugalbandhi with coal and clean energy is coming unstuck, neither achieving adequate renewable generation nor ensuring sufficient coal-fired power in the quest to become a $5-trillion economy. Six months have elapsed since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ambitious climate agenda for India at COP26 at Glasgow. The net zero emissions target by 2070 is a distant one, but there are nearer-term plans to meet 50 per cent of energy demand with renewables by 2030 by increasing capacity to 450 Gw. A cursory look at the balance sheet of India's climate progress since November reveals ponderous progress towards meeting the renewables target even as the country is scrambling to expand coal-fired generation in the face of a power crisis.
As of now, only Indian power, steel and cement companies can mine coal for their own consumption.
The US Fed interest rate decision, trading activity of foreign investors and quarterly earnings from corporates would largely drive the momentum in the equity market this week, analysts said. Escalating tensions between India and Pakistan over the Pahalgam terror attack will also remain on investors' radar, they added.
These duties will come into force from April 9.
A 71-year-old US citizen of Indian origin was murdered in Ludhiana, India, allegedly at the behest of a UK-based NRI man she was to marry. The victim was bludgeoned to death, her body burnt, and dumped in a drain.
India plans to double coal production by 2020
Increasing cooperation in critical minerals will top Prime Minister Modi's agenda during his discussions with leaders of Ghana, Argentinia, Brazil and Namibia.
After several years of consolidation and price weakness, the cement industry may be moving towards a more stable phase. Pan-Indian, average cement prices have risen through the past three months consecutively.
Currently, 23 power units with a cumulative capacity of 30,000 MW have super critical coal stock situation A lack of synchronised approach between the concerned ministries and power plants, has led to this crisis, says Shreya Jai.
Three senior leaders of the banned CPI (Maoist) surrendered to the Telangana police. The leaders cited health issues, ideological differences, and changing socio-political circumstances as reasons for their surrender. The Telangana DGP appealed to other underground Maoist cadres to return to the mainstream.
More than 25 crore workers engaged in sectors ranging from banking, insurance, postal to coal mining, highway and construction are expected to go on a nationwide general strike on Wednesday, potentially disrupting services across the country. A forum of 10 central trade unions and their associates has called for a general strike or 'Bharat Bandh' to "oppose the anti-worker, anti-farmer and anti-national pro-corporate policies of the government".
Eleven bidders, including Adani Enterprises, have shown interest in the first-ever coal import tender issued by national miner Coal India (CIL). Recently, state-owned NTPC awarded 6.25 million tonnes (mt) of imported coal tender worth Rs 8,300 crore to Adani Enterprises. CIL, in a public statement on Tuesday, said: "The prominent Indian agencies among them (11 coal importers) were Adani Enterprises, Mohit Minerals, and Chettinad Logistics. "A couple of coal exporting agencies from abroad, including one from Indonesia, have also shown interest," it said.
'Vivek Vaswani came over to discuss Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman which he was producing with Aziz Mirza as the director.' 'When I asked who was playing the lead, Raju, he said it was an actor called Shah Rukh Khan. "He looks just like Aamir Khan," Vivek added.' 'It was a shock when I met Shah Rukh on the first day of the shoot.' 'He was thin and tanned, with a fat nose and thick lips.'
These three blocks figure in the 'Schedule I' list of those coal mines, which are being auctioned afresh
Coal workers across the country have resumed work after a two-day strike and promised to make up for an estimated 1 million tonne production loss, as the government assured that state-run behemoth Coal India will not be privatised and employees' interests would be paramount.
Indian rupee slipping below the record 88 level against the US dollar will enhance price competitiveness of Indian products in global markets and help exporters diversify beyond the US market, say exporters. However, import-dependent sectors such as gems and jewellery, petroleum and electronics may see lower benefits due to a rise in input costs, they stated.
In the second and final part of this interview, energy and coal industry expert Sunjoy Joshi tells Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com that we need to take a comprehensive view of the entire energy sector and how piecemeal reform won't take us very far.
The US remained India's largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25 with bilateral trade valued at $131.84 billion, while the country's trade deficit with China widened to $99.2 billion during the same period, government data showed. In the last fiscal, India's exports to China contracted 14.5 per cent to $14.25 billion as against $16.66 billion in 2023-24. The imports, however, rose by 11.52 per cent in 2024-25 to $113.45 billion against $101.73 billion in 2023-24.
Currently, only Coal India, the world's largest coal miner, and its smaller sister PSU Singareni Collieries besides mining agencies of state government are allowed commercial coal mining.
Over 25 crore workers across India are set to strike against new labour codes and privatisation, potentially disrupting banking, postal, and other essential services.
Coal consumers across the country sourcing coal from Coal India Limited through the e-auction mode are sore over the recent rise in earnest money deposit for procurement of coal and also the bulk transport of e-auction coal through the road route which has pushed up the cost of the raw material.
Rising prices of international coal - both coking and thermal - used in the making of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, respectively, are expected to have an impact on margins of metals companies in July-September quarter (Q2) as steel companies may see margins getting eroded, while the base firms could stand to benefit, said brokerages.
"'His mantra was simple yet profound: Be number one or be ready to be wiped out. There's nothing in between," he used to say and it was a reminder for all to always aim high, to push boundaries, and to strive for excellence.
'The universe of PSU stocks is huge and diverse.' 'Investors should bet on specific sectors and stocks from the basket as most of them may continue to consolidate after years of outperformance.'
An Indian official team is likely to visit Washington next week to iron out differences on certain issues before formally launching negotiations for the proposed India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA), an official said. The visit, which comes within weeks of a high-level US team visiting India, indicates that the talks for the BTA are gaining momentum.
You can't be the second-most expensive market in the world and deliver just 10 per cent EPS growth, points out Akash Prakash.
Refusal to share his mPIN cost the businessman his life.
Rising energy demand could tilt India's energy basket towards fossil fuels from coal to oil, natural gas.
The hike in clean energy cess is likely to impact input cost for thermal power producers
The Adani Group reported its highest-ever trailing twelve-month EBITDA of Rs 90,572 crore, driven by strong performance in its core infrastructure and clean energy businesses, along with contributions from its emerging airports segment, the conglomerate said on Thursday. The group reported an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of Rs 90,572 crore for the period from July 2024 to June 2025, up from Rs 85,502 crore pre-tax profit in the trailing twelve months ending June 2024, it said in a statement.
'For 40 years, India valued only technical skills. IITs, coding -- that became everything.' 'Soft skills were sidelined. But those are the skills that will keep you employable now, not technical skills.'
The current coal stock stands at 13.5 million tonnes at pithead power stations and 20.7 MT cumulatively at all power plants across the country.
The incident occurred at around 7.30 pm on December 29 when a massive mound of earth came crashing down on excavators at Lalmatia open cast coal mine of Eastern Coalfields Ltd, the worst such disaster in over a decade.
The Q2FY25 revenue for Coal India (CIL) was reported at Rs 30,700 crore (down 6 per cent year-on-year or Y-o-Y and 16 per cent sequentially). The blended average selling price was Rs 1,622/tonne (down 6 per cent Y-o-Y and 3 per cent quarter-on-quarter or Q-o-Q). Adjusted operating profit stood at Rs 7,200 crore (down 20 per cent Y-o-Y and 38 per cent Q-o-Q) due to lower-than-expected e-auction volumes and higher costs.
The coal-scam has taken an important turn as the Central Bureau of Investigation has charge-sheeted former bureaucrat P C Parakh and industrialist Kumarmangalam Birla. The next big thing is to see that if the coal-blocks allotted, fraudulently, are cancelled or not either by Supreme Court or by the government as pre-emptive action.
The Indian industry is paranoid about the USA's plan to impose reciprocal tariffs and wants early conclusion of a bilateral trade agreement, sources said on Wednesday. They said that the talks for the proposed bilateral trade agreement are going well.
Cooking oil is often discarded after being used for frying at home or in restaurants. However, a refinery of IndianOil has now won a certification to use the same oil to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the company chairman Arvinder Singh Sahney said.
