India asks companies to fire-up power plants to meet rising electricity demand
New Delhi: India has asked companies to operate underutilised gas-based power plants in May and June, and extend operations of imported coal-based plants until Oct. 15 to meet anticipated high demand for electricity, according to two government orders.

At 47.8 mt, iron ore exports at a 3-year high
Reports across some key ministries and trade sources indicate a 130 per cent rise in iron ore exports y-o-y, driven by strong demand for fines and lumps (at 37 mt and over 100 per cent).

Steel Min to rehaul import reporting portal
 

Vedanta to raise $470 million from Power Finance Corp for energy business
Mumbai: Vedanta Ltd is set to raise ₹3,900-4,000 crore from Power Finance Corp. Ltd to boost its power generation capacity, signalling the group may be winning back the trust of large domestic lenders.

Gold price slips Rs 10 to Rs 72,540, silver down Rs 100 at Rs 85,400
The price of 22-carat gold went down by Rs 10 with the yellow metal selling at Rs 66,490.
 

Niger and China sign crude oil MoU worth USD 400 mn
Niger has signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese state-owned oil giant China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) worth USD 400 million linked to the sale of crude oil from its Agadem oilfield, Niger state television RTN reported late on Friday.

Shell to be part of India’s energy transition story, says Mansi Tripathy
Hyderabad: With a strong R&D footing in India and tested upstream and downstream segment of the country’s hydrocarbon space, global oil and gas major, Shell Plc, is looking at opportunities in CBG (compressed biogas) here. In one of her first media interactions, the newly appointed Chairman, Shell Group of Companies in India and Vice President Shell Lubricants Asia Pacific, Mansi Madan Tripathy, sharing her thoughts on the major’s India strategy and be part of energy transition story told businessline that “three big things in my mind are clear as regards perspective. One is that like our global strategy we are fully committed to net zero by 2050 in India too. This is also in line with the government policy on how we balance the energy security, energy affordability and emissions drop all in one, together. And Shell is also working on a journey to be a leading energy transition player in the country.”

Firms told to run gas units as power ask rises
The government has directed companies to operate underutilised gas-based power plants in May, June and extend operations of imported coal-based plants until October 15 to meet anticipated high demand for electricity, as per two government orders.

Solar to nuclear, apromise of energy security
The BJP will push a variety of programmes to ensure energy security of the country if it is elected back to power at the Centre.

‘Simplification, policy push has turbocharged residential rooftop solar’: SolarSquare co-founder
Earlier this year, after the Union cabinet approved the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, a subsidy scheme to promote the installation of solar panels in one crore households with a total outlay of Rs 75,021 crore, demand for rooftop solar has been thriving. SolarSquare, a Mumbai-based startup launched by IIT graduates, is among the leading B2C companies enabling consumers to shift to solar.