Mines Ministry opposes cap on iron ore production in Odisha, Supreme Court seeks MOEF's stand

Unsatisfied with the Ministry of Mines’ response that no capping is warranted on production of iron ore in Odisha, the Supreme Court on Monday sought the independent view of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) on the impact of mining on the environment and the concept of intergenerational equity, the issues not looked at by the former.

RINL losses widen in FY23, production falls due to liquidity constraints
Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), also known as Vizag Steel, has seen its production fall and losses widen on account of liquidity issues. The PSU steel-maker has also delayed salary payments for September and October following a cash crunch. For FY-23, the company reported a loss of nearly ₹2,859 crore; while for the first half of FY-24 (April–September), losses widened to ₹2,058 crore, almost 70 per cent of the numbers reported for full year 2022-23.

Lab Grown Diamonds, a ray of relief for the diamond industry!
Struggling with the ongoing geo-political and economic disturbances around the globe, the Gems and Jewellery industry is expecting the fast growing Lab Grown Diamond (LGD) market to help it tide over the low demand period. Gems and Jewellery exports from India are still waiting for a recovery in demand in the international markets. According to data provided by the Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), between Apr 2023 – Oct 2023 overall gross export from India registered a steep decline of 23.37% from $ 23.8 billion to  $ 18.24  billion.

Gold tops Rs 64,000 per 10 gm; wedding demand takes a hit

Gold price rose to the highest on record at more than Rs 64,000 per 10 gm on Monday, dampening demand as the new wedding season has just begun and raising concerns among people who have marriages planned in their families.

Assam contributes 14% of total crude oil production in the country: Minister
Union Petroleum & Natural Gas Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri said that Assam contributes 14% of total crude oil production and1 10% of total natural gas production in the country. Answering the question related to production of petroleum and natural gas from Assam and also the steps taken by the government to reduce the import dependence, he further added that the first refinery in Asia was established in Digboi (Assam) in the year 1901, after the commercial scale production of crude oil at Digboi in 1889.

ONGC to start commercial oil production from KG block in May 2024, says Rameswar Teli
State-controlled Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will in May next year start commercial production of crude oil from its much-delayed flagship deepsea project in Krishna Godavari basin, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Monday.

Russia's November seaborne diesel exports rise as ban lifted, production rises
Seaborne diesel and gasoil exports from Russian ports rose 8.5% in November from a month earlier to about 2.8 million metric tons after an export ban was lifted and production grew, data from traders and LSEG showed.

IOC raises Panipat refinery expansion cost by 10%, pushes completion deadline by a year
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation's top oil firm, has revised the estimates of cost of expanding the Panipat refinery in Haryana by 10 per cent to INR 36,225 crore and pushed back completion deadline by more than a year to December 2025. IOC is expanding its 15 million tonnes a year refinery, about 100-km north of New Delhi, to 25 million tonnes.

Indian Oil opens its first EV battery swapping station in Kolkata
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on Monday opened its first battery-swapping station in Kolkata for electric vehicles (EV). The oil marketing PSU opened the facility at its retail outlet in New Town on the eastern outskirts of the city in collaboration with Sun Mobility, the company said in a statement, adding that this marks a significant step forward in promoting sustainable and accessible electric mobility solutions across the city.

DoubleTree by Hilton Gurgaon Delhi NCR partners with Statiqto add EV charging stations to its property
DoubleTree by Hilton Gurgaon Delhi NCR has partnered with Statiq to add electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to its property portfolio. This initiative not only aligns with the global trend of promoting eco-friendly practices but also showcases the hotel's commitment to making a positive contribution to the community and the environment.

BCL Industries bags tender to supply ethanol worth ₹561 crore to OMCs; shares surge
Bengaluru: BCL Industries, along with its subsidiary Svaksha Distillery Ltd, bagged a tender floated by Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) for supplying ethanol. The contract is valued at ₹561 crore to supply 8.20 lakh ltr of ethanol. The company has also disclosed in its regulatory filing that Svaksha Distillery Ltd. has also bagged an order to supply 0.1 lakh ltr of ethanol to Reliance Industries Ltd. with an order value of ₹6.73 crore.

ONGC to submit FDP for world’s 2nd deepest hydrocarbon discovery by 2026
State-run Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is expected to submit the field development plan (FDP) for the world’s second deepest hydrocarbon discovery in the Krishna Godavari (KG) basin by January 2026, Parliament was informed on Monday. The exploration and production (E&P) major is the operator of the block KG-DWN-98/2, which consists of three clusters of discoveries—Cluster I, II & III, Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas Rameswar Teli said in a written response to a question in Rajya Sabha. “In Cluster-III, there is one ultra-deepwater gas discovery, which would be the second deepest hydrocarbon discovery in the world when monetised. The FDP is scheduled to be submitted by January 2026,” he added.

No royalty revision rates until mines operationalised
The ministry of mines is not looking to revise rates of royalty for minerals until the auctioned mines come into production stage, the Minister Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi said. “As most of the auctioned mines are yet to come into production stage, the impact of the present royalty rates on the downstream industry cannot be determined at this stage. Therefore, at present it is not feasible to revise the rates of royalty for minerals,” the minister said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha on Monday.

CIL initiates actions to fulfil all resources required to achieve 1 billion tonnes annual production target
State-owned CIL has already begun actions to fulfil all resources needed to achieve one billion tonnes of annual production target, Parliament was informed on Monday. In reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi said that Coal India (CIL) is expected to achieve the production of one billion tonnes by 2025-26.

Kalpataru Projects International secures orders worth Rs 2,263 crore in India, overseas markets
Kalpataru Projects International Limited (KPIL) on Monday announced bagging new orders worth Rs 2,263 crore in the domestic and overseas markets. The company's transmission and distribution (T&D) business has secured orders totalling Rs 1,564 crore in India and overseas markets, KPIL said in an exchange filing.

Tata Power shares rise 4% on winning Rs 1544 crore transmission project in Rajasthan

Shares of Tata Power rose nearly 4% to Rs 286 in Monday's trade on BSE after the firm won the bid to acquire Bikaner-III Neemrana-II Transmission, a project special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up by Power Finance Corporation’s subsidiary PFC Consulting.

ReNew inks initial pact with Asian Development Bank for $5.3 bn funding
Renewable energy firm ReNew Energy Global Plc has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a funding of $5.3 billion.

‘Rooftop solar installations rise 34.7% to 431 MW during July-Sept, aided by fall in module prices’
New Delhi: The rooftop solar installations in India registered a 34.7 per cent year-on-year jump to 431 MW during July-September 2023, aided by a fall in module prices, Mercom India said. The rooftop solar installations were at 320 megawatt (MW) during the three-month period of 2022, the research firm said in a report. The rooftop solar capacity addition was also higher at 1.3 gigawatt (GW) in the first nine months of 2023, compared to 1.2 GW in January-September 2022. India’s cumulative rooftop solar capacity reached 10.1 gigawatts (GW) at the end of September 30, 2023, the ‘Q3 2023 Mercom India Rooftop Solar Report’ said.

Inox Wind Energy infuses Rs 800 cr in arm Inox Wind
Inox Wind Energy Ltd (IWEL) on Monday said it has infused Rs 800 crore into Inox Wind Limited (IWL) and the subsidiary company will utilise the amount to clear a portion of its outstanding debt. IWEL had earlier raised Rs 800 crore through sale of equity shares of Inox Wind through block deals on the stock exchanges.

Kaka Industries plans solar power plant installation at its new factory, shares rise
Bengaluru: Manufacturer and supplier of the PVC based products, Kaka Industries, has announced its plan to install 1300 KW solar power plant at its new factory in Lasundra, Gujarat, spanning 7,00,000 square feet. The project is scheduled to be fully commissioned by the end of January. The solar power plant is estimated to have an approximate lifespan of 25 years. Chief Financial Officer of the company, CA Chintan Bodar, expressed, “Our new factory’s substantial electricity consumption necessitates a strategic approach to manage costs effectively. With the prevailing upward trend in electricity costs, the solar power plant is poised to significantly enhance our cash flow. By reducing power costs, we anticipate a notable improvement in the company’s overall profitability in the years to come.”

According to the company’s estimates, the cost of the solar power plant is expected to be recouped through energy savings within the first four years of operation. The company’s stock is up by 2.90 per cent on the BSE, trading at ₹173.90.

Committed to onshore wind business in India: Scott Strazik, GE Vernova's chief executive

In 2021, General Electric decided to split its businesses into GE Healthcare, GE Aerospace and a third unit, GE Vernova, that houses its renewable energy, power and digital businesses. Scott Strazik, GE Vernova's chief executive, tells Kalpana Pathak that while the company continues to see opportunities in the Indian market, onshore wind is likely going to play the most material role in the near term.

Edited excerpts:

Copper eases from near-four month peak as dollar climbs
London copper prices slipped from a near four-month high on Monday as the U.S. dollar strengthened but supply worries amid production disruption in the Cobre mine in Panama capped further losses.