Siemens India to spinoff energy operations
Siemens Ltd.’s board on Monday approved a proposed demerger of its energy business into a separate unit, the company said in a regulatory filing.

RIL's green energy biz to supply equipment for India: Analysts
Reliance Industries is building a green energy business to supply the equipment India will need for its green energy revolution, according to analysts.

Sembcorp partners Sojitz and Kyushu Electric to supply Japan with green ammonia produced in India
New Delhi: Sembcorp Green Hydrogen, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sembcorp, on Monday said it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sojitz Corporation and Kyushu Electric Power to pursue potential opportunities for green ammonia production in India for export to Japan.

On PSU capex push: Oil, highways, rail set the pace; steel, green power trail
New Delhi: Public sector oil and gas companies have already achieved over three-fourths of their cumulative capital expenditure (capex) target for the current financial year ending March (FY24), taking a lead over most large public sector undertakings (PSUs) under other central government ministries, latest government data shows.

Sops for underground mining in the works, says Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi

Critical minerals supply is essential for advancement of many sectors, including high-tech electronics, telecommunications, transport and defence, and roll-out of auctions for their mining in the country was a crucial step in that direction, said Minister for coal, mines and parliamentary affairs Pralhad Joshi. In line with the country's strategy for critical minerals, the Centre will launch the next tranche of bids in February, he told Twesh Mishra in an interview. The Centre is also working on incentives to boost underground coal mining, he said.

Edited excerpts:

Govt to launch 9th round of commercial coal auctions on Dec 20

Among these, seven coal mines are fully explored, while 19 are partially explored. Additionally, five coal mines are being offered under the 2nd Attempt of round 7 of commercial coal mines auction that includes four CMSP Act coal mines and one MMDR Act coal mine. Of these, four are fully explored, while one is partially explored, it added.

Steel major looks to run up 7% as agrochem sets sight on 4% rise
The strong up-move that was fuelled by the US Federal Reserve’s move extended to Friday also. The markets opened strong; the Nifty opened positively and stayed strong throughout the day. Following a buoyant start, the Nifty inched higher in the morning trade and kept making gradual incremental highs. The last hour of the session saw an extension of this frenzied move. The headline index closed at a fresh high with a gain of 273.95 points (+1.29%).

TMT rebars demand to grow over next 3-4 months: Tata Steel VP
The demand for TMT rebars in India will continue to grow over the next three to four months, a senior industry executive has said. There is a good demand seen from the construction, housing, and infrastructure segments, where new projects are coming up all over the country, Ashish Anupam, Vice President - Long Products at Tata Steel Ltd, said.

Vedanta board nod to Rupees 4,089-crore second interim dividend
Mining major Vedanta (VEDL), a subsidiary of London-headquartered Vedanta Resources (VRL), board has approved an interim dividend of Rupees 11 per share for FY24, amounting to an outgo of Rupees 4,089 crore.

Aluminium Futures: Bullish. Wait for dips to go long
Aluminium prices have recovered sharply last week. The Aluminium Futures contract on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) made a low of ₹193.20 per kg on Wednesday and then rose back sharply recovering all the loss. The contract surged to a high of ₹204.70 before closing the week at 202.85 on Friday. It is currently trading at ₹202.90 per kg. Last week we had said that ₹201 will be a strong resistance and a fall to ₹189 was possible. That view had gone wrong.

RBZ Jewellers sets IPO price band at ₹95-100 a share
RBZ Jewellers Ltd., which is into manufacturing of gold jewellery in India and supplies to retailers across the country, has announced tapping the capital market with an initial public offering (IPO) and raising up to ₹100 crore through issuance of fresh shares.

Gold rises Rs 110, silver jumps Rs 300, trading at Rs 78,000 per kg
New Delhi: The price of 24-carat gold jumped Rs 110 during early trade on Tuesday, with ten grams of the precious metal selling at Rs 62,620, according to the GoodReturns website. The price of silver climbed Rs 300 with one kilogram of the precious metal selling at Rs 78,000.

Sovereign Gold Bond scheme opens for subscription. Check price and other details

The new series for the Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) scheme opened on Monday and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has fixed the price at Rs 6,199 per gram. For investors willing to apply online, there is a discount of Rs 50 per gram and the issue price is Rs 6,149 per gram. The public issue of SGB Scheme 2023-2024 Series III will close on Friday, December 22.

Biofuels: Short-term goals versus long-term sustainability
The Indian government announced a ban on the use of "sugarcane juice and sugar syrup" for ethanol production in the 2023-24 supply year in order to maintain adequate sugar availability for domestic consumption and to keep prices under check. It may be recalled that India has set an ambitious goal of covering the entire country by 20 per cent ethanol-blended petrol by 2025. Presently it is around 11 per cent. Instead, it has been reported that now the government would encourage greater procurement of maize from the farmers at its Minimum Support Price (MSP).

Oil climbs nearly 1% on drop in Russia exports, Red Sea jitters
Oil prices rose nearly 1% in early Asian trade on Monday, supported by lower exports from Russia and as attacks by the Houthis on ships in the Red Sea raised concerns of oil supply disruption.

Ethanol blending with petrol falls to 10.24% in November, from 12.38% in Octobe
New Delhi: The percentage of ethanol blended with petrol during November 2023 fell to 10.24 per cent from 12.38 per cent during October. November is the first month of the ethanol supply year 2023-24.

Centre cuts windfall tax on petroleum crude, diesel
India has cut the windfall tax on diesel and crude oil on Monday, according to a government notification.

Domestic natural gas consumption up 6% in November

New Delhi: Domestic natural gas consumption rose 6% in November over the same month last year, helped by increased supply from domestic fields, the oil ministry data showed.

Ninth round of commercial coal auctions to Be launched on Dec 20
The government is set to launch the ninth round of commercial coal mine auctions on December 20 with 26 mines on offer. Among the mines to be offered, seven are fully explored and 19 are partially explored.

Govt to launch 9th round of commercial coal mine auction on Wed; 26 mines on the block
The Centre will launch the ninth round of commercial coal mines auction on Wednesday, offering as many as 26 blocks to bidders.

Vedanta to pay INR 11/share interim dividend; record date fixed at December 27
Mining major Vedanta's board on Monday approved a second interim dividend payout of INR 11 a share for the current financial year.

Mineral exploration projects almost doubled in last four years

Mineral exploration projects in India have rose to 325 in the current fiscal according to Union Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi. Responding to a query in the Rajya Sabha, he said that Geological Survey of India (GSI) under the Ministry of Mines, has been carrying out mineral exploration in the country with an aim to augment resource for various mineral commodities. GSI has successfully established resources of Iron ore, Manganese, Chromite, Gold, PGE, Base metals, Rare Earth Elements, Molybdenum, Nickel, Tungsten, Lithium, Limestone, Bauxite, Graphite, Potash, and Phosphorite, among others in this period.

Hydropower mega-merger of NHPC, two others put on hold
The government has deferred an ambitious plan to merge three state-run hydropower companies into one, two people aware of the matter said.

SunPower shares slide 23% after raising going-concern doubts
SunPower on Monday raised doubts about its ability to stay in business, saying that its breach of a key term in a credit agreement could prompt lenders to recall certain loans, sending its shares tumbling 23%.

Punjab Utility set to buy GVK power plant

Punjab State Power Corp is set to acquire GVK Power (Goindwal Sahib) by offering ₹1,400 crore to lenders, people aware of the development told ET, marking the first such takeover of a private electricity generator by a state-run discom, or distribution company.

Whatever we have said, we will do much better than that; Tata Power PAT has risen for 16 consecutive quarters: MD
 

Vikram Solar signs 152 MW module supply contract with NTPC
Vikram Solar, a solar panel module manufacturer has announced the signing of an order from the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to supply 152 MW of high-efficiency Crystalline Bifacial Solar PV Modules at Nokh Rajasthan.

‘We are exploring overseas locations for setting up green hydrogen production’, Sumant Sinha, CEO, Renew
ReNew, the country’s largest renewable energy company, last month said it plans to Rs 44,000 crore by FY26 to add about 10 gigawatt(GW) capacity. Its parent ReNew Energy Global Plc signed an MoU with ADB for debt financing of over $5.3 billion recently. Sumant Sinha, founder and CEO of the company tells Raghavendra Kamath & Arunima Bharadwaj about its plans and new areas of business. Excerpts:

Inox Wind eyes opportunities in O&M segment
New Delhi: Inox Wind (IWL), part of the $5-billion INOXGFL Group, is eyeing opportunities in the wind energy sector as the government aims to add 50 GW of capacities by FY28. The wind energy major, which repaid almost all of the ₹2,800-crore debt, has narrowed its losses in Q2 FY24, and is eyeing opportunities in the operations and maintenance (O&M) segment, both organically and via acquisitions.

Hartek Solar in talks with refineries for green H2 refueling stations
Hartek Solar, a rooftop solar installations company and a subsidiary of Hartek group, is planning to foray into the green hydrogen segment and set up infrastructure for refuelling stations for the benign fuel, founder and chief executive officer Simarpreet Singh told FE in an interview. The firm is in discussions with refineries for the same.

Adani Green Energy announces incorporation of four step down subsidiaries

The four step down entities have an authorised and paid share capital of Rs 1 lakh each.

Aditya Birla Group taps Nebras Power to raise $400 million
 

US Steel to be acquired for more than $14 billion by Nippon Steel
U.S. Steel, the Pittsburgh steel producer that played a key role in the nation's industrialization, is being acquired by Nippon Steel in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $14.1 billion.

Hydrogen makes itself at home
Among a cluster of new homes on the northern outskirts of Melbourne, there is one house that stands apart. Not that you'd know it by looking from the outside. HyHome, unveiled this year by the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group, is Australia's first hydrogen-powered home.