Government working on PLI 2.0 for steel sector in 2024; industry players await steps to curb steel imports
The government is working on Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme 2.0 as well as looking at ways to ensure adequate raw material supply for the steel sector in 2024, according to Union minister Faggan Singh Kulaste. While robust economic growth will increase the demand for steel, industry players remain concerned about rising imports and high raw material prices amid geopolitical uncertainties.

India's energy shift: Major growth in renewables sets stage for a green 2024
New Delhi: As the curtains draw on 2023, India's energy sector emerges as a vibrant tapestry, intricately woven with ambitious renewable initiatives, groundbreaking policy shifts, and strategic global partnerships, all painting a promising picture for a sustainable 2024. This year was a watershed moment for India's green energy ambitions, marked by significant strides towards reshaping its energy narrative and setting a global benchmark in the transition to renewable sources.

Green Hydrogen Policy: CM Yogi reviews draft, UP govt to release it soon
In view of the threats of global warming and climate change, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has given instructions to implement the Green Hydrogen Policy to encourage clean and green energy production sources in the state.

Adani family to invest INR 9,350 cr in Adani Green Energy
Billionaire Gautam Adani and his family plan to invest INR 9,350 crore in the group's green energy arm, Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL), to deleverage the company and help it achieve 45 gigawatt target by 2030.

Mines Ministry exploring 22 critical mineral blocks across 9 States for possible future auction
India’s Mines Ministry has identified some 22-odd blocks of critical minerals — in various stages of exploration — for possible future auction. Some seven critical mineral blocks across nine States are under discussion, sources told businessline. The critical mineral reserves being identified include cobalt, titanium, gallium, vanadium, tungsten, lithium and some REEs (rare earth elements). Most of these find usage in electronic industry, for lithium ion battery-making, paints and plastics, special alloys and steel-making for military and defence purposes, among others.

Govt working on PLI scheme 2.0 for steel sector in 2024
New Delhi: The government is working on Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme 2.0 as well as looking at ways to ensure adequate raw material supply for the steel sector in 2024, according to Union minister Faggan Singh Kulaste. While a robust economic growth will increase the demand for steel, industry players remain concerned about rising imports and high raw material prices amid geopolitical uncertainties. Production and consumption of steel have shown a strong recovery after the coronavirus pandemic that impacted the sector in 2020-21. During the April-November period this year, the cumulative production of crude steel was 94.01 Million Tonnes (MT), up 14.5 per cent year-on-year. The consumption of finished steel jumped 14 per cent to 86.97 MT on an annual basis during the same period, as per data from the steel ministry. India has set a target of having an installed steel manufacturing capacity of 300 MT by 2030. At present, the country has a capacity of around 161 MT.

How India, not China, is leading the revival in global steel
After a slump in 2022, the global steel industry is set to close 2023 with marginal growth. But this would not have been possible without India—the world’s second largest steel producer, which has grown above everybody else. What is causing this boom? Mint explains:

Go long in copper at ₹724, stop-loss can be ₹720
Copper futures on the MCX have been rising since the final week of October. It bounced off a support of ₹700. The December contract closed at ₹724 on Friday. Since the December series is nearing expiry, we take the January contract for analysis. The January expiry copper futures closed at ₹732.6 last week. The price action over the past few days shows that the contract is experiencing selling pressure between ₹735 and ₹738. If the contract surpasses this resistance band, it can quickly rally to ₹750, a resistance. Subsequent resistance is at ₹760. On the other hand, if January copper futures falls from the current level, it can find support at ₹726 and ₹720. As long as the price remains above ₹720, the inclination will be bullish.

Dream debut for Motisons Jewellers; stock skyrockets over 88 per cent
Shares of Motisons Jewellers Ltd on Tuesday ended with a huge premium of over 88 per cent against the issue price of Rs 55. The stock made its debut at Rs 103.90, up 88.90 per cent from the issue price on the BSE. During the day, it zoomed 98.34 per cent to Rs 109.09. Shares of the company ended at Rs 101.18, rallying 83.96 per cent.

Gold climbs Rs 250; silver rallies Rs 350
Gold prices climbed Rs 250 to Rs 63,750 per 10 grams in the national capital on Tuesday in line with a firm trend in global markets, according to HDFC Securities. The precious metal had ended at Rs 63,500 per 10 grams in the previous trade.

2023: A rough year when natural diamonds lost their sparkle
After shining brightly during CY2021-22, exports of cut and polished diamonds (CPDs) lost their sheen in CY2023. In 10M CY2023, India exported $15.3 billion worth of natural diamonds, a whopping YoY decline of 25%. The contraction in exports was largely volume-driven, as reflected by 20% YoY reduction in volumes due to the weak underlying demand conditions in key consuming nations mainly, the US, Europe, and China. These nations collectively account for ~80% of the global CPD demand. Expecting the contraction in exports to continue in the near term, ICRA in September 2023, revised its business outlook on the CPD sector to Negative from Stable. 

Russia continues to process high levels of crude mid-December
Russia's oil processing in the past week remained close to its highest daily refining runs in more than eight months amid decreased seaborne exports.

Payment woes delay supply of Russian Sokol oil to India: Sources
New Delhi: Shipments of Russian Sokol crude oil to Indian Oil Corp have been delayed by payment problems, forcing India's biggest refiner to draw from its inventories and buy more oil from the Middle East, two sources familiar with the matter said.

Operating profit of offshore rig operators may jump 30% in FY25: Report
Mumbai: Operating profit of offshore rig operators in India is likely to jump 30 per cent next fiscal on the back of strong global demand for rigs amid healthy crude prices and elevated day rate which has doubled to USD 85,000 from the last year's level, says a report by Crisil Ratings. The day rate is the amount of money paid by the operator to the drilling contractor for each day that the rig is used to drill a well.

GPS Renewables bags Rs 2,000 crore orders, looks to expand compressed Biogas plants
GPS Renewables, a leading full stack technology and engineering company focussing on clean fuels has announced that it has bagged orders worth Rs 2,000 crore, which will see it undertake multiple Compressed Biogas (CBG) projects (Renewable Natural Gas (RNG)) across the country.

India becomes 2nd-largest importer of Russian fuels
Source Credit: Sanjeev Choudhary, The Economic Times

India makes first-ever rupee payment for the purchase of crude oil from UAE

New Delhi: India, the world's third-largest energy consumer, made its first-ever payment in rupees for crude oil purchased from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), signalling what could be a strategic push to promote the local currency globally.

The move is part of India's broader efforts to diversify oil suppliers, cut transaction costs, and establish the rupee as a viable trade settlement currency. This initiative aligns with the Reserve Bank of India's move on July 11, 2022, allowing importers to pay in rupees and exporters to receive payments in the local currency.
 

Nitin Gadkari says India will see new freedom when not a drop of petrol and diesel is imported here
 Gadkari reportedly said that reducing imports is the new way ahead for patriotism. "The import bill for petrol and diesel stands at ₹16 lakh crore now. If we reduce this import, the money we save will go to the poor. That is why we have introduced alternative fuels like biofuel. Reduction in imports and increase in exports is the way forward for patriotism and swadeshi," he asserted. The news agency has also quoted the minister saying, “Till this import is not stopped, terrorism will not stop across the world. The aim of my life is to stop import of petrol and diesel. I consider it to be a new freedom for India when not a drop of petrol and diesel is imported into the country."

Swan Energy pre-pays Rs 300-cr debt of Jafrabad FSRU project
 

Thermax aims to commercialise coal gasification tech
With an aim to commercialise coal gasification technology, energy and environment solutions provider Thermax is targeting to build its first commercial-scale coal gasification plant in the range of 100 to 500 tonnes per day (TPD). The company has developed its coal gasification technology and built a pilot-scale plant in Pune to showcase it.

Centre proposes cap on performance security and upfront amount to auction critical and strategic minerals

The Mines Ministry has proposed capping the performance security and upfront amount – payable after bagging the rights to extract minerals – for making critical and strategic mineral blocks more lucrative for mining companies. Presently the performance security and upfront amount is a percentage of the Value of Estimated Resources (VER).

Power Grid Corp acquires 2 special purpose vehicles to implement transmission projects
State-owned Power Grid Corporation on Tuesday said that it has acquired two special purpose vehicles (SPV) to implement power transmission projects -- Vataman Transmission and Koppal II Gadag II Transmission from PFC Consulting. The Power Grid Corporation had bagged these two projects under tariff-based competitive bidding conducted by PFC Consulting, two separate BSE filings showed.

Winter keeps India’s power demand elevated
New Delhi : India’s peak power demand has remained elevated over the past week amid the winter chill, keeping it above the 200 GW level since 19 December.

GPS Renewables secures orders worth ₹2,000 crore for CBG plants
The strategically-positioned CBG plants will process 4,000 tonnes per day (TPD) of agri-residue and energy crop, with an additional 300 TPD of municipal solid waste (MSW) processed for biogas, preventing landfill accumulation, the company said.

Adani Green to raise Rs 9K cr from promoters
The promoters of Adani Green Energy (AGEL), the renewable energy arm of Adani Group, will infuse `9,350 crore ($1.13 billion) in the company that would be used to cut debt. This transaction follows a $1.4-billion debt raised earlier this month and takes the total capital raised to $3 billion.The company’s board on Tuesday approved a proposal to issue 63.1 million warrants at `1,480.75 per share to the promoters for the fundraise. The funds will be utilised for deleveraging and accelerating growth spends, AGEL said in a regulatory update.

Adani Green Energy shares jump over 4 pc; mcap climbs Rs 10,446.7 cr
Shares of Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) on Tuesday jumped over 4 per cent as Gautam Adani and his family will inject Rs 9,350 crore into the conglomerate’s green energy arm to equip it to achieve the 45 GW target by 2030 and to meet debt payment obligations.The stock rallied 4.30 per cent to Rs 1,599.90 on the BSE.

SJVN bags 100 MW solar project worth Rs 550 cr
New Delhi: State-owned SJVN has bagged a 100 MW solar project worth Rs 550 crore under e-Reverse auction conducted by Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam. This ground mounted solar project shall be developed by the SJVN through its wholly-owned subsidiary, SJVN Green Energy Ltd (SGEL), at a tentative cost of Rs 550 crore, a company statement said.

JSW Renew Energy commissions 51 MW wind energy capacity in Tamil Nadu
New Delhi, JSW Renew Energy has commissioned the first phase of 51 MW capacity of its 810 MW wind energy project in Tamil Nadu, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. The project has a power purchase agreement with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for 25 years, the statement said.

Hartek bags 400 KV Substation order for SPRNG Energy’s 300 MW solar plant
Hartek Power Private Limited, the Power system and T&D Business unit of Hartek Group, announced the successful acquisition of a significant contract from SPRNG Energy (100% owned by Shell) for the establishment of a 33kV/400kV Pooling Substation. This substation will play a crucial role in supporting a 300 MW Solar Power Plant at Ramsan Village, Taluka Deesa, District Banaskantha, Gujarat.

Aster DM Healthcare to set up 55-acre solar project to power seven hospitals in Kerala
Aster DM Healthcare on Tuesday announced that it is planning to construct a solar plant spanning 55 acres in Kasargod, aimed at powering seven hospitals across Kerala state.

Inox Wind bags 279 MW order
 

Indian-origin CEO-led energy tech firm Enphase lays off 350 workers
American energy technology company Enphase, led by Indian-origin Badri Kothandaraman, is laying off 10 % of its global workforce, impacting approximately 350 contractors and employees.