Industry News

Seed industry bodies FSII and NSAI on Wednesday demanded that the government should allow commercial cultivation of herbicide-tolerant Bt (HTBt) cotton at the earliest, as the crop variety is being grown illegally in some parts of the country, creating a Rs 1,500 crore informal seed market. The Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) and the National Seed Association of India (NSAI) stressed the need to introduce high-yielding varieties and new technologies to boost domestic cotton production and reduce imports. India's cotton production stands at around 29 million bales (of 170 kg each). A study, Unauthorised Cultivation of HTBt Cotton in India: Extent, Drivers and Implications, was conducted by the South Asia Biotechnology Centre (SABC) with the support of these two associations. It covered 16 districts across Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, combining farmer surveys, supply-chain assessment and ELISA-based gene testing. "Unauthorised herbicide-tolerant B

Access with affordability should be a right across every industry, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Monday, citing sharp fall in voice and data tariffs and the exponential rise in internet and broadband users as evidence of how India has expanded its digital access. Backing his argument with figures, Scindia said voice call rates have fallen from Rs 16 per minute in the 1990s to becoming free, while data costs have dropped 97 per cent from Rs 287 per GB in 2014 to about Rs 8 per GB currently. Internet users have risen from around 250 million earlier, to over 1.1 billion today, while broadband connections have crossed the one-billion mark, he said. "That is not additive. That is multiplicative, and that is what we have been able to do in India. Access with affordability has to be a right in every vertical, in every industry across the length and breadth of our country. And telecom has shown the path, has shown the way," the Minister said addressing the Indian ...

India's private capex outlook is strengthening, but the reasons projects run into distress are changing, with market conditions and promoter interests now accounting for most distressed projects

Much of that value will have to come from new innovation rather than gains in employee productivity, Bain said in its 7th annual Global Technology Report released on Tuesday.

The government is expected to extend the duty refund scheme - Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) - for exporters, an official said on Tuesday. The scheme will end on September 30. The official said the ministry is in discussion with the finance ministry on the issue. The scheme, launched in 2021, provides for a refund of taxes, duties and levies that are incurred by exporters in the process of manufacturing and distribution of goods and not being reimbursed under any other mechanism at the Centre, state or local level. Refunds under the scheme range from 0.3 per cent to 3.9 per cent. The budget allocation under the scheme for 2025-26 stood at Rs 18,232 crore. The budget for the scheme for this fiscal was Rs 10,000 crore.

The filing for sitagliptin tablets in three strengths marks Morepen's entry into integrated finished-dose development and regulatory filings in the US market

India's merchandise exports have risen 15 per cent till September 21 during this fiscal year despite global economic uncertainties triggered by the ongoing wars, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday. Addressing the media after the 14th India-UAE High Level Task Force on Investment meeting here, the minister also said the UAE -- India's seventh largest source of FDI -- has expressed an intent to invest another USD 25 billion in the near future, with the ultimate objective of taking its investments in India to USD 100 billion in the years to come. "We have increased our merchandise exports by upward of 15 per cent in the first six months (up to September 21) this year, which is a pretty important and significant achievement given the fact that we are living in a world where two wars are going on and the Strait or Hormuz, which is our principal sea route, is facing so much stress," Goyal said. During April-August this fiscal year, exports jumped 17.85 per cent ...

Infrastructure projects across 17 central ministries/departments were monitored, and it was found that the total revised cost was Rs 33,60,069 cr compared to their original cost of Rs 30,71,947 cr

India's consumer durables market is entering its next growth phase, with deeper localisation and global competitiveness shaping the road ahead

With more GCCs expected to arrive, Hyderabad's established technology, BFSI and life-sciences ecosystems are becoming an increasingly important part of its appeal

Solar developers face higher costs from domestic cells, commodities and rupee depreciation, while competitive tariffs leave little room to absorb the increase, putting project economics under pressure

India's dual advantage of unmatched domestic consumer demand and an expanding demographic dividend give the country a unique edge in the global semiconductor race, but securing access to core technology remains a critical hurdle that needs to be bridged, a top executive at global management consultancy firm Bain & Company said. Balaji Thirumalai, Partner and India Head of Semiconductors and Electronics Manufacturing Practice at Bain & Company, said the central government's strategy under the Semicon 2.0 programme-spanning six pillars of talent, fabs, OSATs (outsourced semiconductor assembly and test), design, equipment, and materials-is the necessary approach to establish a complete ecosystem. "We need design as much as we need fabs. We need materials, and we need equipment to come into India. Because if you look at Taiwan, if you look at Korea, it's not just that the fabs have come up, the ecosystem has moved in. If you look at what's happening in the US when they're building

Industry body says tariffs of up to 100 per cent on major buyers of Russian energy could make Indian textiles uncompetitive in the US, its largest export market

Industry leaders say India must own product design, improve manufacturing yields and develop materials capabilities to capture more value across the semiconductor supply chain.

Industry representatives say India needs more experienced process and product engineers, stronger STEM education and manufacturing talent as it pushes into advanced packaging.

Horiba India is open to local manufacturing of specialised semiconductor equipment once India's chip fabrication and packaging ecosystem reaches sufficient scale

CMDC said mining at the Tara coal block cannot begin until the successful bidder obtains forest and environmental clearances, a mining plan, lease and other statutory approvals

Brics countries step up cooperation on skills, gig and platform workers, labour mobility, social protection, vocational training and workforce preparedness

The West Asia war is driving up polyester, cotton, energy and freight costs, squeezing apparel manufacturers and potentially pushing clothing prices higher

Nine states and Union Territories are launching digital Labour Chowks as the Centre reviews progress on employment, welfare and cess collection initiatives