 "Hindalco")
Copper and aluminium producer Hindalco Industries plans to invest Rs 2,000 crore to establish a copper and e-waste recycling facility. The company's chairman, Kumar Mangalam Birla, disclosed this intention to shareholders at the company's annual general meeting on Tuesday.
"Your company is making an investment of Rs 2,000 crore to establish the first-of-its-kind copper and e-waste recycling facility in India," Birla said in his speech, adding that the move will tackle the challenges posed by electronic waste.
He further explained, "At present, due to the lack of advanced metal extraction and refining technologies domestically, a substantial volume of e-waste is exported to other nations. Bringing this cutting-edge technology to India marks a transformative step towards offering a tangible solution, aligned with your company and our nation's circular economy agenda."
Outlook on India
In his speech, Birla also expressed optimism about India's economic prospects, calling the country the "only bright spot" among global economies. He anticipates a growth of 6.1 per cent in the calendar year 2023, driven by strong domestic demand, robust activity in the services sector, and healthy public capital expenditure momentum.
"In the short term, in CY23, the advanced economies are expected to experience softness in industrial production. While the Eurozone's economic growth is expected to decelerate sharply in CY23 due to an inflation-led demand slowdown, the European markets are expected to recover in CY24," Birla noted.
Regarding the Chinese economy, Birla observed that the post-pandemic recovery is losing steam due to ongoing weakness in real estate, consumer goods, and weak external demand. However, he anticipates an uptick in economic activity in regions such as emerging Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America in 2024.
