Page 3 - Industry News

Premium housing rises in 2025 as affordable sales fall 17%: Knight Frank

Premium homes above Rs 1 crore captured half of all residential sales in 2025, even as affordable housing saw a 17% YoY drop, signalling a structural shift in India's housing market

Reliance Retail to pilot search-discovery platform in multi-channel push

Reliance's online grocery delivery ‌service JioMart expanded to compete in the 10-minute delivery segment in 2025

Denta Water and Infra Solutions order book crosses ₹841 crore in December

Denta Water and Infra Solutions on Monday said that it has secured orders worth Rs 377.31 crore during the April-December period this fiscal year, taking its total order book to Rs 841.48 crore. The company has also secured two projects in the capacity of a subcontractor and holds an L1 (lowest bidder) position in two projects, subject to final approvals, Denta Water and Infra Solutions said. According to a company statement, Denta Water and Infra Solutions has a healthy order book of around Rs 841.48 crore as on December 31, 2025, providing revenue visibility in the coming quarters across irrigation, urban water supply and wastewater management projects. For the nine months of FY26, the company secured fresh orders worth Rs 377.31 crore, including Rs 161.12 crore in the October-December quarter. Chairman C Mruthyunjaya Swamy said, "We continue to see healthy traction across irrigation, drinking water and wastewater management projects, supported by a robust order book and expandin

magicpin eyes 20M active users in 2026, food delivery to drive growth: CEO

magicpin aims to grow its active user base to 20 million in 2026 with food delivery as a key growth driver, the hyperlocal platform's CEO and Founder Anshoo Sharma said on Sunday. The company crossed 15 million active users last year across various categories including e-commerce, ticketing and food delivery, is focusing on the value conscious segment for further expansion of its food delivery vertical, Sharma told PTI in an interview. "Our focus is on building value-conscious food delivery users who order frequently and engage habitually. We aim to grow our active user base to 20 million in 2026 with food delivery as a key growth driver, particularly among students and first-time job seekers," Sharma said. A majority of the active 15 million users on the platform belong to the value-conscious segment in India's major cities in the age group of 18-35 years. Food delivery continues to be the primary growth driver, supported by higher repeat users and increasing cross-category ...

TN must join hands with Centre to boost startup ecosystem: Jitendra Singh

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday urged the Tamil Nadu government to work closely with the Centre to further strengthen the state's startup ecosystem, noting that despite significant progress, it still has immense untapped potential. Addressing the inaugural session of the two-day Research, Industry, Start-up and Entrepreneurship (RISE) Conclave here, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences highlighted India's exponential growth in the sector, which has increased from 350 startups in 2014 to over 2 lakh today. "Tamil Nadu has contributed 34,000 registered startups, but there is still significant untapped potential. We need to create an enabling ecosystem, particularly in tier-II and tier-III cities, to accelerate innovation-driven entrepreneurship," Singh said. He encouraged youth in growth hubs like Chennai and Coimbatore to leverage central initiatives to scale up their ventures, pointing out that startups have already ...

GRSE commences production of two coastal research vessels for GSI

Defence PSU Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd on Saturday commenced the construction of two coastal research vessels (CRV) for the Geological Survey of India (GSI), an official statement said. The ceremonial steel cutting, marking the commencement of the construction of the ship, was held in the presence of GSI Director General Asit Saha and senior officials from GRSE and the Indian Armed Forces. The research vessels, each having a length of 64 metres and a width of 13 metres, will have capabilities to carry out offshore geological mapping, mineral exploration (including dredging), ocean environment monitoring and research, the statement said. "They will have modern, well-equipped scientific laboratories on board for data processing and sample analysis," it said, adding that these ships will operate within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of India. The defence shipyard, which also builds research and survey platforms, is currently building an ocean research vessel

Uttar Pradesh govt's pharma investment kitty hits ₹38,000 crore

India's pharma market is estimated to touch $120 billion by 2030 while Uttar Pradesh accounts for roughly 17 percent of domestic sales

Happiest Minds to double hiring in AI business amid skill shortages

Mid-tier IT firm Happiest Minds plans to double its AI and GenAI workforce to over 1,000 by next fiscal, investing more to address skill gaps that are leading to lost revenue

Datanomics: Labour strikes down sharply over past decade in India

Data show strikes have declined over a decade, but wage losses and worker rights concerns continue to fuel fresh nationwide protest by 14 trade unions

India second-largest active installed base of smartphones globally

Longer retention cycles build an installed base that places it just behind China

CBIC to roll out Eligible Manufacturer-Importer Scheme by March 1: Chairman

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) is set to introduce the proposed Eligible Manufacturer-Importer scheme by March 1, with a draft framework to be released in five to six days for stakeholder consultation, a top official said on Thursday. Addressing a media interaction in Mumbai, CBIC Chairman Vivek Chaturvedi said the scheme will initially be introduced for two years, offering eligible manufacturer-importers a "preview" of the benefits under the new framework. Manufacturers, who are not currently Authorized Economic Operators (AEOs), will receive benefits under this scheme for a period of two years, during which they must comply with the prescribed norms to obtain AEO certification, officials clarified. The government is currently working on finalising the eligibility criteria through an internal committee, and detailed contours of the scheme will be shared soon for public feedback. Chaturvedi indicated that the EMI scheme is aligned with the broader push towar

Comply with quality norms to gain global edge, Paswan tells dairy industry

Union Food Processing Industries Minister Chirag Paswan on Thursday called upon the dairy industry to adhere to quality regulations, warning that non-compliance undermines market access and allows fraudulent players to thrive at the expense of honest businesses seeking international recognition. Speaking at the 52nd Dairy Industry Conference organised by the Indian Dairy Association (North Zone), Paswan said India has the potential to position itself as the world's dairy basket, capable of addressing global shortages through better organisation and strategic market channelling. "Today, India has the capacity to present itself as a global basket. We just need to be more organised in this direction, channelised and move forward," Paswan said, asserting that the dairy sector has a crucial role in building a globally competitive India. The minister said while the government formulates policies - including resolving GST issues and promoting dairy processing through central schemes - it i

Germany's EW Group plans to invest ₹200 crore in India's poultry push

Germany-based agribusiness firm EW Group plans to invest Rs 200 crore in India's poultry sector over the next three years through its newly incorporated subsidiary Lohmann Layers India, a company executive said on Thursday. EW Group, a global leader in animal genetics, established the Indian arm through its subsidiary International Layer Distribution (ILD) by acquiring JK Breeders Pvt Ltd for an undisclosed sum, the company said. "India is one of the world's most important and fastest-growing poultry markets. The establishment of Lohmann Layers India reinforces our long-term commitment to Indian farmers," Antonio Paraguassu, managing director for Asia and Australia at ILD, said in a statement. The company has been operating in India through a franchise model with JK Breeders for over 15 years and will now work directly in the market, said Surendra K Jangir, managing director of Lohmann Layers India. "We plan to invest Rs 200 crore in the next three years." Lohmann Layers India will

Shorter six-month DR-TB treatment cheaper, more effective: ICMR study

An ICMR study has found that the six-month all-oral treatment regimens for multidrug-resistant and rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis are cost-effective and offer improved health outcomes compared to the longer treatment plans currently used in India. The economic evaluation conducted by ICMR's National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT) was published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research (IJMR). It assessed the cost-effectiveness of the shorter bedaquiline-based regimens -- BPaL (bedaquiline, pretomanid and linezolid) and BPaLM (with moxifloxacin) -- in comparison with the nine-to-11-month and the 18-to 20-month-long bedaquiline-containing treatment plans used under the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP). The analysis revealed that the BPaL regimen is more effective against multidrug-resistant and rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis and, at the same time, more economical. For each additional quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained, the health system spends Rs 37

No mishap at Kudankulam, safety central to nuclear policy: Jitendra Singh

'Safety first, production next' is the formula followed by India's atomic energy sector, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh on Thursday said, as he allayed concerns around safety at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant. During the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, AIADMK MP M Thambidurai said the Kudankulam project got delayed due to safety concerns around it, and questioned the way its power is being distributed. Singh said the share is determined through a formula, under which 50 per cent of the power is retained by the state, 35 per cent is given to the neighbouring states, and 15 per cent is sent to the national grid. The minister also said that many apprehensions regarding the safety are because of "extraneous" and "political" reasons. "Such apprehensions also arise sometimes because of extraneous reasons, political reasons... There has never been any such mishap. The formula we follow is 'Safety First, Production Next," he said. "There was some iss

China moves to curb auto price war after January PV sales drop 20%

China moved Thursday to curb a fierce price war among automakers that has caused massive losses for the industry, after passenger car sales dropped nearly 20 per cent in January from the year before, the fastest pace in almost two years. The State Administration for Market Regulation released guidelines for manufacturers, dealers and parts suppliers aimed at preventing a race-to-the-bottom price war. They forbid automakers from setting prices below the cost of production to "squeeze out competitors or monopolise the market." Violators may face "significant legal risks," the regulator warned. The rules also target deceptive pricing strategies and price fixing between parts suppliers and auto manufacturers. Passenger car sales in China fell 19.5 per cent in January from a year earlier, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. That was the biggest percentage drop since February 2024. The 1.4 million passenger cars sold in January compared with 2.2 million units

India's first cross-sector investment trust in works to monetise assets

The move comes as the NITI Aayog, the government's policy think tank, looks to bring state governments on board for NMP 2.0

Rolls-Royce CEO calls on PM Modi, shares plans to be part of Viksit Bharat

Rolls-Royce CEO Tufan Erginbilgic on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and shared plans to scale up its activities in India to become a part of Viksit Bharat. "It was wonderful meeting Mr. Tufan Erginbilgic, CEO of Rolls-Royce, earlier today," Modi said in a post on X. "We welcome Rolls-Royce's enthusiasm towards scaling up its activities in India and partnering with our innovative and dynamic youth," the prime minister said. Modi was responding to a post by Rolls-Royce on Erginbilgic's meeting with Modi. "Our CEO Tufan Erginbilgic met Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi today to discuss how Rolls-Royce is scaling up to be a part of Viksit Bharat, including expanding its GCC to be the largest globally, co-creating complex manufacturing and building high-value engineering capabilities," the British manufacturing firm said in the post.

AI summit: Hotel bodies meet tourism minister over high room tariffs

Representatives from the hospitality sector, including members of hotel associations met Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat during the last two days amid reports of skyrocketing hotel room tariffs ahead of the upcoming India AI Impact Summit, scheduled at Bharat Mandapam here from February 16-20. Confirming the development, Hotel Association of India (HAI) said in light of recent articles reporting on hotel pricing in Delhi during the AI Impact Summit, a meeting was held by the Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Shekhawat. Industry sources said almost all standard rooms, which account for about 70 per cent of the inventory in top hotels in the national capital have been sold out. With demand surging, not just because of the AI summit but also due to wedding season and the ongoing T20 cricket world cup, room tariffs are already priced high. There has been an escalation in prices for last-minute bookings. An industry executive, requesting anonymity, said high prices of Rs

Banks issue over ₹1 trillion worth of CDs in February as rates soften

Banks raise over Rs 1 trillion via certificates of deposit in early February as short-term rates ease amid surplus liquidity and rising credit demand