Page 9 - Industry News

Aviation reforms in focus as India air show attracts global players

Analysts and industry executives will be looking for signals from government ​officials at the show on how India plans to ease airspace congestion in major cities

Hindalco announces major ₹21,000-crore aluminium smelter expansion plan

Hindalco said it planned to invest ₹ 21,000 crore in a smelter expansion with a capacity of 360,000 tonnes per annum at its Aditya Aluminium complex in Sambalpur

India needs $145 billion per year to fund energy transition: WoodMac

India will need to mobilise average annual investments of about USD 145 billion in its energy sector to bridge the gap between sustained economic growth and its net-zero ambitions, Wood Mackenzie said on Tuesday, outlining a critical pathway to maintain around 6 per cent GDP growth through 2035 while advancing the energy transition. Speaking at India Energy Week 2026, Joshua Ngu, Vice Chairman, Asia Pacific at Wood Mackenzie, said capital deployment must be strategically focused on power generation, energy storage and urgent grid modernisation to support India's expanding economy and decarbonisation goals. "India's next decade is decisive," Ngu said. "The challenge is a dual mandate: India must de-risk its immediate energy security while simultaneously building the low-carbon architecture required to support a top-tier global economy. Today's investment choices will determine whether the country locks in carbon-intensive infrastructure or leads the world in low-carbon ...

DFS seeks states' support to ensure banking ops during Jan 27 bank strike

The DFS said banks have conveyed that ATMs are being adequately loaded with sufficient cash, and arrangements have been made to ensure timely replenishment

Private-sector capex tumbles for second straight quarter in Q3FY26

New government investment projects rose 26.5% quarter-on-quarter to hit ₹5.64 trillion in Q3, lifting the public sector's share of new proposals to nearly 36% from under 30% in Q2

India Energy Week kickstarts in Goa on Tuesday amid geopolitical turmoil

The country is hosting the fourth edition of IEW, bringing global energy ministers, industry leaders, policymakers, financial institutions, academia and technology providers on a common platform

E2W companies seek PM E-Drive subsidy extension beyond March 2026

Industry executives say incentives continue to play a role in easing upfront cost concerns for price-sensitive buyers

Global firms take 58% share of office leasing in 7 Indian cities: Report

Global companies remained major demand driver for office space in India during 2025 as they leased nearly 60 per cent of ofifce spaces in India's seven major cities to expand their businesses, according to JLL India. According to data by real estate consultant JLL India, the gross leasing of office spaces rose by 8 per cent to record 83.3 million square feet last year across seven major cities from 77.2 million square feet in the preceding year. These seven cities are Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata. Out of the total leasing, the global firms took on lease 48.6 million square feet office last year, contributing 58 per cent to the total office demand. Availability of skilled English speaking talent and supply of premium office space at a very affordable rentals are the major factors that attract global firms to invest in India. Global firms took 31.4 million square feet area for setting up of Global Capability Centres (GCCs). Domestic firms absor

HFCL, ITI roll out India-made network routers for BharatNet project

Domestic telecom gear maker HFCL has started first large scale deployment of indigenously designed and manufactured network routers in collaboration with state-run ITI for BharatNet project, the company said. India's network router market is currently dominated by US companies after Chinese gears were restricted by the government under telecom security rules. "In a groundbreaking development at Rouri Gram Panchayat in Solan district, Himachal Pradesh, HFCL's domestically designed and manufactured IP/MPLS routers have been successfully deployed by ITI Limited, enabling Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) connectivity to rural subscribers. This marks the first time in India's telecommunications history that indigenous routing technology has been used to deliver broadband services to consumers," HFCL Managing Director Mahendra Nahata told PTI. The company has bagged orders for deploying over 80,000 network routers under the government's rural broadband project BharatNet. BharatNet is the world's

Banking ops to be hit on Tuesday as unions strike for 5-day work week

Banking operations of public sector banks across the country are likely to be impacted on Tuesday with the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) deciding to go ahead with a nationwide strike on January 27 to press for the immediate implementation of a five-day work week. The strike call by the UFBU, an umbrella body of nine unions representing officers and employees, comes after a conciliation meeting on January 23 with the chief labour commissioner failed to yield a positive outcome. With banks remaining closed on January 25 (Sun) and January 26 (Republic Day), the strike on Tuesday will result in a disruption of branch-level services for three consecutive days. "Despite detailed discussions during the conciliation proceedings, there was no assurance on our demand. Hence, we have been compelled to proceed with the strike action," All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), a constituent of UFBU, General Secretary C H Venkatachalam told PTI. All India Bank Officers' Confederation ..

APTRANSCO to complete 55 transmission projects worth over ₹9,000 crore

Transmission Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Ltd has set an ambitious target to complete around 55 major transmission projects worth over Rs 9,000 crore, said an official on Monday. Transmission Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Ltd (APTRANSCO) joint managing director G Surya Sai Praveenchand said 8,853 MVA of transmission capacity and 1,558 circuit km of transmission lines will be added to the state grid. "APTRANSCO has set an ambitious target to complete around 55 major transmission projects worth Rs 9,319.30 crore, which will add 8,853 MVA of transformation capacity and 1,558 circuit km of transmission lines to the state grid," he said while commemorating the 77th Republic Day at Vidyut Soudha in Vijayawada. According to the joint managing director, new 400/220/132 kv substations are being developed at strategic locations in Kakinada SEZ, Achutapuram, Gudivada and Ainavalli for supplying reliable power. He observed that Andhra Pradesh power utilities have accorded top priority to ...

Shedding China baggage, India's luggage brands unpack manufacturing at home

A quiet supply-chain reset is underway as travel habits change and indigenous brands gain support

Directors' cut: Bank board reform hangs in balance amid governance rethink

As the banking landscape grows more complex, board oversight requires urgent finetuning. Expect Mint Road to tighten governance frameworks

Embassy Developments pre-sales to jump 2.5-fold to ₹5,000 crore

Realty firm Embassy Developments Ltd's sales bookings will jump two-and-a-half times to Rs 5,000 crore this fiscal on strong housing demand, a top company official said. In an interview with PTI, Embassy Developments Ltd (EDL) Managing Director Aditya Virwani noted that the company's business activities have now gathered pace after the takeover of Indiabulls Real Estate (IBREL). "We have sold properties worth about Rs 2,000 crore in the first nine months of this fiscal," he said. Virwani expressed confidence that the company would be able to sell housing properties worth Rs 3,000 crore during the current quarter with the help of new launches of residential properties in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) as well as sustenance sales in the existing projects. Embassy Developments clocked sales of Rs 2,031 crore last fiscal as against Rs 1,838 crore in 2023-24. Virwani said the company is now completely focusing on completing a few legacy housing projects and also launching new ...

PM Modi urges industry, start-ups to prioritise quality in Indian products

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged industry and start-ups to focus on quality and resolve to make excellence a benchmark in manufacturing. In his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' radio address, Modi said Indian products should be synonymous with top quality and urged the industry to manufacture zero-defect products. "Let us resolve to improve the quality of whatever we manufacture. Be it our textiles, technology, electronics or even packaging; an Indian product should become synonymous with top quality," the prime minister said in his 130th Mann ki Baat address. He also lauded the efforts of youngsters who participated enthusiastically in India's start-up journey that began 10 years ago in 2016. "Today India has turned into the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world. These start ups are out of the box; they are working in sectors that were unimaginable even 10 years ago," Modi said. The prime minister said Indian start-ups are working in sectors as diverse as AI, space, ..

Adani kicks off next growth phase of Vizhinjam Port with ₹16,000-cr plans

The port has rapidly emerged as a critical transshipment gateway on India's southern coast, benefiting from its natural depth and proximity to major east-west shipping lanes

Indian crew world's most abandoned seafarers in 2025, figures show

Indians are the most abandoned nationality of seafarers for the second consecutive year as 1,125 cases of abandonment were logged at the end of 2025, a UK-headquartered global union of transport workers has found. The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) said that abandonment worldwide hit record levels last year as it released new data showing 6,223 seafarers abandoned across 410 ships. The ITF welcomed the Indian government's "blacklisting" measures to protect its seafarers from ships as a result of repeat abandonments and other bad practices. "It's nothing short of a disgrace that, yet again, we are seeing record numbers of seafarers abandoned by unscrupulous ship owners," said David Heindel, Chair of the ITF Seafarers' Section. "Every day, all around the world, seafarers face horrific violations of their human and labour rights, all so that bottom-feeding companies can make a quick buck at their expense. "It's very clear that this is a systemic issue in the indust

Rapido FY25 loss narrows to ₹258 crore; revenue rises 44% to ₹934 crore

Roppen Transportation Services, the parent company of ride-hailing platform Rapido, narrowed its consolidated loss to Rs 258 crore in FY25 from Rs 370 crore a year ago. According to financial data accessed via business intelligence platform Tofler, the Bengaluru-headquartered unicorn's revenue from operations rose to Rs 934.44 crore last fiscal year, reflecting a 44.19 per cent increase compared to Rs 648 crore in FY24. "Rapido has sustained strong operating momentum, driven by higher utilisation across our mobility offerings, sharper cost discipline, and the growing maturity of our platform. "As we scale and expand, our focus remains on sustainable growth, improving unit economics, and strengthening the ecosystem for captains and passengers across markets and categories through varied business models," a Rapido spokesperson said. Rapido plans to initiate its IPO process by the end of 2026. In November 2025, Rapido Co-Founder Aravind Sanka told PTI that the company expects to main

Ahead of Union Budget, industry seeks scrapping of Customs SVB

Ahead of Budget 2026-27, industry urges scrapping Customs SVB, proposing risk-based post-clearance audits to cut delays and compliance costs

ASF Group raises ₹1,250 crore funding for Gurugram office project

Realty firm ASF Group has raised Rs 1,250 crore from Alpha Alternatives to fund its ongoing prime office campus in Gurugram and reduce debt. In a statement on Thursday, the company said it has already received Rs 450 crore in funding from Alpha Alternatives and would get the remaining within the next six months. ASF Group's arm, ASF Insignia SEZ Pvt Ltd, is developing a 50-acre integrated commercial IT office campus at Vatsal Valley, Gurugram. ASF Insignia SEZ and its affiliates have secured a commitment of equity and quasi-equity investment of about Rs 1,250 crore from Mumbai-headquartered Alpha Alternatives. Anil Saraf of ASF Group said, "The investment from Alpha Alternatives reinforces the long-term fundamentals of ASF Insignia campus and our strategy of building an institutionally driven office ecosystem". The focus is on balance sheet strength, asset quality and creating a campus that continues to meet the evolving needs of large enterprises and global capability centres, on