Aware Financial News

exporters have to take urgent steps like devising mechanisms for monitoring emissions data, and providing incentives for the adoption of greener technologies to deal with the European Union's carbon tax as it would impact exports of sectors like metals, a report said. Suggesting a nine-step action plan, the report by Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that Indian firms have less than 40 days to prepare for the CBAM (carbon border adjustment mechanism) transition. The CBAM or carbon tax (a kind of import duty) will come into effect from January 1, 2026, but from October 1 this year, domestic companies from seven carbon-intensive sectors, including steel, cement, fertiliser, aluminium and hydrocarbon products, will have to share data with regard to carbon emissions with the EU. «The CBAM tax will start from January 2026, but there are penalties on not reporting, negligent reporting or mis-reporting of data from October 1, 2023, onwards,» GTRI co-founder Ajay Srivastava said. He said that the transition period for the tax, starting October 1, brings extensive data compliance requirements for Indian exporters. The GTRI suggestions assume significance as the EU on August 17 notified compliance requirements for the CBAM transition period, which starts from October 1 this year. «The CBAM documents exceed 800 pages of complex legal, technical texts, necessitating thorough understanding by the government and industry,» he added. The CBAM will translate into a 20-35 per cent tax on select imports into the EU starting January 1, 2026. India's 26.6 per cent of exports of iron ore pellets, iron, steel, and aluminium products go to the EU. These products will be hit by CBAM.

New Delhi: Chemicals and fertilizers minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday said India currently has more than 150 lakh tonnes of fertilizers in stock to meet the agricultural requirements of farmers throughout the country and ensure a comfortable opening for the upcoming rabi season as well as the ongoing kharif season. During discussions with state agriculture ministers regarding the availability and usage of fertilizers in India, Mandaviya emphasized the need to reduce excessive reliance on chemical fertilizers to maintain soil health.

Hartek Solar, which has recently been named among the top 3 rooftop solar installers in India by Mercom in CY 2022, is betting on floating solar. While talking to ET.com's Anil Satapathy, Simarpreet Singh, Executive Director, Hartek Group, said that floating solar power could be a game changer in the future. Simarpreet also talked about the company's hydrogen plans, PLI scheme, and other aspects of India's renewable industry.

Sachin Tendulkar will on Wednesday be designated as a «national icon» of the Election Commission (EC) to encourage greater voter participation in the electoral process. A memorandum of understanding will be signed between Tendulkar and the poll panel on Wednesday. As part of the three-year agreement, Tendulkar will spread voter awareness. «This collaboration would mark a significant step towards leveraging Tendulkar's unparalleled impact with the youth for increasing voters' participation in the forthcoming elections, especially in general elections (to Lok Sabha), 2024,» the EC said in a statement. Through the partnership, the EC seeks to address the challenges of urban and youth apathy toward voting. The EC has been associating itself with renowned Indians from various fields by designating them as its «national icons» to motivate voters to participate in the electoral process.

PTI quoting media reports. According to the report, Alvi sacked his secretary Ahmed and asked for the replacement of Secretary Ahmed, whose services were 'no more required'. Alvi sacked his secretary a day after he said he did not personally sign the Official Secrets (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Pakistan Army (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission was investigating Macquarie’s handling of the Nuix IPO when the then treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, appointed its former chief executive Nicholas Moore to lead an independent review into the “effectiveness and capability” of the regulator.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari is all set to launch the Bharat New Car Assessment Programme today at New Delhi. The intiative aims to highlight the government's commitment towards improving road safety by increasing the awareness around safety standards of motor vehicles of up to 3.5 tonnes.

Assembly elections, Telangana Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vikas Raj on Monday stated that the draft roll for 2nd Special Summary Revision (SSR) was published in all 119 Assembly Constituencies. As per the draft roll, the total number of voters in Telangana state stood at 3,06,42,333, wherein 1,53,73,066 are male voters and 1,52,51,797 are female voters and 2,133 voters belong to the third gender. The state has 119 assembly constituencies and the number of polling stations is 35,356. The total number of general electors in the state is 3,06,26,996.

EcoSoul Home aims to accelerate the movement towards a sustainable lifestyle by tapping Earth’s most renewable sources. With a diverse range of products in kitchenware, dinnerware and cutlery, the brand claims to drive the 3As of sustainability — awareness, availability and affordability.

Security expert Lt General (Retd) Sanjay Kulkarni cautioned against Rahul Gandhi's recent claim that India lost land to China, stating such assertions during ongoing talks could hinder diplomatic efforts. The comment comes as Rahul Gandhi contradicted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's stance, asserting Chinese PLA's encroachment.

The New Yorker. The assertion by the ex-Pentagon official is in stark contrast to Musk's statement from last year where he claimed he talked to Putin only once since the start of the war.

pension fund APG Asset Management, the World Bank's investment arm International Finance Corp (IFC) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) are in a race to invest up to $250 million (₹2,080 crore) in Mahindra Susten's renewable infrastructure investment trust (InvIT), said two people aware of the development. ET first reported on April 26 that several global investors including APG had evinced preliminary interest in investing in the Mahindra InvIT. Mahindra Susten's businesses include the Mahindra Group's renewable-focussed engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) unit (with more than 4 GW of capacity constructed) as well as an independent power production (IPP) unit with around 1.54 GW of operational solar plants. The entire 1.54 GW will be transferred to the InvIT. The portfolio has an enterprise value of about $1 billion, the sources said. «APG, IFC and AIIB are currently conducting due diligence on the assets that are part of the InvIT,» said one of the persons.

Omkara ARC has acquired ₹784-crore loan outstanding from PNB Housing Finance of Joyous Housing Limited. The transaction happened at par and helped the mortgage lender in resolving a significant non-performing asset. Omkara ARC bought the account in an all-cash deal, said two people aware of the development. PNB Housing Finance had announced the successful resolution of its large corporate non-performing account (NPA) account valued at ₹784 crore, which constituted around 1.3% of the loan asset as of June 30, 2023, according to a stock exchange announcement.

Dunzo’s valuation is proving to be a roadblock in new financing for the troubled quick commerce startup.Reliance Retail, the largest investor with 26% stake in Dunzo, is averse to the idea of slashing the valuation of the startup by nearly 50% in a fresh funding deal being stitched together by a set of existing investors, according to people aware of negotiations. For the telecom-to-retail conglomerate, a steep cut will mean a significant value erosion of its $200-million investment made in Dunzo during a $240-million round in January 2022, they added. The now cash-strapped startup, which also counts Google as one of its investors, was then valued at close to $800 million. Dunzo’s frenetic efforts to raise further capital will now depend on all its investors agreeing to a reduced valuation, people cited said.‘Must Finalise Valuation’ The sharp downturn in the Bengaluru company’s consumer business, from its peak during the Reliance Retail investment last year, has triggered the ongoing decline in Dunzo’s valuation. “There is a soft commitment of multiples of tens of millions for Dunzo, but for these conversations to close, the valuation needs to be finalised, and with Reliance Retail’s cash, the total pool can be widened, which the firm needs on priority,” said one person aware of discussions. In recent weeks, Dunzo has reached out to multiple family offices — such as Premji Invest, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon and others — in search of a new consortium of investors.

NEW DELHI : A central scheme for states introduced during the early days of the covid-19 outbreak to provide interest-free capital-expenditure (capex) loans will now come with strings attached as the government attempts to nudge states to implement specific reforms. Out of the ₹80,000 crore earmarked this fiscal for the ‘Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment’ scheme, ₹40,000 crore has already been disbursed without conditions; of the rest, ₹30,000 crore will be disbursed only if states can show progress on reforms or present specific project proposals, two people aware of the plan said on condition of anonymity.

Each milestone of India’s Chandrayaan 3 spacecraft has been cheered by the country, not least because its predecessor had failed to soft-land on the Moon in 2019. Last week, the Indian Space Research Organisation released images of the little-explored south pole of the Moon, as captured by its lander Vikram, that gave us close-up views of craters thought to hold many secrets.

NEW DELHI : The Union government is likely to press ahead with legislative reforms in the winter session of Parliament, targeting changes to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and the Companies Act on which substantial groundwork has already been done, a person familiar with the development said. Separately, an expert committee of the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) is set to finalize its recommendations for a digital competition law, after which it will be circulated for inter-ministerial discussions and then for consideration by the Union cabinet, the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

BJP on Monday attacked the AAP government over the arrest of a WCD department officer on charges of raping a minor and demanded resignation of minister Kailash Gahlot, claiming the accused worked as his OSD when he was heading the department. No immediate reaction was available from Gahlot over the issue. «The officer charged with raping a minor was serving as the OSD to the Minister of Women and Child Development (WCD).

NEW DELHI : Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Monday downplayed the possibility of Brics countries developing a common currency. Briefing the media, Kwatra said deliberations among Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have been focused on boosting trade in national currencies instead of on developing a common currency.

NEW DELHI : Vietnam is pushing for a visit to India by its Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, according to persons aware of the matter. India and Vietnam have forged a close strategic partnership in recent years.

Porsche is exploring opportunities to start assembly of its iconic model SUV Cayenne in India amid an “unprecedented surge” in demand, senior industry executives aware of the German luxury carmaker’s plans told ET. Porsche AG board members Detlev von Platen, executive board for sales and marketing, and Matthias Becker, vice president of region overseas and emerging markets, are in Delhi to meet senior government officials, the sources said. They are scheduled to meet officials at Invest India and Niti Aayog on Tuesday. “Porsche is examining possibilities to locally assemble the SUV (Cayenne) to avail of tax benefits and expand its footprint in this fast-growing space,” a senior executive in know said on condition of anonymity. The company’s sales in India grew 64% on year to 779 units in 2022 with Cayenne accounting for almost half of it, the person said. Porsche did not share any information on the development in response to a query from ET. India recently surpassed Japan to become the third largest automobile market in the world. The country imposes 100% import duty on cars with cost, insurance and freight value of more than $40,000 and 70% on cheaper vehicles.