Manufacturing Financial News

Mint analysis of vehicle registration data from the Vahan dashboard shows the share of overall EV sales has risen from under 1% until 2020 to 8% in 2025. Adoption accelerated after 2021 amid a stronger policy push.Compare this with the government’s ambitious target of 30% EV penetration by 2030—it’s an unachievable goal.“Realistically, the aim looks extremely difficult to achieve; even with strong growth, crossing the 10–12% threshold by 2030 itself would be challenging under current conditions,” said Rajat Mahajan, partner and auto sector leader at Deloitte.The concern is not just about missing a numerical target.

Revised estimates of India’s gross domestic product (GDP) released on Friday by the statistics ministry show a slightly smaller output pie than previously estimated, but testify to the Indian economy’s resilience. The new GDP series with 2022-23 as its base year pegs growth in 2025-26 at 7.6%, higher than 7.4% estimated under the old series with base year 2011-12. The slowdown of 2024-25 also turns out far milder, with GDP expansion slowing to 7.1% from 7.2% the year before, instead of 6.5% from 9.2%.

manufacturing expansion.The government has amended the BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018, restructuring the framework for Scheme-II and Scheme-VII by formalizing a Self-Declaration of Conformity (SDOC) model for eligible notified products.“Under this system, manufacturers can obtain a licence to use the Standard Mark through registration based on self-declaration, backed by accredited lab reports,” said one of the two officials cited above, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity.Scheme-II refers to the registration-based certification framework under BIS, largely covering notified electronics and IT (information technology) products where conformity is established through third-party testing and documentation, rather than mandatory pre-licence factory inspection.Under the revised Scheme-II, the application fee and annual licence fee are fixed at ₹1,000 each, with a resource fee of ₹25,000 per application payable in advance. Applications involving multiple test reports will attract an additional ₹20,000 for each extra report, with the fee structure now formally codified under the Self-Declaration of Conformity framework.Queries sent on Friday to BIS and the ministries of consumer affairs and commerce remained unanswered till press time.However, easier access to BIS certification—needed to use the Standard Mark on notified products—is paired with stricter ongoing compliance.

free trade pact, opening up markets to each other in an uncertain global trade landscape. From India’s perspective, the agreement delivers unprecedented market access, with over 99% of Indian exports by trade value set to receive preferential or duty-free entry into the EU market.The rules provide some flexibility while still requiring clear value addition in India.

The global steel industry is a major polluter, accounting for about 7-9% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The traditional blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) manufacturing process is highly carbon-intensive, emitting an average of 2.33 tons of carbon dioxide per ton of steel.To align with the Paris Agreement's climate goals and pre-empt the imposition of aggressive carbon taxes, major steel manufacturers are actively shutting down their legacy blast furnaces and replacing them with electric arc furnace (EAF) technology.This transition is rapidly restructuring the global steel industry.

From gross domestic product (GDP) growth easing in the December quarter, to the government outlining a nearly ₹17 trillion asset monetization pipeline, IT stocks extending losses amid AI-driven concerns, India weighing contingency plans for crude oil imports, and a moderation in salary hikes, here’s a compilation of this week’s news in numbers.India's economy likely grew at 7.8% during the December quarter, slowing from 8.4% in the previous quarter, due to slower growth in agriculture and the non-manufacturing industrial sectors, and government spending cuts, data released on Friday showed. GDP growth is estimated at 7.6% for 2025-26, up from 7.1% in the previous year.

DOMS.About 17 slate-making units now operate in Pulwama district, employing nearly 4,000 workers, including local residents and migrants from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. But industry participants say raw material shortages are beginning to threaten that ecosystem.In a nearby shed, entrepreneur Manzoor Ahmad Allaie watches workers stack freshly cut slats against the wall. When the central government named Oukhoo India’s “Pencil Village” in 2020, he saw validation of years of investment.

Schaeffler India Ltd’s shares have risen over 7% after its consolidated Ebitda for the quarter ended December (Q4CY25) jumped 36% year-on-year to ₹506 crore, beating analysts’ estimates.The figure is adjusted for labour code impact. The automobile component manufacturing company’s earnings were supported by a relatively slower pace of growth in employee expenses and raw material costs, even though other expenses grew sharply by 44%.Plus, revenue growth was strong at 28% to ₹2,742 crore, aiding operating leverage and higher localisation, leading to lower import costs.The company follows a January to December financial year.

NEW DELHI: The timelines for peak fossil fuel consumption—including oil and coal in both India and globally—may be delayed further amid geopolitical tensions that are pivoting the focus towards energy security and countries deviating from their climate commitments, Shell plc's chief economist Mallika Ishwaran said.While decarbonization in road transport is under way, there is little progress in aviation, marine and steel, which would delay the energy transition journey and eventually, peak oil timelines, Ishwaran said in an interview."We are seeing oil persisting. Electrification of road transport happens anyway, and that displaces anywhere between 40% to 60% of oil demand in road transport, so that's the significant displacement.

A surge in domestic and international travel by Indians has turned India’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) luggage sector into a magnet for venture capital investment over the past few years, even as legacy players struggle under their own weight.According to data from the tourism ministry’s India Tourism Data Compendium 2025, Indians recorded 2,948.19 million tourist visits in 2024, a 17.5% increase over the previous year, while overseas trips rose 10.8% to 30.89 million.A host of startups are looking to cash in on this boom. Uppercase, a digital-first luggage and travel gear maker based in Bengaluru, is in talks to raise about $20 million in a Series C round as it sharpens its plans for overseas expansion and accelerates its offline retail rollout, Sudip Ghose, the company's founder, said in an interview with Mint.

A NITI Aayog report seeking to promote small cars and hybrids to reduce vehicular pollution has again brought the spotlight on India’s divided automobile industry.Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd has objected to the report prepared by a government panel under NITI Aayog to promote small cars under the upcoming fuel efficiency norms, and increase the adoption of multiple-fuel vehicles and hybrids, alongside electric vehicles (EVs).However, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd, the Indian joint venture of Japan’s Toyota Corp., praised the plan for a phased electrification approach and the inclusion of biofuel powertrains as zero-emission vehicles, according to a letter reviewed by Mint.The contrasting views mirror differences within the industry over whether to offer other cleaner or lower-emission vehicles parity with EVs, and if small cars should receive concessions under the corporate average fuel efficiency (CAFE 3) norms. While Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and Toyota seek support for a wider range of vehicles, including small cars, Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, which have invested heavily in EVs, have opposed it.The panel, set up by think tank Niti Aayog, comprised representatives from the ministries of road transport and highways, heavy industries, petroleum and natural gas, power, railways, and shipping, along with think tanks and industry representation from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam).

Sebi eight years, but it got there.The portfolio overlap restriction on sectoral and thematic funds is equally welcome. No sectoral or thematic fund can now have more than 50% overlap with other equity schemes, computed quarterly from daily values. Existing schemes get three years to comply or merge.This addresses a growing problem: thematic funds barely distinguishable from diversified ones.

New Delhi: India is shifting its strategy for solar component manufacturing from sales-based production-linked incentives (PLI) to an upfront capex-based subsidy for wafers, ingots and polysilicon, according to Santosh Kumar Sarangi, secretary in the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE). The ministry is developing financial-support schemes for agri-photovoltaics, floating solar and bioenergy, Sarangi said in an interview.To address 43 GW of unsigned power agreements, representing a ₹2.1 trillion investment, implementation agencies such as Solar Energy Corp of India (SECI) are negotiating project cancellations for unviable sites and securing state commitments for others.

NEW DELHI: With a new duty slapped on solar module exports to the US, Africa may become an alternative destination for India-made solar power equipment, a government official said.To push solar module exports and project exports, Indian developers can also set up green energy projects through the Renewable Energy Service Company (RESCO) model, Santosh Kumar Sarangi, secretary in the ministry of new and renewable energy, said in an interview."I believe Africa would emerge as a good destination for India. Not only module exports, but also for project exports, where people are able to go and set up projects as RESCO developers," the secretary said.Under RESCO, a company installs, operates and maintains a solar energy system on a consumer’s property.

The news that US authorities had slapped countervailing duties on solar imports from India, citing unfair government subsidies, left investors jittery. For Waaree Energies Ltd, given 30-35% revenue-share from exports and US manufacturing, fears around export viability and margin erosion took centre stage.

food safety monitoring and traceability by improving documentation of production and storage practices, according to the notification, reviewed by Mint.Such daily documentation will help ensure real-time visibility into food-handling practices across the supply chain, a government official said on condition of anonymity. Clearer documentation could also reduce disputes during inspections.The regulator has not specified the implementation date for the new norms and has invited comments until 5 April 2026.The proposal, notified under the WTO’s Technical Barriers to Trade framework, will apply to all licensees under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.Mint's emailed queries to the FSSAI chief executive Rajit Punhani remained unanswered.FSSAI data shows that it has issued licences to over 10 million food business operators (FBOs) with the number of currently active ones at around 4.63 million.An industry representative flagged compliance cost and regulatory friction that will accompany the new norms.“Daily reporting would add another burden on small businesses,” said Vinod Kumar, President, SME Forum that represents micro, small, and medium enterprises in India.

renewable energy. "So, our companies will have to challenge that in the appellate forum; but until then, this will continue, this 126% which has been imposed," he said.

backed by the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme—where the Indian government provides financial incentives based on incremental sales—and a minimum import price, Aurobindo is reversing that arc.In an exclusive interview with Mint, Madan Mohan Reddy, a whole-time director of Aurobindo Pharma, said the decision was far from impulsive. “It wasn’t a tough call to make,” he said.

Slow capital expenditure by the government in Q3 amid elusive private capex, a high credit-deposit ratio, the rupee continuing to underperform among EM peers even as foreign portfolio investors have turned net buyers in equities, and manufacturing activity cooling, here are five signals from the economy this month.After maintaining a high level of capital expenditure in the first half of the current financial year, benefitting from a low base, the Centre fell short in the third quarter of the financial year.This, economists said, proved to be a drag on the Indian economy, which is expected to see a slower growth of 7.4% in Q3 compared to 8.2% in the previous quarter. The Centre’s capex declined 23.4% year-on-year in Q3 compared to a growth of 30.7% in the previous quarter.To be sure, the decline has come against the backdrop of high capex during the same quarter last year, following a delayed spending due to Lok Sabha elections.

Mint first reported that IndiaRF has mandated Rothschild to help scout for buyers for the portfolio company that is seeking a valuation of about $1 billion.The stake sale underscores rising investor appetite for scaled API platforms with export-heavy books, especially as India’s pharma supply chain strengthens its position in regulated markets and private equity firms seek pre-IPO opportunities in defensible healthcare assets.“The exact amount of the ongoing fundraise is contingent to an acquisition that Synthimed is evaluating,” a third person said. “If the acquisition goes as planned, the round may potentially become larger with a primary capital infusion.

India’s long-held ambition to become a serious shipbuilding nation on par with giants such as China, South Korea, and Japan may finally get off the starting blocks in the second half of 2026, at a time when the Asian shipyards are packed with orders, with waiting periods stretching into several years.In the first instance of a global shipbuilding giant investing directly in core shipbuilding infrastructure in India, state-run Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) and South Korea’s HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE)—part of the HD Hyundai Group—are in final stages of forming a joint venture to set up a $500-million manufacturing facility in Kochi, with both partners contributing equally.CSL’s chairman and managing director, Jose V.J. said a CSL team would visit South Korea this month to finalise the deal.