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New Delhi: India’s leading electric bus and truck makers are planning to ask for a one-year extension on exemptions to import rare earth magnet motors — that are critical for electric vehicles (EVs)—under a central government scheme, three executives directly aware of the development said.According to the executives, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, manufacturers may seek an import relaxation till March 2027 under the ₹10,900-crore PM-E Drive scheme.The earlier deadline for e-trucks and e-buses to switch to locally manufactured rare earth magnet motors was March 2026, which was in turn extended from 1 September 2025.The extension is being sought as supply disruptions persist in imports, while local production of rare earth magnets and alternative motor technologies is expected to take another one to two years.Manufacturers such as Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Eka Mobility and Montra Electric are deliberating on sending a request to the ministry of heavy industries (MHI) to extend the import deadline, the executives said.A formal outreach to the government is expected in the next few weeks.

New-age electric bus manufacturers have stormed India’s biggest tender, picking up nearly 80% of the 10,900 e-buses on offer as part of the ₹10,900-crore PM E-Drive scheme, leaving legacy players with little to show for their efforts.Flush with recent investments, companies like PMI Electro Mobility and Eka Mobility offered aggressive, lucrative pricing, securing contracts for 5,210 and 3,485 e-buses, respectively.Among other manufacturers, only Olectra Greentech—an established electric bus manufacturer and a subsidiary of Hyderabad-based EPC company Megha Engineering—managed a partial win, bagging 1,785 e-buses.Bigger names such as Tata Motors and VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV) were caught off guard when the results, revealed on Wednesday, showed they had not won a single contract, according to three executives directly aware of the development. Chennai-based Ashok Leyland missed the tender entirely due to a technical glitch and has approached the Delhi High Court.Government officials and industry executives spoke on the condition of anonymity as the results are so far only known to the bidders and haven’t been made public.

₹5,500 crore in FY27 from ₹2,800 crore this fiscal year, according to two people aware of the discussions. This will underscore policy continuity in India’s electric vehicle (EV)-led transition, even as disbursals trail targets and newer automakers remain excluded.A proposal to this effect has been submitted by the heavy industries ministry to the finance ministry for the PLI scheme that has a ₹25,938 crore outlay over five years (FY25-29), and consultations are underway for the same, the people cited above said.“The scheme’s outlay is expected to be around ₹5,500 crore for FY27,” said one of the two people cited above, requesting anonymity.Notified in 2021, the PLI-Auto scheme aims to boost domestic manufacturing of advanced automotive technologies and position India as a global electric vehicle hub.

As part of a broader effort to cut costs, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) will shut down its 3G mobile services nationwide. The state-owned telecom operator also plans to terminate annual maintenance contracts (AMCs) with vendors such as Nokia and Chinese equipment maker ZTE for the 3G sites, according to two officials familiar with the matter and letters seen by Mint.The move comes as the state-run telecom operator focuses on its 4G network, having currently installed 97,481 4G towers across the country.

Mint reported earlier on 1 November that PMI, EKA and Olectra were eyeing this tender. EKA confirmed the development to Mint.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Payments banks are an odd hybrid—part bank, part wallet, part financial marketplace. They accept deposits like banks, but unlike full-service lenders, they are not allowed to lend.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: India is laying the groundwork for an ambitious push into autonomous vehicles while also supporting the rising demand for electric vehicles in the country.

Mint.The sustainable transport provider, which operates a fleet of more than 1,400 vehicles, is targeting BluSmart’s over 5,000 charging stations and technology stack, and has asked its interim resolution professional (IRP) to reopen the expression of interest (EoI) window after missing the initial deadline, said a person familiar with the matter.The firm is expanding its presence across its five cities of operation: Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai.To be sure, Refex Mobility is a wholly owned subsidiary of conglomerate Refex Industries Ltd, which had been in talks to acquire Gensol Engineering Ltd’s 2,997 electric cars leased to the electric cab operator, but dropped the deal in March after the latter’s ratings were downgraded.Arun, who exited the ride-hailing company during its debt-repayment crisis earlier in 2025, along with chief technology officer Rishabh Sood and chief business officer Tushar Garg, joined Refex Mobility in August as its CEO.In March, credit rating agencies Icra Ltd and CARE Ratings Ltd downgraded Gensol’s credit rating to junk due to delays in debt servicing, prompting Refex Industries to cancel the ₹315-crore deal with Gensol.In April, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) barred Gensol, its chief executive Anmol Singh Jaggi and promoter director Puneet Singh Jaggi from the securities market over charges of fund diversion.Soon, the operations of the Jaggi brothers and Punit Goyal-founded company came to a grinding halt, pushing its group companies into insolvency court.The National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) Ahmedabad bench commenced BluSmart Mobility's corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) on 28 July on a plea filed by Catalyst Trusteeship over a default

Can India’s insurance sector help mobilize more long-term capital? How much of a difference will the Centre’s proposal of raising its foreign direct investment (FDI) cap to 100% from 74% make? The sector was opened up to foreign insurers via joint ventures (JVs) in 2000, but state-run LIC’s dominance remains mostly intact. After the FDI cap was lifted to 74% in 2021, a few foreign insurers raised their stakes in JVs and we saw one new entry.Full ownership would mean no local partner can block key plans, so those stakes might rise further.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NEW DELHI: The electric vehicles (EV) sector is expected to take centre stage in Punjab, as the state lines up an expanded package of incentives to attract fresh investments under the new industrial policy that is likely to be launched in January.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. American automakers want to boost their profits by selling high-margin gas guzzlers today, all while not falling behind on electric-vehicle technology. It will be difficult to do both.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Last week, India’s telecom regulator proposed cutting the charges operators pay to use a set of airwaves known as microwave spectrum. These airwaves are not used by consumers directly.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NEW DELHI : Hopes that a landmark cut in federal taxes would provide a lifeline to struggling small cars like Maruti Alto, Spresso and Renault Kwid have been dashed, with latest sales data showing buyers continuing to favour bigger, more expensive vehicles. The trends come in the backdrop of an intensifying tussle between carmakers over policy support for small cars under upcoming emission norms.

Our ambition is clear. By 2047, when India marks 100 years of independence, it must be a developed nation: A Viksit Bharat. This means moving from a $4 trillion economy to $30 trillion.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NEW DELHI: Ola Electric Mobility founder and chairman Bhavish Aggarwal has pledged an additional 3% of his stake in the listed electric two-wheeler company to top up collateral against loans taken, as the stock continues to slide. Shares hit an all-time low of ₹33.20 per share on 9 December.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NEW DELHI : India's auto emissions roadmap is so conservative that it falls short of the industry's own targets for electric vehicle sales, two international agencies said. The US-based International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) and the Geneva-based International Road Federation (IRF) have separately urged New Delhi to reconsider further concessions under India's upcoming Corporate Average Fuel-Efficiency (CAFE) norms.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The recent success of several consumer tech companies in public markets has prompted Indian venture capital funds to back the next wave—startups using artificial intelligence (AI) to build products. Several companies have picked up early-stage cheques this year.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. It’s the last month of the year and with it comes a cramped work and social calendar, and a regular fitness routine can become the first casualty during a busy December. That means having to skip gym a lot more than usual, but there are ways to make up for it with a solid collection of workout videos to take you through the last few weeks of 2025.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi/Bengaluru: Ola Electric Mobility Ltd’s accounting approach to club about 12% of total costs as unallocated expenses in the July-September quarter — about twice the year-ago level — helped it report operational profitability in its scooter and bike business. Unallocated expenses were a fourth of the company’s net loss in the September quarter, up from a fifth in the year-ago period.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued guidelines for how banks can offer services through digital channels, following industry feedback on the draft guidelines issued in July. Coming into force on 1 January 2026, these rules tighten approvals for banks, raise compliance and customer-protection requirements, and strengthen disclosure and grievance-redressal standards.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Artificial intelligence (AI) is taking off in India. The country is now the second-largest market for OpenAI, whose ChatGPT service has 700m active users worldwide.