Business

Ahmedabad, July 10 (IANS) Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL), the flagship company of the Adani Group, and Dioxycle, a French clean-technology company specialising in chemical manufacturing, on Friday announced a long-term partnership to develop and scale low-carbon chemical production in India.

The initiative will begin with a pilot facility at an Adani Group’s site to produce formic acid using captured carbon dioxide and renewable electricity. Following successful validation, the partners plan to scale the technology for commercial manufacturing.

Formic acid and its derivatives are widely used across industries including textiles, agriculture and manufacturing. The project aims to demonstrate how captured carbon emissions can be converted into valuable products using clean energy, according to a company statement.

The partnership combines Dioxycle's electrically driven chemical manufacturing technology with Adani Group's clean-energy capabilities, infrastructure platform and project execution expertise to create a new model for sustainable and cost-competitive chemical production.

“We are proud to pilot India's first formic acid production facility powered entirely by renewable electricity and captured carbon. This partnership with Dioxycle is a testament to how strategic industrial synergies can turn carbon liabilities into sustainable, cost-effective economic assets,” said Adani Group Director Jeet Adani.

"This partnership demonstrates how clean technology and industrial scale can come together to reshape how essential chemicals are produced. India offers a unique combination of renewable energy, manufacturing capability, and ambition. Together with Adani, we aim to build a competitive and scalable model for low-carbon chemical production," said Sarah Lamaison, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-Founder of Dioxycle.

Beyond formic acid, the partners will explore opportunities to develop a broader portfolio of chemicals used across sectors such as energy, materials, packaging and manufacturing. Many of these sectors continue to rely on fossil-based feedstocks and face increasing pressure to reduce emissions.

For the Adani Group, the initiative marks a strategic entry into the chemicals sector, building on its strengths in renewable energy and infrastructure while expanding its portfolio of future-ready businesses.

The partnership also reflects growing India-Europe collaboration in clean technologies. As global supply chains increasingly seek more sustainable alternatives, India is emerging as a preferred destination for advanced manufacturing, supported by its scale, industrial capabilities and abundant renewable energy resources.

The initiative supports the twin national objectives of “Make in India” and Viksit Bharat 2047 by promoting technology-led growth, strengthening domestic manufacturing capabilities and accelerating India's transition to a more competitive and sustainable economy, the statement added.

--IANS

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Mumbai, July 10 (IANS) Indian benchmark equity indices opened sharply higher on Friday, tracking gains in global markets as a rally in chip stocks boosted investor sentiment, with information technology shares emerging as the biggest gainers.

During early trade, the Sensex was trading 701.73 points, or 0.91 per cent, higher at 77,443.55. The Nifty advanced 200.85 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 24,162.25.

Commenting on Nifty technical outlook, experts said that the 24,100–24,200 region is expected to act as the immediate resistance.

"A sustained breakout above this band would improve market sentiment and could support a recovery towards the 24,400 region," as per the expert.

"On the downside, the 23,900 level remains the immediate support, followed by the 23,800 mark. A decisive break below 23,800 could accelerate selling pressure and drag the index towards the 23,600 region," the analyst stated.

The rally was led by information technology stocks, with Tech Mahindra, HCLTech and Tata Consultancy Services featuring among the top gainers on the Nifty index.

The positive momentum extended to the broader market as well. The Nifty MidCap index gained around 0.7 per cent, while the Nifty SmallCap index rose 0.6 per cent in early trade.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty IT surged nearly 3 per cent to emerge as the top performer, supported by strong gains in technology stocks. The Nifty Metal and Nifty Consumer Durables indices also traded firmly in positive territory.

On the other hand, defensive sectors underperformed the broader market, with the Nifty Pharma and Nifty Healthcare indices witnessing the steepest declines during the early session.

Experts said that market sentiment remained upbeat after a rally in global equities, driven by strength in chip-related stocks, lifted investor confidence and supported buying across domestic equities.

"Tensions in West Asia continue without any clarity of a resolution to the geopolitical crisis. However, interestingly, markets are largely ignoring these negative developments," a market expert stated.

--IANS

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Auckland/New Delhi , July 10 (IANS) Calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit a landmark moment in India-New Zealand relations, New Zealand Revenue Minister Simon Watts said on Friday that the signing of the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) marks a major step forward for bilateral ties, opening significant economic opportunities for both countries while reinforcing their shared commitment to a rules-based international order.

Speaking to IANS in Auckland, Watts said the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is a 'major step forward' in bilateral relations and is expected to deliver substantial economic benefits to both nations.

"This is a major step forward in regard to our bilateral relations. It opens up significant economic benefits for both countries. It reinforces two countries with very similar outlooks in regard to rule-based order and a multilateral approach," he said.

Describing the visit as a "very significant moment" for New Zealand, Watts said hosting Prime Minister Modi underscores the strengthening relationship between Wellington and New Delhi.

"This is a very significant moment for New Zealand to be able to host Prime Minister Modi here. It really reinforces the strengthening of the relationship between New Zealand and India. The signing of the Free Trade Agreement is a significant step forward for bilateral relations, and this is a big step also for the Indian diaspora based here in New Zealand," he told IANS.

The minister also praised Prime Minister Modi's global stature, saying the visit sends a strong signal about the strategic importance both countries attach to the partnership.

"He's a significant player on the world stage. Our Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is very humbled to be able to host him here in New Zealand. It's a real reinforcement that Prime Minister Modi is in New Zealand. He's signalling that it's a strategic relationship and we're very much looking forward to hosting him here," Watts said.

Expressing appreciation for Prime Minister Modi's engagement with New Zealand, Watts thanked the Indian leader for strengthening bilateral ties through his visit.

--IANS

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New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) Meta-owned WhatsApp has reportedly submitted its response to the Centre's notice regarding its proposed 'username' feature, and the government is currently examining the reply.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had issued a notice to WhatsApp last week, expressing concerns that the proposed feature could potentially increase incidents of online fraud, phishing, digital-arrest scams and impersonation attacks.

The government had also directed the messaging platform not to launch the username feature in India until consultations on the issue were completed to its satisfaction.

The proposed feature would allow users to connect and communicate on WhatsApp without having to share their mobile phone numbers, offering an additional layer of privacy.

Following the notice, WhatsApp sought additional time to submit its response to the government. The company also assured the Centre that it would not roll out the feature in India until discussions with the authorities were concluded.

Sources familiar with the matter said the IT Ministry has now received WhatsApp's response and is examining the company's submissions.

However, there has been no official statement from WhatsApp on the response submitted to the ministry yet.

Earlier this week, IT Secretary S. Krishnan had said that WhatsApp's reply to the government's notice was due on Thursday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the CII GCC Business Summit in New Delhi, Krishnan also said that similar notices had been issued to Telegram and Signal over their username features.

"We will await the formal response to the notice that we have issued, and thereafter we will take a view based on what the response is," Krishnan said on Thursday.

On whether those platforms had responded, Krishnan said there was still some time left for them to submit their replies and that the government would examine the issue after receiving their responses.

Earlier, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had instructed ministry officials to summon Meta and seek an explanation regarding the alleged presence of child sexual abuse material in advertisements on Instagram.

--IANS

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Sejong, July 10 (IANS) South Korea's finance ministry said Friday it has decided to impose anti-dumping tariffs on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) paste resin products from four European nations starting next month on grounds they were imported below fair prices.

Under the decision, South Korea will impose anti-dumping tariffs of 25.79 per cent to 31.55 per cent from next month to August 2031 on the products imported from Germany, France, Norway and Sweden, according to the Ministry of Finance and Economy, reports Yonhap News Agency.

PVC paste resin refers to fine-particle resin widely used in interior building materials and other industrial goods, such as wallpapers and gloves.

The decision came after South Korean chemical firm Hanwha Solutions Corp. filed a complaint against a number of European exporters in July last year.

The country's trade commission launched an investigation the following month and recommended the finance ministry impose anti-dumping duties in June of this year.

"The government plans to continue monitoring products imported at low prices that cause disruptions in the domestic market, protect our industries from dumping activities and establish a fair competition environment," the ministry said.

Meanwhile, South Korean stocks traded sharply higher Friday morning, driven by a semiconductor rally.

After opening 3.57 percent higher, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) extended gains, adding 250.6 points, or 3.48 percent, to 7,545.51 as of 11:20 a.m.

The rise comes as U.S. stocks closed higher in overnight trading, buoyed by a strong rebound in semiconductor shares and easing oil prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.27 percent, while the S&P 500 rose 0.81 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.3 percent.

In Seoul, blue chip shares led the early run.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics advanced 3.78 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix also edged up 0.91 percent.

--IANS

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New Delhi, July 9 (IANS) India's next phase of global capability centre (GCC) expansion will be far more geographically diverse, with Tier-II and Tier-III cities emerging as key hubs of innovation, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday.

Addressing the CII National GCC Business Summit 2026 here, the Finance Minister said the first 2,000 GCCs were largely concentrated in metropolitan centres, but the next wave of growth is expected to spread across a wider range of cities as the geography of global value creation undergoes a transformation.

FM Sitharaman said future breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, engineering design and product development could emerge from cities such as Varanasi, Chandigarh, Visakhapatnam, Tiruchirappalli and Mysuru, just as readily as from established technology hubs like Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Gurugram.

"This locational choice is deliberate because the next phase of our GCC story cannot remain confined to a handful of metropolitan centres," the finance minister said.

The Finance Minister said that whenever a GCC establishes operations in a city, it creates a multiplier effect by generating demand for advanced skills and specialised training.

It also boosts start-ups, professional services, housing, urban infrastructure and research collaborations, while strengthening partnerships between universities, industry and local institutions.

"When a GCC establishes itself in one of these cities, there is a multiplier impact. It creates demand for advanced skills and specialised training," FM Sitharaman mentioned.

The finance minister said such developments help transform cities into vibrant innovation ecosystems and position GCCs as important drivers of balanced regional economic development.

"In doing so, GCCs become catalysts for balanced regional development. This presents an important partnership opportunity for GCCs in shaping the next generation of innovation-led economic regions across India," FM Sitharaman explained.

Highlighting the role of states, FM Sitharaman said the response from state governments has been encouraging, with each state possessing distinct competitive advantages.

--IANS

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New Delhi, July 9 (IANS) Central assistance of Rs 9,404.47 crore has supported the distribution of 21.61 lakh agricultural machines to individual farmers under the Sub‑Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM), an official statement said on Thursday.

The scheme also helped establish 27,554 Custom Hiring Centers, 646 Hi‑tech Hubs and 25,608 Farm Machinery Banks, the statement said, adding that and that beneficiaries owning individual farm machinery rose from 2.07 lakh in 2020–21 to 2.32 lakh in 2024–25.

Custom Hiring Centres are units comprising a set of farm machinery, implements, and equipment meant for hiring by farmers. The scheme also supports the development of hubs for hi-tech and high-value agricultural equipment, and the distribution of farm machinery.

SMAM expanded access for small farmers, women, and disadvantaged groups through targeted mechanization support nationwide, the statement said.

Special emphasis has been placed on underserved and North-Eastern States to address regional disparities in access to farm machinery and technology.

The mission also encourages the use of drones to improve agricultural operations. With financial support of Rs 52.50 crore under the scheme, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has promoted drone adoption through large-scale field demonstrations across the country.

Over 40,928 drone demonstrations covering 40,918 hectares were conducted with Rs 52.5 crore financial support, promoting precision agriculture adoption nationwide.

These demonstrations focused on the application of nutrients, fertilizers, and agro-chemicals in accordance with prescribed standard operating procedures.

To facilitate widespread adoption, SMAM provides financial assistance for drone procurement and demonstrations.

Eligible institutions such as ICAR institutes, KVKs, and State Agricultural Universities receive 100 percent financial support of up to Rs 10 lakh per drone for these activities. Farmer-Producer Organizations (FPOs) are eligible for grant support of up to 75 per cent.

Further, agencies utilising drones through service models are supported with a contingency expenditure of Rs 6,000 per hectare.

—IANS

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New Delhi, July 9 (IANS) Former ONGC Director (Finance) Subhash Kumar on Thursday said AustralianSuper's decision to invest an additional AUD 500 million in the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) reflects the growing confidence of global institutional investors in India's long-term economic and infrastructure growth story.

Reacting to the latest investment, Kumar said the additional commitment underscores the attractiveness of India's infrastructure sector and validates the country's policy reforms and investment-friendly environment.

He noted that sustained infrastructure development has become a key pillar of India's economic expansion and continues to draw long-term global capital.

"AustralianSuper's additional investment in the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks on the investment and US President Donald Trump's comments on Iran," he mentioned.

Echoing similar views, economist Rajiv Sahu said the investment demonstrates increasing international confidence in India's infrastructure-led development model under the Narendra Modi-led government.

He said the Centre has consistently prioritised infrastructure since 2014 by substantially increasing capital expenditure on highways, railways, ports, airports, urban infrastructure and connectivity projects.

"The PM Narendra Modi-led government has consistently prioritised infrastructure development since 2014, with major investments in highways, railways, ports, airports, urban infrastructure and connectivity projects," he mentioned.

He noted that the Union Government has significantly increased capital expenditure, allocating more than Rs 10 lakh crore in recent Budgets compared to around Rs 2 lakh crore a decade ago.

According to him, sustained investment in infrastructure has played a key role in helping India maintain an economic growth rate of over 7 per cent, despite global economic uncertainties over the past several years.

He said AustralianSuper’s additional investment is a strong endorsement of India’s investment climate and demonstrates the confidence of global institutional investors in the country’s long-term growth prospects. He added that the NIIF has emerged as an effective platform for attracting foreign capital into India’s infrastructure sector.

Sahu pointed out that infrastructure spending is being driven not only by the Central Government but also by state governments, private investors and public-private partnerships. Such investments, he said, are improving connectivity, reducing logistics costs, creating employment opportunities and enhancing India’s global competitiveness.

--IANS

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New Delhi, July 9 (IANS) India Inc’s revenue growth accelerated to 11–11.5 per cent year‑on‑year in the Q1 FY27, marking the fastest pace in two years, a new report has said.

Strong domestic demand and price hikes offset the impact of higher input costs triggered by the West Asia conflict, helping corporates to maintain strong growth rate, the report from ratings agency Crisil Ratings.

Even as supply disruptions in West Asia pushed up fuel, freight, packaging and feedstock costs, the resilient domestic demand helped companies across sectors to pass on a part of the higher costs to consumers.

Sehul Bhatt, Director, Crisil Intelligence said revenue growth in the past two years was powered largely by volume. “But this time around, pricing was the primary driver, contributing more to revenue growth than volume in sectors such as aluminium, steel, cement, airlines, fertilisers, and gems and jewellery," Bhatt said.

Growth was uneven across industries, but broad-based enough to lift aggregate corporate revenues, he added. India Inc’s revenue grew 9.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of FY26.

The report was based on Crisil's analysis of more than 400 listed companies across 47 sectors, excluding banking, financial services, and oil and gas.

The automobile sector led revenue growth, at 22-24 per cent year-on-year, supported by GST-led demand, healthy passenger vehicle and two-wheeler sales, stronger commercial vehicle demand, export growth and selective price increases.

White goods benefited from GST rationalisation, while telecom revenue rose nearly 11 per cent from premiumisation, higher data monetisation and migration to postpaid plans, the report noted.

Power generation revenue growth nearly touched 8-10 per cent, driven by an estimated 8 per cent rise in peak electricity demand. Primary aluminium producers saw 51-53 per cent revenue growth over supply disruptions, tighter imports, higher regional premiums and capacity additions.

—IANS

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New Delhi, July 9 (IANS) Zerodha founder and CEO Nithin Kamath on Thursday took a swipe at rival platforms on X after Groww, one of India’s largest retail brokers by active users, began offering regular mutual funds through its subscription service Groww Prime.

In a social media post, Kamath said many platforms that launched direct mutual fund offerings around the time Zerodha introduced its Coin platform have since “disappeared or pivoted to something else.”

Remaining competitors are “rethinking their choice of offering direct plans,” he said, adding that "Zerodha will continue to offer direct mutual funds for free."

His remarks followed Bengaluru-based Groww expanding its product mix to include regular mutual funds on its subscription-based Groww Prime platform. The product, initially launched for a select set of users earlier this year, has now been rolled out to the company's two-crore customer base.

Groww had previously offered only direct mutual funds, claiming them to be a low-cost investment option that can generate better long-term returns by eliminating distributor commissions.

Kamath said that Zerodha's pricing philosophy has remained unchanged since it pioneered the discount brokerage model in 2010.

"When we started the discount brokerage model in India in 2010, we decided to charge the same fee regardless of trade size. The logic was simple: if the effort to execute a trade is the same, why should customers pay differently?" he said.

Kamath added that Zerodha's philosophy remained the same even after the launch of Coin, choosing to offer only direct mutual funds instead of charging commissions through regular plans.

"You can't call yourself a discount or a low-cost broker if you charge a percentage fee on transactions, because there's no incremental effort in executing a larger order," he said.

Kamath also urged investors to check if they are holding regular mutual funds, adding that Zerodha would help customers switch regular funds to direct plans if they opted so.

—IANS

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