Steel tycoon Sajjan Jindal plans to borrow $750 million for capital expenditure purposes as India's largest mill targets a major capacity expansion, according to people familiar with the matter.

JSW Steel Ltd., part of the $23 billion JSW Group, is sounding out lenders and a mandate is likely in the coming days, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The loan's tenor and pricing will be finalized later as the deal proceeds, the people said.

The Mumbai-based firm's need for cash has been growing as it aims to almost double its steel output to 50 million tons by the end of the decade to meet rising demand from construction, energy, and autos. Last week, it started work on a $7.8 billion complex in eastern India, and the company is also said to be in the fray for a 20% stake in Whitehaven Coal Ltd's Blackwater coal

Smaller steelmakers in India are pressing for a ban on exports of iron ore, after a surge in sales to Chinese mills pushed up local prices.

Indian exports jumped 170% to 44 million tons last year — most of which went to China — at a time when domestic demand for the raw material is rising. That’s prompted the worst-affected sections of the industry to seek restrictions from the authorities to protect their margins.

“We have asked the government to ban exports of all forms of iron ore — otherwise China’s steel industry will run and ours will shut,” Anil Nachrani, president of the Chhattisgarh Sponge Iron Manufacturers Association, said in a phone interview this week. “India should be an exporter of steel and not iron ore,” he said.

India's monthly steel exports hit an 18-month high to 1.1 million tonne in January 2024 on increased demand from the European Union and supportive global prices, SteelMint said.

Besides, competitive domestic prices of steel contributed to rise in export, the research firm said in its latest report.

The outbound shipment of steel in January 2023 was 0.67 million tonne, as per SteelMint data.

On reasons behind the surge in exports, SteelMint said, "good restocking demand from the European Union (EU) contributed 67 per cent of the 1.11 MT (export) in January. It was highest in last 18 months." While the price of hot rolled coil (HRC) in India's trade segment was at Rs 54,300/a tonne, the global rate was USD 710 per tonne (about Rs 58,000).

This factor also contributed to the demand for Indian steel in the global markets.

Overall, Indian steel exports may remain largely range-bound or fall slightly in the near term because of the "global trade lull induced by the Chinese lunar holidays and Tet festival in Vietnam," SteelMint said.

Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) has sought proposal for sale of non-core surplus freehold land parcels at its Visakhapatnam project. The move comes at a time when RINL is eying measures to trim debt. According to the request for proposal (RFP) document, RINL wants to sell 13.89 Acres of non-contiguous land plots. In all, 111 plots coupled into 19 blocks will be auctioned. The loan on RINL is estimated to be Rs 22,000 crore and annual debt servicing obligation is around Rs 3,000 crore.

The land being sold is spread across Visakhapatnam’s HB Colony, Maddilapalem, Auto Nagar, and Pedagantyada. NBCC (INDIA) Limited has been appointed as the Technical cum Transaction Advisor for the bids. PProperties can be inspected till March 5, and pre-bid meeting is called on February 28. The e-auction will take place from March 14 onwards.

Steel giant ArcelorMittal has said it cannot operate its European plants using green hydrogen, despite being granted billions of euros of EU subsidies to install equipment to do so, because the resulting green steel would be unable to compete on international markets. Instead, the Luxembourg-based steelmaker appears to be intending to use fossil gas instead of H2 indefinitely in its proposed “green steel” plants — or it may even delay the construction of subsidized “direct-reduced iron” (DRI) manufacturing units in Europe in favor of importing green hydrogen-derived DRI from abroad.

“We already know that hydrogen will be expensive in Europe,” Geert van Poelvoorde, head of ArcelorMittal’s European operations, told Dutch-language business magazine Trends. “We will not be able to use it because we would catapult ourselves completely out of the market.”

Producers such as ArcelorMittal are hoping to use hydrogen to decarbonize their steel mills, which together account for 7-8% of all global carbon emissions.

Traditionally, iron has been extracted from iron-oxide ore by burning carbon-rich coking coal in a blast furnace, where the fossil fuel produces high-temperature heat while simultaneously removing oxygen from the ore by converting it to CO2. This highly polluting method can be replaced with green hydrogen in a DRI facility, where the H2 reacts with the oxygen to produce steam (H2O) rather than CO2, but DRI plants can also be fuelled with cheaper fossil gas, reducing carbon emissions compared to a coke-fuelled blast furnace, but not eliminating them.

NEW DELHI, Feb 20 (Reuters) - (This Feb. 20 story has been corrected to fix the committed investments from 1,300 MW to 13,000 MW in paragraph 7. It also corrects the capacity from 2,000 MW to 20,000 MW in paragraph 15)

India will invite private firms to invest about $26 billion in its nuclear energy sector to increase the amount of electricity from sources that don't produce carbon dioxide emissions, two government sources told Reuters.

This is the first time New Delhi is pursuing private investment in nuclear power, a non-carbon-emitting energy source that contributes less than 2% of India's total electricity generation. The funding would help India to achieve its target of having 50% of its installed electric generation capacity use non-fossil fuels by 2030, up from 42% now.

The Ministry of Coal organised another roadshow in Mumbai on Wednesday aimed at promoting coal/lignite gasification projects across the nation. The event served as a platform to highlight the government’s scheme for the promotion of coal/lignite gasification projects, emphasizing their pivotal role in India’s energy landscape and economic development.

The Chief Guest of the event was Ministry of Coal's Additional Secretary M Nagaraju. Chairman of Western Coalfields Limited, Director (Finance) of Coal India Limited and Advisor (Projects), Ministry of Coal also participated in the event.

Attended by investors, industry experts, and stakeholders, the event showcased the government’s commitment to fostering innovation and sustainability in the coal sector. The Ministry of Coal aims to catalyse investments and technological advancements in coal/lignite gasification projects through strategic initiatives and policy frameworks, aligning with India’s vision for a cleaner and energy-efficient future.

Power sector PSU and India’s largest integrated power company NTPC Limited has signed a Land Lease Agreement in order to realize its green energy and green hydrogen objectives, thus also contributing to the Government of India’s efforts towards energy transition. The agreement, signed on February 20 between NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL) and Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC), is for the development of an “Integrated Green Hydrogen Hub”. The hub will come up on 1,200 acres of land near Pudimadaka village of Atchutapuram Mandal in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

The Government of Wednesday said the state-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) is likely to exceed its capex target of Rs 16,500 crore for the current financial year.

Coal India accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output.

"As we navigate through the current fiscal year of 2023-24, both CIL and NLCIL are on track to exceed their capex targets yet again... both CIL and NLCIL will exceed their annual capex targets, further bolstering India's economic growth trajectory," the coal ministry said in a statement.

The capex target of NLC India Ltd (NLCIL) for the ongoing financial year is Rs 2,880 crore.

The Ministry of Coal's capex target for FY24 is Rs 21,030 crore.

Over the past few years, coal Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) have been over-achieving their capex targets.

Paradip Port Authority, the state-owned entity that runs the Paradip Port in Odisha, will award an Rs554 crore work to Larsen & Toubro Ltd, India's biggest engineering and construction firm, to extend the port's south breakwater by 500 meters as part of a plan to dock fully loaded Capesize ships.

Larsen & Toubro quoted 9 percent above the cost of Rs508.52 crore estimated by the port authority for the work on a tender, the lowest among other bidders including Afcons Infrastructure Ltd, sources with knowledge of the bid said, asking not to be named.

The Board of Paradip Port Authority is expected to meet this week to clear the bid of Larsen & Toubro, said one of the sources, an official with the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, which controls the port, India's biggest state-run port by volumes.

Dethroning many global economies to become the second-largest steel producer in 2018, the Indian steel industry has come a long way. From a mere 1.1 million tons (MT) production in 1951, India's finished steel output increased to 121.29 MT in 2023. This is no mean achievement by any yardstick.The guaranteed potential is enormous. The industry is currently on course to attain the coveted 300 MT crude steel production capacity target by FY31 from around 164 MT at present. Existing and new players are investing further to get a pie of the gripping story unfolding around India, the lone bright spot in today's global economy galore with headwinds. Foreign companies have also made India their destination of choice. Many are in the pipeline.

And why not? India is blessed with the best quality iron ore, an incredibly supportive government, a conducive atmosphere for doing business, and overtly positive investors amidst a growing demand from 140 billion aspiring consumers. India is an investors' delight.

While nothing can stop India's onward journey, growing imports may dampen the steel sector prospects if not tackled early. We must rein in the burgeoning imports to avoid a situation like 2014-15. Dumping at predatory prices by global players with excess capacity had sent the Indian steel industry into a tizzy. The unprecedented rise in imports by 75% and 25% in 2014-15 and 2015-16, respectively, caused a rippling effect, resulting in a sharp decline in domestic prices and a lower sales realization for steel producers. The price fall led to a cash deficit, which they met through borrowings from banks and the debt market at a much higher interest rate.

About Rs 12,900 crore has already been invested in the domestic steel sector under the PLI scheme for specialty steel, an official statement said on Wednesday. In March 2023, 57 memorandum of understandings (MoUs) were signed for generating an investment of about Rs 29,500 crore in the sector by FY28. 

Besides, the scheme envisaged addition of 25 MT capacity for producing specialty steel grades and generating about 17,000 employment opportunities, Ministry of Steel said in an statement.

On the status of the scheme, the ministry said "as of December 2023, the selected companies have already invested about Rs 12,900 crore against an investment commitment of Rs 21,000 crore up to the current financial year."

It is expected that another Rs 3,000 crore will be invested by these companies during FY24.

As many as 5 units set up as part of the PLI scheme have begun production, and 9 more units are expected to begin production in this quarter, it said.

The ministry envisages an investment of Rs 10,000 crore in FY25.

It further said that investments in the steel sector have a long gestation period and depend on factors like procurement of various equipment, many of which are sourced from abroad.

REC Limited through its CSR arm - REC Foundation, has demonstrated unwavering support for the welfare of Ex-Servicemen and their dependents by making a contribution of Rs 15 crores to the Armed Forces Flag Day Fund, which will be used for the education of 12,500 children of ex-servicemen.

The commitment was sealed by way of a memorandum of agreement signed by REC's Executive Director (CSR) Taruna Gupta on behalf of REC, and Kendriya Sainik Board's Secretary Commodore HP Singh in New Delhi.

REC Limited's Executive Director (CSR) Taruna Gupta said, "At REC, we believe in the importance of honoring the sacrifices made by our Ex-Servicemen and their families. Our contribution to the Armed Forces Flag Day Fund reflects our commitment to their welfare and well-being."

While Commodore HP Singh said, "We are deeply grateful for the support of the REC Foundation. Their contribution will significantly enhance our efforts to provide assistance and welfare programs for Ex-Servicemen and their dependents."

The Armed Forces Flag Day Fund is dedicated to providing financial assistance, rehabilitation, and welfare measures to Ex-Servicemen, war widows, and their dependents.

The REC Foundation's contribution to the Armed Forces Flag Day Fund reaffirms its commitment to corporate social responsibility and its dedication to making a positive impact on society.

The RP Sanjiv Goenka Group, with revenue exceeding USD 4 billion, has expressed interest in exploring investment opportunities in the Northeast, including renewable energy.

The group officials had a preliminary one-on-one meeting with the Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), B L Verma.

He was in Kolkata for an investment roadshow for the northeast and met a few business houses from the region to understand the sectors and how the government can assist in taking forward the projects. 

According to sources, the RP Sanjiv Goenka Group has expressed willingness to explore hydropower opportunities besides evaluating other sectors.

Hydropower holds immense potential in the Northeast. Arunachal Pradesh government already had signed MoUs with central public sector undertakings to construct 13 projects likely to generate 13,000 MW of power and draw investment worth Rs 1.4 lakh crore.

CESC Ltd, the flagship company of the group, had already announced that it was exploring possibilities to make substantial investments in renewable energy generation of up to 3 GW in a hybrid portfolio through its subsidiaries in more than one state in the country.

State-owned NBCC (India) Limited on Tuesday said it has bagged a contract worth Rs 560 crore to construct a permanent campus of the National Institute of Technology, Sikkim. 

In a regulatory filing, NBCC informed that it has bagged a contract for the construction of the permanent campus of NIT Sikkim at Dung dung Khamdong, Gangtok, Sikkim.

The size of the contract is Rs 560 crore. NBCC is mainly into project management consultancy (PMC) and real estate.