The Reserve Bank of India has granted permission to HDFC Bank, along with its group firms HDFC Mutual Fund, HDFC Life Insurance, and HDFC ERGO General Insurance, to purchase up to a 9.5% aggregate interest in six banks.

The lender informed the exchanges that the six banks include Suryoday SFB, the sole small financing bank, Axis Bank, YES Bank, IndusInd Bank, and Bandhan Bank.

After the bank applied on December 18, 2023, to be a sponsor or promoter of the group, the regulatory approval was obtained on January 5, 2024. The approval is good until February 4, 2025, a period of one year.
HDFC Mutual Fund held 2.76 percent of voting rights in ICICI Bank, 2.49 percent in Axis Bank, and 2.23 percent in IndusInd Bank as of December 2023. While HDFC Pension Management owned 1.88 percent of IndusInd Bank, HDFC Life Insurance owned 2.92 percent of Suryoday SFB. As of December 31, HDFC Bank owned 3% of YES Bank.

The animal spirit is back in the Indian economy, according to Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran, and this is seen in the noticeable increase in private sector investment.  
"It has returned. How can the Indian economy develop at 7% if not? In an interview with PTI, he said, "You look at the manufacturing and services indices, the purchasing managers' index, the line between expansion and contraction, stock market performance."  
He continued, "It has returned, and the GDP figures reflect that."  
Renowned economist John Maynard Keynes used the phrase "animal spirits" to describe investors' confidence in acting on their investments.  
 

To examine the current problems with Paytm Payments Bank, Reserve Bank of India representatives and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met with Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder and CEO of Paytm, met with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) representatives and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman yesterday to discuss important ways to end the regulatory onslaught on Paytm Payments Bank, the company's partner.

After plunging 43% in three trading sessions, the share of the digital payments company has recovered 13% in the last two trading sessions.

According to chairman Anil Agarwal, Vedanta plans to invest $4 billion over the next three years to expand its capacity for producing gas and oil to 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. In an interview with ET, Agarwal stated, "I have invested more than $20 billion in oil and gas so far." "I have a plan to invest another $4 billion."

The $20 billion investment includes the sum Vedanta paid over ten years ago to acquire Cairn Energy's India division, giving them ownership of the most productive onshore oilfield in the nation, located in Rajasthan.

At present, Vedanta produces approximately 140,000 barrels of oil equivalent, comprising 100,000 barrels of oil. It is anticipated that in three years, oil output will treble to 200,000 barrels.

According to Agarwal, India must create at least half of the energy it consumes and drastically reduce its reliance on imports. Agarwal stated, "The world wants India to be a market," but Vedanta's goal is to assist India in reducing its reliance on foreign energy.

The plan to establish a green field integrated steel plant at an estimated cost of Rs 6,000 crore, with an increased capacity of 2 million tons from the previous proposal of 1 million tons, has been accepted by the Godawari Power board.

When all regulatory licenses and environmental clearances are obtained, the project should be finished in around 36 months.

The flagship company of the Hira Group of Industries, situated in Chhattisgarh, is Godawari Power & Ispat. The company has a vertically integrated steel production in Raipur, two captive iron ore mines, and a pellet facility. In addition to pre-fab structures, the steel plant produces billets, MS rounds, HB wires, ferro alloys, and sponge iron.

The third-quarter profit of Indian steel pipe manufacturer Welspun Corp. increased by more than twelve times on Tuesday, with robust demand for the company's pipes across several industries offsetting a rise in expenses.

India, the second-largest producer of crude steel worldwide, had a spike in steel consumption around this time, indicating robust pre-election government spending in one of the world's fastest-growing economies.

Welspun announced a sharp increase in demand for its pipes, which are utilized in infrastructure, irrigation, and gas pipelines, and predicted future demand due to ongoing government expenditure.For the quarter that concluded on December 31, the company declared a combined net profit of ?292 crore ($35.2 million), up from ?23.2 crore in the same period the previous year.

In response to climate change and water security, Hindustan Zinc has received an A- rating from CDP, Disclosure Insight Action. The company's dedication to realizing their goal of Net Zero emissions is reflected in the ranking. The company's attempts to be sustainable are motivated by a calculated decision to reduce and mitigate their impact on biodiversity, air quality, water quality, land use, and climate.

"We are delighted to have been included on the CDP Climate "A-" List (Leadership Band) for our dedicated efforts towards mitigating climate change and water security challenges," stated Mr. Arun Misra, CEO of Hindustan Zinc, in reference to this accomplishment. This demonstrates our dedication to openness and action. Water security has always been a problem, and there is little doubt that one of the biggest risks to human survival is climate change. We have actively sought innovation throughout our operations to address these problems and boost productivity and efficiency while maintaining a steady emphasis on creating a sustainable future.

In order to help businesses, cities, states, and regions manage their environmental impact and step up their climate action, CDP, a non-profit charity, monitors global disclosure. It is commonly acknowledged that the annual environmental disclosure and scoring procedure of CDP represents the pinnacle of corporate environmental transparency.

The chairman of Vedanta Resources told Moneycontrol in an exclusive interview on the fringes of the second India Energy Week that mining giant Vedanta is in a comfortable position to manage its debt, cushioned by the $1.3 billion loan the company secured along with the dividend and royalties that it will earn.

Vedanta was reportedly in negotiations with Standard Chartered Bank last year for a loan of between $1.2 and $1.3 billion secured by brand fee receivables. Aggarwal did not, however, provide any more information regarding the approved loan.

"We have 5 years, in 5 years we have to pay the entire debt and that should be more comfortable for us what we get a dividend, what we get the royalty should be more than enough for us to clear this," Aggarwal said.

In order to pay back lenders, the corporation is now relying on dividends, royalties, and proceeds from the sale of non-core assets. In FY23, VRL was paid out $2.5 billion in dividends. In FY23, it received $327 million in trademark fees from Hindustan Zinc, Vedanta Ltd., and other subsidiaries.

Tata Steel will keep making investments in Jamshedpur but won't be growing its Jamshedpur facility. According to TV Narendran, MD and CEO of Tata Steel, the steel firm would keep investing in its subsidiary businesses, such as Tinplate, ISWP, Tata Steel Long Products, and others.

"Jamshedpur is important for Tata Steel, and there is no room for expansion of the company's mother plant," stated Narendran. The factory is located in the center of the city.

"2022 has been a roller coaster ride," he reported. Although the year started off well, the corporation found it difficult to deal with the danger posed by Omicron. Luckily, it didn't have a big effect on the nation. The business will keep growing in spite of the difficulties posed by the recent Covid outbreak in China. Tata Steel workers are putting in a lot of effort to make sure the business is successful and long-lasting, and we also encourage Jamshedpur residents to do their part to support the community.

"The year 2022 has been quite an experience," he stated. Despite a strong start to the year, the company struggled to handle the threat posed by Omicron. Fortunately, it didn't significantly impact the country. Notwithstanding the challenges presented by the latest Covid outbreak in China, the company will continue to expand. Workers at Tata Steel are working very hard to ensure the company's success and longevity, and we also urge people of Jamshedpur to support the community in whatever way they can.

The coal industry is confronted with issues of closures, resource exhaustion (old mines), and economic unviability. In Maharashtra, one-fourth of the active coal mines will soon run out of resources, and at least 50% of them are not profitable.

Additionally, Maharashtra is the sixth-largest coal-producing state in India.
With a capacity of 87 MMTPA, it produced roughly 63 MMT of coal in 2022–2023. Over 89,000 official and non-formal jobs are supported by this sector in the three mining districts of Chandrapur, Nagpur, and Yavatmal.

In Maharashtra, there are currently more than 42,000 hectares of land with both closed and working coal mines. Moreover, more than 13,000 hectares are available with TPPs. Fifty percent of this acreage is located in the blocks that will need to begin addressing the concerns of ransomware beginning this decade.

A coal-based power station in the eastern area has drawn a bid of 140 billion rupees ($1.69 billion) from Jindal Power, a division of India's Jindal Steel & Power Ltd, two persons familiar with the issue told Reuters.

The business has made a financial bid for the KSK Mahanadi facility, which is the subject of bankruptcy proceedings and is being pursued by a number of companies, including billionaire Gautam Adani's Adani Power and Anil Agarwal's Vedanta Ltd.

Constructed by KSK Energy Ventures, the 1,800 megawatt power plant is one of several insolvent coal-fired private power plants that have been entangled in bankruptcy procedures in recent years due to owners lacking the necessary cash and fuel supply to finish them.

Exporters of steel and stainless steel from India have to contend with new obstacles. A few years ago, 10 to 15 percent of the yearly production of local industries was exported. The export proportion was only 6.5% in 2023 after the Indian government imposed export taxes on steel and stainless steel.

Indian steel exporters are currently being disproportionately affected by the Red Sea issue, which has skyrocketed their logistical expenses. This is most likely partly because Indian maritime companies are attempting to take advantage of the circumstances in the Red Sea.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16JRe3En3lDLHY-4b5t7fsVHgp_10d3zp/view?usp=sharing

In January 2024, the Ministry of Coal reported a 10.30% rise in coal output, with 99.73 million tonnes (MT) produced, up from 90.42 MT in the same month the previous year.
Production at Coal India Limited (CIL) increased to 78.41 MT in January 2024, a 9.09% increase from 71.88 MT in the same month the previous year.

Between April 2023 and January 2024, the total amount of coal produced was 784.11 MT, up 12.18% from 698.99 MT during the same time in the previous fiscal year.
The amount of coal stock owned by coal businesses as of January 31, 2024, was 70.37 MT, indicating an annual growth of 47.85%. As of the same day, the coal stock at thermal power plants (TPP) was 36.16 MT, representing a 15.26% annual growth rate.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey R. Pyatt stated on Monday that there is a great deal of synergy between the US and India to assure alternate supply chains, particularly for renewable energy. The US and India have a strong focus on energy transition.

During his January visit to India, Pyatt discussed energy security, dependable supply chains, energy transition, and expanding business partnerships with private sector players in the country's fast expanding renewable energy industry.