Recent 6 months news in Business

Dixon Technologies Ltd has signed a Joint Venture (JV) agreement with Taiwan-based Gemtek Technology Co Ltd to manufacture and supply telecom and optical connectivity products in India.

Under the agreement, the former will hold a 60% stake, while Gemtek Technology will hold the remaining 40%.

Bharat Forge Ltd has signed a long-term contract with Pratt & Whitney Canada, a subsidiary of RTX Corporation, for the supply of mission-critical aerospace engine components.

The components will be manufactured locally at the advanced aerospace facility of Bharat Forge Ltd in India.

IndiGo, the largest carrier in the country, has signed a $328 million financing deal with Citi to buy 8 narrow-body planes from Airbus.

This transaction marks the world’s first aviation financing insured by Credendo, a Belgian export credit agency (ECA). It is also the maiden ECA-backed aircraft financing structured through the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

Philip Morris India Trading Pvt Ltd (PM India) has partnered with Litterati, a global civic technology company, to launch the first phase of a 12-month anti-littering initiative named ‘Project Unmesha’ in Delhi.

Under the project, community science and AI-enabled image recognition will be used by Litterati to identify litter hotspots, map litter composition, and establish scientific baselines.

HCLTech has signed a global partnership agreement with Anthropic, an AI company, to expand the deployment of agentic AI across enterprises, with a focus on safety, cybersecurity, and governance.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the internal restructuring of the JSW Group, involving JSW Steel Ltd (JSW Steel), JSW Projects Ltd (JSW Projects), and BMM Ispat Ltd (BMM).

Additionally, the CCI has authorized the acquisition of a 100% shareholding in Vishavari Tollway Pvt Ltd and 9 Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) that operate road assets in India by Concessoc 41 SAS.

Tata Communications Ltd (TCL) has established a Centre of Excellence (CoE) at the Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology & Research Academy (SASTRA) Deemed University in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu.

The facility is dedicated to the domains of cybersecurity and digital forensics to advance research and technical proficiency in these sectors.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the acquisition of equity share capital in IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Ltd by the France-based BNP Paribas Cardif.

In other news, the CCI has authorised the indirect acquisition of a majority stake and voting rights in Everllence SE (including its subsidiaries) by funds managed or advised by Bain Capital Investors, LLC. This acquisition involves a share transfer from Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft (Volkswagen) to the funds of Bain Capital Investors, LLC.

NTPC Ltd (formerly National Thermal Power Corporation) has signed a 50:50 Joint Venture (JV) agreement with EDF Power Solutions India Pvt Ltd to develop, own, and operate low-carbon energy projects across India and neighboring countries.

Mastercard has exited the Pine Labs, a fintech company, by selling its entire 4.31% stake.

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Bank has signed an escrow agreement with MetLife International Holdings and Barclays group companies to sell a 0.5% stake in PNB MetLife India Insurance, lowering its total stake to about 2.53%.

Premier Energies has commissioned a 7 Gigawatt (GW) N-type TOPCon (Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact) G12R solar cell manufacturing facility in Naidupeta, Andhra Pradesh.

With this, the total solar cell manufacturing capacity of the company has increased from 3.6 GW to 10.6 GW, making it the largest solar cell manufacturing capacity in India.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has laid the foundation stone for the first port-based e-methanol production facility in India at the Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) in Kandla, Gujarat.

The project is being developed as a Joint Venture between the DPA and the Assam-based Assam Petro-Chemicals Ltd (APCL) with a total investment of ₹2,300 crore. The facility is designed to produce 150 tonnes of e-methanol per day to support maritime decarbonisation and establish India as a global green energy exporter.

Zoho has launched ‘Zia Chat’, a unified AI interface for business operations. The company also announced its entry into vertical Software as a Service (SaaS) by introducing 7 industry-specific applications.

These applications are designed to cater to sectors including retail, automotive, Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), healthcare, education, real estate, and restaurants.

Tata Steel Ltd (Tata Steel) has commissioned a “Coke Oven Gas (COG) Injection Project” at its Meramandali plant in Odisha. The project, implemented at Blast Furnace 1, is the first-ever initiative of its kind in the Indian steel industry.

JSW Group has signed a non-binding MoU with the Volkswagen Group, through Skoda Auto Volkswagen India Pvt Ltd (SAVWIPL), to form a proposed Joint Venture (JV).

The proposed JV will feature a 51:49 ownership structure and focus on the passenger vehicle operations of Volkswagen in India.

Akasa Air has successfully operated its first commercial flight using conventional Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) blended with 1% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), supplied by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL).

The flight, which departed from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai, marks a milestone in the sustainability initiatives of the airline. It is to be noted that this initiative aligns with the national goal to achieve 5% SAF blending in aviation fuel by 2030 to reduce the carbon footprint of the domestic aviation sector.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) US and PwC India have established a Joint Venture (JV) to integrate their advisory talent and capabilities. The JV will create a consulting powerhouse of 40,000 professionals on a single integrated platform.

The initiative aims to scale the global delivery model to assist cross-border clients in navigating technological disruptions and expanding operations.

Qualcomm Technologies Inc. has partnered with Amazon to develop customized AI chips for Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centres. The partnership is valued at over $60 billion.

Agnikawach Safety Solutions Pvt Ltd has launched ‘Agni Kawach’, the first indigenously developed AI powered safety platform of India.

The platform aims to provide protection against 8 major industrial hazards to establish a global industrial safety ecosystem. It is to be noted that the prototype of the platform has reached Technology Readiness Level 5 (TRL-5).

PhonePe, a fintech firm based in Bengaluru, has launched its first local operations in the UAE. The company has secured two licenses to offer consumer payment instruments and to provide e-payment acceptance infrastructure for merchants.