Newscast

Government backs industry for upscaling flex-fuel engines

Hardeep Singh Puri, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister confirmed the readiness to launch the flex-fuel E20. To be made available from April 2023, the 20 per cent ethanol blend is a milestone, advanced by five years, from 2030 to 2025. At the International Conference on Biofuels, Puri assured manufacturers and suppliers of the sure demand from the consumer end to make their expansion a viable business. He committed a comprehensive, government support to the industry from supply, policy and the demand side. With the E20 blend attained by 2025, India could save an estimated Rs.30,000 crore per annum on foreign exchange. As a testimony of the infrastructure growing in parallel, he cited a three-fold rise in petrol pumps selling biofuels. From 29,897 in 2016-17 to 67,641 in 2021-22. He said, the demand is poised to grow to 10.16 billion litres by 2025.

Stable and brighter LEDs

In a new breakthrough, LEDs could turn stable and brighter. While plasma treating nano materials, the LEDs of the future could enhance stability, brightness and be affordable. Challenging until now for scientists, at the Centre for Nano and Soft Material Sciences (CeNS), an autonomous research institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), hopes are pinned on a simple treatment of the inorganic material of cesium lead halide nano crystals. Led by Dr Pralay K. Santra, the team is claimed to have found a mechanism of plasma treatment in the inorganic perovskite nano crystals. This is said to induce a crosslinking of the organic molecules, oleylamine, found to be on the surface of the nano crystals. It creates a stronger network of ligands that is known to provide better encapsulation and higher PL intensity. The team has filed for a provisional Indian patent and is actively scouting for commercial partners.

GST revenue inches higher

The gross GST revenue collected in the month of September 2022 stood at Rs.1,47,686 crore. In a further breakup, CGST stood at Rs. 25,271 crore, and SGST at Rs.31,813 crore. IGST has valued at Rs.80,464 crore (including Rs.41,215 crore collected on the import of goods). Here the cess is Rs.10,137 crore (including Rs.856 crore collected on import of goods). The total revenue of the Centre and the States after regular settlements in the month of September 2022 is Rs.57,151 crore for CGST and Rs.59,216 crore for SGST. The revenues for the month of September 2022 are 26 per cent higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year. This is the eighth month and for the seventh month in a row now, the monthly GST revenues have been more than Rs.1.4 lakh crore. The growth in GST revenue till September 2022 over the same period last year is 27 per cent. In August 2022, 7.7 crore e-way bills were generated, which was marginally higher than 7.5 crore in July 2022. Notably, the month witnessed the second highest single day collection of Rs.49,453 crore on September 20, 2022, with the second highest number of 8.77 lakh challans filed, next only to Rs. 57,846 crore collected on July 2022 through 9.58 lakh challans, which pertained to end of the year returns. September also saw more than 1.1 crore e-way bills and e-invoices, combined (72.94 lakh e-invoices and 37.74 lakh e-way bills) being generated.

Newscast

RBI Repo Rate Hike

The Reserve Bank of India hiked the repo rate, the rate at which RBI lends money to commercial banks by 50 bps again. Taking into account the prevailing adverse global environment, resilience in domestic economic activity and uncomfortably high inflation level, the policy repo rate was hiked by 50 bps to 5.40 per cent by RBI. This also brought about hikes in the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) rate adjusted to 5.65 per cent and the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.15 per cent. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to remain focused on the withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that inflation remains within the target going forward, while supporting growth, stated RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. The central bank’s growth projection for the Indian economy for 202223 is projected at 7.0 per cent with Q2 at 6.3 per cent; Q3 at 4.6 per cent; and Q4:2022-23 at 4.6 per cent. Here risks are claimed to have been broadly balanced. The growth for Q1 of 2023-24 is projected to be 7.2 per cent as per the analysis.

“Against the current challenging global environment, economic activity in India remains stable,” stated the RBI Governor. “While real GDP in the first quarter of this year turned out to be lower than expectations, it is perhaps the highest among major global economies,” he added. On inflation, he opined, the global geopolitical developments are weighing heavily on the domestic inflation trajectory, he said. The RBI Governor also stated that monetary policy has to carry forward its calibrated action on policy rates and liquidity conditions consistent with the evolving inflation growth dynamics. It must remain alert and nimble, he mentioned. Inflation inched up to 7.0 per cent in August from 6.7 per cent in July.

CAPACITY UTILISATION IN MANUFACTURING

Q1 Q2 Q3Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3Q4 Q1 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 CU Long-term average

CU (Seasonally adjusted) Source: RBI.

Newscast

Statiq and M&M collaborate

EV charging provider Statiq announced a partnership with Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M). It is aimed at offer a robust, accessible, affordable, and reliable mobility network across the country. Akshit Bansal, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Statiq, said, “We are delighted to partner with M&M as we share the aim to offer four-wheeler EV charging solutions across the country at a time of them launching their electric XUV400.” Veejay Nakra, President of - the Automotive Division, M&M said, “Our partnership with Statiq will ensure robust EV infrastructure solutions for all our customers, in the most seamless manner. It will enable faster charging and wider reach through our extensive dealership network across the country.” This partnership comes close on the heel of Statiq collaborating with Ather, to enhance the combined EV charging network in the northern states, with a special emphasis on the NCR region. Statiq is claimed to have installed 6500 plus charging stations including at Mangaluru in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan which it is looking to expand to a 20,000-strong charging network by the end of 2022.

Dr Raghupati Singhania honoured

Dr Raghupati Singhania, Chairman and Managing Director, JK Tyre Industries Ltd. was conferred the prestigious ‘Lifetime Achievement Award 2022’ at PHDCCI’s 117th Annual Session 2022. Celebrating India’s pursuit of self-reliance, the award was presented to Dr Singhania by Om Birla, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. As a prominent industrialist, Dr Singhania is known to be highly tech-savvy with a strong focus on innovation and has led transformation in each of his businesses. Known for having pioneered radial technology in India way back in 1977, Dr Singhania, on receiving the award expressed, “I am grateful and honoured to receive this prestigious award. I am thankful to PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry and jury members for conferring this honour on me. The award is a testament to JK Group’s efforts toward serving society with innovation and collaborative efforts. I would also like to thank my colleagues and industry partners for their support in our successful journey.”

Steelbird International recognition

Steelbird International was recently honoured at the Bosch India suppliers meet. This coincides with the centenary celebrations of Bosch in India. Manav Kapur, Executive Director at Steelbird International, received the award handed over in recognition as one of the long-term Bosch suppliers. Bosch is committed to an investment of Rs.1000 crore in localisation of Advanced Automotive Technologies (AAT) over a five year period. As per Dr Stefan Hartung, Chairman of the Board of Management, “Bosch India has brought together the best of German engineering and Indian entrepreneurship to develop innovative products across all segments.”

Newscast

Al Logistix and Sun Mobility partner

AI Logistix has partnered with Sun Mobility. As part of this partnership, Sun Mobility and AI Logistix plan to deploy 500 loaders and electric two-wheelers till March 2023. The plan is to add approximately 100 vehicles to the fleet every month with the initial deployment focused in Bengaluru and Hyderabad before expanding pan India. The partnership between the two companies will offer intelligent and customisable solutions to address everyday two- and three-wheeler mobility challenges.

Lohum partners Glencore

Lohum teams up with Glencore to produce lithium for battery manufacturing. Together, the firms have announced a strategic partnership to advance circularity in the Li-ion battery supply chain. Lohum will supply Glencore with 10,000 MT of specialty chemicals such as cathodes, sulphates, carbonates, and oxides of various metals used in Li-ion batteries over a five year span. Commenting on this partnership, Rajat Verma, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lohum, said, “Our partnership with Glencore underpins our global commitment to expanding the availability of existing battery resources through recycling. This major development will directly boost India’s battery industry and energy security, leading to large scale value creation in employment, domestic ecosystem growth, and import savings on the LIB raw materials.”

Valvoline All fleet Turbo Plus engine oil

Valvoline Cummins Pvt. Ltd. has launched ‘Valvoline All Fleet Turbo Plus’ (Haulage Expert) for high HP tractors and other agricultural allied implements. All Fleet Turbo Plus Haulage Expert from Valvoline is a testament to the brand’s commitment towards technological advancement for ground-breaking products. Designed and engineered to meet the specific needs of high horse power tractors whether on road or on farm, the industry-first product meets the rising complexities of new age tractors, reduces cost per hour due its longer drain interval and offers highest levels of engine protection when carrying heavy loads. It effortlessly meets the challenges that arise from wide applications of tractors and is adapted to the changing and expanding role of tractors.

Newscast / international

New STMicroelectronics plant

STMicroelectronics to build integrated Silicon Carbide substrate manufacturing facility at its Catania site in Italy. It is claimed to be the first-of-a-kind 150 mm SiC epitaxial substrate manufacturing facility in Europe. The new plant will support the increasing demand from the company’s customers for SiC devices across automotive and industrial applications as they transition to electrification and seek higher efficiency. The production is expected to start from 2023. Built alongside the existing SiC device manufacturing facility, the new project involves investment of around Euro 730 million over five years which will be supported financially by the State of Italy in the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and it will create around 700 direct additional jobs at full build-out.

Schaeffler acquires Paravan Technologie GmbH

Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG and Arnold Verwaltungs GmbH signed a basic agreement in which Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG will acquire Arnold Verwaltungs GmbH’s retaining 10 per cent stake in the joint venture company Schaeffler Paravan Technologie GmbH & Co. KG (Schaeffler Paravan). Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG currently owns 90% of Schaeffler Paravan and will own the company entirely once the transaction is completed. The firms have agreed not to reveal any financial information. Schaeffler will take over Schaeffler Paravan’s 70 employees and run the company under its own management. Schaeffler will also continue to maintain the highly successful relationships that Schaeffler Paravan has with its existing customers and partners. Schaeffler Paravan’s current Managing Director, Roland Arnold, is stepping down from his management role and will be succeeded by Clément Feltz, Head of the Chassis business division at Schaeffler. “We would like to thank Roland Arnold for his immense contribution to Schaeffler Paravan and for developing the globally unique Space Drive technology,” said Matthias Zink, Chief Executive Officer Automotive Technologies at Schaeffler AG.

NEI Global Technology Center

National Engineering Industries Ltd. (NEI), a subsidiary of the CK Birla Group and the manufacturer of the NBC brand of bearings established a Global Technology Center (GTC) at Würzburg (Wuerzburg), in Bavaria (Germany). The technology centre will focus on automotive and industrial application engineering, product development, and manufacturing technology. It will support the Euopean among other global OEM customers. It will also act as an extended arm for NBC bearing in India by driving innovation, implementing new ideas rapidly, responding to customer needs, and addressing market demands. Commenting on the new centre, Rohit Saboo, President and Chief Executive Officer, NEI, said “It is a moment of great pride as we start our very first GTC to focus on customer-centred bearings, an integral component to every kind of machinery.” Further, Andreas Knopf, Head of GTC, NBC Global (Germany) Gmbh added, “This centre will provide a strong impetus for growth to NBC, both from customer proximity and technology perspective.” To capitalise on the synergies, GTC will also work in close cooperation with NBC Global’s entity in Slovakia, Kinex Bearings.