Industry Insights

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved acquisition of Kesoram Cement Business from Kesoram Industries Limited by UltraTech Cement Limited.
The proposed combination relates to the acquisition of the grey cement business of Kesoram Industries Limited by UltraTech Cement Limited.
UltraTech is a public listed company in India and is engaged in the business of the manufacture and sale of grey cement, white cement, ready-mix concrete, clinker, and building products in India. UltraTech is also engaged in the provision of building solutions in India. UltraTech is a subsidiary of Grasim Industries Limited.
Kesoram is engaged in the manufacture of grey cement through the Kesoram Cement Business. Kesoram is also engaged in the businesses of rayon, transparent paper, and chemicals in India, which are not part of the proposed combination.
Detailed order of the CCI will be issued soon.

India is 3rd in the world in terms of e-waste generation.
A significant 95% of Li-ion batteries currently end up in landfills, while only 5% undergo recycling and reuse.
The Technology Development Board (TDB) (Department of Science & Technology) has entered into an agreement with M/s Remine India Private Limited, for setting up a commercial plant for recycling of Li Battery and E-Waste using indigenous technology at Eldeco, SIIDCUL Industrial Area in Sitarganj (District Udham Singh Nagar), Uttarakhand.
Through the agreement, TDB has pledged a financial assistance of ₹ 7.5 crores out of the total project cost of ₹ 15 crores.
The funded project entails the establishment of a commercial plant for the recycling of Li-ion batteries and e-waste, leveraging indigenous technology developed by the Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (CMET), Hyderabad.

Last date for submission of Expression of Interest is 30th April 2024
The European Union (EU) and India today launched an Expression of Interest (EoI) for startups working in Battery Recycling Technologies for Electric Vehicles (EVs) for a matchmaking event.
The EoI for the Matchmaking Event launched today, provides a platform for Indian and EU startups/SMEs in the field of EV Battery Recycling Technologies to pitch their innovative solutions and engage with Indian/European venture capitalists and solution adopters.
Twelve innovators, six each from India and the EU will be selected and get a pitching opportunity during the Matchmaking Event, scheduled for June 2024.
Six finalists (three from the EU and three from India) will be selected following their pitching presentations and awarded the possibility to visit India and the EU, respectively.

In a significant step towards sustainable development in India, REC Limited, a Maharatna Central Public Sector Enterprise and leading NBFC under the Ministry of Power, has successfully availed a Green Loan of Japanese Yen (JPY) 60.536 billion to finance eligible green projects in India.
The green loan facility benefits from an 80% guarantee by Italian Export Credit Agency, SACE (Italy) under their innovative Push Strategy programme.
The arrangement between SACE and REC is a breakthrough and a first-of-its-kind collaboration between an Indian government entity and SACE.
The green loan facility sets a benchmark in the Indian public sector landscape, for similar green financing transactions.
The facility also marks SACE’s first JPY-denominated loan transaction and first green loan transaction in India.
The Green Loan has loan participation from banks across Asia, USA and Europe, namely Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Bank of America, Citibank, KfW IPEX-Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation as Mandated Lead Arrangers.
Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank would be acting as the Export Credit Agency Coordinator, Green Loan Coordinator, Documentation Bank and Facility Agent.

Peru has emerged as the third-largest trading partner of India in Latin American & Caribbean Region.
In the last two decades, the trade between India and Peru has increased from US$ 66 million in 2003 to around US$ 3.68 billion in 2023.
The seventh round of negotiations for the India-Peru Trade Agreement took place in New Delhi, India from April 8 to April 11, 2024.
The next round is expected in June, 2024 will be preceded by intersessional negotiations over VC to ensure that outstanding issues are resolved before the two parties meet again.
Mr. Rajesh Agrawal, Chief Negotiator & Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, said that holding two rounds of negotiation within two months is itself a testimony to the willingness between both the countries to have a deeper economic cooperation.

2nd largest trading partner of India in Africa region.
Bilateral trade between India and Nigeria stood at USD 11.8 billion in 2022-23. In the year 2023-24, the bilateral trade stands at 7.89 billion showing a declining trend.
With a total investment of USD 27 Billion, approximately 135 Indian companies are engaged in Nigeria’s market.
These investments traverse diverse sectors, encompassing infrastructure, manufacturing, consumer goods and services.

The XVIFC has uploaded eligibility, terms of reference, remuneration and application form on its website. (https://fincomindia.nic.in)
Applicants desirous of being appointed to the YPs and Consultant on contract basis in the Commission may forward their application in the duly filled proforma, only by e-mail addressed to the Director, 16th Finance commission at manish.kr1975@nic.in with a copy to rahul.sharma89@nic.in expressing their interest.
No physical copy be sent for this purpose.

To launch a Market Study to understand the ecosystem around Artificial Intelligence and Competition in India, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) invites proposals for engagement of an Agency/Institution for conducting the study.
The last date for submission of proposals is 03.06.2024 (by 05:00 PM).

FGIT Global Updates