Indian Oil – Rs 54,000 crore investment in TN
Indian Oil (IOCL)is the market leader in Tamil Nadu with a share of 56.4 per cent in domestic LPG, 36.8 per cent in petrol and 45 per cent in diesel. Tamil Nadu also is a major contributor to total volume sales for IOCL. In line with further strengthening the network and to increase its green footprint, IOCL has committed investment over a range of products:
- 9 MMTPA grass-roots refinery at an estimated cost of Rs 35,580 crore in about 1330 acres at Nagapattinam. This will produce petrol and diesel of BS VI specifications and also polypropylene
- New terminal at Asanur at about Rs 466 crore
- Terminal at Vallur at Rs 724 crore
- Captive POL/LPG jetty at Kamarajar port for Rs 921 crore
- World’s second largest integrated lubes complex at Ammulvoyyal village at a cost of Rs 1398 crore
- Product pipelines at Rs 2600 crore
- Gas pipelines at Rs 2225 crore
- CGD projects at Rs 7570 crore
- New retail outlets and modernisation at Rs 2500 crore
The centre aims to increase CNG from the present 6.2 per cent to 15 per cent of the nation’s primary energy basket by 2030. In line with this, Indian Oil has won rights for 5 geographical areas spread across 11 districts in Tamil Nadu. “We have already started issuing PNG connections in Coimbatore,” said VC Asokan, Executive Director and state head (TN and Puducherry), IOCL, and continued, “we will also establish 6 LNG dispensing stations in Tamil Nadu for fuelling of heavy vehicles. The pilot is complete in Sriperumbudur and others will follow soon. This will be an alternative to diesel and will be very useful for long haul vehicles.”
Mondelez India plant expands in Sri City
Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Y S Jaganmohan Reddy laid the foundation stone for the expansion of Mondelez India Foods in Sri City. With an investment of Rs 1600 crore, the facility will provide opportunity to 500 people and over 18,000 farmers are expected to be benefitted. “Sri City plant not only contributes to the overall growth of our business in India, but also stands as a model site for sustainability, new innovations and in areas like diversity and inclusion,” said Venkat Venepally, Vice President (Supply Chain), Mondelez India
This investment will add additional chocolate-making capacity over the next three years, making Sri City one of Mondelez International’s largest chocolate production plants globally.
Dvara KGFS and HDFC Bank to co lend to rural India
Dvara KGFS and HDFC Bank have entered a co-lending partnership aimed at providing business capital to micro business units operating primarily in the unorganised sector. Dvara KGFS launched its exclusive enterprise loans vertical in 2020, focusing on 3 primary value chains – grocery, dairy and agri. In line with its ambitious plans, Dvara KGFS seeks to extend credit to micro businesses across the 10 states that it serves and the collaboration with HDFC Bank is expected to help realise the same.
LVLN Murty, MD, and CEO of Dvara KGFS said, “This engagement will enhance our capabilities in empowering micro businesses operating in rural areas.”
Mr. K. Venkatesh, Executive Vice President and Business Head, Sustainable Livelihood Initiative, HDFC Bank said, “Our aim has always been to provide ease in accessing credit and finance. In this pursuit, we are happy to partner with Dvara KGFS which will serve to increase the credit flow to the under penetrated areas and encourage the beneficiaries to become self-reliant.”
Advancing housing and construction innovations
Habitat for Humanity, a global non-profit organisation working in the housing sector organised the Sheltertech summit. The event highlighted startups that are advancing housing products and services with focus on affordability and sustainability.
The construction sector is one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions. Addressing the gathering, Dr Ashok Jhunjhunwala, President IIT Madras Research Park and IIT Madras Incubation cell highlighted on the impact of materials used in construction, leading to excessive temperature rise within the house, driving up the need for air conditioning. He pointed to the need of innovation in this area.
Habitat’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter has supported 16 startups in India with product development, access to market and fundraising through grant funding, acceleration support, mentorship, and corporate connections. These startups have been able to establish their product market fit, find pilot opportunities, attract new investments and access new markets to successfully scale their business. Habitat has also supported startups within reputable accelerator programs like CIIE, Brigade REAP and Villgro Innovations Foundation, promoting market opportunities that address the housing needs of low-income households in the country.
The event also saw the launch of the Construction Innovation Hub (CIH) by Habitat for Humanity and Kerala Startup Mission. CIH will serve as a platform for construction value chain players like startups, building materials companies, housing finance firms, architects, engineers,… to share their sustainable construction experiences, best practices and solutions.
Semiconductor manufacturing gets charged…
Inaugurating the Semicon India 2023, Narendra Modi said, “There has been an exponential growth in India’s digital sector and electronic manufacturing. Few years ago, we were a rising player in this sector, and today, our share in global electronics manufacturing has increased several times.”
At present, India’s electronics production has more than tripled from about USD 30 billion in 2014. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20 per cent during the period 2022-26.
The semiconductor ecosystem is picking up steam. Though recently Foxconn stepped back from the USD 19.5 billion semi-conductor manufacturing joint venture with Vedanta, announced on working to apply separately to set up a unit. Now, Foxconn Industrial Internet(FII), a subsidiary of Foxconn that makes communication, mobile network, and cloud computing equipment plans to invest about USD 200 million to set up an electronic component plant in Chennai. It is expected to be completed by 2024. Earlier, FII had committed to an investment of USD 1.07 billion for a new plant in Karnataka. Foxconn is also in talks with Gujarat government to set up a plant to enter into the semi-conductor segment.
Vedanta group chairman Anil Agarwal stated that in 2.5 years, a Made in India, Vedanta chip would be available. In the first phase, the company plans to invest USD 5 billion of the overall USD 20 billion outlay. The company is in talks with some technology partners for it plans entailing foundary, chip manufacturing, packaging and design.
Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra announced that its upcoming plant in Gujarat would manufacture for both domestic and international clients. The facility has capacity to employ 5000 directly and 15,000 indirectly.
