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From Steel Plants To Startups: How PM Modi Recast The Role Of Business In India

PM Modi’s challenge was no longer creating an industrial base from scratch but accelerating growth, creating jobs, and making India globally competitive

India's much N-eeded in energy mix

Over the past decade, GoI has expanded investments in solar power, wind energy, transmission infrastructure and pumped hydro storage. Electric mobility initiatives and domestic battery manufacturing programmes are also being promoted as part of a broader strategy to reduce oil dependence.Recent geopolitical developments in the Gulf, which largely supply India's crude and LPG needs, have brought renewed focus to nuclear energy as a stable domestic source for baseload electricity. A milestone in India's nuclear programme was achieved in April, when a prototype fast-breeder reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu attained first criticality. Developed indigenously by Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI), the 500 MWe reactor marks India's formal entry into the second stage of its 3-stage nuclear programme envisioned by Homi Bhabha.Also a welcome development is the latest news of GoI reportedly considering measures that include assured power purchase agreements (PPAs), to attract private sector investments in the nuclear energy sector. It is also reportedly preparing to notify rules under SHANTI (Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India) Act 2025.India's nuclear strategy has been designed around the country's resource profile. While it has limited uranium reserves, it possesses some of the world's largest thorium deposits. The 3-stage programme was conceived to enable large-scale utilisation of thorium for power generation.Thorium is not a fertile or fissile material, and has to be converted to fissile Uranium-233 in a FBR. The third stage aims to use U-233-based reactors for sustained energy generation. PFBR is important for the eventual thorium utilisation. India's thorium reserves, largely located in coastal monazite sands in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, are seen as a potential long-term strategic energy resource.Another significant development came with the passage of the aforementioned SHANTI Act last December. It modernises India's nuclear legal and regulatory framework, and allows limited private sector participation in nuclear projects.Traditionally, India's nuclear sector has been dominated by state-controlled entities. The Act is intended to streamline approvals, encourage investment, and support domestic manufacturing and technological partnerships. Reforms reflect recognition that achieving large-scale nuclear expansion will require both public and private participation.Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (Barc) is developing several advanced reactor designs, including 200 MWe Bharat Small Modular Reactor (BSMR-200), 55 MWe SMR-55, and a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) intended for hydrogen production. SMRs are expected to be modular, with modules produced under controlled conditions in a factory and assembled at the site in a short time. They are also expected to be safer, making them acceptable to the public.GoI has indicated that at least 5 indigenously designed SMRs will become operational by 2033. India has set a long-term target of achieving 100 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047. At present, the country's installed nuclear capacity stands at about 8.7 GW, contributing around 3% of total electricity generation. Coal continues to account for nearly 70% of electricity production. Achieving the 100 GW target would require substantial expansion in infra, manufacturing, financing and human resources.The Strait of Hormuz disruption has reinforced the importance of diversifying India's energy mix and reducing exposure to external supply shocks. The current policy direction reflects a combination of RE expansion, electrification, domestic manufacturing and renewed emphasis on nuclear power.The broad objective of improving energy security through a diversified and domestically supported energy system must remain a central policy priority. RE, along with energy storage required to balance it, remains the major first step. Electricity can substitute fossil fuels in many sectors. Coal can be replaced by nuclear as a baseload supplier.Nuclear projects involve high upfront capital costs and long construction timelines. Land acquisition and public acceptance remain sensitive issues. Waste management, safety regulation and development of skilled technical manpower will require sustained institutional support.Thorium-based technologies, although strategically important for India, have not yet been deployed commercially at scale in the world. Policymakers will need to balance investments across nuclear, solar, wind, storage and grid modernisation to ensure affordability and energy security.SHANTI Act, PFBR, investment in SMRs and increased private participation suggest that nuclear energy may play a larger role in India's long-term energy strategy than anticipated. We need an integrated policy framework to achieve energy aatmanirbharta.Saini is senior research analyst, and Parikh is chairman, Integrated Research and Action for Development (IRADe), New Delhi

Tata Steel shares dip over 2% as UK project may face 6-8 month delay amid electricity access issues

Shares of Tata Steel fell 2% to Rs 202 on the BSE on Monday amid reports that it may have to push back the commissioning timeline of its 1.25-billion-pound low-carbon steel project in the UK by six to eight months due to delays in obtaining access to the required electricity infrastructure.The company is building a 3.2 million-tonne electric arc furnace (EAF) at Port Talbot as part of its decarbonisation strategy. The project, which involves an investment of 1.25 billion pounds, is intended to replace the site's blast furnace operations of similar capacity that have now been shut down.Before the latest setback, Tata Steel had been targeting the start of operations by late 2027 or early 2028. However, delays linked to the power connection process have created uncertainty around that timeline, a news report by PTI stated. Koushik Chatterjee, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer of Tata Steel, said the company has been working with the Electricity System Operator (ESO) and National Grid on the new electrical infrastructure. However, National Grid has formally informed Tata Steel that its connectivity project is running behind schedule.According to Chatterjee, National Grid has flagged potential delays compared with the originally planned date for the high-voltage power connection. He said Tata Steel is engaging with all stakeholders, including the UK government, to minimise the impact and establish revised timelines, the report added. The company said major demolition work at the Port Talbot site has already been completed, while fabrication and delivery of equipment continue to progress. Access to higher-capacity electricity remains a critical requirement for the transition to electric arc furnace-based steelmaking.The project has secured 500 million pounds of support from the UK government and is expected to cut site-level carbon dioxide emissions by 90%, equivalent to around 5 million tonnes annually. Separately, the Port Talbot project site witnessed a fire incident on June 3. Tata Steel UK said on Thursday that all personnel were safely evacuated and accounted for, with no injuries reported. Chatterjee said Tata Steel is continuing discussions with National Grid and the UK government to address the issue and explore ways to reduce the delay."We are working with the UK government, the National Grid and ESO, which is the electricity supplier, to see if we can mitigate it, but somewhere between six months to eight months will certainly be there, maybe higher, after we have built the plant," he said while responding to a question on potential delays in commissioning the facility.He added that the company is evaluating options to shorten the delay but acknowledged that some slippage in timelines now appears unavoidable. "We are actively working to see if we can reduce it further, but there will be some imminent delays," Chatterjee said, without providing additional details.In May 2024, Tata Steel signed a connection offer agreement with the Electricity System Operator. Under the arrangement, National Grid is responsible for building the electrical infrastructure required to power the 3.2 million-tonne electric arc furnace by the end of 2027.According to information shared by Tata Steel, the National Energy System Operator (NESO) is a public body that oversees the connection process, including the connection contract with Tata Steel UK, and manages electricity grid operations across the UK.National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET), meanwhile, is the private company responsible for constructing, owning and maintaining the connection infrastructure.Tata Steel Group is among the world's leading steelmakers, with an annual crude steel production capacity of 35 million tonnes. The company also ranks among the most geographically diversified steel producers globally.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Oil India strikes natural gas in third Andaman offshore well

State-run Oil India Limited (OIL) has announced the discovery of natural gas in its third exploratory well, Vijayapuram-3, located off the Andaman Islands. This finding further strengthens the hydrocarbon potential of the region, with gas confirmed through continuous flaring and pressure build-up. OIL has now established hydrocarbon presence in two of its three wells in the Andaman offshore block.

Tata Steel shares fall 3% after fire breaks out at UK’s Port Talbot plant

The shares of metals major Tata Steel dropped nearly 3% on Friday after a fire broke out at the company’s plant at Port Talbot in UK late on Wednesday, forcing the company to temporarily halt operations at part of the site.Large plumes of smoke were visible from the site and could be seen across the surrounding area, BBC reported, adding that emergency services remained at the scene on Thursday and were working to manage the incident.Tata Steel UK meanwhile said that all personnel were evacuated safely from the affected area. It added that the incident was not related to the safe and successful demolition of the empty, redundant gas holder earlier yesterday evening. The Mid and West Wales Fire Service attended the site while emergency services worked with local teams to completely extinguish the fire, the company further said.The 3.2 million tonne facility is transitioning to an electric arc furnace with an investment of £1.25 billion, with the help of aid from the local government. It is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2027. Tata Steel has completed major demolition work of the blast furnaces for the transition, and is currently working on fabrication and delivery of equipment.Also read: Tata Steel eyes 9% India sales growth this fiscalIn October 2024, Tata Steel ceased iron making operations at its Port Talbot site and temporarily paused steel manufacturing, pending the construction of a 3.2 MTPA electric arc furnace. What this means for Tata Steel share priceICICI Direct highlighted that the fire has reportedly been contained, although the extent of the operational impact is yet to be assessed. “While the incident is sentimentally negative, the UK operations contribute a relatively small share to Tata Steel's overall business, and hence the impact on the company's overall performance is expected to be limited. We await further clarification from the company regarding any operational disruptions or financial implications arising from the incident,” it added.Tata Steel share priceTata Steel shares tumbled more than 3% to trade at Rs 204 apiece on Friday afternoon. The shares of the company have fallen around 2% in one week and 3% in one month. The stock is however up more than 12% in 2026 so far.In the longer term, Tata Steel shares jumped more than 29% in one year, 87% in three years and over 82% in five years. The company currently has a market capitalisation of more than Rs 2.55 lakh crore.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Tata Steel UK assesses impact after plant fire

Manufacturing sector emerges as key structural play amid global supply chain shift

Mumbai: Aggressive equity mutual fund investors looking to diversify beyond banks and information technology can consider an exposure to the manufacturing theme given the rising potential for the sector amid growing domestic demand and a focus of global companies to form alternative supply chains. Wealth managers, however, believe investors should consider this as a satellite allocation for their portfolio and stagger their investments over the next six months.The Nifty Manufacturing Index has a low overlap of only 19% with the Nifty 50. Investors looking to buy into segments absent in the Nifty 50, will find manufacturing a good fit. "The sector appears to be transitioning into the early-to-mid phase of a broader structural capital expenditure and earnings cycle-an environment that has historically supported sustained wealth creation," says R Sivakumar, chief investment officer, Axis Mutual Fund. Sivakumar believes after a relatively subdued 2025, the outlook for 2026 indicates recovery underpinned by continued policy support, strengthening domestic demand and Global supply chain diversification.131494387The BSE India Manufacturing TRI has gained 7.3% year-on-year and 15.8% annually over a three-year period, outperforming the 4% and 9.3% return of the Nifty 50 in that order. Despite the outperformance, analysts believe this theme merits investment as there are new opportunities coming up in the manufacturing space in addition to traditional opportunities.A rapid expansion in the global data center capacity has given rise to demand for power equipment, cooling systems, prefabricated industrial modules and speciality materials. In addition, geopolitical developments are forcing countries to move to green energy with focus on electric vehicles and renewables. Supply chain disruptions on account of tariffs in Europe are also bringing in opportunities for India.

Fire breaks out at steel plant in Chhattisgarh, no casualties

The fire department contained the blaze within a few hours and the police have launched a probe to assess the extent of the property damage

Adani Green to seek board nod to raise up to $1 billion

Adani Green Energy is set to seek board approval to raise Rs 6,150 crore ($750 million) to Rs 8,200 crore ($1 billion) through the qualified institutional placement (QIP) route, said people aware of the matter.Two group companies had got approval of their boards for fundraising on May 13 —Adani Enterprises (Rs 12,500 crore) and Adani Transmission (Rs 8,500 crore).The exercise is part of a group plan outlined internally last year to build a “three-year equity cushion” to support expansion plans.Adani Green has secured such capital-raising permission every year from its board except in 2021, as per a Bloomberg analysis.The capital raised by Adani Green Energy will be used to repay an outstanding $750 million, three-year bond issued in 2021 that’s due next year. The money is likely to be kept in a dedicated redemption reserve account and paid on the due date, said the people cited above.Renegotiating Terms With TotalThe original plan had been to prepay the bond after special Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approval but the company decided against this move.“We do not comment on routine business matters. All public disclosures on business matters are disclosed when appropriate,” an Adani Group spokesperson told ET.Adani Green is also renegotiating the terms of its agreement with French utilities giant TotalEnergies for a proposed $4 billion investment in a green hydrogen venture, having signed a memorandum of understanding in 2022. In February, Total said it was pausing the plan in the wake of the Hindenburg Research report on the Adani Group alleging stock manipulation and fraud. The Adani Group has rejected the report’s findings.Total had said it won’t immediately proceed with the plan that involved taking a 25% stake in Adani New Industries Ltd (ANIL), a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises.In June last year, ANIL and TotalEnergies had outlined a capex plan of $50 billion to set up a 2.5 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) of green hydrogen manufacturing capacity over the next 10 years, with the first phase of 1 mmtpa expected to be commissioned before 2030. Total had also made a total $10 billion capital commitment to the hydrogen venture, standing guarantor to 50% of the project’s debt, translating to $6 billion, ET had reported February 13.ANIL plans to manufacture green hydrogen and downstream products such as ammonia, urea, methanol and ethanol at its Khavda and Mundra SEZ facilities. The Khavda site has a land bank of 71,000 acres, which has a large-scale renewable deployment potential of 20 GW due to its high wind and solar resource potential.After the initial MoU, a more detailed ‘heads of agreement’ — pre-contractual negotiations for a commercial framework — was originally planned to be signed between May and September this year. But this is unlikely at this juncture.The Adani Group has, however, continued with the project work in Mundra on its own, aiming to complete a substantial part of the first phase of the integrated manufacturing ecosystem for ANIL by December.This involves 4.5 GW of solar module manufacturing capacity and 1.5 GW of wind turbine manufacturing capacity along with electrolysers, glass, aluminium frames etc. Analysts say over 5% of the total capex has already been incurred by Adani though the bulk of the work is scheduled for 2026-2028. Any binding agreement with Total is now expected only in 2024 or 2025 and the valuation and the overall commercial terms is likely to get altered as the French company is not incurring any of the greenfield project risks, they said.“We have 40 GW of land equivalent. We've been doing solar modules for the past five years. We know we will produce modules at 15 cents to 17 cents,” Robbie Singh, chief financial officer of Adani Enterprises, had told ET on January 22.Other than the green hydrogen project, Total has just over $3 billion of investments with Adani, including in gas distribution and solar projects, which it has played down as a small 2.4% slice of its total capital commitments.