- Friday, April 26, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
Here are news in brief related to Indian economy and business for Monday, September 26, 2022:
Film exhibition company PVR Cinemas will invest up to Rs 350 crore (£40.1 million) to open 100 new screens in FY23, a top official said on Monday, PTI reported. It also expects its mega-merger with Inox Leisure to close by February 2023, after which it will start to run as a combined business, PVR’s chief executive Gautam Dutta told PTI over the phone. Pointing to the company’s performance in the April-June quarter, he said patrons are coming back to halls to enjoy the cinema experience and the food and beverage sales are also up, which makes it more optimistic about expansion. “We will invest up to Rs 350 crore to open 100 screens in FY23. I see the same trend continuing in the next 2-3 years as well,” Dutta said, stressing that the expansion will be a balanced one across geographies. About 60 per cent of the new screens will be in cities where the company already has a presence, while the rest will be in newer ones, he added.
In a big step towards reducing dependence on imports to meet energy needs the government-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has launched indigenous production of AVGAS 100 LL, a special aviation fuel meant for piston engine aircrafts and unmanned aerial vehicles, Asian News International reported. “We are undergoing a remarkable transformation which is almost revolutionary. We are reducing dependence on imported fuels by promoting biofuel blending, green hydrogen and introduction of electric vehicles,” said Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Housing and Urban Affairs, while addressing the event to launch AVGAS 100 LL. The launch event hosted by Indian Oil Corporation at Hindan Air Force Station witnessed participation by senior officials from the Indian Air Force, Flying Training Organisations and the ministries of petroleum and civil aviation.
Birla-owned Hindustan Motors (HM) Ltd is expecting to complete due diligence for its proposed electric two-wheeler project with a foreign partner by the middle of October, a company official said on Monday, PTI reported. HM director Uttam Bose said the “structure of the joint venture (JV) will be finalised” during the due diligence process that has been initiated by both companies. The company, which once manufactured the iconic ‘Ambassador’ car, has tied up with a European entity to make electric two-wheelers by next financial year. “The due diligence process is expected to be completed by the middle of October,” Bose said.
Indian president Droupadi Murmu will on Tuesday inaugurate Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) modern Integrated Cryogenic Engine Manufacturing Facility (ICMF) in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on Tuesday (27), ANI reported. The facility, which would be spread out over an area of 4,500-square metres, will cater to the entire rocket engine manufacturing facility for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It will house more than 70 hi-tech equipment and testing facilities for manufacturing cryogenic (CE20) and semi-cryogenic (SE2000) engines of Indian space launch vehicles.
The Bombay High Court has given relief to Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani in an alleged Rs 420 crore (£48.1 million) tax evasion matter, ANI reported. The high court has asked the income tax department not to take any “coercive action” against Anil Ambani till November 17. The court has also stayed a prosecution notice issued by the income tax authorities to Anil Ambani for non-disclosure of the amount in two Swiss bank accounts. The income tax department had charged Anil Ambani with “wilful evasion” saying he “intentionally” did not disclose his foreign bank account details to the authorities.
Steel and ferroalloy units in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal on Monday alleged that their plants are becoming “uncompetitive due to sudden rise in power tariff” by DVC (Damodar Valley Corporation) as these entities started “regulating production by 30-40 per cent” to manage cost, PTI reported. A body of power consumers claimed that the tariff of Damodar Valley Corporation is now Rs 6.5 (£0.075) per unit in West Bengal, which is “higher by Rs two (£0.023)” than that in neighbouring Jharkhand. Situated in the Damodar river valley, the steel companies, mostly micro, small and medium enterprises, are concentrated in Asansol–Durgapur region in Paschim Burdwan district, Barjora and Mejia in Bankura and Sarbari area in Purulia. DVC is the main electricity provider for these steel and ferroalloy units in the region.
