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☆ Smoky skies in Indian capital on Diwali as revellers defy firecracker ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Neha Arora | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Smoke plumes were visible across the sky as revellers let off firecrackers in the evening to mark the country's biggest festival. Every year government authorities or India's Supreme Court impose bans on firecrackers - but only rarely do those bans appear to be enforced. Globally, air pollution was the worst in India's eastern city of Kolkata, while Delhi was the fifth-most polluted, according to Swiss group IQAir. Doctors say the air quality is likely to worsen on Monday as smoke from firecrackers lingers in the air, potentially causing itchy eyes and irritation in the throat. Some Hindus resent the Diwali firecracker bans, which they see as an attempt to interfere with them observing their religious festivals.

Persons: Health Organization's, Deepak, Dr, Ram Manohar, Gopal Rai, Neha Arora, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Health, Ram Manohar Lohia, Delhi's, Thomson Locations: DELHI, New Delhi, Kolkata, Delhi, Swiss

☆ India sets $800 per ton minimum export price on onions till end-December
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Workers of a retail chain sort onions at Manchar village in Pune, India, November 11, 2019. REUTERS/Rajendra Jadhav/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 28 (Reuters) - India has set a floor price of $800 per metric ton minimum export price on onions up to Dec. 31, the government said on Saturday, in a bid to ensure adequate domestic availability and to stabilise prices. The government also announced procurement of 200,000 tons of onions for its buffer, over and above the 500,000 tons already procured, it said in the statement. The south Asian nation had in August imposed a 40% export duty on onions up to Dec. 31 to improve domestic availability of the vegetable. Reporting by Baranjot Kaur in Bengaluru and Neha Arora; editing by David EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Rajendra, Baranjot Kaur, Neha Arora, David Evans Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Manchar, Pune, India, Bengaluru

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau upon his arrival at Bharat Mandapam convention center for the G20 Summit, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023. Canada on Thursday pulled out 41 diplomats from India, and had earlier paused trade treaty talks with India. India imports potash, lentils, and energy products such as coal, coke and briquettes among other goods from Canada. Bilateral trade between Canada and India touched $8 billion in 2022. Canada has invested more than $3.6 billion in India with over 40% of that being in services and infrastructure, according to Invest India.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Justin Trudeau, Evan Vucci, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, There's, Neha Arora, Nikunj, Mayank Bhardwaj, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Indian, Canada, Bharat, Invest India, Reuters, JSW Steel, Canada's Teck Resources, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, DELHI, Canada, Ottawa, Surrey, Vancouver, Canada's Teck

☆ Canada cuts some consular services in India amid murder row
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Yp Rajesh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A man on a bicycle passes by the Canadian High-Commision in New Delhi, India, September 20, 2023. The announcements affecting consulates in Bengaluru, Chandigarh and Mumbai came hours after Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said Canada has withdrawn 41 diplomats from India. Despite the dispute, two senior Indian government sources told Reuters the uproar would not spill into a trade dispute or impact investment, with imports from Canada continuing to flow. India has dismissed as absurd Trudeau's suspicions that its agents were linked to the murder of Nijjar, 45, a Canadian citizen whom New Delhi had labelled a terrorist. The Indian foreign ministry defended its downsizing of Canada's diplomatic presence and rejected Joly's statement that it violated the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations.

Persons: Anushree, Melanie Joly, Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh, Nijjar, YP Rajesh, Neha Arora, Nikunj, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Canadian, REUTERS, Reuters, Canada, Canadian High Commission, Immigration, Citizenship Canada, YP, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, DELHI, Canada, British Columbia, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Ottawa, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canadian, Vienna

It was unclear what stake JFE was seeking or what price it was offering. Japan's Nippon Steel (5401.T) has previously said it was looking to buy a 10% stake in Teck's coal business for C$1.15 billion, valuing the overall business at about C$11.5 billion, with an option of increasing its stake to 17.5%. Glencore has said it will consider buying the coal business for about $8.5 billion. JFE Steel holds 15% equity in India's JSW Steel (JSTL.NS), which was also exploring an investment in Teck's coal business. Price said the company had two options -- a 100% sale of the coal business for cash or a partial sale of the coal business, with proceeds going to growing the copper business.

Persons: Chris Helgren, Glencore, Major steelmakers, Teck, JFE, Jonathan Price, Price, Divya Rajagopal, Neha Arora, Denny Thomas, Nick Zieminski, Rod Nickel Organizations: Teck Resources, Developers Association of Canada, REUTERS, Rights, JFE Steel Corp, Canada's Teck Resources, Reuters, Japan's Nippon Steel, JFE Steel, JSW, Thomson Locations: Teck, Toronto , Ontario, Canada, Canada's Teck, Russia, JFE, Tokyo, Australia, Swiss, Toronto, India

☆ Exclusive: India's JSW Steel slows process to buy stake in Canada Teck coal unit -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Neha Arora | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The source said discussions between JSW Steel - India's largest steelmaker by capacity - and Teck over the stake sale had slowed down, although work on the paperwork continued. JSW Steel declined to comment. "We do not comment on market rumours or speculation," Teck Resources said in an emailed response to Reuters queries. JSW steel is one of the largest customers of Teck's coal business. For India, Canada is the fourth-largest exporter of coking coal used in the steel business, according to Indian government data.

Persons: Chris Helgren, Teck, JSW Steel, JSW, Glencore, Neha Arora, Divya Rajagopal, Clara Denina, Emelia Sithole, Mark Porter Organizations: Teck Resources, Developers Association of Canada, REUTERS, JSW Steel, Ottawa, British Columbia, JSW, Reuters, Investment, Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank, Japan's Nippon Steel, Thomson Locations: Teck, Toronto , Ontario, Canada, DELHI, India, New Delhi, Canadian, British, Vancouver, Australia, Russia, United States, Toronto, London

JSW held talks with senior LGES executives in Korea earlier this month, proposing a partnership to manufacture battery cells in India for EVs and energy storage, one of the people with direct knowledge of the discussions said. "Due diligence wise JSW is talking to a lot of people because it needs an ecosystem for an EV. JSW's billionaire chairman Sajjan Jindal has publicly aired his desire to build EVs and its talks to buy a stake in China's MG Motor (600104.SS). Toshiba said it is not able to confirm "at this point" if it is in talks with JSW for a partnership to build battery cells. Tesla is also eyeing India and is in talks with the government to build EVs and batteries there.

Persons: Danish Siddiqui, JSW, LGES, China's CATL, Sajjan Jindal, CATL, Narendra Modi's, JSW's, Ola, Aditi Shah, Neha Arora, Heekyong Yang, Daniel Leussink, Miho Uranaka, Zhang Yan, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Danish, Korea's LG Energy, Panasonic, Toshiba, JSW's, Tesla, General Motors, China's, HK, Reuters, JSW, Tata Motors, TVS, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, DELHI, Korea, Korean, India's, New Delhi, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai

☆ Exclusive: India's JSW Steel slows process to buy stake in Canada Teck coal unit, source says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Neha Arora | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Due diligence wise JSW is talking to a lot of people because it needs an ecosystem for an EV. JSW's billionaire chairman Sajjan Jindal has publicly aired his desire to build EVs and its talks to buy a stake in China's MG Motor (600104.SS). Toshiba said it is not able to confirm "at this point" if it is in talks with JSW for a partnership to build battery cells. All three sources declined to be identified as the talks are still ongoing and a final decision has not been made. Tesla is also eyeing India and is in talks with the government to build EVs and batteries there.

India's EV market is small, with Tata Motors (TAMO.NS) dominating sales that made up less than 2% of all cars sold last fiscal year. All sources declined to be identified as the talks are still ongoing and a final decision has not been made. Founded in 2015, Leapmotor has less than 2% share of China's fragmented EV market, where it sells four mass market electric models. This has also forced MG Motor India to find local investors like JSW so it can raise equity. Leapmotor also has been in partnership talks with other major automakers, including Stellantis (STLAM.MI) and Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), according to media reports.

Persons: JSW, Leapmotor, Sajjan Jindal, Aditi Shah, Zhang Yan, Neha Arora, Kim Coghill Organizations: REUTERS, DELHI, HK, MG Motor India, China's SAIC Motor Corp, EV, Tata Motors, MG Motor, Ford, JSW, Volkswagen, Thomson Locations: Jinhua, Zhejiang province, China, India, EVs, New Delhi, Shanghai

☆ Ukrainian deputy foreign minister due to seek Indian aid - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI, April 8 (Reuters) - Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova is due to visit India on Monday and will seek humanitarian aid and equipment to repair energy infrastructure damaged during Russia's invasion, the Hindu newspaper reported on Saturday. Dzhaparova is expected to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Kyiv, the newspaper said. Ukraine is keen to get an invitation to participate in G20 meetings and for Zelenskiy to be invited to speak to G20 leaders during the summit, the newspaper said. The Indian Council of World Affairs, a New Delhi-based think tank, said on Twitter it would host a talk with Dzhaparova on Tuesday. Writing by Neha Arora; Additional reporting by Krishn Kaushik in NEW DELHI; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

One of the government officials directly involved in the matter said New Delhi is "not comfortable" with foreign trade settled in yuan but said settlement in "dirham is okay." The second official said that India cannot allow settlement in yuan till the relations between the two countries improve. The five officials did not say whether there were also economic reasons behind India's reluctance to accept yuan settlement. Two banking officials, aware of the matter, said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is not keen on foreign trade settlement in yuan, and confirmed that the government has discouraged them from using the currency. They also said Russia was keen on yuan settlement as it helps them in purchases of goods from China.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to end the war and urged Moscow to reverse its suspension of the New START nuclear treaty, a senior U.S. official said. The Russian foreign ministry said Lavrov and Blinken spoke "on the move" for less than 10 minutes at the end of the closed-door session, and did not engage in any negotiations, Russian news agencies reported. Blinken later told a news conference he had told Lavrov to engage in diplomacy during the unscheduled encounter. [1/6] U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken (top L) walks past Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (lower) during the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi on March 2, 2023. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said the war in Ukraine had hurt "almost every country on the planet, in terms of food, energy, inflation".

[1/6] A man arranges the flags kept outside the venue for G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi, India, March 2, 2023. The Russian foreign ministry said Lavrov and Blinken spoke "on the move" but did not hold negotiations or a meeting, Russian news agencies reported. News of the exchange came at the end of the day-long G20 meeting which, as expected, was overshadowed by the Ukraine war. "Unfortunately, this meeting has again been marred by Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war against Ukraine," Blinken said. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said the war in Ukraine had hurt "almost every country on the planet, in terms of food, energy, inflation".

[1/6] A man arranges the flags kept outside the venue for G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi, India, March 2, 2023. European and U.S. delegates, in New Delhi for the foreign ministers' meeting, have however reiterated that they hold Russia responsible for the conflict, with Germany saying it would use the meeting to counter Russian "propaganda". "You are meeting at a time of deep global divisions," Modi said in a video message as the talks began. The foreign ministers' meeting comes days after a meeting of the G20 finance chiefs that was also dominated by war. The New Delhi meeting is being attended by 40 delegations, including those headed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang.

[1/5] A man walks past a model of G20 logo outside the finance ministry in New Delhi, India, March 1, 2023. Germany responded saying it would counter Russian "propaganda" at the G20 meeting. The foreign ministers meeting comes days after a meeting of finance chiefs of G20 countries in Bengaluru that was also overshadowed by Russia's war in Ukraine. An EU source separately said the EU delegation would not support a statement at the G20 meeting if it did not include condemnation of the war. The G20 includes the wealthy G7 nations as well as Russia, China, India, Brazil, Australia and Saudi Arabia, among other nations.

China and other G20 countries were aware that India was working on a proposal, the officials said. "China takes the debt issue of developing countries seriously and supports relevant financial institutions to put forward solutions," he said. The People’s Bank of China and the Finance Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. New Delhi expects the United States to be one of the main backers of its proposal, said one of the sources. India and the Paris Club of creditors recently told the IMF they supported Sri Lanka's debt restructuring plan as the bankrupt nation sought a $2.9 billion loan.

☆ India's JSW Steel sees exports at more than 10% of 2022/23 sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Neha Arora | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JSW Steel expects to sell 22.6 million tonnes of steel in the 2022/23 fiscal year, Rao said, while production is seen at 23.6 million tonnes. Rao said steel demand from Europe was weak but local production cuts were "very severe", helping the company to boost exports. Rao also said there were concerns about the potential dumping of steel from China and Russia into the country. "The global economy is not doing well ... Everybody is looking for markets where they can sell. In 2021, JSW Steel raised $500 million from sustainability-linked bonds, which are linked to the issuer meeting certain environmental, social and governance goals.

☆ India's finished steel imports from Russia hit 4-year high in April-October
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Neha Arora | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, Nov 29 (Reuters) - India's finished steel imports from Russia during April-October rose to their highest in at least four years, government data compiled by Reuters showed, underscoring Moscow's bid to divert shipments in the wake of Western sanctions. Russia accounted for just about 5% of India's total steel imports but was among the top five exporters. India's total steel imports between April and October stood at 3.2 million tonnes, up 14.5% from a year earlier. JSW Steel Ltd (JSTL.NS), India's largest steelmaker by capacity, said six to seven distressed Russian steel shipments arrived during the current fiscal year. Indian steelmakers have so far imported record 5-6 million tonnes of Russian coking coal in 2022/23, compared with less than 2 million tonnes last year.

☆ India scraps export tax on low-grade iron ore, some steel intermediates
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Neha Arora | Megan Rowling | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI, Nov 19 (Reuters) - India scrapped export taxes on low-grade iron ore and on some intermediate steel products beginning Saturday, after months of complaints from miners and steel makers about loss of foreign sales opportunities. The government also reversed a May rise in export tax on iron ore concentrates other than roasted iron pyrites. The additional taxation imposed in May was intended to boost domestic supply of iron ore, a raw ingredient for making steel, and thereby hold down inflation. Major steel makers have urged the government to unwind the additional export taxation, saying it added to their problem of weakening international demand. Indian producers of low-grade ore depend largely on foreign markets, because most major domestic steel producers use high-grade iron ore.

☆ India's SBI sees loan growth staying strong after record profit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The bank reported a 74% surge in quarterly net profit on Saturday, driven by higher loan growth and improving asset quality. Net profit rose to a record 132.64 billion Indian rupees ($1.62 billion) in June-September, beating analysts' forecast of 105.30 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and paid out, rose 13% to 351.82 billion rupees. "We should have credit growth of 14-16% in the current financial year," Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara said in a press briefing. Total provisions declined to 30.39 billion rupees in June-September from 43.92 billion rupees the previous quarter.

☆ India's October iron ore exports 'nearly zero' - mining body official
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Neha Arora | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

He said Beijing's strict COVID-19 curbs would also impact India's iron ore shipments. China's steel production could fall in winter, dampening the demand for iron ore, Sharma said. Low-grade ores comprised 92% of India's total iron ore exports. India's iron ore exports during the first five months of the current fiscal year that began in April totalled 6.97 million tonnes, a three-year low, data compiled by FIMI showed. Local iron ore prices in India have dropped, partly due to lower demand, said a spokesperson for state-run miner NMDC Ltd.

☆ Commodity stocks, Natwest drag FTSE 100 lower
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Johann M Cherian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies FTSE 100 down 0.7%, FTSE 250 off 1.2%Natwest falls to bottom of FTSE 100Glencore cuts core earnings guidanceOct 28 (Reuters) - UK's FTSE 100 fell on Friday, as commodity-linked stocks dropped on worries about widening COVID-19 curbs in China, while Natwest slumped after reporting a flat third-quarter profit. The exporter-heavy FTSE 100 (.FTSE) fell 0.7%, with mining (.FTNMX551020) and energy (.FTNMX601010) stocks shedding 2.8% and 0.7%, respectively, as oil and metal prices slid after top consumer China expanded COVID-19 restrictions. "I'm not surprised because the government here is desperate to find sources of revenue," said Stuart Cole, head macro economist at Equiti Capital. "Investors are now concerned about the government taxing the significant sources of revenue that banks and energy companies have been earning." Shares of NatWest (NWG.L) dropped 7.8% to the bottom of FTSE 100 after the company reported a flat quarterly profit, blaming bad loan charges from a worsening economic outlook and the cost of exiting its Irish business.

☆ INDIA STOCKS Indian shares may open higher, tracking Asia
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Indian shares are poised to open higher on Thursday, tracking strength in Asian markets in the backdrop of growing expectation the U.S. Federal Reserve may tone down its aggressive stance on rate hikes. India's NSE stock futures, listed on the Singapore exchange , were 0.55% higher as of 0159 GMT, while the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS), climbed 1.74%. India is the world's third-largest importer and consumer of oil, and a rise in crude prices have a direct impact on inflation. Foreign institutional investors sold a net 2.47 billion Indian rupees ($30.12 million) worth of equities on Tuesday, while domestic investors bought net 8.73 billion rupees worth of shares, as per provisional data available with the National Stock Exchange. ($1 = 82.0040 Indian rupees)Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Neha AroraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ INDIA STOCKS Indian shares may open lower, tracking Asia
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BENGALURU, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Indian shares are poised to edge lower at open on Tuesday, tracking weakness in Asian markets, with limited downside seen on the back of expectation the Federal Reserve may slow its pace of rate hikes. However, in the one-hour of trade, shares of Yes Bank Ltd (YESB.NS), ICICI BANK (ICBK.NS) and Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HLL.NS) fell between 2.8% and 3.9%. In addition, foreign institutional investors sold a net 1.54 billion Indian rupees ($18.61 million) worth of equities on Monday, while domestic investors bought net 801.2 million rupees worth of shares, as per provisional data available with the National Stock Exchange. ** Kotak Mahindra Bank (KTKM.NS) on Saturday reported a bigger-than-expected jump in net profit for the June-September quarter, lifted by strong loan growth. ** Yes Bank (YESB.NS)said on Saturday its profit fell in the July-September quarter as it set aside more provisions for bad loans recorded in previous quarters.

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