Author: Abizar Attari
News Editor

Mumbai: A consortium led by VA Tech WABAG has won a major contract to develop a sewage treatment plant in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) project comes with an initial treatment capacity of 100,000 m³/day, which will be extended to 250,000 m³/day. The Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) has awarded a bid to develop the Hadda Independent Sewage Treatment Plant (ISTP) to the consortium that also includes Etihad Water and Electricity Company PJSC,  SkyBridge Limited Company and Metito Utilities Limited, under a 25-year Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (“BOOT”) contract. The scope includes designing,…

Chennai: Investigative journalism platform Cobrapost has released a damning report of large-scale money laundering and related party fund diversions at Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company (CIFCL), a Muruguppa Group company. According to the report, almost ₹10,134 crore was allegedly routed through multiple transactions using the Murugappa Group company and eventually transferred to Murugappa Group family members. The report says that the alleged transfers were done through a complex web of related party transactions (RPTs), inter-corporate dealings and remuneration structures over several years starting from FY2017-18. Following the report, Cholamandalam has categorically denied the allegations, saying that the report is baseless…

New Delhi: India’s economy grew at 6.2% in 2025, supported by the pre-Diwali GST 2.0 reforms, high domestic consumption and improved tax compliance, even though the unreasonable Trump tariffs weighed heavily on the market sentiments. According to a report by Rubix Data Sciences, GST 2.0 has played a decisive role in strengthening India’s consumption-led growth. Despite a challenging global environment, with geopolitical tensions, shipping disruptions and rising import costs due to a depreciating rupee, India witnessed growth on the back of sustained consumption, with inflation moving into negative territory for the first time in a decade. The GST 2.0 reforms…

New Delhi: Ceigall India Limited has secured a major Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract to set up a 130MW solar energy project worth ₹550 crore in Madhya Pradesh. The project, under the PM KUSUM-C scheme, is expected to be completed within 18 months, according to a press release by the company. The company will also receive a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for 25 years after the scheduled commercial operation date.  The company received the Letter of Award (LOA) by the Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (MPUVNL), with the responsibility for  the design, engineering, procurement, construction, testing, commissioning and…

The global cryptocurrency market is witnessing intense pressure as economic weaknesses have triggered a correction across all digital assets. According to CoinGecko data, the crypto market has slid to $2.93 trillion from its all time high of $4.4 trillion in October. This has effectively wiped out the gains built earlier in 2025. Historically, higher interest rates have weighed on risky assets, including cryptocurrencies. The Bank of Japan’s interest rate rise to 0.75% has reinforced the global trend of monetary tightening. Along with that, the increasing preference for safe-haven assets like gold and silver has made cryptocurrencies unattractive, especially for the…

Mumbai: Brainbees Solutions Limited, the parent company of children’s apparel brand Firstcry, has announced the acquisition of KA Enterprises through its subsidiary Swara Baby Products, as per a press release to the bourses.  This acquisition comes at a time when Brainbees looks to move up the value chain for its apparel and sanitation products, with KA Enterprises being the best fit for the company.  The acquisition, valued at Rs.57.74 crore, is expected to be completed by December 31, 2025 subject to regulatory approvals. As per the agreement, KA Enterprises will become a step-down subsidiary of Brainbees, with the companies’ shareholding…

Ambala, Haryana: Saatvik Green Energy Limited (SGEL), a fully integrated renewable energy manufacturing company, has commissioned a 2GW in-house solar PV EPE (Protective Encapsulant) film manufacturing facility, one of the few in India’s domestic solar manufacturing ecosystem. This development is aimed at supporting PM Modi’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat ambition, extending SGEL’s manufacturing capabilities.  The newly commissioned plant is located at its campus at Ambala, Haryana, near its module manufacturing complex. With this plant, SGEL can reduce its dependence on imported solar components, improving its supply chain resilience and gaining tighter control over its quality and cost structures. EPE films are a…

Mumbai: The Adani Group has approved the consolidation of all its cement makers with Ambuja Cements, amalgamating ACC and Orient Cement into Ambuja, a move aimed at creating a pan-India cement brand.  According to the company, this merger would help deliver cost efficiencies and operational synergies, boosting the company’s margins by at least ₹100 per tonne across regions. The consolidation is also aimed at streamlining logistics, procurement and distribution, while eliminating overlapping operations across the three entities. Post merger, the combined entity will have a capacity of 107 million tonnes per annum, while the company’s brands ‘Adani Ambuja Cements’ and…

New Delhi: Deccan Gold Mines has started production and pre-commissioning trails at its Soltan Sary gold mine in Kyrgyzstan, India’s first overseas gold mine. Located in the Naryn region of Kyrgyzstan, the mine is being developed by Deccan Gold’s overseas arm and is expected to strengthen India’s overseas mineral assets, with the hope of securing supplies domestically. The company is targeting the processing of up to 30,000 tonnes of ore during the trials, which will include the production of saleable concentrate or dore bars. The Soltan Sory gold mine is estimated to hold about 4.65 million tonnes of gold-bearing ore,…

New Delhi: India’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) has continued to dominate India’s payments ecosystem, with small ticket transactions, mostly under Rs.1,348 on average, dominating the transaction volumes, which reached almost 106.36 billion in the first half of 2025. This translates to a 35% year on year surge from the same period last year, a report by Worldline says.  With smartphones being ubiquitous, UPI has reached almost every small town and village, where every transaction- from the morning chai to the auto fare, is now done through QR Codes.   This revolution has helped include millions of neighbourhood kirana stores into the…