Not under investigations, matter relates to India Cements: UltraTech on CCI direction
CCI
over alleged contravention of competition norms in tenders floated by state-run oil major ONGC.
"It is clarified that the Company is not under investigation in this Case No. 35 of 2020 before the
Competition Commission of India
("CCI").
The company has neither received any order from the CCI in this case nor have the company's financials been sought by the CCI," said the Aditya Birla group flagship firm in a BSE filing.
It further said that its newly acquired entity
India Cements
Ltd (ICEM) is a party in case No 35 of 2020 and the South-India-based manufacturer is exploring legal options over the same.
"The India Cements Ltd (ICL), a subsidiary of the Company, is party to Case No. 35 of 2020 and is separately making appropriate disclosures in this regard, while exploring legal options," it said.
India Cements, which was earlier promoted by the Srinivasan family, was acquired by UltraTech in December 2024. It had acquired a 32.72 per cent stake from promoters and promoter group entities, along with a 22.77 per cent stake from the market of the Tamil Nadu-based company.
Meanwhile, in a separate filing on Saturday, India Cements said it is "yet to receive a full version of the investigation report of the Director General, under the Competition Act, 2002".
It is currently assessing its legal options and "there is no finding by the CCI at this stage against ICEM and no financial penalty has been levied".
Earlier, in May this year, CCI had directed India Cements, along with
Dalmia Bharat
Cements and Shree Digvijay Cements and their executives to submit financial documents, after its Director General in its investigations found contravention of competition norms.
The CCI direction came over a complaint filed by ONGC alleging cartelisation in its tender.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has also directed to submit their audited financial statement, including balance sheet and profit and loss account, within eight weeks of the order.
Besides, CCI has also directed their executives to submit detailed financials and income tax records for five years, along with formal responses to the investigation report.
On Friday, Dalmia Bharat, in a regulatory filing, said CCI is yet to hear in the matter or pass any formal order.
"DCBL remains committed to full regulatory compliance and is cooperating with the authorities," it said.
The CCI direction came over a complaint filed by ONGC alleging cartelisation in its tenders. Following this, the fair trade regulator had on November 18, 2020, directed its probe unit Director General to look into the issue.
The DG had submitted the report of its investigation on February 18, 2025, in which found contraventions of the competition regulations.
It had found that India Cements, along with Shree Digvijay Cement and Dalmia Cement, with a middleman named Umakant Agarwal, engaged in anti-competitive collusion.
Later, CCI on May 26, 2025, considered the investigation report and in a four-page order also directed the cement manufacturer to submit income derived from sales to alleged contraventions by the PSU.
The CCI notice also mentioned if there is non-furnishing of the financial details or incomplete/false information, within the time frame by the companies, then they would be liable under section 45 of the Act.
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Mint
43 minutes ago
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Sensex, Nifty 50 end on a muted note— 10 key highlights from Indian stock market today
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Hindustan Times
an hour ago
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Top China-designed EVs nowadays come with features that aren't normally found in Teslas, such as multiple big screens to watch films and play games, refrigerators to keep drinks cold and in-car cameras for selfies. BYD, which makes both EVs and batteries; and battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology, or CATL, recently said they each had developed new technologies that allow users to charge cars in just five minutes. Consumers walk by Tesla cars in a showroom at a Beijing shopping mall. Tesla's China staff have voiced concerns to headquarters about the company's aging products, but their warnings often drew sluggish responses, China-based employees said. The frustrations have built as Chinese salespeople feel more pressure to hit targets, without the sexiest cars to sell. Many Chinese consumers still appreciate Tesla's brand image as an EV pioneer. And the company retains support in Beijing. Chinese leaders see Tesla as a poster child of successful foreign investment and a useful ally in helping China build a green economy, centered on industries such as renewable energy, EVs and batteries. As trade tensions with the U.S. heated up this year, Chinese Premier Li Qiang made clear that Tesla's local operation wasn't to be targeted by any retaliatory measures, people familiar with the matter said. But Beijing hasn't given Tesla full regulatory approval for its so-called Full Self-Driving (Supervised) assisted-driving software, a technology central to Tesla's ambitions to dominate transportation in the future—and which Chinese companies are also racing to master. At the same time, the public breakup between Musk and Trump is limiting Musk's value to Beijing. In January, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met Musk in Washington and told Musk that Beijing hoped he could play a 'constructive role' in U.S.-China relations, a person familiar with the exchange said. Elon Musk leaves a Beijing hotel in a Tesla in 2023. Musk wasn't receptive to China's overtures, however, people who consult with Chinese officials said. And because of the Musk-Trump feud, Beijing no longer views the Tesla chief executive as a geopolitical asset and will shy away from publicly courting him, the people said. 'Tesla remains important for China,' said one of the people who consults with Chinese officials. 'But for authorities, helping domestic companies still matters more.' For Musk, who has pledged to refocus on Tesla now that he is distancing himself from Washington, success in China is vital. It is Tesla's second-largest market by revenue after the U.S. and the carmaker's biggest production and export hub, making up around half of its global vehicle shipments and supplying components for its worldwide manufacturing. If anything, China's importance to Tesla is growing after its sales declined in the U.S. and Europe due to his earlier association with Trump. 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American companies have a long history of thriving temporarily in China before falling behind, once local competitors scale up and government officials tilt the playing field in favor of domestic champions. In the early 2000s, Motorola was turfed out by Chinese companies supported by government policies that pressured the American company to share technology and adopt battery standards developed by Huawei Technologies. Apple was China's No. 1 smartphone maker in 2023, but now ranks third behind Huawei and another Chinese brand, which have popular features at lower prices. Apple's slide has been compounded by Chinese restrictions on the use of its devices by government officials and stimulus policies that favor Chinese domestic manufacturers. Under siege 'You never want to bet against Elon Musk and the resilience of Tesla,' said Michael Dunne, a former General Motors executive who now runs an automotive consulting firm. 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Under Chinese law, companies are restricted from sending such data overseas for security reasons—a problem for Tesla, since its FSD training has been in the U.S. Tesla initially offered to redact video from Chinese roads to hide sensitive information. But the sheer volume of data Tesla sought to transfer far surpassed officials' comfort levels, people familiar with the matter said. As a Plan B, Tesla considered expanding its FSD training inside China. To do so, however, its China operations need access to the most advanced semiconductors, which have been blocked by U.S. export controls. After nearly nine months of back-and-forth, talks hit a dead end. While Tesla spins its wheels, local competitors have introduced sophisticated driving-assistance technology, often at lower prices. Users report that XPeng's flagship package, XNGP, has similar functionality to Tesla's. BYD has a system named 'Eyes of God,' after a deity in Chinese mythology with three eyes, which the company says can cruise on city roads with minimal human intervention. Chinese companies are also moving ahead with robotaxi services that use self-driving technologies, including thousands of robotaxis operated by Baidu and Pony AI. Tesla, which launched its robotaxi in Austin in June, has no robotaxis on Chinese roads. Frustrated by the delays, Tesla in February started releasing some features—such as city navigation—that are part of its U.S. FSD package through over-the-air updates, making use of an ambiguity in China's rules, people familiar with the matter said. At the time, carmakers in China needed to seek official approval before releasing major updates to drivers; for smaller updates, they typically only had to notify authorities. Tesla's move upset some officials, the people said, prompting regulators to clarify that carmakers must secure approval before issuing any driver-assistance updates. Tesla halted the updates. But later in March, to help maintain customer interest and collect feedback, it said it would offer a one-month program for drivers to try some FSD features free. Regulators again told Tesla to stop, saying it shouldn't use drivers as guinea pigs. Chinese authorities further tightened oversight across the entire sector, after a crash involving Xiaomi's driver-assistance technology in late March. 'Catfish' effect Tesla's struggles in China today contrast with the prepandemic years, when Chinese leaders appeared willing to do anything to court Musk. Their hope was that Tesla's expansion in China would propel underachieving local automakers and help build out the country's EV market. Chinese officials likened it to lobbing a predatory catfish into a pond full of sluggish fish. China provided Musk and Tesla with cheap land, low-interest loans and tax incentives. In 2018, Tesla announced plans to build its first overseas car factory in Shanghai, becoming the first foreign automaker Beijing allowed to produce cars in China without a local partner. Tesla's sales in China surged, as did its exports from Shanghai to other markets. Tesla's presence also paid off for Beijing, igniting consumer interest in domestically made EVs and accelerating development of China's EV supply chain. Soon, some Chinese automakers were adopting Tesla technologies such as 'gigacasting,' which employs high-pressure aluminum die-casting to create a car's frame, combining hundreds of manufacturing steps into one to save costs and time. Xiaomi was among those that followed suit. In April 2023, Chinese automakers' progress stunned attendees at an annual auto show in Shanghai. During the pandemic, Western auto executives had limited access to the country. But now, they found an utterly changed streetscape, with EVs everywhere and cars that were far more advanced than anticipated. Although Musk came to China to leverage its low costs and enormous market, he wasn't prepared for China's response, said Bill Russo, chief executive of Automobility, a Shanghai-based strategy firm. 'What he didn't bargain for is that Chinese companies would do that, too, and they would probably do it even better than you can,' he said. 'He made the same mistake that every foreign automaker made—to underestimate China's ability to out-innovate you.' Batteries and robots A big risk for Musk now is that the same pattern will play out in other businesses Tesla is banking on for future growth. In late March, Tesla began shipping 'Megapack' batteries, which provide grid-scale energy storage, from a newly built Shanghai factory to its first overseas market, Australia. It's a business Beijing wants to grow and which multiple companies, including CATL, are moving into. 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As Chinese suppliers work with Tesla, it could speed up that process. 'Once you secure contracts with Tesla, domestic robotics companies will be much more willing to collaborate with you,' said Chen Feng, a marketing manager at an Optimus supplier. 'Tesla can play catfish again.' During a recent call with analysts, Musk said he believed his Optimus was No. 1 in the sector. But he worried China would eventually dominate the field. 'I'm a little concerned that on the leaderboard, ranks two through 10 will be Chinese companies,' Musk said. Grace Zhu contributed to this article. Write to Raffaele Huang at Lingling Wei at and Yoko Kubota at Elon Musk Is Running Out of Road in China Elon Musk Is Running Out of Road in China
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Kumbhi Kagaz Uses Water Hyacinth to Create Chemical-Free Stationery in Assam
We have seen paper crafted from elephant dung, plantable diaries embedded with seeds, and bamboo pens. Adding to the list of eco-friendly stationery products are Rupankar Bhattacharjee and Aniket Dhar, who are turning water hyacinth into stationery at Kumbhi Kagaz in Guwahati, Assam. The idea for the initiative emerged from an unexpected moment in Nature, says Rupankar, who is also a wildlife conservationist. 'While releasing a rescued python back into the wild, as members of the NGO Help Earth, we became aware of the destructive impact of water hyacinth on local water bodies. During this experience, herpetologist DrJayaditya Purkayastha, also our mentor, shared his frustration with the invasive plant and its ecological consequences,' says Rupankar, 27, adding that under Jayaditya's guidance, he and Aniket began researching the plant. They discovered that water hyacinth has a high cellulose and hemicellulose content, making it a promising raw material for papermaking. 'During the COVID-19 lockdown, we started experimenting with handmade paper using DIY methods and successfully developed our first prototypes. Around the same time, we co-founded The Inside Out Program, focussed on conservation awareness through trekking and biodiversity documentation.' Their current product range includes notebooks, journals, and calendars that are compostable, and chemical-free. In 2021, the duo won the UK-based WasteAid Zero Waste Cities Challenge – Guwahati, and soon after, they bagged the Tide 2.0 title at Assam Downtown University Venture Labs and the India Pitch Pilot Scale Startup Challenge. Taking us through the process, Rupankar says they follow a traditional handmade papermaking process, with modern interventions introduced to improve efficiency and sustainability. First, water hyacinth is harvested from wetlands and allowed to dry naturally, either near the collection site or at the processing area. Once dried, the fibrous parts of the plant are cleaned and cut into small pieces that are ground with water to create a smooth pulp, which forms the base of the paper. Next, this pulp is poured into a vat and lifted with a screen to form a thin, even layer of wet paper that is stacked and pressed to remove excess water. After being air dried, the sheets are flattened and trimmed by hand for final use. 'We've made specific innovations in pulping and machinery, which allow us to produce chemical-free paper using invasive water hyacinth as our primary raw material,' says Rupankar. At the brand's Deepor Beel unit (in Guwahati, Assam), the duo have collaborated with a small group of farmers from the surrounding wetland and trained local artisans from the same community to participate in the paper production process. 'In Kaziranga, we are working closely with Eco Development Committees (EDCs) and Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs) to involve local communities in conservation-linked livelihood generation. In Goalpara, where we are setting up a new unit, we aim to engage over 300 farmers in harvesting and supplying water hyacinth,' says Rupankar. But is the process costlier than creating other recycled paper variants? 'Our papermaking process is entirely handmade, which makes it approximately five times higher than conventional machine-made recycled paper. This has been especially evident at our smaller unit, where limited drying space has led to production delays and increased costs,' explains Aniket, 24. However, with the setup of our larger production unit, he aims to significantly reduce per-unit costs. In addition, the duo is looking at creating products beyond stationery. 'We're currently testing vegan leather alternatives derived from plant fibres and waste, aiming to create durable, eco-friendly products for the lifestyle and accessories segment,' he says, 'We're also experimenting with the eco-packaging market, developing products like coasters, honeycomb wraps, and water hyacinth-based paperboard.' As they scale up production, Aniket says their goal is to 'democratise access to sustainable materials'. 'We want to ensure that conscious consumption becomes not just a choice, but the norm. You can also look forward to new product lines, deeper community engagement, and more climate-positive innovations that align with our mission of restoring wetlands and supporting green livelihoods,' he concludes. Journals upwards of ₹500 on
