India, central Asian countries express interest in joint rare earths exploration
They also called upon relevant authorities for an early meeting of the India-Central Asia Rare Earth Forum.
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Reuters
3 minutes ago
- Reuters
India shuts unit at country's largest nuclear power plant for maintenance
New Delhi, Aug 11 (Reuters) - India has shut a unit at its Kudankulam nuclear reactor, the largest in the country, for scheduled maintenance last week, according to an outage report, possibly spiking power prices for southern regions. The 1,000 megawatt (MW) Unit 1 at Kudankulam in the southern state of Tamil Nadu was shut on August 3, the Central Electricity Authority, the country's power advisory body, said in a report dated August 7. Confirming that one unit of Kudankulam is under maintenance, a senior official with Tamil Nadu Distribution and Generation Company said the state might have to tap market sources if the need for additional demand arises. The official from the state government did not want to be identified as India's nuclear facilities are controlled by the federal government. Earlier, the Kerala State Electricity Board Ltd (KSEBL) filed a petition with the state's electricity regulator, saying the shutdown is expected to worsen the peak-hour electricity shortages in some southern states, driving up short-term power procurement costs. The 65-day outage, coupled with low volumes on power exchanges and increased demand from neighbouring states, had forced it to procure 300 MW of peak-hour power at rates as high as 9.18 rupees ($0.1048) per unit of electricity. The utility finalised purchases from Tata Power ( opens new tab at 8.75 rupees per unit and Greenko Energies at 9.18 rupees per unit for the slot between 07:00 PM IST and 00:00 AM IST slot throughout August, the petition showed. "The projected peak-hour deficit of around 600 MW in August 2025 may worsen due to the scheduled refuelling outage of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant," KSEBL said. Kerala's electricity regulator approved the emergency procurement but flagged concerns over the high tariffs. The other 1,000 MW unit 2 at Kudankulam is operating normally, according to the Tamil Nadu government official. India aims to expand nuclear capacity to at least 100 gigawatt by 2047, up from about 9 gigawatt currently. ($1 = 87.6212 Indian rupees)
Reuters
33 minutes ago
- Reuters
Goodyear India's first-quarter profit falls on weak auto demand
Aug 11 (Reuters) - Tyremaker Goodyear India ( opens new tab reported a 43.6% fall in first-quarter profit on Monday, hurt by dampened automobile demand. The net profit of U.S.-based Goodyear Tire's (GT.O), opens new tab Indian unit fell to 141.1 million rupees ($1.61 million) for the three months ended June 30, from 250.3 million rupees a year ago. Goodyear India, which sells tyres, tubes and flaps, depends on auto sales for a large part of its revenue. Total vehicle sales in the country fell 5.1% in the quarter ending June, compared to 16.4% growth in the same period last year, according to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers data. The tyremaker's revenue from operations fell 5.1% to 6.56 billion rupees. The company said that increasing adoption of larger rim sizes in vehicles is expected to drive robust sales in the replacement business this year in its latest annual report. Total expenses fell 3% to 6.42 billion rupees, but not enough to boost the bottom line. Rival CEAT ( opens new tab reported a fall in June-quarter profit, while MRF ( opens new tab is yet to report its quarterly results. Goodyear India's shares are flat on the day and rose 16.8% in the quarter ended June 30. ($1 = 87.6212 Indian rupees)
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
In India, Trump's tariffs spark calls to boycott American goods
NEW DELHI, Aug 11 (Reuters) - From McDonald's and Coca-Cola to Amazon and Apple, U.S.-based multinationals are facing calls for a boycott in India as business executives and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's supporters stoke anti-American sentiment to protest against U.S. tariffs. India, the world's most populous nation, is a key market for American brands that have rapidly expanded to target a growing base of affluent consumers, many of whom remain infatuated with international labels seen as symbols of moving up in life. India, for example, is the biggest market by users for Meta's WhatsApp and Domino's has more restaurants than any other brand in the country. Beverages like Pepsi and Coca-Cola often dominate store shelves, and people still queue up when a new Apple store opens or a Starbucks cafe doles out discounts, opens new tab. Although there was no immediate indication of sales being hit, there's a growing chorus both on social media and offline to buy local and ditch American products after Donald Trump imposed a 50% tariff on goods from India, rattling exporters and damaging ties between New Delhi and Washington. McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Amazon and Apple did not immediately respond to Reuters queries. Manish Chowdhary, co-founder of India's Wow Skin Science, took to LinkedIn with a video message urging support for farmers and startups to make "Made in India" a "global obsession," and to learn from South Korea whose food and beauty products are famous worldwide. "We have lined up for products from thousands of miles away. We have proudly spent on brands that we don't own, while our own makers fight for attention in their own country," he said. Rahm Shastry, CEO of India's DriveU, which provides a car driver on call service, wrote on LinkedIn: "India should have its own home-grown Twitter/Google/YouTube/WhatsApp/FB -- like China has." To be fair, Indian retail companies give foreign brands like Starbucks stiff competition in the domestic market, but going global has been a challenge. Indian IT services firms, however, have become deeply entrenched in the global economy, with the likes of TCS ( opens new tab and Infosys ( opens new tab providing software solutions to clients world over. On Sunday, Modi made a "special appeal" for becoming self-reliant, telling a gathering in Bengaluru that Indian technology companies made products for the world but "now is the time for us to give more priority to India's needs." He did not name any company. Even as anti-American protests simmer, Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab launched its second showroom in India in New Delhi, with Monday's opening attended by Indian commerce ministry officials and U.S. embassy officials. The Swadeshi Jagran Manch group, which is linked to Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, took out small public rallies across India on Sunday, urging people to boycott American brands. "People are now looking at Indian products. It will take some time to fructify," Ashwani Mahajan, the group's co-convenor, told Reuters. "This is a call for nationalism, patriotism." He also shared with Reuters a table his group is circulating on WhatsApp, listing Indian brands of bath soaps, toothpaste and cold drinks that people could choose over foreign ones. On social media, one of the group's campaigns is a graphic titled "Boycott foreign food chains", with logos of McDonald's (MCD.N), opens new tab and many other restaurant brands. In Uttar Pradesh, Rajat Gupta, 37, who was dining at a McDonald's in Lucknow on Monday, said he wasn't concerned about the tariff protests and simply enjoyed the 49-rupee ($0.55) coffee he considered good value for money. "Tariffs are a matter of diplomacy and my McPuff, coffee should not be dragged into it," he said.
