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Cheap copper imports are hurting Indian manufacturers. The Indian Primary Copper Producers Association is calling for government action. They want safeguard duties and limits on overseas shipments. Investments in domestic production are at risk. The association highlights issues with the India-UAE CEPA and an inflated tariff rate quota. Immediate intervention is sought to protect the industry. View More
New Delhi: Cheap imports of copper under multiple free trade agreements are "severely damaging" Indian manufacturing, industry body IPCPA said and sought immediate government interventions in the form of a safeguard duty and quantitative restrictions on inbound shipments from overseas. According to the Indian Primary Copper Producers Association (IPCPA), a surge in zero-duty copper imports is eroding the country's domestic smelting and downstream manufacturing sector, even as over ₹20,000 crore has been invested in recent years to achieve self-sufficiency. " Zero-duty imports from FTA partners are severely damaging Indian smelting and refining," the ICPA said, and demanded that a 3% safeguard duty should be imposed on copper imports of certain categories, irrespective of the FTA (free trade agreement) status. It also raised concerns about the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), under which customs duties on copper wire rods have fallen to one per cent in FY26, and the levy is expected to be eliminated by FY27. The problem worsened due to an inflated Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) of 85,000 tonnes per annum (KTPA) - far above the intended 29 KTPA - triggering a 340% surge in imports from the UAE between FY22 and FY26, the industry body said, adding that the tariff rate quota should be corrected and capped at its original level. .Pbanner{display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;background-color:#ec1c40;margin-top:20px;padding:5px 10px;border-radius:4px;color:#fff;line-height:10px;} .Pbannertext{display:flex;align-items:center;font-size:16px;font-weight:600;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannertext img{height:20px;margin:0 6px} .Pbannerbutton a{display:flex;align-items:center;background-color:#fff;color:#ec1c40;text-decoration:none;font-weight:600;padding:4px 8px;border-radius:6px;font-size:15px;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannerbutton img{height:20px;margin-right:6px} .Pbannerbutton a:hover{background-color:#f7f7f7} Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
Low steel prices and high iron ore costs have resulted in muted realizations for Indian steelmakers, with margin pressures limiting their ability to fund the aggressive capacity expansion, says AMNS India CEO Dilip Oommen. View More
A parliamentary panel wants simpler rules for underground coal mining. This method has low environmental impact. Current complex processes cause project delays. The government aims for 100 million tonnes of coal from underground mines by 2030. Simplifying procedures will help achieve this target. This will also preserve land and forests. The panel also recommended a single-window clearance for open-cast mining. View More
New Delhi: A parliamentary panel has suggested simplifying the policy and standardised protocols for allowing underground coal mining , saying that the complex clearance process, similar to large open-cast mines, leads to delays in projects that have low environmental impact. The government has set a target to produce 100 million tonnes (MT) of coal from underground coal mines by 2030. Underground coal mining minimises surface disturbance, thereby preserving land, forests, and infrastructure while reducing land reclamation costs and indirect greenhouse gas emissions . This method also allows access to high-quality, deep-seated reserves and ensures year-round operations regardless of weather conditions, the Standing Committee on Coal, Mines and Steel has said in a report. "Despite low environmental impact, several UG projects undergo the same clearance and documentation processes as in the case of large open-cast coal mines, thereby reportedly facing delays. The committee, therefore, emphasise the need for policy simplification and standardised protocols for UG coal mining practices in India," it said. Underground mines (UG), underground coal gasification (UCG) projects and clean coal technology-based pilot projects represent special categories of coal sector initiatives that offer significant environmental and operational advantages. Live Events Besides, the panel has also recommended exploring the feasibility of putting in place a standard terms of reference (ToRs) and standard operating procedures (SOPs) on a single-window clearance system for open-cast mining, on the lines of similar provisions for underground mines. The coal ministry has earlier said that it has introduced a series of transformative policy measures aimed at promoting underground coal mining. These bold reforms address the traditional challenges of high capital investment and longer gestation periods, reaffirming the government's resolve to modernise the coal ecosystem while aligning with the broader vision of sustainable development. .Pbanner{display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;background-color:#ec1c40;margin-top:20px;padding:5px 10px;border-radius:4px;color:#fff;line-height:10px;} .Pbannertext{display:flex;align-items:center;font-size:16px;font-weight:600;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannertext img{height:20px;margin:0 6px} .Pbannerbutton a{display:flex;align-items:center;background-color:#fff;color:#ec1c40;text-decoration:none;font-weight:600;padding:4px 8px;border-radius:6px;font-size:15px;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannerbutton img{height:20px;margin-right:6px} .Pbannerbutton a:hover{background-color:#f7f7f7} Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
Steel Authority of India Limited, SAIL, achieved a 14 percent increase in sales for April to November 2025. This growth reached 12.7 million tonnes. The company navigated price pressures and demand volatility effectively. Retail sales also saw a significant rise of 13 percent. November alone showed a 27 percent overall sales jump. Retail sales surged by 69 percent in November. View More
New Delhi: State-owned steel maker SAIL on Saturday said it recorded a 14 per cent year-on-year growth in sales at 12.7 million tonnes (MT) in April-November 2025, amid "price pressures and demand volatility ". The Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), a leading integrated player in the steel sector , had posted sales of 11.1 MT in the corresponding period last year. The company said, "This resilient performance was possible due to a strong sales strategy...despite many challenges including global price pressures and demand volatility arising from various global trade policy uncertainties and geopolitical tensions ." During the eight-month period, the company said retail sales were also strong. It was at 0.97 MT, up 13 per cent from 0.86 MT in April-November 2024, supported by ongoing nationwide brand promotion campaigns. In November alone, overall sales rose 27 per cent year-on-year, while retail sales surged by 69 per cent y-o-y. Live Events SAIL, under the Ministry of Steel, owns and operates five integrated steel plants in Jharkhand , Chhattisgarh , Odisha and West Bengal with an overall capacity of over 20 million tonnes per annum. .Pbanner{display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;background-color:#ec1c40;margin-top:20px;padding:5px 10px;border-radius:4px;color:#fff;line-height:10px;} .Pbannertext{display:flex;align-items:center;font-size:16px;font-weight:600;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannertext img{height:20px;margin:0 6px} .Pbannerbutton a{display:flex;align-items:center;background-color:#fff;color:#ec1c40;text-decoration:none;font-weight:600;padding:4px 8px;border-radius:6px;font-size:15px;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannerbutton img{height:20px;margin-right:6px} .Pbannerbutton a:hover{background-color:#f7f7f7} Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
Tata Steel plans a nearly 50% capacity expansion in India to defend market share and secure raw materials, with most capex expected from internal accruals. This strategic move aims to align new capacities with anticipated demand growth post-FY29, ensuring profitability and maintaining a healthy balance sheet. View More
Mumbai: Tata Steel 's plan to increase capacity in India by nearly 50% will help the company defend its market share in the rapidly expanding Indian steel market, while enabling raw material security and foray into western India. Even though the weakness in steel prices is expected to keep earnings and cash flows subdued in the near term, analysts are confident that most of the capital expenditure needed for this leg of growth will come from internal accruals, maintaining the health of the balance sheet. "We expect fast tracking of NINL (Neelachal Ispat) capex to maintain market share in fast growing domestic market as TATA would struggle for capacities post FY28E," said Tushar Chaudhari of Prabhudas Lilladher. Tata Steel is currently the second-largest producer of steel in the country with an annual production capacity of 26 million tonne. At NINL, the company will be adding 4.8 million tonne of capacity, making it nearly six million tonne. Live Events Earlier in the week, Tata Steel announced setting up of rolling facilities at its Meramandali plant, buying 50.01% of Thriveni Pellets and a deal with Lloyd Metals & Energy to partner in mining and related activities among the projects in its next phase of growth in India. "Most of these capacities could start contributing from FY29, by when India may see higher demand vs steel capacity. Thus, Tata Steel's new capacity timings could be favourable from profitability point of view," said Vikash Singh of ICICI Securities. RAW MATERIALS, DEBT The leases for several of Tata Steel's mines will expire by the end of the decade, and the stake buy in Thriven Pellets, apart from the deal with Lloyds Metals is seen securing ore supplies for the company. "Given lease of all operating iron ore mines (except NINL) of Tata shall be over by FY30, the company is looking at different locations to expand capacities wherein it can have cheap source of consistent iron ore supply ," analysts at Nuvama Institutional Equities said. Maharashtra-based Lloyds Metals operates the single largest iron ore mine in the country at Surjagarh in the state, and with the recent environmental clearance, can now mine up to 26 million tonne of ore each year. With all the expansions announced outside Jamshedpur, this will also offset the potential impact of legacy mines being auctioned in fiscal 2030, analysts at Elara Capital said. While Tata Steel has not announced the capital expenditure for its projects, analysts estimate it to be in the range of around '700-750 billion. "Capex intensity will rise but remain phased, keeping leverage within comfort," analysts at Motilal Oswal Securities said. Tata Steel had a consolidated net debt of 870 billion rupees at the end of the Sept quarter. "We believe the expansion can be internally funded and net debt is unlikely to rise," analysts at Nuvama said. .Pbanner{display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;background-color:#ec1c40;margin-top:20px;padding:5px 10px;border-radius:4px;color:#fff;line-height:10px;} .Pbannertext{display:flex;align-items:center;font-size:16px;font-weight:600;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannertext img{height:20px;margin:0 6px} .Pbannerbutton a{display:flex;align-items:center;background-color:#fff;color:#ec1c40;text-decoration:none;font-weight:600;padding:4px 8px;border-radius:6px;font-size:15px;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannerbutton img{height:20px;margin-right:6px} .Pbannerbutton a:hover{background-color:#f7f7f7} Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
The Centre has amended its Coal (Non-Regulated Sector) Linkage Policy of 2016, enabling the export of coal from blocks with existing linkages. A new policy, CoalSETU, will allow end-use free purchase of coal for any industrial use and export, excluding traders. Coking coal will not be offered due to domestic scarcity. View More
New Delhi: The Centre on Friday allowed export of coal from blocks with existing linkages by tweaking its Coal (Non-Regulated Sector) Linkage Policy of 2016. In a statement, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs said it has approved a policy that will allow coal acquired through auction for any industrial use and export. The Policy for Auction of Coal Linkage for Seamless, Efficient & Transparent Utilisation (CoalSETU) will add a separate window, allowing end-use free purchase of coal. "Traders will not be allowed on this portal and only end-consumers can buy coal from this portal," Union information & broadcasting, information technology and railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said Friday, adding Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh can be possible export destinations for Indian coal. Live Events Currently, coal linkages are provided through auctions only to specified end users such as cement, steel, sponge iron and aluminium. Coking coal will not be offered under this window, due to its paucity in the domestic market. The present auction of coal linkages for the specified end-user sub-sectors in the non-regulated sector (NRS) will continue. .Pbanner{display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;background-color:#ec1c40;margin-top:20px;padding:5px 10px;border-radius:4px;color:#fff;line-height:10px;} .Pbannertext{display:flex;align-items:center;font-size:16px;font-weight:600;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannertext img{height:20px;margin:0 6px} .Pbannerbutton a{display:flex;align-items:center;background-color:#fff;color:#ec1c40;text-decoration:none;font-weight:600;padding:4px 8px;border-radius:6px;font-size:15px;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannerbutton img{height:20px;margin-right:6px} .Pbannerbutton a:hover{background-color:#f7f7f7} Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
Cheap land and and cheap energy are helping to fuel a boom in proposals to build data centers in Texas. View More
watch nowVIDEO1:1701:17DealBook Summit 2025: Anthropic CEO on AI spending, AI bubble riskSquawk Box Everything is bigger in Texas. That's also true for data center demand in the Lone Star State, where project developers are rushing to cash in on the artificial intelligence boom. Cheap land and cheap energy are combining to attract a flood of data center developers to the state. The potential demand is so vast that it will be impossible to meet by the end of the decade, energy experts say. Speculative projects are clogging up the pipeline to connect to the electric grid, making it difficult to see how much demand will actually materialize, they say. But investors will be left on the hook if inflated demand forecasts lead to more infrastructure being built than is actually needed. "It definitely looks, smells, feels â is acting like a bubble," said Joshua Rhodes, a research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin and a founder of energy consulting firm IdeaSmiths. "The top line numbers are almost laughable," Rhodes said. More than 220 gigawatts of big projects have asked to connect to the Texas electric grid by 2030, according to December data from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. More than 70% of those projects are data centers, according to ERCOT, which manages the Texas power grid. That's more than twice the Lone Star State's record peak summer demand this year of around 85 gigawatts, and its total available power generation for the season of around 103 gigawatts. Those figures are "crazy big," said Beth Garza, a former ERCOT watchdog."There's not enough stuff to serve that much load on the equipment side or the consumption side," said Garza, director of ERCOT's independent market monitor from 2014 to 2019. Rhodes agreed. "There's just no way we can physically put this much steel in the ground to match those numbers. I don't even know if China could do it that fast," he said. 'Not all real'Data center requests have exploded in Texas since state legislation in 2023 required projects that have not signed electric connection agreements to be considered in power demand forecasts. The number of big projects requesting an electric connection has nearly quadrupled this year. But more than half of them, representing about 128 gigawatts of increased potential demand, have not submitted studies for ERCOT to review yet. About another 90 gigawatts are either under review or have had planning studies approved. "We know it's not all real. The question is how much is real," said Michael Hogan, a senior advisor at the Regulatory Assistance Project, which advises governments and regulators on energy policy. window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}); The huge numbers in Texas reflect a broader data center bubble in the U.S., said Hogan, who has worked in the electric industry for more than four decades, starting at General Electric in 1980. "As with everything else in Texas, it's an outsized example of it," he said. The number of projects that have actually connected to the grid or have been approved by ERCOT is much smaller, at only around 7.5 gigawatts. It is still a large number, equivalent to nearly eight large nuclear plants. But Texas can meet that level of demand, Rhodes said. "We could comfortably grow 8 gigawatts of data centers," Rhodes said. Texas might be able to meet 20 gigawatts or 30 gigawatts of data center demand by 2030, he said. window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}); Texas has acted to separate serious data center projects from those that are merely speculative. A law passed in May requires developers to pay $100,000 for the initial study of their project and show that a site is secured through an ownership interest or lease. And they have to disclose whether they have outlined the same project anywhere else in Texas. The Texas Public Utility Commission has proposed a rule that would require data centers to pay $50,000 security per megawatt of peak power. The cost to a developer would total at least $50 million for a gigawatt-scale data center. "The serious developers with long-term contracts signed with anchor tenants, they're going to be willing to put that money down," Rhodes said. More speculative developers will likely drop out of the line for an electric connection, which will help authorities get a more accurate forecast, he said. Risk to investorsThe risk is that electric infrastructure such as power plants, transmission lines and transformers will be built for speculative data centers that either do not materialize or use less electricity than anticipated, Rhodes said. And overbuilding would come at time when the cost of that infrastructure has soared as data centers and other industries all compete for the same scarce equipment, he said."When the bubble bursts, who pays is going to depend on how much steel has been moved," Rhodes said. The cost of a natural gas plant, for example, has more than doubled over the past five years, he said. "It's kind of like buying your house at the top of the market," the analyst said. "If the house price goes down in five years, you're out of luck." watch nowVIDEO5:3905:39Will AI trigger winter blackouts? NERC CEO Jim Robb on the soaring data center power demandSquawk Box The cost of building new power plants to serve the Texas electric market is generally borne by investors, Rhodes and Hogan said, providing some protection to households from higher electricity prices if too much capacity is built. By contrast, electric prices have spiked in some Midwestern and mid-Atlantic states from data center demand because the grid operator, PJM Interconnection, buys power generation years in advance â with the burden falling on consumers. In Illinois, where the northern part of the state is served by PJM, residential electricity prices rose about 20% in September compared to the same month last year. But prices in Texas increased just 5% year over year, below the average national increase of more than 7%, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. Texas has less risk of building too much generation compared to PJM states because of the way the market is structured, Hogan said. But "whatever [new] build we do end up seeing in Texas, the people who ended up investing in the excess capacity are the ones that are going to suffer," he said.
Of India’s annual exports of $5.75 billion to Mexico, about 75% would be affected by the new tariffs, per a GTRI report View More
Disney is investing in OpenAI and has licensed its iconic characters like Mickey Mouse, Ariel and Iron Man to be used in the Sora AI video generator. View More
In this articleDISFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch nowVIDEO3:0903:09Disney and OpenAI reach three-year licensing agreementSquawk on the Street The Walt Disney Co. on Thursday announced it will make a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI and will allow users to make videos with its copyrighted characters on its Sora app.OpenAI launched Sora in September, and it allows users to create short videos by simply typing in a prompt. As part of the startup's new three-year licensing agreement with Disney, Sora users will be able make content with more than 200 characters across Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars starting next year. "The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence marks an important moment for our industry, and through this collaboration with OpenAI we will thoughtfully and responsibly extend the reach of our storytelling through generative AI, while respecting and protecting creators and their works," Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement.As part of the agreement, Disney said it will receive warrants to purchase additional equity and will become a major OpenAI customer. Disney is deploying OpenAI's chatbot, ChatGPT, to its employees and will work with its technology to build new tools and experiences, according to a release. When Sora launched this fall, the app rocketed to the top of Apple's App Store and generated a storm of controversy as users flooded the platform with videos of popular brands and characters. The Motion Picture Association said in October that OpenAI needed to take "immediate and decisive action" to prevent copyright infringement on Sora. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said more "granular control" over character generation was coming, according to a blog post following the launch. Disney CEO Bob Iger and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman appearing on CNBC on Dec. 11th, 2025.CNBC As AI startups have rapidly changed the way that people can interact with content online, media companies, including Disney, have kicked off a series of fresh legal battles to try and protect their intellectual property.Disney sent a cease and desist letter to Google late on Wednesday alleging the company infringed its copyrights on a "massive scale." In the letter, which was viewed by CNBC, Disney said Google has been using its copyrighted works to train models and distributing copies of its protected content without authorization.CNBC has reached out to Google for comment on the letter.Universal and Disney have sued the AI image creator Midjourney, alleging that the company improperly used and distributed AI-generated characters from their movies. Disney also sent a cease and desist letter to Character.AI in September, warning the startup to stop using its copyrighted characters without authorization.Disney's deal with OpenAI suggests the company isn't ruling out AI platforms entirely. Read more CNBC tech newsOracle shares plummet, dragging down AI stocksOver $50 billion in under 24 hours: Why Big Tech is doubling down on investing in IndiaCisco's stock closes at record for first time since dot-com peak in 2000Nvidia-backed Starcloud trains first AI model in space as orbital data center race heats up The companies said they have affirmed a commitment to the use of AI that "protects user safety and the rights of creators" and "respects the creative industries," according to the release. OpenAI has also agreed to maintain "robust controls" to prevent illegal or harmful content from being generated on its platforms. Some of the characters available through the deal include Mickey Mouse, Ariel, Cinderella, Iron Man and Darth Vader. Disney and OpenAI said the agreement does not include any talent likeness or voices. Users will also be able to draw from the same intellectual property while using ChatGPT Images, where they can use natural language prompts to create images. "Disney is the global gold standard for storytelling, and we're excited to partner to allow Sora and ChatGPT Images to expand the way people create and experience great content," Altman said in a statement.Curated selections of Sora videos will also be available to watch on Disney's streaming platform Disney+.Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC. Versant would become the new parent company of CNBC upon Comcast's planned spinoff of Versant.WATCH: We tested OpenAIâs Sora 2 AI-video app to find out why Hollywood is worried watch nowVIDEO3:4603:46We tested OpenAIâs Sora 2 AI-video app to find out why Hollywood is worriedTech