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Construction equipment makers are experiencing a surge in government orders for border infrastructure projects, driven by heightened geopolitical tensions and import substitution efforts. Companies like JCB India and Action Construction Equipment are supplying critical machinery to the defence ministry and Border Roads Organisation, significantly boosting their revenue streams and local manufacturing capabilities. View More
New Delhi: Construction equipment makers are benefiting from a renewed government effort to bolster border infrastructure amid heightened geopolitical tensions. This is helping offset a broader slowdown in the sector. A negligible revenue stream until about three years ago, construction equipment companies are getting more government orders thanks to import substitution drives and technology transfers from Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO). JCB India recently secured orders for 747 telehandlers from the defence ministry. Action Construction Equipment (ACE) will supply 1,121 rough-terrain forklift trucks (RTFLT)-critical equipment for use in combat and logistics support tasks-for use by the military. The combined order for the two companies is valued at around ₹697 crore. Bharat Earth Movers (BEML) has won contracts worth ₹576 crore to supply high-mobility vehicles (HMV) for difficult terrains. BEML also has a ₹185.65 crore order for supplying 79 power angling and tilting (PAT) bulldozers. "Earlier most of the equipment (for use by the defence forces) used to be imported," said Sorab Agarwal, executive director at ACE. "We have since developed capabilities locally. While certain key components and raw materials like specialty steel etc are still imported, in most key categories, we are now self-reliant. We have actively started working in defence now." While some of the equipment is currently deployed at military bases, the rest is being utilised by Border Roads Organisation (BRO) for infrastructure developments. In addition to telehandlers, ACE manufactures rough terrain cranes and backhoe loaders for the armed forces. In late 2024, the defence ministry signed contracts with ACE for 99 specialised forklifts and 6 rough terrain cranes with a 30-tonne lifting capacity. ACE got a separate order for 40 backhoe loaders from the BRO. JCB India, BEML & ACE among cos see new demand as India beefs up its border amid geopolitical tensions; DRDO tech transfers, import checks also help Agarwal said he expects the share of defence in total revenue to rise to over 5% in 2-3 years, from 1.5-2% now. JCB India too expects the share of revenues from railways and defence to double in five years from about 10% currently. Deepak Shetty, managing director at JCB India, said the company has received orders for supplying 747 telehandlers. "In addition to supplying equipment, we are training 400-500 operators for the defence forces," he said. Live Events JCB India has technology for making 3-tonne and 4-tonne telehandlers, and is also developing 2-tonne telehandlers for the armed forces. The company is also working with DRDO on certain projects and developing new railway technologies. JCB is also collaborating with BRO on infra development projects in border areas. The surge in demand for construction equipment from the military comes as India accelerates road and rail projects along the China border, including the Frontier Highway in Arunachal Pradesh to enhance defence and ensure all-weather connectivity. .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)
With India's copper production reaching new heights, local manufacturers are calling on the government to curb the influx of inexpensive imports. They advocate for increased tariffs and strict quotas on copper imports, particularly from nations benefiting from free trade agreements, to protect their burgeoning industry and ensure fair competition. View More
Mumbai: Indian copper producers want the government to step in to protect the domestic industry from cheap imports, particularly from countries with free trade agreements with India, including ASEAN and Japan. The Indian Primary Copper Producers Association (IPCPA) is seeking an additional 3% duty on copper cathodes, rods, wires and tubes, along with quantitative curbs on such imports. While India became a net importer of copper after the closure of Vedanta's Tamil Nadu plant a few years ago, subsequent investments in capacity have made the sector self-sufficient. "With ~ ₹20,000 crore of investments in India's copper smelting and refining industry over the last five years, the country is now more than self-sufficient," the IPCPA said in a letter to the Prime Minister's Office last week. ET has reviewed a copy of the letter. Live Events Under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the UAE, the import duty on copper wire rods is being cut by 1% each year from 2022, and will reach zero in FY27. A high tariff rate quota and product-specific rules have also driven a near five-fold jump in imports from the UAE between FY22 and FY26. The IPCPA has sought amendments to these product-specific rules and a cut of about one-third in the tariff rate quota. In the CEPA with ASEAN nations, the industry body flagged Indonesia's role, noting that despite banning exports of copper concentrate this year, it continues to ship refined copper to India as wires and tubes. .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)
IShowSpeed achieved significant recognition at The Streamer Awards 2025, securing Streamer of the Year and Best IRL Streamer titles. His father's joyful and proud reaction to his son's success became a heartwarming moment for fans. This display of family support underscored IShowSpeed's journey and achievements, highlighting a personal victory beyond his digital entertainment career. View More
Paramount Skydance, whose CEO David Ellison is friendly with the Trump administration, wanted to buy WBD outright, making several bids for its full portfolio. View More
In this articleNFLXWBDPSKYFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch nowVIDEO5:5705:57The White House view of the Netflix-WBD deal is 'heavy skepticism': Senior Administration OfficialSquawk on the Street The Trump administration views the proposed $72 billion deal for Netflix to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery's film and streaming assets with "heavy skepticism," a senior administration official told CNBC's Eamon Javers on Friday morning.Netflix said Friday that it would acquire Warner Bros.' film studio and streaming service, HBO Max. The deal is subject to regulatory approval.Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said, "This deal looks like an anti-monopoly nightmare.""A Netflix-Warner Bros. would create one massive media giant with control of close to half of the streaming market â threatening to force Americans into higher subscription prices and fewer choices over what and how they watch, while putting American workers at risk," Warren said in a statement."Under Donald Trump, the antitrust review process has also become a cesspool of political favoritism and corruption," Warren said. "The Justice Department must enforce our nation's anti-monopoly laws fairly and transparently â not use the Warner Bros. deal review to invite influence-peddling and bribery."Paramount Skydance had made multiple bids for the entirety of WBD, as opposed to a subset of the company's assets. Paramount's final bid, which was received Thursday evening, was for $30 per share, all cash, CNBC previously reported. Comcast also made a bid for WBD's film and streaming properties.The New York Post on Thursday reported that, "Paramount Skydance chief David Ellison met with Trump officials and key lawmakers in Washington DC on Wednesday to press his case against Warner Bros. Discovery's potential selection of Netflix as its merger partner."Ellison's billionaire father, Larry Ellison, is close to President Donald Trump.On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Paramount, in a letter to lawyers for WBD, had warned that a sale to Netflix likely would "never close" because of regulatory challenges in the United States and overseas."Acquiring Warner's streaming and studio assets 'will entrench and extend Netflix's global dominance in a matter not allowed by domestic or foreign competition laws,' Paramount's lawyers wrote," the Journal reported.Netflix's purchase of WBD's assets is expected to close, if approved by regulators, after WBD completes its previously planned spinout of Discovery Global, which is currently planned to occur in the third quarter of 2026.Discovery Global would include the CNN, TNT Sports and Discovery channels. A Securities and Exchange Commission filing shows that Netflix agreed to pay a $5.8 billion reverse break-up fee if the deal does not receive approval.CNBC requested comment from Netflix, WBD, Paramount, and Comcast.Trump, even before taking office for his first term in the White House, opposed a deal by AT&T to buy Time Warner, saying "it's too much concentration of power in the hands of too few." After he took office, the Department of Justice in November 2017 sued in an effort to prevent the merger.The DOJ lost that lawsuit, and the merger was closed in June 2018.Before the 2024 presidential election, Trump opposed the then-proposed sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel of Japan. But after reentering the White House in January, Trump in June signed an executive order approving the merger, after the companies signed a national security agreement with the U.S. government.The agreement gave the U.S. government a "golden share" in the merged company, which Trump claims gives a president "total control." Experts said the share gives the government an outsized say in corporate governance.Correction: A senior administration official said the Trump administration views the deal with 'heavy skepticism.' A previous version mischaracterized the official.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.
Imports of steel into the European Economic Area will face a carbon tax under the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) starting on January 1 View More
Indian steel exports to Europe will likely decrease as the European Union's carbon tax begins next month. Mills are now exploring new markets in Africa and the Middle East to compensate for this shift. The new levy aims to reduce carbon emissions. View More
India's steel exports to Europe are expected to fall once the European Union 's carbon tax takes effect next month, prompting mills to seek alternative buyers in Africa and the Middle East, industry executives and analysts said. Imports of steel into the European Economic Area will face a carbon tax under the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) starting on January 1. The decarbonisation-oriented levy will also apply to cement, electricity, fertilisers and other products. Mills in India, the world's second-largest crude steel producer after China, ship roughly two-thirds of their exports to Europe. Experts say Indian mills will need to cut their carbon emissions. "We recognise that we have to do environment-friendly production and companies are gearing up to comply, but they are also looking at alternative markets too," Aruna Sharma, India's former steel secretary, told Reuters. Live Events Most of India's steel is produced in blast furnaces, which generate higher emissions, said Sandeep Poundrik, the top civil servant at the Ministry of Steel, in September. He also said further expansion of blast furnace capacity is a concern. Additional planned capacity could add about 680 million metric tons of carbon-dioxide-equivalent emissions from the sector, according to Global Energy Monitor, a U.S.-based research group. Indian steelmakers have planned new investments to lift output as strong domestic demand - fuelled by government-backed infrastructure spending - continues to rise. "Most of the companies are yet figuring out a way to deal with CBAM," said Ravi Sodah, a cement, metals and mining analyst at Elara Capital. "In the near term, it is expected to slow down India's exports to EU." One way to mitigate the problem is to use electric arc furnaces, which emit far less carbon than conventional blast furnaces. Two executives at large Indian steelmakers, who asked not to be named because they are not authorised to speak to the media, said companies had little clarity on how the tax would be calculated. "About 60% of our exports go to Europe and we want to know what is the rate that will be levied and will it be company specific?" said one of the executives. The levy will raise the cost of Indian steel exports to the EU, especially blast furnace products, squeezing margins and EU market share unless producers cut emissions, said Lakshmanan R, head of South & Southeast Asia corporates at CreditSights in Singapore. To offset lower exports to the EU, Indian steel mills are trying to tap into the Middle East and offering quick delivery and flexible payment terms, said Shankhadeep Mukherjee, principal analyst at London-based CRU Group. .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)
Motilal Oswal, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Jefferies maintain buy calls, while Nuvama reduces rating on the stock and Citi, Elara maintain sell calls View More
In a landmark collaboration, JSW Steel is joining forces with JFE Steel in a massive ?15,750 crore venture, acquiring Bhushan Power & Steel's facility in Odisha. This transformative agreement is anticipated to cut JSW Steel's debt load by nearly 50%, paving the way for accelerated growth and enhanced operational capacity at Bhushan Power & Steel beyond its current milestones. View More
JSW Steel on Wednesday announced a joint venture with Japan's JFE Steel worth ₹15,750 crore, as part of which India's largest steel producer will sell its subsidiary Bhushan Power & Steel's integrated steel facility in Odisha to the 50:50 JV, according to a stock exchange filing. The JV will act as a "double engine" for JSW Steel, its chief executive Jayant Acharya told media persons. The deal will help JSW Steel slash its debt by as much as ₹37,250 crore, nearly half of its current debt of ₹79,153 crore as of September-end, he said. This deleveraging, in turn, will allow JSW Steel to grow at a faster pace, while the JV will help Bhushan Power & Steel Limited (BPSL) grow beyond the currently envisioned 10 million tonnes. "This is a win-win deal for JSW Steel," Acharya said. "We already have a plan to grow up to 50 million (tonnes) and have various assets which we can take further. Parallelly, the joint venture will be able to chart its own path of growth." JSW Steel aims to increase its production capacity to 43.4 million tonnes annually in three years from 34.2 million tonnes at present, and to 50 million tonnes by 2030-31. Live Events BPSL will first be sold by way of a slump sale on a going concern basis to JSW Sambalpur Steel for a cash consideration of ₹24,483 crore. JSW Sambalpur is wholly owned by JSW Kalinga Steel Limited, which in turn is wholly owned by Piombino Steel Limited. About 82.65% of Piombino Steel is owned by JSW Steel, while 17.35% of the company is owned by JSW Shipping & Logistics Pvt Ltd. JFE Steel will buy a 50% equity stake in JSW Kalinga for a total of ₹15,750 crore in two equal tranches. Following the slump sale and the related steps, JSW Kalinga will then be held jointly by JSW Steel and JFE Steel with a 50% stake each. Debt reduction, growth JSW Steel's debt will decrease by ₹37,250 crore by June 2026, its senior management guided. "The cash which JSW Steel will get is ₹32,358 crore. In addition to that, we have transferred about ₹5,000 crore of debt as a part of the slump sale," Acharya said. On capacity expansion, he said, "What we will be doing is, we will be accelerating our own capital expenditure at our sites - Vijayanagar, Paradip. We will also be looking at accelerating Salav." Bhushan Power & Steel Bhushan Power & Steel was bought for ₹19,700 crore in 2019 through the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. Since it became a subsidiary in October 2021, JSW Steel has invested a capex of about ₹3,500-4,500 crore. "The joint venture will have capability to grow to 10 million tonnes and beyond," Acharya said. "JFE's deep technical expertise globally and JSW's proven capability on project execution and operational excellence, will further add value to the joint venture as we grow." .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 deal, anchored by JFE’s ?15,750-crore commitment, is expected to nearly halve JSW Steel’s debt and ring-fence the BPSL assets under a clean JV structure. View More