New Delhi:

Billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani met the Prime Minister of Bhutan on Sunday and announced the signing of an agreement for a 570 MW green hydro plant in the country. Mr Adani also met Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck along with the prime minister in Thimphu.

“Absolutely fascinating meeting with Dasho Tshering Tobgay, Hon. Prime Minister of Bhutan. Signed an MoU with DGPC for a 570 MW green hydro plant in Chukha province. Admirable to see @pmo_bhutan advancing the vision of His Majesty The King and pursuing broad ranging infrastructure initiatives across the kingdom. Looking forward to working closely on hydro & other infra in Bhutan,” he said.

The Chairman of Adani Group also shared photos with the two leaders. Mr Adani said that he was honoured to meet the King and was inspired by his vision for Bhutan and the “ambitious eco-friendly masterplan for Gelephu Mindfulness City, including large computing centres and data facilities”.

Honoured to meet His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan. Inspired by his vision for Bhutan and the ambitious ecofriendly masterplan for Gelephu Mindfulness City, including large computing centers and data facilities. Excited to collaborate on these… pic.twitter.com/YlTNJEZwfD

— Gautam Adani (@gautam_adani) June 16, 2024

“Honoured to meet His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan. Inspired by his vision for Bhutan and the ambitious ecofriendly masterplan for Gelephu Mindfulness City, including large computing centers and data facilities. Excited to collaborate on these transformative initiatives as also on green energy management for a carbon negative nation!” he said in a post on Instagram

In November last year, Mr Adani met the King and said he was excited to explore opportunities for the Adani Group to contribute to green infrastructure development for “one of our happy and warm neighbours”.

(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Congress on June 15 said it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that competition among corporates is not stifled, oligopolies or monopolies do not emerge and corporate takeovers are free and fair.

“It is also the government’s responsibility to ensure that undue advantage arising out of access to political power is not exercised,” party general secretary Jairam Ramesh said.

His comments came after the Adani Group acquired Penna Cements while strengthening its share in the cement sector in southern India.

“Aap chronology samajhiye (understand the chronology): September 2022: Adani acquires Ambuja Cements and ACC, to become country’s second largest cement player. August 2023: Adani acquires Sanghi Industries, India’s largest single-location cement unit. June 2024: Adani acquires Penna Cements, giving it substantial market share even in the last remaining region of South India.” he said.

“Upcoming: Adani is exploring the acquisition of Saurashtra Cement, Vadraj Cement, and the cement business of Jaiprakash Associates,” Mr. Ramesh claimed in a post on X.

Quoting former RBI deputy governor Viral Acharya, he said the noted financial economist had established that the five big conglomerates, including the Adani Group, are building monopolies in 40 sectors, including in the cement sector.

“This growing monopolisation is linked to India’s shaky economic growth, unemployment crisis, and high inflation. In 2015, when a common man used to spend ₹100 on goods, ₹18 would go as profit to the business owner — in 2021, the owner now gets ₹36 in profits,” Mr. Ramesh claimed.

“Firms must grow. Companies must expand. But at the same time, the government has a responsibility to ensure competition is not stifled, oligopolies or monopolies do not emerge, takeovers are free and fair, and undue advantage arising out of access to political power is not exercised,” the Congress leader said in his post.

In the biggest single-day fall in four years, benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty plunged by nearly 6 per cent on Tuesday as vote counting trends showed the BJP may not have a clear majority in the Lok Sabha polls.

Reversing its Monday’s sharp gains of over 3 per cent, the 30-share BSE Sensex nosedived 4,389.73 points or 5.74 per cent to close at a more than two-month low of 72,079.05. In the day trade, the barometer tanked 6,234.35 points or 8.15 per cent to hit a nearly five-month low level of 70,234.43.

The NSE Nifty tumbled 1,982.45 points or 8.52 per cent to 21,281.45 during the day. Later, it ended at 21,884.50, a sharp decline of 1,379.40 points or 5.93 per cent. Sensex and Nifty had previously declined by around 13 per cent on March 23, 2020, when lockdown was imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Heavy profit booking in PSUs, public banks, power, utilities, energy, oil and gas, and capital goods shares dragged the markets into the deep negative.

“The unexpected outcome of the general election sparked a wave of fear selling in the domestic market, reversing the recent substantial rally. Despite this, the market maintains its expectation of stability within the coalition, led by BJP as the major election winner, thereby mitigating substantial downside in the medium term.

“This is likely to lead to a major shift in political policy with a focus on social economics, which will have a positive effect on the rural economy,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Vote counting trends showed that the BJP was poised to be the single largest party but could be well short of an absolute majority, leaving it dependent on its NDA partners to form government.

When the Narendra Modi government came to power on May 16, 2014, Sensex had rallied 261.14 points or 0.90 per cent to settle at 24,121.74, and Nifty jumped 79.85 points or 1.12 per cent to 7,203. The BSE benchmark had hit the 25,000-mark in intra-day trade on that day.

On May 23, 2019, the Sensex declined 298.82 points or 0.76 per cent to settle at 38,811.39, while the Nifty ended 80.85 points or 0.69 per cent lower at 11,657.05. The BSE benchmark had hit the 40,000-mark for the first time ever, while the Nifty breached the 12,000-level on that day.

Among the 30 Sensex companies, NTPC plunged over 15 per cent, while State Bank of India tanked more than 14 per cent, Larsen & Toubro tumbled over 12 per cent and Power Grid dived more than 12 per cent. Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries and JSW Steel were the other big laggards.

On the other hand, Hindustan Unilever jumped 6 per cent while Nestle climbed 3 per cent. Tata Consultancy Services, Asian Paints and Sun Pharma also emerged as the gainers.

All the sectoral indices, except for FMCG, closed in the red.

Adani group shares also declined. Adani Ports & SEZ tanked over 21 per cent, Adani Enterprises by nearly 20 per cent, Adani Power by 17 per cent, Adani Energy Solutions by 20 per cent and Adani Green Energy by over 19 per cent.

“Markets have reacted sharply to the initial trends of the NDA leading on around 290 seats which look way behind the exit polls which were projecting around 350-370 seats. With the NDA still looking to form a government, though with the important support of coalition partners, markets look jittery about the prospects of strong decision making.

“Markets believe that the reformistic approach, which was a hallmark of the previous two terms, might take a backseat in the third term. However, our sense is that it is still early to jump to conclusions and should ideally wait for a clearer picture,” said Manish Chowdhury, Head of Research, StoxBox.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge tanked 8.07 per cent and smallcap index plunged 6.79 per cent.

Among the indices, utilities dived 14.40 per cent, power tumbled 14.25 per cent, oil and gas by 13.07 per cent, services by 12.65 per cent, capital goods by 12.06 per cent, energy by 11.62 per cent and metal by 9.65 per cent.

As many as 3,349 stocks declined while 488 advanced and 97 remained unchanged on the BSE. Also, 292 stocks hit their 52-week low, while 139 reached their one-year peak.

On the NSE, 2,438 stocks declined while 242 advanced and 70 were unchanged. The number of stocks to hit a 52-week high stood at 83 while 271 stocks fell to their 52-week low.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Tokyo settled lower while Shanghai and Hong Kong ended with gains. European markets were trading lower. US markets ended on a mixed note on Monday. Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 1.88 per cent to USD 76.89 a barrel.

Markets jumped sharply on Monday after exit polls predicted a massive win for the BJP-led NDA in the Lok Sabha polls. The BSE benchmark soared by 2,507.47 points or 3.39 per cent to settle at a new closing peak of 76,468.78 on Monday, marking its biggest single-day gain in three years. The NSE Nifty climbed 733.20 points or 3.25 per cent to finish at 23,263.90.

Logo of the Adani Group installed at a roundabout on the ring road in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. FILE
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Shares of all Adani Group companies tumbled on Tuesday as the initial trend showed BJP winning a lesser number of seats than predicted in exit polls.

The stock of Adani Ports plummeted 20 per cent, Adani Energy Solutions plunged 19.80 per cent, Adani Power slumped 19.76 per cent, Ambuja Cements tumbled 19.20 per cent and the group’s flagship firm Adani Enterprises tanked 19.13 per cent on the BSE.

Erasing the record-rally of the previous trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 4,131.44 points or 5.40 per cent to 72,337.34, and the Nifty slumped 1,263.3 points or 5.43 per cent to 22,000.60.

Shares of all Adani Group companies rallied sharply on Monday, with Adani Power surging nearly 16 per cent in line with a massive surge in the equity market, taking the combined market valuation of the ten listed firms to Rs 19.42 lakh crore.

The stock of the majority of the group firms, including Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Adani Power and Adani Green, also bounced back to their pre-Hindenburg Research report levels on Monday.

The BJP-led NDA was ahead with leads in 296 seats and the opposition INDIA bloc not far behind in 227 seats as votes were counted for the Lok Sabha elections on Tuesday, setting the course for a third consecutive term as prime minister for Narendra Modi but with a stronger opposition.

While the BJP was ahead in 236 of 542 seats, the Congress had leads in 97, signalling a dip for the ruling party from the 303 score in 2019 and a spike for the opposition party’s 52 from the last election. An election marked by acridity and acrimony could end with the treasury benches in reduced numbers and an opposition with more teeth.

ALSO READ:Adani Group’s FY24 net jumps 55%; mulls $90-billion capex

In trends available till 11.45 am, the NDA was close to the 300 mark, comfortably over the magic figure of 272 with the opposition INDIA bloc making significant gains.

Shares of all group companies surged on Friday by up to 14 per cent after US brokerage Jefferies put a bullish view on the group that is back to an expansion spree with a planned USD 90 billion capital expenditure over the next decade.

New Delhi:

Adani group saw a 55 per cent profit surge in the fiscal year ended March 2024 as the apples-to-airport conglomerate is back on an expansion spree and eyeing a USD 90 billion capex over the next decade.

Emerging from a damning report of a US short seller, which hit market value of its listed companies, Adani group in 2023-24 (April 2023 to March 2024) fiscal focused on containing debt, reducing founder share pledge and consolidating business in core competencies.

This helped net profit surge to Rs 30,767 crore for the group’s listed companies in the fiscal from Rs 19,833 crore a year ago, according to exchange data and analysts.

The 5-year CAGR (compound annual growth rate) for profit growth was 54 per cent.

EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) rose 40 per cent to Rs 66,244 crore despite a 6 per cent fall in the revenue.

“Total group EBITDA grew 40 per cent year-on-year in FY24 (5-year CAGR of over 27 per cent), group raised fresh funds from equity/debt/strategic investors, promoter increased stake in group companies and group Mcap rebounded,” Jefferies said in a note. “The group is back on an expansion spree and eyeing USD 90 billion capex over next decade.” Group leverage was at a multi-year low, the US-based brokerage said.

“Net debt at the group level (8 companies plus debt related to cement business acquisition) remained stable at Rs 2.2 lakh crore in FY24 vs Rs 2.3 lakh crore. Net debt/EBITDA improved materially to 3.3x FY24 EBITDA vs 5x year-on-year,” it said.

Adani Ports and Adani Power saw a drop in net debt in FY24. Increase in leverage for Adani Enterprises and Adani Green was on the back of new capex projects undertaken by companies.

In FY24, the group’s flagship Adani Enterprises commissioned an ingot wafer unit as part of solar module manufacturing, wind turbine facility and copper smelter. Adani Cement completed the Sanghi Cement acquisition while promoters infused more funds in the company.

Adani Ports acquired Gopalpur port, Adani Power commissioned 1.6 GW Godda power plant, Adani Green added 2.8GW renewable energy capacity and commenced operations of solar power project in Khavda, Gujarat, and Adani Energy Solutions put up 1,244 circuit kilometers of transmission lines.

On the way forward, Jeferries said, “Adani Enterprises is amid scaling its captive manufacturing capacity towards starting green hydrogen production by FY27; Navi Mumbai Airport appears likely to commission by 4QFY25; data centre projects are scaling up.” Adani Cement is looking to double capacity, Adani Ports has outlined its 5-year business road map that targets EBITDA growth at 18 per cent CAGR in FY24-29.

“Ports EBITDA is expected to rise at 16 per cent CAGR led by expansion and ramp-up with the company targeting 1 billion tonnes cargo volume by 2030 (15 per cent CAGR),” it said, adding Adani Green has raised its 2030 power capacity target from 45 GW to 50 GW now including 5GW pumped hydro.

Adani Total Gas plans to grow new business segments including LNG station network for transport and mining sector and EV charging facilities. Commodities firm Adani Wilmar is focused on distribution expansion, ramping alternate channels and improving mix of premium brands.

Jefferies recommended ‘Buy’ on four group companies — Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports & SEZ, Adani Energy Solutions and Ambuja Cements.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)

New Delhi:

Hiroshi Suzuki, Ambassador of Japan to India and Bhutan, indicated that Japan is looking forward to working with Adani Group after meeting Gautam Adani, chairman of Adani Group on May 29.

The ambassador took to social media platform X to share his insights after visiting Mundra Port, and Khavda.

“Had a fantastic meeting with Mr Gautam Adani, Chairman of Adani group. Deeply grateful for his warm friendship and his commitment to strengthening the special partnership between Japan and India. Eagerly looking forward to working together into the future,” Ambassador Suzuki said in his post.

Had a fantastic meeting with Mr. Gautam Adani, Chairman of Adani group. Deeply grateful for his warm friendship, and his commitment to strengthening the special partnership between &!
Eagerly looking forward to working together into the future!! https://t.co/8ShP5jMw77

— Hiroshi Suzuki, Ambassador of Japan (@HiroSuzukiAmbJP) May 30, 2024

Japanese ambassador expressed gratitude for the commitment shown by Adani to enhance the partnership between Japan and India.

Yesterday, Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani posted on the social media platform X to convey his insights following his meeting with Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Suzuki.

“Had a very engaging discussion with Amb Hiroshi Suzuki of Japan. We are grateful for his visit to our Mundra Port and to Khavda where we are building the world’s largest Hybrid Renewable Energy Park of 30 GW capacity. The Ambassador’s appreciation for India’s culture, the value he places on our partnership and his tremendous support for India are truly inspiring,” Mr Adani said in his post on X.

 The coal-to-port company is building the world’s largest Hybrid Renewable Energy Park with 30 GW capacity.

The project is being developed by Adani Green Energy Limited. It will be the largest power plant on the earth after its completion. It covers an area of 538 sq km on arid ground in Khavda, Kutch, Gujarat, the company claims.

Its area is nearly as big as Mumbai and five times larger than Paris. On February 14, 2024, 551 MW of solar energy was transferred from the project to the national grid for the first time. Adani Green Energy Limited will invest roughly Rs 1.5 lakh crore for the project.

The visit by Ambassador Suzuki to the Khavda project site and the Mundra Port demonstrates Japan’s interest in and support for India’s renewable energy industry.

Japan has been actively funding infrastructure projects in the country, among them the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Project (IV), The Dhubri-Phulbari bridge, Phulbari-Goeragre section of NH 127B, Chennai Peripheral Ring Road, and Dedicated Freight Corridor Project are some of the major projects.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)

New Delhi:

India is poised to become a 21st-century economic powerhouse, offering an alternative to China for investors looking for growth and for reducing supply chain risks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialists Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani playing a fundamental role in shaping the economic superpower the country will become in the coming decades, according to a CNN report.

The report says to spur growth, the Modi government has begun a massive infrastructure transformation by spending billions on building roads, ports, airports and railways.

It is also heavily promoting digital connectivity, which can improve both commerce and daily life.

“Both Mr Adani and Mr Ambani have become key allies as the country embarks on this revolution,” it said.

Worth $3.7 trillion in 2023, India is the world’s fifth largest economy, jumping four spots in the rankings during PM Modi’s decade in office and leapfrogging the United Kingdom.

“It is comfortably placed to expand at an annual rate of at least 6 per cent in the coming few years, but analysts say the country should be targeting growth of eight per cent or more if it wants to become an economic superpower. Sustained expansion will push India higher up the ranks of the world’s biggest economies, with some observers forecasting the South Asian nation to become number three behind only the US and China by 2027,” the CNN analysis said.

The Adani Group and Reliance Industries – the two sprawling conglomerates having valuations worth over $200 billion each – have established businesses in sectors ranging from fossil fuels and clean energy to media and technology.

“Investors have been cheering the duo’s ability to adroitly bet on sectors prioritised for development by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, currently campaigning for his third consecutive term to lead India. The South Asian country is poised to become a 21st-century economic powerhouse, offering a real alternative to China for investors hunting for growth and manufacturers looking to reduce risks in their supply chains,” the report said.

“As a result, these three men — PM Modi, Mr Ambani and Mr Adani — are playing a fundamental role in shaping the economic superpower India will become in the coming decades,” it added.

The report also pointed out that the kind of power and influence being enjoyed by the two Indian tycoons has been seen before in other countries “experiencing periods of rapid industrialisation.”

It said that both Mr Adani and Mr Ambani are often compared by journalists to John D Rockefeller, who became America’s first billionaire during the Gilded Age, a 30-year period in the last decades of the 19th century.

“India is in the middle of something that America and lots of other countries have already gone through. Britain in the 1820s, South Korea in the 1960s and 70s, and you could argue China in the 2000s,” said James Crabtree, the author of The Billionaire Raj, a book about India’s wealthy.

Mumbai, which is considered India’s financial capital, has the imprint of the two tycoons everywhere, from high-rise apartment buildings branded with Adani Realty to cultural institutions named after the Ambani clan, and even the international airport, which is operated by Adani.

“Some spaces need no names or bright labels, but their affiliations are just as obvious. Everyone in Mumbai knows who lives in Antilia — the personal skyscraper of Ambani and his family, which reportedly cost $2 billion to build and boasts a spa, three helipads and a 50-seat theatre. The 27-story building sits on a street dubbed ‘Billionaires’ Row,’ its jutting geometric architecture looming over the neighbourhood.”

The CNN report also mentions the grand pre-wedding celebration of Mukesh Ambani’s son Anant Ambani in March this year, when billionaires and movie stars from around the world jetted to Jamnagar.

Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Ivanka Trump were among the many high-profile celebrities in attendance. The three-day celebration, which saw performances by popstar Rihanna and magician David Blaine, transfixed India and further underscored Mr Ambani’s growing global clout.

Guido Cozzi, professor of macroeconomics at the University of St Gallen in Switzerland, said these “conglomerates are very, very important and very well connected,” noting that both the Adani Group and Reliance Industries were founded years before PM Modi came to power.

“They are not typical stagnant monopolistic conglomerates. They are pretty dynamic,” Mr Cozzi said.

Not only are they playing “an important role” in building infrastructure, which helps “growth directly,” but the two business groups are also helping the country expand “indirectly” by boosting connectivity through digital innovation, he explained.

Reliance was founded by Mr Ambani’s father, Dhirubhai, as a small yarn trading firm in Mumbai in 1957. Over the next few decades, it grew into a colossal conglomerate spanning energy, petrochemicals and telecommunications.

Mukesh Ambani has not only upended India’s telecom sector in less than a decade but also become a top player in sectors ranging from media to retail.

The report says that Mukesh Ambani’s ambition and breathless pace of expansion is matched by Mr Adani, “…who now helms businesses ranging from ports and power to defence and aerospace”.

A first-generation entrepreneur, the 62-year-old began his career with diamond trading, before setting up a commodity trading business in 1988, which later evolved into Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL).

According to a January note by American brokerage firm Cantor Fitzgerald, AEL “is at the core of everything India wants to accomplish.”

The company functions as an incubator for Mr Adani’s businesses. Many have been spun out and become leading players in their respective sectors. According to Cantor, the firm’s current focus on airports, roads and energy make it “a unique long-term investment opportunity”.

The report notes that while both the barons built much of their fortune from fossil fuels, they are now investing billions in clean energy. Notably, their green energy pivot comes at a time when India has set itself some ambitious climate goals.

The report also notes that despite India’s success in terms of growth rate, soaring youth unemployment and inequality remain stubbornly persistent problems. In 2022, the country ranked a lowly 147 on gross domestic product (GDP) per person, a measure of living standards, according to the World Bank.

Opposition parties in India have targeted the BJP-led government alleging it has ties with the country’s super-rich and over the meteoric rise of Mr Adani.

The report said PM Modi’s “perceived relationship with the billionaires” is once again being questioned by rivals during the Lok Sabha polls

Some processes, particularly more transparency in the allocation of India’s natural resources and the overhauling of the country’s bankruptcy laws, have seen important reforms under PM Modi, he added.

According to report, some experts say that “some amount of closeness” between politicians and business elite “can help in growing the nation faster.”

The report also suggests that India needs to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation bringing more firms into the sphere, as a country, where millions of people join the labour force every month, can’t be absorbed by a few conglomerates.

“They are phenomenal … entrepreneurs, who have been able to sustain steady growth and development in a vibrant yet sometimes chaotic political and business environment that exists in India,” said Rohit Lamba, an economist at Pennsylvania State University, who is also the co-author of Breaking the Mould, a 2023 book that examines how Indian economy can grow.

“India cannot grow rich before it becomes old on the back of a few big firms like Adani or Ambani…India should make more firms,” he added.

The report says India has other conglomerates as well. The 156-year-old Tata Group wields immense power over various key sectors ranging from steel to aviation, but it often does not invite the same scrutiny as the newer conglomerates, mainly because it is controlled by philanthropic trusts and not run as a family dynasty.

India has been the fastest-growing large economy in the last three financial years.

(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)

A logo of the Adani Group
| Photo Credit: Reuters

India’s markets regulator found a dozen offshore funds invested in Adani Group companies were in violation of disclosure rules and in breach of investment limits, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said on April 22. They declined to be named as they not authorised to speak to media.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Adani Group did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.

Reuters had first reported that the SEBI uncovered the violation of rules on disclosures by listed entities and limits on the holdings of offshore funds in August last year.

The regulator was also looking into Adani Group’s ties with one of the funds to determine whether it could be seen acting “in concert” with the conglomerate’s key shareholders, an accusation Adani has rejected in the past.

The regulator sent notices to a dozen Adani Group’s offshore investors outlining the charges earlier this year and asking them to explain their positions on the disclosure violations and breach of investment limits, the sources said. “The offshore funds were reporting their investment in Adani Group companies at individual fund level. Regulator wanted the disclosure of holding at offshore fund group level,” said the first of the two sources.

Eight of these offshore funds have approached the regulator via written request to settle the charges by paying a penalty without admission of guilt, the sources added.

New Delhi:

Alleging that Congress MLAs in his constituency are taking money from, and promoting, Adani Group companies, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Saturday wondered whether the party’s opposition to the group was a form of extortion or a pressure tactic. 

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Dubey posted photos of plaques in Hindi from various projects which state that they had been carried out courtesy Adani Power and on the recommendation of Deepika Pandey Singh, the Congress MLA from Mahagama in Jharkhand. Mr Dubey is the Lok Sabha MP from Jharkhand’s Godda. 

Mr Dubey also took the name of Congress MLA Pradeep Yadav from the Poraiyahat constituency stating that he does the same thing. Both the Mahagama and Poraiyahat assembly constituencies come under the Godda Lok Sabha seat.

In a Hindi post, addressed to former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Mr Dubey said, “Rahul Gandhi ji, could it be that the Congress’ opposition to Adani is a form of extortion or a pressure tactic? Congress MLAs Deepika Pandey Singh and Pradeep Yadav from my constituency have, in several places, taken money from Adani and are promoting it. This is like speaking with a forked tongue. Have some shame, Congress!”

राहुल गांधी @RahulGandhi जी@INCIndia का अडानी विरोध कहीं Extortion या दबाव डालना तो नहीं है,मेरे लोकसभा में कॉंग्रेस के विधायक दीपिका जी,प्रदीप यादव जी जगह जगह अडानी से पैसे लेकर उनका प्रचार कर रहे हैं ।मुँह में राम बग़ल में छुरी,कॉंग्रेस शर्म करो pic.twitter.com/38oCw0n1je

— Dr Nishikant Dubey (@nishikant_dubey) October 21, 2023

The three photos with the post show projects related to a pool and two temples and all three have plaques with the names of Adani Power and MLA Singh.

This is not the first time that the BJP has brought up Adani Group projects in Congress-ruled areas. Earlier this week, after Rahul Gandhi cited a Financial Times report and blamed the Adani Group for the rise in electricity prices, the BJP’s National Information Department In-Charge Amit Malviya had dared him to walk the talk on the conglomerate’s projects in Congress-ruled states.

“Adani has power projects in Congress-ruled Karnataka, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh among others. Now that Rahul Gandhi has figured out the reason why they have to give ‘subsidies’ in these states, he should ensure that Congress governments act against Adani and not protect him. Let him walk the talk,” he had posted on X, formerly Twitter.

“After doing an entire press conference, Rahul Gandhi still thinks it is just an ‘interesting’ idea to initiate probe into what he claimed was over-invoicing, leading to rise in power tariff. You need to be either daft or delusional to think that people are fools and can’t see through such gimmicks,” he had added.

In June, Karnataka Industries Minister MB Patil had said that the state was open to investments by the Adani Group and would “give time” to the conglomerate to “come up with proposals”.

(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)

Representational image only.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Adani Cement, through Endeavour Trade and Investment Limited, has announced the completion of its refinancing programme for acquisition of debt taken for Ambuja and ACC, through a $3.5 billion financing package, raised from a clutch of international banks. 

“This facility will result in an overall cost saving of $300 million for the Adani Cement vertical,“ Adani Group said in a statement. Adani Family had acquired Ambuja Cement & ACC in a $6.6 billion deal last year.

 “The $3.5 billion facility marks the continued execution of the capital management plan outlined in September 2022 that will see step wise planned deleveraging of Adani Cement. With cement vertical Net Debt to EBITDA now under 2x,” the statement said.

The transaction was financed by facilities aggregating to have $3.5 billion from 10 international banks. DBS Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Mizuho Bank and MUFG Bank acted as Mandated Lead Arranger and Bookrunners and Underwriter to the transaction. 

In addition, Barclays Bank PLC, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank AG, ING Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Standard Chartered Bank acted as Mandated Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners for the transaction.