A view of the logo of Vedanta installed on the facade of its headquarters, in Mumbai. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Vedanta on October 24 said Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sonal Shrivastava has resigned, amid a major structural overhaul announced last month.

“Ajay Goel, currently incumbent CFO at Indian edutech start-up Byju’s, will return as Vedanta’s CFO effective from October 30,” the company said in a statement.

Billionaire Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta announced plans to carve the metals-to-oil conglomerate into six separate businesses last month, a move aimed at shoring up the group’s financial performance.

Shrivastava had joined Vedanta in June, and was the third person to hold the position since 2021 after GR Arun Kumar and Ajay Goel.

Goel had resigned from Vedanta in April to join Byju’s. (Reporting by Varun Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)

File picture of the Vedanta logo outside its headquarters in Mumbai
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Mining and oil giant Vedanta ran a covert lobbying campaign to weaken key environmental regulations during the pandemic, OCCRP alleged in a new report.

The not-for-profit organisation said the Indian government approved the changes without public consultation and implemented them using “illegal methods”.

Vedanta spokesperson did not immediately offer any comments.

“In one case, Vedanta led a push to ensure mining companies could produce up to 50% more without new environmental approvals,” it said.

Vedanta’s oil business, Cairn India, also successfully lobbied to have public hearings scrapped for exploratory drilling in oil blocks it won in government auctions. Since then, six of Cairn’s controversial oil projects in Rajasthan have been approved despite local opposition, it claimed.

A man walks past the logo of Vedanta outside its headquarters in Mumbai. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Mining magnate Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Ltd has won an arbitration against a demand for a higher payout from its prolific Rajasthan oil and gas fields after disallowance of ₹9,545 crore ($1.16 billion) in certain costs incurred, the company said.

The government has sought additional profit petroleum (or its share from the oil and gas fields) after it reallocated certain costs between the fields in the block and disallowed a portion of the cost incurred on laying a pipeline to evacuate oil produced from the Rajasthan block.

Also Read | Vedanta chairman mulls to split different businesses into separate companies

As per the contract, companies are allowed to recover all costs incurred before splitting profit in a predetermined ratio with the government. If a certain portion of cost is disallowed, it would result in higher profits and a resultant higher share to the government. Vedanta had challenged such a demand before an arbitration tribunal.

“The company has received an arbitration award dated August 23, 2023… upholding the contention of the company that additional profit petroleum, on account of Director General of Hydrocarbon (DGH) audit exceptions in relation to allocation of common development costs across Development Areas and certain other matters, is not payable as per terms of the Production Sharing Contract for Rajasthan Block,” it said in a stock exchange filing.

It however did not give details of the arbitration award. “The company is in the process of reviewing the award in detail and evaluating its financial impact,” it said.

In its latest annual report, Vedanta had put the number at ₹9,545 crore.

“DGH, in September 2022, has trued up the earlier demand raised till 31 March 2018 up to 14 May 2020 for Government’s additional share of profit oil based on its computation of disallowance of cost incurred over retrospective re-allocation of certain common costs between Development Areas (DAs) of Rajasthan Block and certain other matters aggregating to ₹9,545 crore applicable interest thereon representing share of the company and its subsidiary,” it said.

The firm said it disputed the demand and the other audit exceptions as it believed these were not in accordance with the PSC and are entirely unsustainable.

“In accordance with PSC terms, the group had commenced arbitration proceedings. The final hearing and arguments were concluded in September 2022. Post hearing briefs were filed by both the parties and award is awaited,” the annual report released last month said.

The award has now come.

Sources said DGH, which is the upstream nodal agency of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, had way back in May 2018 raised a demand for additional share of profit oil for the government after disallowing ₹1,508 crore out of the cost incurred on laying a heated-pipeline to transport Barmer crude and ₹2,723 crore in the reallocation of certain common costs.

The numbers were revised in subsequent years. These costs pertain to only Vedanta’s share in the Rajasthan block as state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), which holds 30% interest in the block, had agreed to pay the government if these costs are disallowed.

It was not immediately known if the government will abide by the arbitration award. The government had previously challenged all arbitration awards it had lost.

Anil Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta Resources Ltd, addresses the audience during the ‘SemiconIndia 2023’, India’s annual semiconductor conference, in Gandhinagar, India, July 28, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Vedanta group chairman Anil Agarwal on July 28 said that first phase of its semiconductor project will involve $5 billion investment of the overall $20-billion outlay, and the venture will be ready with made-in-India chip in two and a half years.

Vedanta is talking to three companies to rope them in as technology partners for its mega plans entailing foundary, chip manufacturing, and packaging and design.

“In 2.5 years, we will give you Vedanta made-in-India chips,” Mr. Agarwal told reporters on the sidelines of SemiconIndia 2023 event.

The first phase of its semiconductor investment will be to the tune of $5 billion, which is being structured.

Also read | India’s semiconductor market to reach $55 billion by 2026: Deloitte

“Vendata has a good cash flow, we will make a capital allocation in Vedanta and there is queue of people to give us equity and debt…but we want the tie-ups to be in place first, and have ecosystem,” he said.

After parting ways with Foxconn on their semiconductor joint venture, Vedanta group has made it clear that it remains committed to building India’s first semiconductor and display fabs in Dholera Special Investment Region in Gujarat, and substantial progress has happened to tie up with technology and equity partners in semiconductors.

Both Foxconn and Vedanta have now decided to apply for India chip-making incentives separately.

Foxconn has said it is working on plans to apply for incentives under semiconductor and display fab programme, as the contract manufacturer pledged its commitment to India.

The Taiwanese electronics manufacturing giant said it has been actively reviewing landscape for optimal partners.

India is wooing semiconductor and display manufacturers with a $10-billion incentive scheme, making a determined push to position itself as a global powerhouse for chip making.

Sophisticated chips are part of everyday life, used in mobile phones to refrigerators and cars to high-tech industries, and so fostering local industry with carefully-crafted schemes and policy sweeteners will link India to an ever-growing global chip market.

As it is, the global semiconductor shortage has emphasised the importance of this critical component in modern-day electronics.