India Last Week #63
A round-up of research & reportage on India across climate, energy, foreign policy, politics & more over the last week
Climate, Energy & Environment:
“For just the second time in nearly two decades, the United States has granted an export license to an American company planning to sell nuclear technology to India, MIT Technology Review has learned. The decision to greenlight Clean Core Thorium Energy’s license is a major step toward closer cooperation between the two countries on atomic energy and marks a milestone in the development of thorium as an alternative to uranium for fueling nuclear reactors. Starting from the issuance last week, the thorium fuel produced by the Chicago-based company can be shipped to reactors in India, where it could be loaded into the cores of existing reactors. Once Clean Core receives final approval from Indian regulators, it will become one of the first American companies to sell nuclear technology to India, just as the world’s most populous nation has started relaxing strict rules that have long kept the US private sector from entering its atomic power industry… For India, which has scant uranium reserves but abundant deposits of thorium, the latter metal has been part of a long-term strategy for reducing dependence on imported fuels… In March 2025, US federal officials gave the nuclear developer Holtec International an export license to sell Indian companies its as-yet-unbuilt small modular reactors, which are based on the light-water reactor design used in the US.” Read more: Alexander C. Kaufman, MIT Technology Review
“ACME Group, a leading cleantech solutions provider in India, and IHI Corporation, Japan’s integrated heavy industry group, are jointly developing India’s largest green ammonia project in Gopalpur, Odisha, following the signing of their initial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2023. The facility is planned to produce approximately 0.4 million tonnes of green ammonia annually upon completion. The project has reached significant milestones, including the establishment of a joint venture partnership and IHI Corp acquiring a 30% stake in ACME Clean Energy—the project company developing this initiative—with ACME Group retaining the remaining 70%. Additionally, the necessary land for the project has been secured, and the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) successfully completed by a reputed global engineering firm… The plant is targeted for commissioning by 2029-30, with production earmarked for exports mainly to Japan. This collaboration between ACME Group and IHI Corporation is key in advancing the vision of the India–Japan Clean Energy Partnership.” Read more: Uma Gupta, PV Magazine
“India has cancelled grid access for nearly 17 gigawatts (GW) of delayed clean energy projects to prioritise connections for those that are operational or nearing completion, according to a source familiar with the matter and official documents reviewed by Reuters… The affected projects are located in renewable-rich states such as Rajasthan, western Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh in central India, according to a document from the federal agency overseeing inter-state transmission access. The grid access terminations were carried out in the June quarter after prior notices were issued to the companies, said the source, who requested anonymity as the firms are seeking relief from the federal power regulator, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC)… The country aims to have 500 GW of non-fossil fuel power capacity by 2030. However, its transmission network, spanning about 495,000 circuit kilometres, is lagging the growth in generation capacity. The Central Transmission Utility conducted manual inspections before revoking access and will continue efforts to free up transmission lines for projects that are on track for completion, the official said.” Read more: Sethuraman N R, Reuters
“India’s coking coal imports are expected to rise nearly 42% to 115 million tonnes by the end of the decade, driven by surging demand from the steel sector, according to a report jointly prepared by EY Parthenon and the Indian Steel Association (ISA). The report said imports stood at 81 million tonnes in FY25, while demand for coking coal is projected to climb 55% to 135 million tonnes by FY30 from 87 million tonnes in FY25. The growth is tied to India’s ambitious target of expanding steelmaking capacity to 300 million tonnes by then… “India’s steel ambitions cannot be realized without addressing its heavy reliance on imported coking coal,” said Vinayak Vipul, partner, business consulting, EY Parthenon. “While domestic production is projected to double by 2030, imports will still play a defining role in meeting demand. This dependence makes the sector vulnerable to price volatility and supply chain shocks…India must accelerate beneficiation to unlock the true value of its reserves, diversify sourcing to reduce risk, and invest in technologies that pave the way toward low-carbon steel,” Vipul said… The report recommended a deeper industry-government partnership through investments in washery expansion, strategic stockpiles at ports, and public-private consortia for overseas mine equity.” Read more: Rituraj Baruah, Mint
Economy:
“Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of India delivered a startling verdict: it reversed the liquidation of a steel company buyout that had been completed four years earlier. The decision sent shockwaves through the industry, not only because it upended a long-settled transaction, but because it served as a stark reminder of how uncertain and costly the process of exiting a business can be in India. Protracted insolvency resolution, cumbersome administrative clearances, and strict labour laws – particularly in manufacturing – raise the cost of adjusting labour and winding down operations… The manufacturing sector’s underperformance becomes even more puzzling when contrasted with India's success in other sectors… In new research (Chatterjee et al. 2025), we argue that a central reason for this pattern lies in the institutional exit barriers that manufacturing firms face. We show that such barriers not only slow firm exit but also deter entry, keep unproductive firms alive, and depress aggregate output and productivity in manufacturing… India’s manufacturing exit rates are among the lowest in the world, especially in the formal sector. Figure 1 shows that while the US manufacturing sector sees an annual exit rate of around 9%, the corresponding rate in Indian formal manufacturing is just 3.1%. This low level of churn suggests significant frictions in the exit process, especially in formal manufacturing, which may be dampening the reallocation of resources to more productive firms.” Read more: Shoumitro Chatterjee, Kala Krishna, Kalyani Padmakumar, and Yingyan Zhao, Ideas for India
“In the first-half of this year, India saw nearly 700 mergers and acquisitions worth around $24bn, excluding private equity investments and exits. But Indian banks earned absolutely nothing from directly financing the deals. India’s regulators have long blocked the country’s public and private banks from providing loans to domestic companies to buy equity in other businesses. That has pushed acquirers to turn to bond issues, non-banking financial institutions and foreign lenders to raise funds. Now Indian bankers, frustrated at being locked out of the country’s booming M&A market due to outdated rules, want change, with some seeing the ban as outdated in modern financial system... Rules dating back to the mid-90s have put strict restrictions on how much the Indian banks can lend against equity… Some bankers also see these restrictions as symbolic of the misalignment between different regulators — like the central bank that governs the banking industry and the markets regulator overseeing the securities trade — that is holding back the country’s financial industry. A top banker in Mumbai points out that banks can only lend up to Rs2mn ($22,700) against shares, including for acquisition finance. On the other hand, he said, retail investors can take huge leverage in equity markets even if they don’t understand the risks.” Read more: Krishn Kaushik, Financial Times
“Yet despite warmer relations with Russia and hawkish rhetoric from both Washington and New Delhi, India’s path to outward growth lies with the West - namely the EU and the US - rather than BRICS. Currently, India’s annual exports to the US exceed the combined value of its exports to all BRICS countries. In the past twelve months, exports to the US and Europe were $91 billion and $74 billion, if combined will equal to two times the total exports to BRICS… If the 50% tariff sticks, India’s Achilles’ heel - its low global market share in labor-intensive manufacturing, despite being the world’s most populous country - ironically becomes its blessing. Direct exposure is relatively low, even though the US is its largest trade partner. 2024 goods shipment to the US totalled $79 billion, or about 2% of GDP. Of this, $45 billion in goods or 1.2% of GDP would be impacted by the 50% tariff, primarily in labor-intensive sectors such as textiles and gemstones… Longer term, expanding and diversifying market access will be key. Negotiations on the India-EU FTA are ongoing, and the India-UK FTA shows that New Delhi is moving, albeit gradually, toward liberalising its traditionally well-protected markets.” Read more: Trinh Nguyen and Kelvin Tong, Natixis
Foreign Policy & Security:
“Trump’s recent coercive behaviour now threatens to push India further down this path of hedging, empowering those in New Delhi who were always sceptical of ties with Washington and preferred the comforts of traditional non-alignment. The risk is India will now double down on multi-alignment—doing more with Russia, mending fences with China and diversifying away from other Western partnerships tainted by American unreliability. This would be a strategic mistake. India’s recent emphasis on prioritising ties with advanced, technology-rich industrial powers had strong underlying logic… American hostility towards India should not drive New Delhi to shift away from the West entirely. Europe provides a promising pathway—one that can help India balance its risks without rapidly escalating tensions with China or necessarily undermining its vision of multipolarity. European partners offer substantial investment capital, diversified supply chains that reduce economic dependence on China and advanced defence technologies that do not have the same geopolitical strings as American or Russian alternatives… At the most basic level, future India-Europe cooperation should be rooted in a clear set of shared interests, underpinned by new European strategic seriousness.” Read more: James Crabtree, European Council on Foreign Relations
“A group of seven men who had travelled to Moscow on study and business visas said they were deceived by a third-party agent and taken to a Russian Army camp on August 18, 2025, where they were forced to construct bunkers. They were allegedly lured with promises that they would be paid Rs 20 lakh per month as construction workers outside Moscow, amounting to Rs 80 lakh for a three-month contract. However, in reality, the contract bound them to the Russian Army, they said… The seven, now at the camp in occupied Ukraine’s Selydove in the Donetsk region, have been identified as Gursewak Singh, Sachin Khajuria, Sumeet Sharma, Buta Singh, Geetik Kumar, Ankit and Vijay Singh, who hail from Punjab, Jammu and Haryana… Earlier this year, the families of three other missing Indians, Jagdeep Kumar from Jalandhar, and Ajay Yadav and Azamuddin Khan from Uttar Pradesh, had travelled to Russia in search of their relatives, missing for two years in the war. Following their visit, senior officials from the MEA told The Wire that 18 Indians were still unaccounted for in the conflict and that efforts were underway to trace them.” Read more: Kusum Arora, The Wire
“Nepal has become the third country in India's immediate neighbourhood to see a violent uprising topple its government in recent years. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned after more than 20 people died in clashes with police during anti-government demonstrations triggered by a social media ban… Though Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are also India's close neighbours in South Asia, Delhi's relationship with Kathmandu is special because of historic people-to-people, economic and strategic ties. Nepal shares a largely open border of more than 1,750km (1,080 miles) with five Indian states; Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, Bihar and West Bengal… Much like it was caught off-guard by the uprising in Sri Lanka in 2022 that forced the then president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country, analysts say India was taken by surprise by the developments in Nepal, with Oli resigning just a week ahead of a planned visit to Delhi. Any instability in the country is a cause of concern for India because of Nepal's strategic location… The unrest also has implications for the large Nepalese diaspora in India. An estimated 3.5 million Nepalis work or live in India, but experts say the actual number could be much higher. Nepal is predominantly a Hindu-majority country and communities across the border have close family ties.” Read more: Anbarasan Ethirajan, BBC
“Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Manipur on September 13 – over two years after a civil war broke out in the state – the Centre signed a crucial ceasefire agreement with two armed Kuki-Zo groups. The Suspension of Operations or SoO agreement, which had lapsed in February 2024, was renewed on September 3. The agreement comes in the backdrop of fierce ethnic conflict between the majority Meiteis and the Kuki-Zo-Hmar tribes since May 2023, which has partitioned the state on ethnic lines. The new pact includes “re-negotiated terms and conditions or ground rules”. It reiterates “the territorial integrity of Manipur” and “relocation of designated camps away from vulnerable areas”. The groups agreed to stringent physical verification of cadres by security forces and de-list foreign nationals if they were found to be members of the group… “Most of the Kuki-Zo people feel betrayed by their leaders because the demand was separate administration,” a senior BJP leader from the community told Scroll. “That we have agreed to reduce the number of SoO camps and shift some of them is upsetting for the Kuki-Zo people. This has been done under the diktat of the Meitei groups.” The Meiteis have long demanded that the SoO camps be shifted far away from Meitei settlements. They accuse the SoO groups of carrying out attacks on Meiteis. But the pact has not entirely placated the Meiteis either.” Read more: Rokibuz Zaman, Scroll
“China became India’s largest trading partner in 2008 when bilateral trade touched $30 billion, with the trade deficit at $23.1 billion. The great financial recession provided a brief respite when the trade deficit dipped to $19.2 billion in 2009–10. During Wen Jiabao’s visit to New Delhi in 2010, with bilateral trade flows at $60 billion, both countries agreed to set a target of $100 billion… The trade deficit declined further in 2019–20 and 2020–21 as the impact of trade diversions was augmented by the COVID-19 pandemic, another global event. The post-pandemic bump propelled India’s trade deficit to $85 billion in 2023–24… In early May 2020, there were reports of incursions by Chinese soldiers in Galwan Valley. It soon became evident that India’s tolerance for the 2005 Agreement and the border issue with China had both been breached. The economic relationship with China, including the Press Note, was weaponized for retaliatory measures… In light of the recent thaw in India-China political ties and the recent U.S.-China tariff war, it is worthwhile to examine policy measures imposed by India since 2020, in order of the potential it offers for a calibrated response in future scenarios. First, the FDI screening mechanism was effective in bringing investments to a standstill. Selective approval of investments since 2021 suggests there is scope to develop nuance on this front… Second, the Public Procurement Order has not had any significant impact on imports of relevant goods. Considering the magnitude of India’s public procurement market, it can also be argued that the Order has had a perverse impact of subsidizing the excess production capacity of Chinese manufacturers by allowing bidders to continue importing goods from China… Third, the Public Procurement Order has not impacted the revenue streams of Chinese firms in contracted projects.” Read more: Santosh Pai, Carnegie India
People & Politics:
“A surreal application form for a residence certificate filled in the name of ‘Cat Kumar’, next to a photo of a grumpy feline, went viral recently, even attracting a police case. This form, while intended as a farcical response to the documentary mandates of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, speaks not only to the absurdity but also to the extraordinary expectations of the exercise. In the ongoing discussions on the SIR, an argument on document scarcity is becoming hegemonic. This is the belief that people do not possess the documents in the list of 11 IDs prescribed by the Election Commission of India (ECI).At one point, it was stated that if voters were able to prove that they were included in the 2003 electoral roll, they would be exempted from producing any of these documents… A singular or overwhelming focus on how people don’t hold the required documents can keep one from noting how citizenship and belonging are being reformulated bureaucratically and through seemingly routine procedures—such as revision of electoral rolls or the (re-)institution of a registry of citizens—in line with the majoritarian politics of ‘New India’… ‘Identifying’ a person as a ‘bona fide refugee’, a voter as a legitimate ‘ordinary resident’, a ‘household consumer’ as the rightful ration card holder are all processes marked by complex and frustrating pasts. Inclusive outcomes have resulted not just from political patronage and canny middlemen who have aided the poor in securing documents.” Read more: Nayanika Mathur and Tarangini Sriraman, The India Forum
“The Instagram reel uploaded by a user named Tanishkka, who has 28,000 followers, has been viewed more than 12 million times. That figure is 4 million more than the total number of views received by the last two reels of the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, who has four million followers. Over the past year, Instagram has seen a surge in videos featuring young Indian women with titles such as “a slow morning in life of a 21 year old married girl” and “day in the life of 20 yrs old married girl”. They have been notching up millions of views. The women in the videos, most of whom refer to themselves as “married girls”, are usually impeccably dressed. Their clothes range from salwar-kurtas to dresses and athleisure wear. They prominently display markers of their marital status, such as sindoor, mangalsutras and red and white bangles up to their elbows… Yet another, writing in Hindi, refers to the label by which such creators are sometimes known: “This tradwife trend has started in India too now.” The term “tradwife”, short for “traditional wife”, has been used since around 2020 by Western anglophone social media to refer to a growing number of women content creators who make videos glorifying marital domesticity, focusing on cooking, homemaking and being good wives.” Read more: Divya Aslesha and Molina Minj, Scroll
“Billionaire Gautam Adani’s efforts to get US fraud charges against him resolved have stalled, according to people familiar with the matter, prolonging the regulatory overhang that has hobbled the Adani Group’s global expansion plans. Progress Adani’s representatives had been making with American officials has faltered in recent months as the US and India have clashed on issues like trade, Russian oil and India’s conflict with Pakistan, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the talks are private… Federal prosecutors, meanwhile, continue to pursue the criminal case that became public in late 2024, said another person, who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential. The Adani Group and the White House did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The Justice Department declined to comment… US prosecutors, in a five-count indictment in November, alleged Adani and other defendants helped drive a $250 million bribery scheme in India to lock in solar-power contracts. The Adani Group has consistently denied the charges. None of the defendants, including Adani, have appeared in court so far over the charges. In negotiations to resolve the matter, which began earlier this year, Adani’s representatives have tried to make the case that his prosecution doesn’t align Trump’s priorities and should be reconsidered, Bloomberg News reported in May.” Read more: Sanjai P R, Tom Schoenberg, and Patricia Hurtado, Bloomberg
“It no longer comes as a surprise to most that the Bharatiya Janata Party and its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, have been locked in a power tussle over the choice of next BJP president. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s elaborate tribute to sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat on his birthday (September 11, 2025) struck a different note – one of kinship, not discord. Modi not only recalled Bhagwat’s lifelong commitment to the RSS, but also showcased his personal side. One got to know that Bhagwat can play a range of musical instruments, and that he is a tremendous listener, according to the prime minister. Had it not been a birthday note, Modi’s tribute could have very well been a speech made at a lifetime achievement award ceremony for Bhagwat. After all, the tribute written by Modi came on Bhagwat’s 75th birth anniversary – a number that has long been an unofficial cut-off for retirement in the Sangh parivar until Bhagwat recently dismissed such a claim… Modi’s outreach to Bhagwat comes at a time when the relationship between the two leaders has been rather strained over a range of differences around the prime minister’s centralised style of functioning. The friction has never been as apparent as in the run-up to the inordinately delayed election of a new BJP president… Factionalism delayed organisational polls in the party to such an extent that the BJP could not elect a minimum number of state presidents out of its 36 state units to fulfil the requirements of an electoral college needed to elect a new party president. Now that the party has chiefs in more than 18 state units, after struggling for over a year and thanks to the RSS, it has fulfilled the requirements of an electoral college that can choose or elect a new party president. Yet, it has still failed to do so.” Read more: Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta, The Wire
Tech:
“Food delivery-turned-quick commerce platform Swiggy has taken a leaf out of rival Blinkit’s playbook and entered the instant gifting space with the launch of Giftables. The new service, currently live in Bengaluru, allows users to curate and personalise gift items and have them delivered to the recipient within an hour through the main app… Ahead of the festive season, the company also plans to roll out Giftables to other Tier I cities, including Delhi and Mumbai, aiming to capture a share of the growing demand for the rapid delivery of personalised gifting solutions… Earlier in September, Anil Moolchandani, Chairman and Managing Director of Archies Ltd, told shareholders that the company faced challenges in increasing its revenue and profit during FY25. The numbers corroborate his remarks. Archies registered a 12.95% decline in its revenue from operations to Rs 69.70 crore in the financial year 2024–25 (FY25), compared to Rs 80.07 crore in the previous year… In recent quarters, platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart have expanded the breadth and depth of their quick commerce offerings with the launch of services like Bistro, DeskEats, and Zepto Cafe. In fact, the share of non-grocery products sold on Blinkit has substantially increased over the last few quarters, its parent Eternal said in its Q4FY25 shareholders’ letter. The point to note here is that the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of products in these categories is significantly higher than the market selling price.” Read more: Amit Singh, Medianama
“Quick commerce platforms like Instamart, Blinkit and Zepto responded immediately, thrashing out a suite of advertising packages ranging from INR 2-9 lakh for three months to increase visibility for the advertisers, according to media reports. The strategy is to let a brand onboard various SKUs on a quick commerce platform under a package. The payment is adjusted with the advertisements run for a fixed tenure. Industry stakeholders believe these apps, known for their fast delivery format, have turned into hotspots for targeted advertising, capitalising on a massive captive audience primed for purchases… The INR 1.4-1.6 Lakh Cr advertising market is surging at 10-15% a year, with digital advertising making up 50–60% of this kitty. This share is likely to reach INR 1.5-1.7 Lakh Cr by 2029, with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands emerging as key drivers. The advent of quick commerce has, in fact, triggered a change in consumer mindset over the past few years. And, D2C brands have zoomed in on the business by allocating 60-70% of their total marketing budget. “Unlike traditional ecommerce, where discovery can be passive, quick commerce consumers are in a buying mindset and they want it now. That makes them a fertile ground for brand experiments,” Mira Jhala, whose Frogo enables quick commerce for brands, said.” Read more: Bismah Malik, Inc42
“India is the world’s third-largest producer of e-waste, having generated approximately 1.75 million metric tons in the fiscal year ending 2024, an increase of nearly 75% over the last five years. Close to 60% of e-waste in the country remains unrecycled — which represents both an environmental concern and a financial opportunity. In addition to domestic e-waste, the country is also a magnet for e-waste from countries such as Yemen, the United States, and the Dominican Republic, making India the third-largest importer of it in the world, from both legal and illegal sources… Thanks to government regulation, there’s also money to be made in just processing the recycled materials. Altogether, that adds up to a $1.56 billion industry, according to one 2023 measure by an Indian market analytics firm… In the late 2000s, Indian recycling companies like Attero and Recyclekaro were just emerging, taking advantage of the country’s growing e-waste problem, the lack of formal infrastructure, and an impending regulatory shift. These companies established themselves as pioneers that could address both market demand and a government push toward industry formalization. In 2011, the government introduced a law that required manufacturers to dispose of their e-waste strictly with authorized dismantlers and collection centers, encouraging formal companies to emerge and effectively outlawing the informal industry.” Read more: Yashraj Sharma, RestofWorld