Latest news with #H.D.Kumaraswamy
The Hindu
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Karnataka High Court stays formation of SIT to look into ‘land encroachment' by Kumaraswamy
The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday stayed a Government Order (GO) constituting a Special Investigating Team (SIT) to examine the alleged encroachment of certain portions of government land by Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy adjoining the one owned by him at Kethaganahalli village of Bidadi hobli in Ramanagara taluk of Bengaluru South district. Justice E.S. Indiresh passed the interim order on a petition filed by Mr. Kumaraswamy questioning the legality of the GO, issued on January 28, 2025, constituting the SIT, led by the Bengaluru Regional Commissioner. Appearing for Mr. Kumaraswamy, Senior Advocate Udaya Holla along with advocate Nishanth A.V., contended that the GO had no legal existence in the eyes of law as it was not a 'notification' as it was not published in the official gazette. Section 195 of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964 and Section 8 of the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act, 2011 mandate issuance of 'notification' for delegation of power, and the meaning of 'notification' was 'a notification published in the official gazette' as per the provisions of the Karnataka General Clauses Act, 1985, it was contended in the petition. The SIT on May 29 issued summons to the Union Minister asking him to produce documents with respect to the lands he owned in survey numbers 7 and 8 of Kethaganahalli to investigate the transfer of rights over these properties.
News18
5 days ago
- Business
- News18
India's Rare Earth Diplomacy: The Pull The Magnets Hold & The Contest With China
Last Updated: Rare earth magnets are used in electric vehicles, missiles, drones, and smartphones. IREL and BARC have been tasked with commercialising indigenous magnet-making technologies Amid the breaking news on Israel-Iran conflict, the instability in the Middle East and analysis of the tragic air crash in Ahmedabad, India is quietly working the diplomatic channels and other power corridors — not to procure weapons or warheads, but for rare earth magnets. Rare earth magnets are the invisible muscle behind electric vehicles, missiles, drones, and smartphones. India's rare earth diplomacy is no longer buried in the footnotes of strategic policy memos. It is now to the fore of the silent, but systematic high-stakes geopolitical battle. With Beijing controlling over 90% of the global supply chain for rare earth elements, especially neodymium and dysprosium magnets, the urgency is now palpable. For India, this isn't just about market dominance or self-reliance, but about national security and 'technological sovereignty", an expression that PM Modi used in his crucial meeting with the top bureaucrats last month. INTER-MINISTERIAL MEETINGS AND OUTREACH An inter-ministerial meeting, co-chaired by the union minister for steel and heavy industries, H.D. Kumaraswamy, and union minister for mines and coal, G Kishan Reddy, brought together heavyweights from the ministries of Heavy Industries, Steel, Mines, Commerce & Industry, and the Department of Atomic Energy. The officers, informed of the developments, said that this meeting is one of the series of developments happening over the rare earth-related deliberations and decisions. The agenda was to break the Chinese monopoly on rare earth magnets and fast-track India's indigenous capabilities. 'This inter-ministerial effort will pave the way for India's self-reliance in strategic materials crucial for EVs, electronics, defence and other sectors," Kumaraswamy said in a statement after the meeting. At the centre of India's response are two little-known but powerful institutions—Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) and BARC. The plan is to not just mine the elements, but to crack the far more complex challenge of processing and commercialising high-grade rare earth magnets domestically — a stage where most countries drop out, and China dominates. HOW DID CHINA FLEX ITS MUSCLES OVER MAGNETS? In April, China flexed its control over the global rare earth supply chain by further tightening export controls on select items. The move sent shockwaves through global manufacturing sectors and particularly rattled India's auto and electronics industries that are increasingly reliant on rare earth magnets for everything from EV motors to missile systems. However, New Delhi appears to be responding with calculation. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has stepped into what is traditionally a trade and industry domain. It is now engaging Chinese counterparts in both Delhi and Beijing, pushing for more transparency, consistency, and predictability in rare earth exports. The MEA's approach is measured and precise. Meanwhile, the ministry also quietly swung into action, opening fresh diplomatic channels with countries in Europe, Australia and Central Asia—the regions rich in rare earth reserves and wary of Chinese overreach. These aren't headline-grabbing bilateral summits, but slow, deliberate and calculated moves through joint ventures, technology transfers, exploratory talks, and all with one aim of diversifying supply and building parallel trust chains. India's search for new friends is as much about geopolitical strategy and also about geochemistry. The push aligns with PM Modi's vision of Atmanirbhar (self-reliant) Bharat and Viksit Bharat 2047, said a senior IAS officer, who is part of the rare earth deliberation. India is not just trying to weather the storm. It is now trying to build its own ark. IREL and BARC, the country's rare earth processing and atomic research backbones, are now tasked with commercialising indigenous magnet-making technologies. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : 360 degree view Narendra Modi news18 specials rare earth elements Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: June 18, 2025, 13:01 IST News india India's Rare Earth Diplomacy: The Pull The Magnets Hold & The Contest With China
Mint
09-06-2025
- Automotive
- Mint
EV vs hybrid war: All clean fuel-run vehicles are equal for the PMO
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) believes the Centre needs to support all clean-fuel vehicles including hybrids, even as a rift widens in the Indian auto industry over hybrids being put on a par with pure electric vehicles (EVs). The stand, confirmed by two top government officials, comes after manufacturers of both electric and hybrid vehicles sought the Centre's favour after several state governments proposed incentivizing electric, hybrid and CNG vehicles equally. 'I do not understand why there is so much lobbying. State policies may differ, but the central government has supported both EVs and hybrids in clean mobility schemes. It cannot be that you incentivize one and not the other. The idea is to help all forms and all clean fuels," one of the two officials said on the condition of anonymity. The incentives for EVs and hybrids are aimed at reducing the country's fuel imports and carbon emissions. "All clean mobility initiatives which contribute to this have been incentivized so far, and will continue to be so," the second official said, also on the condition of anonymity. Govt support Mint reported on 6 June, quoting Union heavy industries minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, that the government would continue to support all forms of clean mobility, including hybrid vehicles, which combine the power of a traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) with an electric motor, improving fuel efficiency while cutting down on emissions and fuel usage. Even in the past, the Centre supported hybrids and EVs alike in various subsidy schemes, including the second iteration of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India), which ran from 2018-19 to 2023-24. Also read | ARAI likely to plan division of auto testing agencies allocation Eventually, support for clean-fuel cars was removed under the PM E-Drive scheme (2023-24 to 2025-26). However, it continues to incentivize pure electric buses and electric and hybrid ambulances. The outlay for incentivising such ambulances is ₹500 crore till the end of FY26. Nevertheless, the Union government will continue to support policies to promote clean mobility through all possible means, including EVs, hybrid vehicles, as well as vehicles running on compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquified natural gas (LNG), among others, according to the government officials cited above. The EV vs hybrid war Mint reported on 24 April that the Delhi government had proposed to grant hybrid cars the same benefits as fully electric ones, raising concern among carmakers that had committed vast amounts to develop battery EVs, skipping hybrid technologies. The draft of the Delhi Electric Vehicles Policy 2.0 seeks to waive road tax and registration fees on electric cars priced up to ₹20 lakh ex-showroom and extend the benefit to strong hybrid EVs (SHEVs) and plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVs) with a similar price cap as well. Also read | More than 6 lakh electric 2, 3-wheelers sold under PM E-Drive scheme since April An SHEV is typically a car in which an electric motor gives significant assistance to the combustion engine. PHEVs, as the name suggests, come with a charging port for the battery that drives the motor. These vehicles can also run exclusively on the electric motor. Uttar Pradesh was the first state to waive these charges for hybrid vehicles in July 2024. CAQM direction Meanwhile, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on 4 June also directed commercial vehicle operators to include 'clean' vehicles, including hybrids, in their fleets to help curb air pollution in the national capital. Worried about losing market share, EV makers have urged the Union government not to incentivize them on par with EVs. They have argued that parity between incentives for hybrids and pure EVs would push consumers towards hybrids, which are not zero-emission vehicles. Also read | Tata Motors pushes for e-taxi subsidy after exclusion from PM E-Drive India's EV market was valued at $54.41 billion in 2025, and the hybrid vehicle market at about $0.53 billion, according to market research company Mordor Intelligence. India's automobile market, the world's third-largest by sales, was valued at $137.06 billion. Clean-fuel clash India's major EV makers include Tata Motors Ltd, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, Hyundai Motor India Ltd, Kia India Pvt. Ltd, and JSW MG Motor India Ltd. The hybrid carmakers are led by Maruti Suzuki India Pvt. Ltd, Honda Cars India Ltd, and Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd. 'Tata Motors believes that government incentives should be directed towards promoting zero-emission technologies such as EVs by bridging funding gaps, developing enabling infrastructure, and accelerating innovation to help them reach scale and maturity. Hybrid is an incremental and mature ICE technology, which is commercially viable and faces no funding or adoption barriers that typically warrant government support," said a Tata Motors spokesperson in an emailed statement. Also read | Subsidies on e-scooters to slide to ₹5,000 per scooter in Oct 2025 The spokesperson added that hybrids use fossil fuels, resulting in PM2.5, CO2, and other tailpipe emissions like any other ICE vehicles. Directing any incentives or subsidies toward them can divert India from its net-zero and energy security objectives. 'Viability gap' Rahul Bharti, senior executive officer, corporate affairs, Maruti Suzuki, countered the argument, saying that strong hybrid EVs reduce CO2 emissions by 25% to 31% over pure petrol vehicles and increase energy efficiency by 36% to 44%, but they still have a viability gap. 'So, the tax cannot be the same for a strong hybrid and a pure petrol/diesel vehicle. Data shows that wherever SHEVs have been incentivized, the sales of BEVs have not fallen at all; on the contrary, they have gone up. SHEVs will help reduce pure diesel/petrol cars, and that is in the national interest," he added. Also read | E-buses under PM E-drive to be used now for intercity, tourist travel While hybrid vehicle sales rose about 12% year-on-year to 365,024 in 2024-25, pure EV sales rose 17% to 1,967,313, showed data from the central government's Vahan portal. Queries emailed on 5 June to the PMO, on 6 June to Mahindra & Mahindra, Hyundai Motor India, Kia India, JSW MG Motor, Honda Cars, and Toyota Kirloskar Motor, and on 7 June to the heavy industries ministry, remained unanswered until the time of publishing this story. Experts weigh in The share of non-conventional fuels has increased to a fifth of total passenger vehicle volumes, as against less than 5% five years ago, said Srikumar Krishnamurthy, senior vice-president and co-group head, corporate ratings, Icra Ltd. 'Specifically, hybrids have seen better acceptance in the last one and a half years as they reduce carbon emissions while managing to achieve good ranges. While hybrids at this stage are a stop-gap solution as EV infrastructure is yet to mature, they are also playing a strategic role in achieving sustainability and with more product launches and better product quality, it has become more popular."
Mint
03-06-2025
- Automotive
- Mint
India's EV bait: Who'll bite?
On Monday, India's government notified the guidelines of a policy announced last March to lure foreign investment in electric vehicle (EV) making, with a five-year window of easy market access as its bait. A company or group with at least ₹10,000 crore in global auto revenues and ₹3,000 crore invested in fixed assets can soon apply for the benefits of this scheme. Also read: Elon Musk's Tesla not keen on making in India under EV incentive plan: Minister If an EV-maker pledges to invest ₹4,150 crore in Indian manufacturing facilities within three years, backed by a bank guarantee—and with at least 25% domestic value addition achieved in that span and 50% in two more years—it will annually be allowed to import up to 8,000 four-wheeler EVs worth $35,000 or more (in landed cost) at a tariff of 15% instead of the usual 70%-plus for half a decade. That's long enough for an EV maker to test launch its models and decide what to roll off assembly lines. Also read: E-buses under PM E-drive to be used now for intercity, tourist travel German and Korean carmakers are reportedly keen to apply. But Elon Musk's Tesla, which is gearing up for a soft launch, has not shown interest so far, according to heavy industries minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. This is ironic. The scheme's origin lies at least partly in Musk's complaints of high Indian tariffs. Also read: From red to black: India's top automakers see EV business turning around
The Hindu
02-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Hindu
Centre notifies guidelines to boost electric car production
The Centre on Monday (June 2, 2025) notified the guidelines to promote domestic manufacturing of electric cars, offering a concessional import duty of 15% on completely built-up units on a day Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said global EV giant Tesla was not interested in manufacturing cars in India. The detailed guidelines for the 'Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Electric Passenger Cars in India' (SPMEPCI) comes 15 months after the government first announced its import policy. The notice for inviting applications under the scheme will be notified shortly. 'Tesla... They are more [interested] only to start showrooms. They are not interested to [start] manufacturing in India,' Mr. Kumaraswamy told reporters during the launch of the guidelines. The scheme allows EV manufacturers to import Completely Built-in Units (CBUs) cars with a minimum cost-insurance-freight value of $35,000 at reduced customs duty of 15% for a period of five years from the date of the application approval. The maximum number of electric four wheelers allowed to be imported at the reduced customs duty will be capped at 8,000 units per year. The government scheme allows unutilised annual imports to be carried over into the next year. In a departure from the 2024 version of the policy, the government has also allowed brownfield investments following protests from Indian manufacturers such as Maruti Suzuki India and Tata Motors. (With PTI inputs)
