Mumbai: On September 1, 2025, the Indian government announced a major change: sugar mills and distilleries can now produce as much ethanol as they want from sugarcane juice, sugar syrup, and molasses. This rule will start from the new ethanol supply year beginning on November 1, 2025.

Earlier, during the 2023-24 ethanol supply year, there were restrictions because sugarcane output was low. But with good monsoon rains this year, sugarcane production is expected to rise. So, the government has removed all limits to support the industry and help reach India’s fuel blending goals.

Following the announcement, stocks of major sugar companies like Balrampur Chini, Avadh Sugar, Shree Renuka Sugars, Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar, and Dalmia Bharat Sugar jumped up to 15 percent during Tuesday’s stock market session. Investors see this as a big positive step for the sector.

India is the world’s second-largest sugar producer. But the industry has faced tough times due to falling sugarcane supply. With this new policy, sugar mills can now turn more of their cane juice and B-heavy molasses into ethanol. Ethanol sells at better prices than sugar, which can boost company earnings.

Also, the move helps India progress toward its goal of 20 percent ethanol blending in petrol by 2025, and even possibly 30 percent in the future.

As per the experts this is a big relief for sugar companies. The removal of production caps means mills can now use their full capacity to produce ethanol. This will improve their profits and help the sector grow.

While mills are now free to make more ethanol, the government will regularly check sugar availability in the market. This is to make sure there’s enough sugar left for domestic consumption.

Mumbai: Private corporate investment is expected to cross Rs 2.67 lakh crore in 2025–26 from Rs 2.2 lakh crore in 20254-25, aided by robust macroeconomic fundamentals, improved balance sheets, rising capacity utilisation, easy liquidity conditions, infrastructure push, and the 100-basis points policy rate cut starting from February 2025, according to the RBI’s latest monthly bulletin. Private corporate investment remained as one of the vital contributors to India’s long-term growth trajectory.

After a period of subdued activity during the pandemic years, the investment cycle is being rejuvenated by a confluence of supportive factors.In 2024–25, the macroeconomic backdrop is characterised by robust GDP growth, sustained disinflation, and a consequent conducive monetary policy stance, the article states.

Over the past few years, Indian corporates have undergone a phase of balance sheet repair, aided by deleveraging, improved cash flows, and strong profitability across several sectors.

The banking sector’s improved asset quality and abundant liquidity have further enhanced the credit environment, translating into easier access to financing for capacity expansion.Recent trends in high-frequency indicators — such as rising imports of capital goods, improved capacity utilisation, and increased flows in corporate bond markets — signal renewed investment appetite among firms.

Additionally, sector-specific policies, such as the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, energy transition investments, and digital infrastructure expansion, are incentivising corporates to undertake fresh investments.The domestic economy continues to demonstrate resilience, with real GDP growth of 6.5 per cent in 2024–25, making India the fastest-growing major economy, underpinned by robust domestic demand, and steady progress on public infrastructure investments.

Investment in green field (new) projects accounted for the lion share of about 92 per cent in the total cost of projects financed by banks and financial institutions during 2024-25, in line with the trend seen in the past.

Greenfield investment generally brings new and additional resources and assets to the firms and leads to gross fixed capital formation (GFCF).Higher investment in green filed projects thus points to likely capacity expansion by private corporates going forward, according to the article.

The industry-wise distribution of projects sanctioned during 2024-25 indicates that the infrastructure sector remained the major sector accounting for 50.6 per cent share in the total cost of projects, primarily driven by investment in ‘Power’, followed by ‘Road & bridges’.Beside infrastructure, among the other major industries, chemicals and pesticides, construction, electrical equipment, and metal & metal products also accounted for the sizable share in the total cost of projects.

New Delhi, Aug 29: India and Africa must work to double bilateral trade by 2030, focusing on value addition, technology-driven agriculture, renewable energy, and healthcare, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said on Friday.

Delivering the keynote address at the valedictory session of the CII India Africa Business Conclave here, the minister pointed out that bilateral trade between India and Africa is already fairly balanced — with India’s exports at $42.7 billion and imports at $40 billion.

However, he underlined the untapped potential across regions: “This demonstrates the opportunity we have missed out on over the years, and the scope for expansion today.”

The Minister stressed that India and Africa need not compete in every sector, but rather explore complementarities.

He highlighted areas such as agriculture, food security, cooperative and self-help group movements, education, skill development, capacity building, research and development, innovation, start-ups, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and renewable energy, which provide vast opportunities for mutual benefit.

Goyal highlighted the immense potential for collaboration in the automobile sector. He noted that while Africa imports nearly $20 billion worth of motor vehicles annually, India currently supplies only about $2 billion of this demand.

He underlined that Indian automobiles are globally competitive, both in terms of cost and quality, with manufacturing standards on par with the best in the world.

He said that Indian manufacturers can play a vital role in meeting Africa’s growing demand for passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, two and three-wheelers, and affordable electric mobility solutions.

This opens up a wide delta of opportunity for African nations to access reliable, fuel-efficient, and environmentally sustainable vehicles at competitive prices, while India can, in return, benefit from greater imports of African resources such as critical minerals, petroleum products, and agricultural commodities.

This balanced exchange would help both regions expand trade, generate employment, and build long-term industrial partnerships, he added.

Highlighting complementarities, the Minister observed that Africa could support India in areas such as critical minerals and petroleum products, while India could support Africa in food security, technological upgradation, manufacturing, and services.

He mentioned that India is cost-competitive in services like architecture, engineering, IT, AI and telecom, while also offering potential in medical tourism.

Referring to India’s close bond with Mauritius, Goyal assured the Indian Ocean island nation continued support in addressing inflationary pressures in essentials such as milk products, edible oils, and rice.

“It is this spirit of friendship and cooperation that defines India’s engagement with Africa,” he said.

Goyal also recalled India’s support to Africa during the Covid-19 pandemic, when medicines, vaccines and pharmaceutical products were provided at affordable costs, unlike the highly-priced alternatives from developed nations.

He further said that India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) could help bring down transaction costs and strengthen Africa’s financial systems.

Calling the Global South the true voice of the developing world, Goyal urged African nations to work with India at multilateral platforms like the WTO to create common objectives and influence global decision-making.

He emphasised collaboration in agriculture technologies, renewable energy, generic medicines, critical minerals, and youth partnerships, noting that the young populations of India and Africa will define the future.