Ahmedabad, June 30: Adani Ports on Tuesday said it has entered into a definitive agreement with MSC Group under which MSC’s container terminal operating and investing arm Terminal Investment Limited (TiL) will invest for 49 per cent interest in Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited (AVPPL), the concessionaire for Vizhinjam port.

The strategic collaboration represents the single largest foreign private investment in Indian port infrastructure and cements Vizhinjam’s emergence as a dominant transshipment gateway in the Indian Ocean region.

TiL will invest $1.397 billion, equivalent to its proportionate 49 per cent share in Vizhinjam port in total deal value of $2.85 billion.

“Vizhinjam port has emerged as a premier transshipment hub and ramped up at an unprecedented pace, becoming the first Indian port to earn the unique distinction of crossing two million TEUs within 18 months of operations,” said Ashwani Gupta, Whole-time Director and CEO, APSEZ.

“I am delighted to expand APSEZ’s long-standing partnership with MSC to Vizhinjam, as we prepare for the port’s next leg of journey. I am confident that our association will deliver enhanced supply chain efficiencies at a global scale and improve India’s access to key global mature and developing markets,” Gupta said.

The transaction is subject to customary approvals, including regulatory ones.

The strategic collaboration between APSEZ and MSC Group will deliver significant advantages for APSEZ, including enhanced volume visibility and accelerated ramp-up ahead of plan, driven by additional cargo volumes; a higher share of Bangladesh cargo, largely dependent on competing Southeast Asian transshipment hubs; strengthen presence on East Africa trade routes; and elevated relay cargo volumes.

TiL is one of the world’s largest container terminal operators and part of the MSC Group comprising a portfolio of more than 100 container terminals across five continents and a throughput of more than 70 million TEUs per annum.

Commissioned in December 2024, Vizhinjam port is India’s first deep-draft mega transshipment port with 1.6 million TEU capacity. The port is undergoing expansion that will increase capacity 3.5x to 5.7 million TEUs by December 2028, according to the company.

Vizhinjam port is strategically located just 10 nautical miles from the East-West shipping route connecting Europe, the Persian Gulf, and the Far East.

During FY26, Vizhinjam port handled 1.3 million TEUs. In its first year, Vizhinjam port handled 1.3 million TEUs and 615 vessels, becoming the fastest Indian port to cross the one million TEU milestone.

Pune, June 30: A fresh legal dispute has emerged in the Ketan Agarwal murder case, with Advocate Ashutosh Srivastava, who claims to be representing accused Siya Goyal, issuing a legal notice seeking Rs 10 crore in damages from her brother, Sahil Goyal, over alleged defamatory statements.

In the notice, Advocate Srivastava stated that Siya Goyal had formally appointed him as her legal counsel through a duly executed vakalatnama (authorisation letter).

“Ms. Siya Goyal has duly executed and signed the Vakalatnama/authority in my favour for her legal defence. The said appointment was not an oral claim, not a media projection and not an unauthorised assertion, but a legal authority voluntarily given by an adult accused/client. The original/signed Vakalatnama is already filed before the competent court and her additional signed original copies of the relevant documents shall be produced before the appropriate forum/Court of law as and when required,” the notice stated.

The notice alleges that Sahil Goyal made false, misleading, and defamatory statements against Srivastava through the media, causing serious harm to his professional reputation and public image.

According to the legal notice, Srivastava’s vakalatnama has already been accepted and placed on record before the Vadgaon Maval Court. Despite this, it claims that Sahil publicly questioned his authority to represent Siya Goyal without first verifying the legal documents or contacting him.

“It is appalling, distressing and shocking that, instead of first verifying the authenticity and legality of the Vakalatnama duly filed on record or without having any conversation with us, you blatantly, irresponsibly, maliciously and fraudulently issued a public/media statement suggesting that I was not appointed or authorised by the family members,” the notice read.

The notice further contends that the statements created a false impression that Srivastava had falsely claimed authority to represent the accused or had acted improperly, thereby exposing him to ridicule, trolling, threats, hostile phone calls, professional embarrassment, and reputational damage.

Through the notice, Sahil Goyal has been asked to immediately withdraw the alleged defamatory statements, issue a public apology, and provide a written undertaking that he will refrain from making similar allegations in the future.

The notice also warns that if no satisfactory response is received within the stipulated time, Srivastava will initiate appropriate legal proceedings, including a civil claim seeking Rs 10 crore in damages for alleged defamation and reputational loss.

The legal notice marks a new development in the high-profile Ketan Agarwal murder case, adding a separate legal dispute between the accused’s family and the lawyer claiming to represent one of the accused.

The controversy began ahead of a court hearing in the case on Monday, when Sahil Goyal publicly questioned Srivastava’s authority to represent his sister.

Speaking to the media, Sahil alleged that Srivastava had neither been appointed nor authorised by the family and claimed that he may have obtained Siya Goyal’s signature “by deceit”.

Sahil’s remarks came after Srivastava made multiple media appearances in which he identified himself as Siya Goyal’s legal counsel and spoke on matters related to the case.

However, Sahil Goyal maintained that the family had not hired Srivastava as their lawyer and asserted that Advocate Vipul Dushing had been appointed to represent them. He also stated that the family had filed an affidavit before the court regarding the issue and alleged that Srivastava had issued threats to them.

Washington, June 30: Senior US and Indian officials projected growing confidence in the India-US strategic partnership, saying a long-awaited bilateral trade agreement is nearing completion as the two countries deepen cooperation in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, defence manufacturing and resilient supply chains.

The broad consensus emerged at the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) Leadership Summit, where officials from both governments, lawmakers and business leaders described the relationship as entering a new phase driven by technology, investment and shared strategic interests.

US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement had entered their final stage.

“Most of this deal is complete,” Gor said. “There’s a few items that remain from both sides, but it’s in the last one or 2 per cent of that deal.” He said both governments were working to conclude the agreement after nearly 18 months of negotiations and described it as a “win-win situation” for both countries.

Gor also dismissed suggestions that bilateral ties had weakened, saying cooperation across trade, defence and people-to-people exchanges remained strong. He announced plans for a meeting of Quad foreign ministers in the Philippines in the coming weeks and said the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi had helped attract $20.5 billion in new investment into the United States this year.

India’s Ambassador to the United States, Vinay Mohan Kwatra said India’s economic transformation had positioned it as “an indispensable anchor” of global growth, stability and trusted partnerships. He said sustained reforms, manufacturing expansion and investments in advanced technologies had placed India on course to become a $7 trillion economy by the end of the decade.

Kwatra identified biotechnology, artificial intelligence, semiconductors and quantum technologies as the next frontiers of India-U.S. cooperation, while saying the two countries’ goal of expanding bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030 would depend on closer integration of supply chains, investment, manufacturing and skilled talent.

Technology competition with China featured prominently throughout the summit.

Jacob Helberg, the US Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment, described India as “the only country on earth that fundamentally rivals China” in engineering talent and called it America’s most important long-term partner in building trusted technology ecosystems.

Helberg said Washington wanted to diversify critical technology supply chains beyond China while working with India to develop a shared artificial intelligence developer ecosystem.

In his opening remarks, USISPF President Mukesh Aghi said American companies were quietly reducing dependence on China while expanding manufacturing and research operations in India.

The summit also underscored bipartisan support in Washington for closer ties with New Delhi.

Republican Sen. Steve Daines said India and the United States together represented the only combination capable of matching China’s scale in innovation.

Democratic Sen. Mark Warner called India one of America’s “top two or three” strategic partners over the long term. Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna argued that the relationship should ultimately be anchored in shared democratic values as well as expanding defence and economic cooperation.

Former US Ambassador Kenneth Juster placed the current relationship in historical context, describing people-to-people ties as the “secret sauce” that had sustained bilateral relations for decades. He also launched USISPF’s commemorative coffee table book, We the People: 250 Voices that Have Shaped the US-India Relationship.

The discussions reflected a shared assessment that India-US ties have moved well beyond their traditional focus on diplomacy and defence. Officials and business leaders repeatedly pointed to technology, supply chain resilience, manufacturing, energy security and investment as the defining priorities of the relationship’s next phase.