Business
Special drive led to declaration of foreign assets, income of Rs 30,300 crore: FM Sitharaman
New Delhi, March 26: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that a special campaign carried out by the Income Tax Department has led to the declaration of foreign assets and income to the tune of Rs 30, 300 crore after over 30,000 taxpayers revised their income tax returns or filed belated returns for 2024-25.
The Finance Minister said in the Lok Sabha that SMS and e-mails were sent to around 19,501 taxpayers, asking them to review their income tax returns based on information collected by the Income Tax Department on foreign deposits.
She said the “nudge campaign” resulted in 11,162 taxpayers revising their tax returns and filing the Schedule Foreign Assets Form, declaring total assets of Rs 11,259.29 crore and disclosing foreign income of Rs 154.42 crore. Another 883 taxpayers revised their ITRs and corrected their status from resident to non-resident in the revised return for 2024-25.
An additional 13,516 taxpayers declared foreign assets of Rs 7,564 crore and foreign income of approximately Rs 353 crore in their revised ITR for 2024-25.
The Income Tax Department launched a compliance-cum-awareness campaign, aimed at encouraging voluntary disclosures of offshore wealth and income. The drive focused on a data-driven and non-intrusive approach, which led to a 45.17 per cent year-on-year jump in voluntary disclosures in 2024-25 compared to 2023-24.
According to sources, tax authorities received financial information from over 108 countries regarding foreign accounts and income in the form of interest and dividends earned outside India by its citizens.
The number of taxpayers disclosing foreign assets and income voluntarily has shot up from 60,000 in 2021-22 to 2,31,452 taxpayers in 2024-25.
India is one of the early adopters of Common Reporting Standards (CRS) and has been receiving data since 2018.
More than 125 countries have agreed to share financial information of individuals linked to other jurisdictions on an automatic basis, including details of accounts held, account balances, dividends, interest received, and gross payments.
A similar exchange occurs with the US under the Inter-Governmental Agreement under the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), 2010.
Using this data received under the automatic exchange of information, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) launched a Compliance-Cum-Awareness Campaign on November 17, 2024, urging taxpayers to declare their foreign assets and income in revised Income Tax Returns (ITRs) for Assessment Year (AY) 2024-25.
This campaign followed a system-driven and taxpayer-friendly approach, utilising the information received through CRS and FATCA.
The Income Tax Department also facilitated taxpayers by providing a step-by-step guide to filling out Schedule Foreign Assets and Schedule Foreign Source Income, along with explanatory materials to help them understand the information received under these frameworks.
Business
Adani Green Energy expands battery storage capacity to 6.63 GWh in just 14 months

Ahmedabad, Oct 1: Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) on Thursday said it has expanded its operational Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) capacity to 6.63 gigawatt-hours (GWh) at Khavda, Gujarat, from 3.55 GWh in June 2026.
India’s largest renewable energy company now accounts for more than 50 per cent of the country’s operational BESS capacity of about 12.6 GWh.
“Reaching 6.63 GWh of operational battery storage in just 14 months is a significant milestone for AGEL and India’s clean energy transition. At this scale, storage can make renewable power firmer, more reliable and dispatchable when the grid needs it,” said Sagar Adani, Executive Director, Adani Green Energy.
“As India’s power demand grows, we will continue to scale energy storage solutions, both battery and pumped storage, to support a more resilient, lower-carbon grid,” he noted.
The 6.63 GWh BESS can store enough clean energy to power around two million homes a day, and support peak electricity demand of cities like Nagpur, Patna or Vizag for several hours.
This BESS capacity at Khavda is equivalent to battery storage capacity of more than 150,000 mid-sized EVs and can store enough energy daily to meet almost twice the Delhi Metro’s estimated daily electricity requirement, underscoring the unprecedented scale of the installation.
The scale-up to 6.63 GWh strengthens the integration of renewable energy into the grid by enabling clean power to be stored and dispatched when required, said the company.
This milestone also consolidates Khavda’s position as the world’s largest operational battery energy storage installation at a single location.
The BESS is integrated with AGEL’s renewable energy (RE) development at Khavda, where the company is developing a 30 GW RE plant across 538 square kms of barren land.
The BESS uses lithium-ion battery technology, integrated with an Energy Management Systems (EMS) and automated telemetry to manage charging and discharging, optimise system performance and support grid services. Battery storage can improve grid stability, manage peak demand, reduce energy curtailment, and enable renewable power to be delivered when required.
AGEL said it is on track to add over 10 GWh of BESS capacity in FY 2026-27 and is targeting 50 GWh of storage capacity over the next 5 years.
Business
Sensex, Nifty open lower amid continued FII selling; auto, cement shares drag

Mumbai, Oct 1: Domestic equity benchmarks opened lower on Thursday amid continued foreign fund outflows with auto and cement stocks leading sectoral losses.
Sensex opened at 72,192.89, down 287.39 points or 0.39 per cent. Nifty began trading session declining 76.75 points or 0.34 per cent to 22,543.70.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty Auto, Nifty Cement, Nifty Realty, Nifty Media and Nifty Healthcare were top laggards, plunging up to 2.76 per cent in early deals. Energy, metal and pharma indices also traded sharply lower, falling between 0.86 per cent and 0.95 per cent.
On the other hand, Nifty IT rose more than 1 per cent, while Nifty Private Bank also advanced 0.60 per cent.
The market remained under pressure after foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their selling streak.
On Wednesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers for the fifth consecutive session and offloaded equities worth more than Rs 10,148 crore, according to provisional data.
Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) continued to provide support, purchasing equities worth Rs 11,271 crore during the session.
Analysts said sustained FII selling, coupled with rising US bond yields, could keep large-cap equities under pressure in the near term. FIIs sold equities worth Rs 45,536 crore through exchanges in September, while investing Rs 9,676 crore through the primary market, they added.
The experts further noted that the near-term market structure remains sideways to bearish, with immediate support for the Nifty placed around 22,500-22,550 and resistance at 22,800-22,900.
They said a sustained move above the resistance zone could improve sentiment, while a break below the support level may keep selling pressure intact.
Analysts also pointed to crude oil prices as a key factor to watch, noting that a decline in Brent crude below $98 a barrel could provide some relief to the market.
Business
Sensex, Nifty open flat tracking mixed global signals

Mumbai, Sep 30: Domestic equity benchmarks opened flat on Wednesday tracking mixed global cues as investors remained cautious after foreign investors extended their selling streak to a fourth straight session.
Nifty opened at 22,665, down about 50 points or 0.23 per cent. Sensex began trading at 72,441.15, lower by 87.92 points or 0.12 per cent.
In early trade, the Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom index was top sectoral gainer which rose more than 1 per cent.
Meanwhile, Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty Chemicals, Nifty Oil & Gas, Nifty Cement and Nifty Media also jumped up to 1 per cent.
In contrast, metal stocks were among the laggards with Nifty Metal falling 0.42 per cent. Healthcare and pharmaceutical indices were also marginally lower.
Market experts said elevated US bond yields were contributing to foreign investor selling, while the recent correction had created attractive valuations in parts of the Indian market.
“From the Indian investors’ perspective, this sharp correction in the market presents an opportunity. Largecaps with good growth prospects have reached attractive valuations,” they said.
Experts also noted that a correction in crude oil prices could trigger a market rally with largecap market leaders potentially leading such a move.
Technical analysts said the market could attempt to stabilise after its recent decline, with buying emerging around key technical levels.
Nifty had formed a hammer candle in the previous session, indicating buying interest at lower levels, while strength in select heavyweight stocks helped limit the decline.
The near-term structure has improved towards sideways to mildly bullish following the reversal from 22,600.
Immediate support is seen at 22,650-22,700, while resistance is placed at 22,950-23,000, according to the experts.
On Tuesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) extended their selling streak to a fourth consecutive session, offloading equities worth nearly Rs 10,000 crore, according to provisional data.
Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) provided support, buying equities worth nearly Rs 7,000 crore.
In addition, Asian markets were broadly positive in early hours despite a mildly weaker Wall Street session, while investors remained focused on upcoming US economic data and global market trends for further direction.
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