Daily News - Monday, 23 June 2025
IFFCO to set up first overseas nano fertiliser plant in Brazil (Financial Express)
Four years after launching nano urea in India, IFFCO is establishing its first overseas nano-fertiliser plant in Brazil through a 7:3 joint venture with NANOFERT, aiming to produce 4.5 million litres annually and expand global reach while reducing costs—especially as Brazil sees yield increases of up to 10% in corn and soybean and over 7% in sugarcane. Despite a total production capacity of 289.5 million bottles, nano urea and nano-DAP sales in FY25 stood at only 26.5 million and 9.7 million bottles respectively, reflecting moderate adoption; however, these figures still represent 31% and 118% year-on-year growth. With nano urea priced at ₹240 and DAP at ₹600 per 500 ml bottle—each equivalent to a 45 kg bag—nano fertilisers are central to India’s effort to reduce the ₹1.67 trillion fertiliser subsidy burden and dependence on conventional urea (currently sold at ₹242/bag vs production cost of ₹2,650).
PPP gets a leg up, Rs 86,000-crore projects approved since January (Financial Express)
Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects have seen a major revival in 2025, with approvals already reaching ₹86,000 crore—marking the highest level since 2021 and spanning sectors like roads, ports, railways, tourism, waste management, and education. After plunging to just ₹10,709 crore in 2022 and ₹11,256 crore in 2023, PPP investments rebounded to ₹66,919 crore in 2024, driven in 2025 largely by the roads sector (₹58,816 crore) under BOT and hybrid annuity models, as the Centre shifts focus to private-led growth amid fiscal constraints and a slowing capex trajectory (from 28% growth till FY24 to a projected 6.6% in FY26). For the first time, PPP is also being aggressively adopted in social infrastructure, with key projects like a DBFOT-mode hospital in Arunachal Pradesh and hostel developments at IIT Madras, IIM Udaipur, and IIIT Nagpur setting the stage for broader replication.
Exporters may use other routes if Iran blocks Strait of Hormuz (Financial Express)
The Iran-Israel conflict, intensified by U.S. involvement, threatens to disrupt trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea, putting at risk 60–65% of India’s crude oil imports and potentially pushing global oil prices to $120 per barrel—posing inflationary risks and energy security concerns. While over 90% of India’s exports to the U.S. and Europe remain unaffected due to alternate routes via the Cape of Good Hope, trade with West Asia, especially Iraq, faces significant vulnerability if the Hormuz Strait is blocked. Although immediate bilateral trade impact with Iran and Israel is modest (combined exports of $3.3 billion), a broader regional escalation could jeopardize India’s $8.6 billion in exports and $33.1 billion in imports with the wider West Asian region.
More RE projects cross PPA hurdle (Financial Express)
The backlog of renewable energy (RE) projects without power purchase agreements (PPAs) has declined from 40–43 GW in April to around 30–33 GW, largely due to aggressive marketing by agencies like SECI and SJVN, though this still falls short of India’s 500 GW non-fossil fuel target by 2030. Efforts to implement a unified renewable energy tariff (URET), introduced in October 2023, face resistance from discoms due to concerns over pricing and procurement complexities—only 35–40 GW of PPAs have been signed despite bids being called for around 100 GW in the past two years. Investor confidence remains shaky amid regulatory uncertainties and with the waiver on inter-state transmission charges set to expire on June 30, 2025, developers are pushing for extensions to maintain cost competitiveness and financial viability.
Govt shelves ₹8,000-crore plan for eight new greenfield cities (mint)
The Union government has scrapped the ₹8,000 crore plan to develop eight new greenfield cities as proposed by the 15th Finance Commission, redirecting the funds into a new scheme focused on infrastructure upgrades in smaller cities (population under 100,000), in collaboration with NITI Aayog and the Asian Development Bank. Despite receiving 28 proposals, including Ayodhya, GIFT City expansion, and Jabalpur Extension, the Prime Minister’s Office, after interministerial consultations for the new government’s 100-day agenda, decided to prioritize investment in existing urban centers over building new cities. The government will instead push urban expansion through schemes like the ₹100,000 crore “urban challenge” and the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI), which offers 50-year interest-free loans to states adopting urban reforms.
