India extends imported coal power operations

25 Aug 2023 CW Team

Amid soaring electricity demand, India's power ministry has instructed imported coal-based power plants to continue operating at maximum capacity until October. Initially set until June 15, the directive under section 11 of the Electricity Act was extended until September end. A surge in demand, reaching record levels of 234 GW on August 17, has been attributed to irrigation needs and humid weather, while wind power generation decrease and coal stock depletion have added to thermal capacity pressures.

Coal stocks at power plants fell from 34.9 million tonnes on August 1 to 31.8 million tonnes on August 21. Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi assured sufficient stock availability to meet increased demand. Despite monsoon-induced production slowdowns, imported coal-based power plants have contributed to meeting the higher demand.

Section 11 of the Electricity Act permits the government to direct a generating company to operate and maintain a station based on its directions during extraordinary circumstances. This approach was invoked last year due to constrained domestic coal supply.

Real Estate

31 Oct 2025

Birla Estates Tops Global GRESB 2025 Rankings

Birla Estates (BEPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Aditya Birla Real Estate (formerly Century Textiles and Industries Limited), has been recognised as a Sector Leader in the 2025 GRESB Real Estate Assessment, securing top honours across multiple global and regional categories.Birla Estates’ Achievements in GRESB 2025:Global Sector Leader – ResidentialGlobal Sector Leader – Non-Listed ResidentialRegional Sector Leader – Asia – ResidentialRegional Sector Leader – Non-Listed – Asia – ResidentialThese distinctions reaffirm Birla Estates’ exceptional performance in Environmental, ..

Progota India Secures RDSO Clearance for Kavach 4.0

Concord Control Systems, one of India’s leading manufacturers of embedded electronic and critical system solutions, announced that its associate company, Progota India, has received Technical Prototype Clearance from the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) for Kavach 4.0, the latest version of Indian Railways’ indigenous Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system.With this clearance, Progota has been formally approved to execute its ongoing trial order from South Central Railway, marking a key milestone in India’s railway modernization journey. The approval also establishes P..

MPS Interactive Systems Completes Full Acquisition of Liberate Group

MPS Interactive Systems (MPSi), a material subsidiary of MPS, has completed the acquisition of the remaining shareholding in the Liberate Group of Companies—comprising Liberate Learning, App-eLearn, and Liberate eLearning.With this transaction, MPSi now holds 100 per cent ownership of all entities within the Liberate Group, making them its wholly owned subsidiaries. The acquisition was executed in line with the valuation methodology defined in the original transaction documents.Commenting on the development, Rahul Arora, Chairman and CEO of MPS, said, “The corporate learning sector continu..