IRIM Announces 11th Annual National Awards for Manufacturing Competitiveness & Manufacturing Thought Leaders Summit
As part of its ongoing efforts to recognize and elevate advancement in manufacturing, IRIM will host the 11th edition of National Awards for Manufacturing Competitiveness on the 13th and 14th of June 2025. These prestigious award celebrate innovation, operational excellence, and competitiveness across India's manufacturing landscape.
Coinciding with the awards ceremony, the Manufacturing Thought Leaders Summit (MTLS) 2025 will bring together some of the most distinguished voices from the industry. Thought leaders, innovators, and decision-makers will engage in high-impact discussions and share actionable insights with an exclusive audience of senior corporate leaders.
Speaking about the initiative, Mr. Anand Louie, Director of IRIM, stated:
"Our collaboration with the Hindustan Times Group is a significant step towards showcasing India's manufacturing capabilities to a wider audience. Through MTLS and the National Awards, we aim to spotlight the best practices and forward-looking strategies that are shaping India into a global manufacturing powerhouse."
These events are thoughtfully curated to not only recognize excellence but also catalyze meaningful dialogue that supports India's vision of becoming a global manufacturing destination.
For more information, visit www.mtls.irimglobal.com or contact vikram.siva@irimglobal.com
Note to the Reader: This article is part of Mint's paid consumer connect initiative and is independently created by the brand. Mint assumes no editorial responsibility for the content, including its accuracy, completeness, or any errors or omissions. Readers are advised to verify all information independently.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
6 hours ago
- Mint
Supply cuts from China prompt India to step up high-end fertilizer capacity
New Delhi: The Centre is looking at ways to step up the production of specialty fertilizers for high value fruit, vegetables and flowers, amid a supply disruption from China, a senior government official told Mint. Preliminary discussions have already been held between the government and leading state-owned, cooperative and private sector fertilizer producers, the official said. Specialty fertilizers include polymer-coated urea that is released slowly into the soil and is available to plants over a long period, chelated micronutrients that are effective in alkaline soil, water-soluble fertilizers such as monoammonium phosphate and potassium nitrate, and stabilized nitrogen fertilizers with urease inhibitors (NBPT) which allow efficient nitrogen use on soil. "We have asked the manufacturers including companies in public sector and private sector to increase availability of specialty fertilizers," said the person quoted above, who spoke on condition of not being named. The development assumes significance given India's heavy reliance on China for supplies of specialty fertilizers. Nearly 80% of India's specialty fertilizer imports including water-soluble nutrients, liquid foliar sprays, slow and controlled-release formulations, and bio-stimulants are sourced from Chinese manufacturers, according to industry estimates. Chinese supplies have been disrupted for the past two months with authorities in that country using various procedures to block exports to India without imposing as ban, The Economic Times reported on 26 June. Nishant Kanodia, promoter and chairman, Matix Fertilisers & Chemicals Ltd, said, "India's growing focus on sustainable and high-efficiency agriculture is creating a meaningful shift in the fertilizer landscape. While our entry into this segment is recent, we are committed to building capabilities that contribute to India's long-term self-reliance and soil health goals." An IFFCO (Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd) spokesperson said that the cooperative started production of water soluble and specialty fertilizers since 2011. The current capacity is 15,000 tonnes per annum. Queries emailed to other leading producers—Kribhco, Coromandal International Ltd, Zuari Farm Hub, Deepak Fertilisers, Yara fertilisers—Department of Fertilizers and Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on 21 July, remained unanswered at the time of publishing. Rajib Chakraborty, national president, Soluble Fertilizer Industry Association (SFIA), said, 'Until recently, India lacked the technology to produce two of the most essential WSF (water-soluble fertilizer) grades, Mono Ammonium Phosphate (MAP) and Calcium Nitrate alongside other important grades. Addressing this gap, Ishita International has developed an integrated process, Indian raw material based technology, capable of producing MAP, liquid Calcium Magnesium, Calcium Nitrate, Calcium nitrate with Boron and several other WSFs in a single process." The pilot plant for this project is currently under commissioning, with support from the government. "This start-up is technologically equipped with an integrated Water-Soluble Fertilizer (WSF) production capacity of 10,000 tonnes of MAP and an additional 5,000–7,000 tonnes of other compound WSFs. The company is currently exploring investment opportunities to scale up commercial production and scale up quickly to fill the supply chain gap," said Yogesh Chavhan, business development-manager, WSF, at Nagpur-based Ishita International. Meanwhile, producers of NPK formulations are operating at full capacity but are facing challenges due to a limited availability of raw materials. This is largely because basic WSFs themselves serve as key inputs for these formulations. Despite the constraints, these developments have opened new avenues for indigenous production and present a significant export opportunity to neighbouring countries, according to Rajib. Specialty fertilizer segment comprises various categories, including water soluble fertilizers, sulphur products, micronutrients and liquid fertilizers. "Demand for specialty fertilizers has been estimated to be around 1.2-1.3 million tonnes annually, as in FY25. Among the major categories, micronutrients has the largest share of ~50-55% in total specialty fertilizer consumption followed by WSF (~25-30 %), sulphur (approx. 12-15%) and liquid fertilizers," said Pushan Sharma, director, Crisil Intelligence. In 2022, the specialty fertilizers market in India was valued at approximately $1.46 billion, while the overall fertilizer market stood at around $40.5 billion in 2023. According to industry stakeholders, specialty fertilizers account for only 3% to 5% of the total fertilizer market. There is no subsidy part involved in specialty fertilizers. India is significantly dependent on raw materials and finished specialty fertilizers from China, Russia, Norway, Tunisia and Morocco. India's dependency on imports varies across different specialty fertilizer categories. "For Water Soluble Fertilizers (WSF), the country is heavily reliant on imports, lacking significant production capacity due to the products being blended mixtures of various chemicals that are not readily available in India," said Pushan. The production process for water-soluble fertilizers in India primarily involves blending, with some grades undergoing micronutrient fortification, but without chemical reactions. As a result, India remains dependent on imports of various water-soluble fertilizer grades to manufacture other fortified grades. In the case of Sulphur, India's dependency on imports is medium to high, with companies such as Coromandel International Limited, Deepak Fertilizer, and National Fertilizers Limited relying on molten sulphur from Middle Eastern countries for sulphur production, according to Crisil Intelligence. For High-Value Micronutrients, the dependency on imports is moderate, as some key raw materials, including EDTA di-sodium, and finished goods like Di Sodium Octa Borate Tetra Hydrate, are largely imported. According to Crisil, the water-soluble fertilizer category is expected to experience production disruptions due to India's historical reliance on China for raw materials and finished goods. Specifically, products like MAP (Mono Ammonium Phosphate) and CN (Calcium Nitrate) have been largely imported from China, which offered optimal quality and pricing, although alternative sources are available. 'Following China's imposition of an export ban on specialty fertilizers, industry experts report a substantial increase of approximately 50-60% in the shipment cost of Calcium Nitrate from other countries. Moreover, China is reportedly exporting these products to other nations, which are then being trans-shipped to India, resulting in higher costs and longer lead times," informed Pushan. According to SFIA, nearly every fertilizer company in India is engaged in trading, repacking and selling specialty fertilizers, yet very few are actual producers. The market is dominated by traders due to regulatory limitations and the absence of indigenous technologies, which have historically prevented the domestic manufacturing ecosystem particularly MSMEs from scaling up. As a result, despite rising demand, Indian production capacity has remained restricted. However, some of the emerging entities and startups have demonstrated strong potential for rapid growth and expansion in this segment. Their innovation, agility, and production readiness position them well to lead the next wave of self-reliant, Make-in-India development in the specialty fertilizer space. When asked whether the production can be scaled instantly, Rajib said, 'Scaling production is possible where there is already an unutilized capacity. It does not apply where there is no technology and very basic level of production activity is performed. Whether importing product or importing technology, dependency on external sources remains the same. Government is rightfully investing in 'Import Substitution' through promoting 100% indigenous technology. The country that holds the know-how to scale efficiently and sustainably owns the market, regardless of who first developed the idea and it's happening in India now."
Mint
8 hours ago
- Mint
Big turnaround! This multibagger small-cap stock rebounds 69% from March lows; retail investors boost holdings in Q1
Anand Rathi Wealth, one of the leading non-bank wealth solutions firms in India, has seen its shares soar over the past couple of weeks, especially following the release of its June quarter numbers. The stock has made a strong turnaround since hitting a one-year low in March, and the upbeat Q1 performance has further fueled its rally, pushing it to break multiple record highs and delivering handsome returns to shareholders even as the Indian stock market continues to grapple with gaining momentum. After finishing the last two months in the green, the stock extended its winning run into July, gaining another 23.21%, reaching ₹ 2,686 apiece and taking the year-to-date (YTD) gain to 36.23%. From its March low of ₹ 1,594, the stock has surged 69%, also pushing its two-year return to 514%. Since the release of its June quarter results on July 10, the stock has recorded three new all-time highs and crossed the ₹ 2,600 mark to reach ₹ 2,690 For the quarter ended June, the company reported a consolidated net profit of ₹ 94 crore in Q1FY26, marking a 28% YoY jump, while revenue from operations stood at ₹ 284 crore, up 16% YoY—primarily driven by a 27% YoY growth in mutual fund revenue. Its total AUM stood at ₹ 87,800 crore, a 27% YoY increase, supported by consistently strong inflows and larger ticket sizes from clients. It also recorded its highest-ever quarterly net inflows at ₹ 3,830 crore during the reporting period, up 14% YoY, buoyed by favorable market sentiment. The strong performance has brought the company closer to its FY26 guidance, having already achieved 25% of its full-year PAT target and 24% of its revenue target in Q1FY26. It is now just 14% short of reaching its ₹ 1 lakh crore AUM milestone. Notably, the share of clients with AUM above ₹ 50 crore rose to 27% in Q1FY26 from 25% in Q1FY25, with the onboarding of 598 net new client families, taking the total to 12,300 families. The company has continued to witness steady interest from individual investors, with the latest shareholding pattern showing that retail shareholders collectively raised their stake by 3.34% to 43.98% in Q1FY26. The number of individual retail shareholders also increased to 59,186 from 54,938 in the preceding March quarter. Alongside retail investors, mutual funds also raised their stake in the company, from 7.13% in Q4FY25 to 7.92% in Q1. Among the key mutual funds that added to their holdings during the quarter was Quant Small Cap Fund, which increased its stake from 2.67% to 3.32%. Overall, 18 mutual fund houses currently hold a stake in the company. Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
Mint
9 hours ago
- Mint
Mint Explainer: Why is India blending more ethanol with petrol?
MUMBAI : India achieved its target of blending 20% ethanol into petrol in March 2025—five years ahead of the 2030 deadline. Now, the government has grown more ambitious: It wants to blend more ethanol into petrol. But why is India using more ethanol-blended petrol like E20? How does it affect our vehicles? Most importantly, can it reduce the harm caused by fossil fuels? Mint explains: Why is India blending ethanol with petrol? Primarily, to reduce our import bill and emissions. In 2003, India started a pilot programme to blend ethanol—a byproduct of sugarcane—into petrol to reduce carbon emissions from the fuel's use. By 2019, the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme was extended to all of India (except the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep). The ethanol blending helps the country reduce its crude oil imports and bring down its foreign-exchange outflow. Where are we on our ethanol blending programme? As of 2025, all commercially available petrol in India is E20, meaning 20% of it is blended with ethanol. We reached this target five years earlier than the planned 2030 deadline. Now, the government is planning to hike blending targets to 27% by 2030 and sell E27 petrol by 2030, reported The Times of India on 17 July. The ministry of petroleum and natural gas (MoPNG) denied the report, saying it had not made a decision on higher ethanol blending yet. However, in June, the ministry of road transport published a notification proposing changes in the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, that will allow automakers to manufacture 'flex fuel' vehicles. These can run on E85—petrol containing 85% ethanol. Has ethanol blending delivered on its objectives? Yes, at least according to the government. India's greenhouse gas emissions reduced by 19.2 million tonnes between 2014 and July 2021, showed the latest ministry of petroleum and natural gas estimates. The ministry said the country also saved over ₹26,000 crore in foreign exchange by cutting its reliance on crude oil imports during the period. So, what's the fuss about E20 and higher ethanol-blended petrol? Consumers aren't enthused about buying petrol blended with ethanol for a number of reasons. First, burning ethanol produces less energy than petrol, so E20 and other blends affect car mileage. This means car owners are forced to buy more petrol to travel the same distance. Second, despite blending ethanol with petrol and saving on import costs, the government has not reduced petrol prices; oil marketing companies continue to retail the fuel at above ₹100 per litre in most major cities. Third, engines of older vehicles may not be compatible with E20 and newer blends that the government may introduce next. For customers, ethanol-blended petrol may be reducing the lives of their vehicles with no discernible savings in fuel costs. But isn't it worth the reduced emissions? Perhaps. Environmentalists say there are second- and third-order effects to producing ethanol-blended petrol in India. As farmers grow more sugarcane to convert to ethanol and sell to the government, land and water resources in delicate areas come under pressure, adding to environmental stress. Instead, the government should focus on turning biomass from existing activities—such as wood chips and crop residue—to make more ethanol. In 2021, the Niti Aayog said a 'relatively small" part of ethanol procurement came from non-sugar sources. Besides, vehicle makers will need to invest in upgrading the engines of their newer cars so that they can run on petrol blended with more ethanol. Energy experts say the government must also determine how to promote electric vehicles alongside ethanol-blended fuel-run vehicles. Are carmakers ready for this upgrade? Perhaps. In March, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers told the MoPNG that carmakers could reduce the loss of engine efficiency due to E20 petrol with some modifications in engine hardware and tuning. At any rate, the ministry said that E20 had only a 'marginal reduction" in fuel efficiency of cars made for E10 and calibrated for E20. Manufacturers are getting ready for newer fuel norms. At Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025, leading carmakers, including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors, and Mahindra & Mahindra, showed flex-fuel cars that can run on E85 and higher grades of ethanol-blended petrol.
