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India's Clean Energy Ministry urges the power regulator to delay stricter green energy rules
The Indian renewable energy ministry has asked the power regulator not to implement stricter rules that would require wind and solar producers adhere more closely to grid supply commitments. This could discourage investment. In a draft that was published in September by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, it proposed stricter regulations under the Deviation Settlement Mechanism for wind and solar energy producers. The proposed framework was to be implemented from April 2026. Its aim is to gradually reduce the gap between what electricity producers promise to supply and how much they actually produce. In an October 21 letter sent to the CERC and reviewed by, the Ministry of Renewable Energy stated that the majority of forecasting errors were caused by unpredictability in weather conditions. This made penalties for deviations 'imprudent' and outside the control developers. In a report published earlier this month, many industry participants had complained to the regulator that the plan proposed would reduce investment in clean energy. The ministry stated that higher deviation charges may deter small to medium-sized businesses and "have a disastrous effect" on clean energy. The report urged the regulators to consult with stakeholders and suggested that clean energy storage be mandated in future projects, instead of strict penalties. It also suggested using better weather data to set realistic limits for forecasting. India views wind and solar power as the key drivers of its energy transition. It aims to double the non-fossil based power capacity by 2030 to 500 gigawatts. Both the ministry and CERC didn't immediately respond to comments. The CERC is yet to announce a final decision date. Sethuraman N.R. (Reporting) Mark Potter (Editing)
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Belgian National Strike disrupts Schools, Flights and Public Transport
On Wednesday, the third and final day in a Belgian national strike, most flights were grounded at Brussels Airport. Public transport was also disrupted. The latest protest against the coalition led by Prime Minister Bart De Wever is the strike organised by the main unions in the country. Demonstrators are against the proposed reforms to the labour market and pensions by the government. Brussels Airport has cancelled 110 outgoing flights and all 203 planned inbound flights. Charleroi Airport, Belgium's second largest airport, said on its website it expected a significant amount of disruptions due to staff shortages. It would also be unable guarantee scheduled landings or takeoffs. Local media reported the final day would be the most disruptive, with disruptions to schools, public transportation, and private sector. On Wednesday, a protest will be held in Brussels. Around 80,000 people attended a similar protest in October. The socialist union ABVV-FGTB posted a statement on its website that said, "The budget message of the De Wever Government is harsh: Work longer and harder to get less security in terms of pensions and health care and less purchasing power." Gert Truyens of the ACLVB, the liberal union in Belgium, said to the Belgian broadcaster VRT that he regretted the fact that the national government had not consulted the unions. Truyens stated that "agreements aren't made on the street at picket lines, they happen at the negotiation table. But you have to be given a chance." The strike will still take place despite the fact that the government has reached a budget agreement for next year after months of intense negotiations. The government is planning to increase taxes on airline tickets, natural gas and bank deposits. This, along with spending cuts, should reduce the deficit of the government by 9,2 billion euros (10.6 billion dollars) by 2029. According to the central banks, the budget deficit for the sixth largest economy in the eurozone is expected to reach 4.5% of its gross domestic product, and the debt will be 104.7%. This is well above the EU budget rules' maximum limit. (Reporting and editing by Alison Williams; Additional reporting by Alessandro Parodi)
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Tesla expects Indian Model Y buyers to recoup a third of the price within 4-5 years
Sharad Agarwal, India's General Manager at Tesla, said that the company expects Indians to recoup a third of the Model Y’s $67,000 price tag over the next four to five years in fuel and maintenance costs. Tesla entered India in India in July, and its Model Y was priced about 70% more than it would be in the United States because of high taxes. Elon Musk, the CEO of Elon Musk's firm, has said that India has the highest import tariffs in the world. Agarwal, a representative of the Indian Automobile Association, said that Indians can save up to 2 million rupees by purchasing a Model Y, in terms both of fuel and maintenance costs. "Plus, it has a very high resale price." He added that the cost of home charging was one tenth as much as petrol prices. $1 = 89.2575 Indian Rupees (Reporting and writing by Aditi in Delhi, Abinaya by Vijayaraghavan, Editing by Himani by Sarkar).
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Safran France expects India's annual revenue to triple, to more than $3 billion by 2030
Safran, a French aerospace company, said Wednesday that it expects the annual revenue of India, which is the fastest-growing aviation market in terms of growth, to triple by 2030 to reach more than 3 billion Euros ($3.48 billion). Safran CEO Olivier Andries announced in a press release that half of this revenue would be generated in India by the company's facilities. The announcement was made at the opening of a LEAP engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), shop in Hyderabad, a southern Indian city. The facility is expected to become operational in 2019. Safran, a co-producer of LEAP engines, with GE Aerospace, through their CFM International joint venture, reported a revenue of 27,32 billion euros by 2024. The LEAP-1A is a competitor to Pratt & Whitney for the Airbus A320neo while the LEAP-1B powers the Boeing 737 MAX as the sole engine. Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, said that he met with the Safran Board. The Indian Prime Minister asked Safran to consider setting up design facilities for aircraft engines and components in India, as part of a larger push by his government. Indian airlines have ordered more than 1,500 new planes, increasing the demand for maintenance and repairs. Modi stated that 85% of the current maintenance and repair work is done by facilities located outside India, which increases costs and turnaround times.
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Tesla CEO Musk claims Austin robotaxi fleet will double in the next year
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, said on Tuesday the number of robotaxis will double in Austin, Texas in December. This follows the launch of the company's self-driving services in the city back in June. Musk wrote in a blog post for X that the Tesla Robotaxi fleet should double in Austin next month. Tesla does not disclose how many robotaxis it operates. Tesla's robotaxi is currently available in Austin and San Francisco Bay Area. Safety monitors are still required on the vehicles. Last week, the company also received a license to operate a ride hailing service in Arizona. Musk stated in October that robotaxis will be operating without safety drivers in large areas of Austin by the end the year. He said that he expects Tesla robotaxis will serve half of the U.S. populace by the end of this year. The robotaxi industry is on the rebound after years of broken promises, company closures, and tight regulations.
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Chapecoense returns to Serie A after nine years of tragedy
Chapecoense, which was promoted to Brazil's top division Serie A last Monday, had fans swarming the pitch. This marked their return to this elite competition after nine years of an airplane crash that killed the majority of the players and staff. Chapecoense, relegated to the lower leagues in 2021, regained their top-flight status with a 1-0 victory over Atletico Goianiense. In November 2016, the small-town team made headlines when their plane crashed on its way to Colombia for Copa Sudamericana Final, killing 71 out of 77 passengers. This included most of the players and staff. After the accident, the club recovered rapidly and maintained top-flight status for 2017 and 2018. The club's performance deteriorated in the following seasons, resulting in relegation in 2019 and 2020. Chapecoense was promoted to Serie A from Serie B in 2013. They stayed in the top flight for six years and will be able to regain their place in 2020, after winning Serie B. This is the eighth Serie A campaign in the club's long history. (Reporting and editing by Thomas Derpinghaus in Bengaluru, Suramya kaushik)
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FAA probes Amazon after delivery drone snaps internet cable in Texas, CNBC reports
CNBC reported Tuesday that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has opened an investigation into Amazon after one its delivery drones damaged a cable in central Texas, last week. The spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), who was quoted by CNBC, said this. CNBC was informed by the e-commerce giant that the incident occurred after the drone clipped the internet cable. The drone then performed a safe contingent landing. The network reviewed video footage of one of Amazon's MK30 Drones as it was ascending out of a customer yard. One of the six propellers got entangled with a utility wire. The motors of the drone were shut off, which led to a controlled descent. The National Transportation Safety Board said that it was not conducting an investigation into the incident. Amazon and FAA didn't immediately respond to requests for comments. The NTSB and FAA announced in October they would be investigating a separate incident in which two Amazon Prime Air drones had collided in Arizona with a crane's boom. Amazon began delivering prescription medication by drones to College Station, Texas customers in 2023 in partnership with Amazon Pharmacy. By the year 2030, the e-commerce company aims to deliver 500 million packages per annum by drone.
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Shares of Workday fall after a lukewarm quarter subscription revenue
Workday's third-quarter subscription revenues were in line with Wall Street expectations on Tuesday. This signaled a softer market and sent its shares down by nearly 7% during extended trading. A sluggish higher education market, which heavily relies on federal funding, also affected the forecast for subscription revenue in the fourth quarter of this human resources software provider. Workday is a payroll provider that competes with Oracle and SAP. Customers include United Airlines, Visa, and FedEx. Some customers, in an uncertain economic climate, are reassessing their budgets and timing. They may also reduce spending on Workday. According to data compiled and analyzed by LSEG, the company anticipates fourth-quarter revenue from subscriptions of approximately $2.36 billion. This compares with an average analyst estimate of $2.35billion. The company's third-quarter revenue increased 12.6%, to $2.43 Billion, slightly exceeding the estimates of $2.42 Billion. The quarter ended October 31 saw subscription revenue rise 14.6%, to $2.24 Billion. This was in line with expectations. The company reported a profit per share adjusted of $2.32, which was higher than the estimate of $2.18. (Reporting and editing by Jaspreet in Bengaluru, Alan Barona).
China's Didi Q3 revenues up 8.6% due to costly overseas expansion
Didi Global announced an 8.6% increase in revenue for the third quarter on Wednesday, as international expansion of China’s largest ride-hailing service accelerated. However, its domestic market was stable.
Didi is China's leading ride-hailing service. It has also expanded internationally to Latin America and offers both ride-hailing services and food delivery.
The company reported on Wednesday that revenue for the three-month period ended September 30 reached 58.6 bn yuan (8.28 bn dollars). The net profit was 1.5 billion yuan for the three-month period, up from 900 million in the same period of last year.
While the international segment represents a small portion of total revenue it grew by 35%, to 3,96 billion yuan. Didi's China Mobility division saw revenue rise 7.6% to $51.8 billion yuan.
ACCELERATING OVERSEAS INVESTMENT
This year, the company increased its overseas investments. It has expanded food delivery services to other cities such as Sao Paulo.
The overseas segment's adjusted losses increased by 1.4 billion to 1.7 billion Yuan.
Didi, the leader in China's ride-hailing market, is facing increasing competition from its rivals such as Alibaba and Meituan.
These companies have integrated ride hailing into wider digital ecosystems. They appeal to users who want super-apps consolidated that connect them with multiple service providers including smaller regional operators.
Didi began expanding in early 2023, following a crackdown on the company that began in 2020 after it pursued an initial public offering in the United States without Beijing's consent. $1 = 7.0812 Chinese Yuan Renminbi (Reporting and editing by Louise Heavens, Conor Humphries and Brenda Goh)
(source: Reuters)