ADANIPOWER

June 3 (Reuters) - Shares of India's Adani Group firms fell between 1% and 2.5% on Tuesday, a day after the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. prosecutors were probing whether Adani entities had imported Iranian LPG into India through their Mundra port.

An Adani spokesperson called the report "baseless and mischievous" in a statement, adding: "We are not aware of any investigation by U.S. authorities on this subject."

Shares in the group's flagship firm Adani Enterprises ADEL.NS opened 2.2% lower, while Adani Ports APSE.NS fell 2.5%. Adani Total Gas ADAG.NS, Adani Power ADAN.NS, Adani Green ADNA.NS and Adani Energy Solutions ADAI.NS were down between 1% and 2%.

India's benchmark Nifty 50 index .NSEI was down 0.4%, with Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports the top percentage losers.

The WSJ said it had found tankers travelling between the Gulf and billionaire Gautam Adani's Mundra port in western India exhibiting traits that experts say are common for ships evading sanctions.

Reuters could not independently verify the report and the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn did not respond to requests for comment.

Adani Ports has been the top gainer among Adani Group stocks so far this year, up 16%, while Adani Total has been the top loser, down 11%.

(Reporting by Sethuraman NR; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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NEW DELHI, May 10 (Reuters) - India has removed the chairman of the Solar Energy Corp of India (SECI) with immediate effect, the federal ministry of personnel said in a notice on Saturday, just over a month ahead of the scheduled end of his tenure.

The former top bureaucrat at India's environment ministry was appointed SECI chairman in June 2023, and was scheduled to end his tenure as SECI chief next month.

The government did not provide a reason for dismissing Rameshwar Prasad Gupta. Gupta declined comment.

During Gupta's tenure, SECI had barred India's Reliance Power from participating in competitive tenders for renewable energy projects. It withdrew the order a month later in December after a court directive.

SECI also came under fire last year for a solar deal involving SECI and billionaire Gautam Adani, which was signed before Gupta became chairman.

U.S. prosecutors had indicted Adani and seven other executives in November for alleged involvement in a bribery and securities fraud scheme. Adani had denied the allegations as baseless, and SECI denied any wrongdoing.

He had also announced last year SECI's plans to go public, but said it had yet to take a final call on the size of the initial public offering.

(Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan and Sarita Chaganti Singh)

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Changes date; Adds Adani Green's response in paragraph 6, updates stock moves in paragraph 9

May 5 (Reuters) - Representatives for Indian billionaire Gautam Adani met officials from U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to seek dismissal of criminal charges in an overseas bribery probe, with a resolution possible in a month, Bloomberg News reported.

In November, U.S. authorities indicted Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, alleging they paid bribes to secure power supply contracts, and misled U.S. investors during fund raises there.

The U.S. financial regulator summoned the duo, alleging they misled investors on compliance during a $750 million Adani Green ADNA.NS bond sale in the United States.

The billionaire's aides are trying to make the case that his prosecution does not align with Trump's priorities and should be reconsidered, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The discussions began earlier this year and have picked up in recent weeks, with a resolution possible within a month if the momentum continues, the report said.

Adani Green, in a statement on Monday, reiterated it was not part of any proceedings, but it did not directly comment on the report about the meetings. It had recently said its review of the indictment found no non-compliance or irregularities.

The Justice Department and White House declined comment to Bloomberg on the report and did not respond to Reuters for comment outside business hours.

Adani Enterprises, the group's flagship firm, also did not respond to a request for comment. The group has previously denied any wrongdoing.

Shares of Adani Group's nine Indian listed companies rose between 1.7% and 10.5% on Monday, amid a 0.6% increase in the broader market.

The indictment has erased about $13 billion in market value from Adani Group's nine listed firms.

(Reporting by Bipasha Dey, Nandan Mandayam and Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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May 2 (Reuters) - Bangladesh has substantially reduced its outstanding dues to India's Adani Power ADAN.NS related to a power-supply deal and the company is confident of recovering the roughly $900 million still remaining, its chief financial officer said.

Bangladesh has struggled to pay its dues per the deal, signed in 2017, as imports got costly since the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022 and amid the domestic political turmoil last August that led to the ouster of the country's prime minister.

As a result, Adani had halved supply last year but CFO Dilip Jha said the company has resumed full supply since as the country's monthly payments started covering some of the dues.

"We are supplying full power to Bangladesh ... the payment we are receiving now is more than the monthly billing," Jha said in a post-earnings call with analysts on Thursday.

"We are hopeful that not only will we continue to receive payments equivalent to the current month's billing, but that the old outstanding dues will also be liquidated."

The company said Bangladesh has paid nearly $1.2 billion of the roughly $2 billion totally billed to the country.

(Reporting by Sethuraman NR in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

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May 1 (Reuters) - India has extended the mandate for its imported coal-based power plants to operate at full capacity until June 30, a government circular showed on Thursday.

(Reporting by Sarita Chaganti Singh and Manvi Pant; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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April 30 (Reuters) - Adani Power Ltd ADAN.NS:

• ADANI POWER Q4 CONSOL PAT 25.99 BILLION RUPEES

• ADANI POWER Q4 CONSOL TOTAL REVENUE 145. 36 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: ADAN.NS

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By Sarita Chaganti Singh

NEW DELHI, April 18 (Reuters) - India is planning to ease its nuclear liability laws to cap accident-related penalties on equipment suppliers, three government sources said, in a move mainly to attract U.S. firms that have been holding back due to the risk of unlimited exposure.

The proposal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is the latest step to expand nuclear power production capacity by 12 times to 100 gigawatts by 2047 as well as provide a fillip to India in trade and tariff negotiations with the U.S.

A draft law prepared by the department of atomic energy removes a key clause in the Civil Nuclear Liability Damage Act of 2010 that exposes suppliers to unlimited liability for accidents, the three sources said.

India's atomic energy department, the prime minister's office and the finance ministry did not respond to requests seeking comment.

"India needs nuclear power, which is clean and essential," said Debasish Mishra, chief growth officer at Deloitte South Asia.

"A liability cap will allay the major concern of the suppliers of nuclear reactors."

The amendments are in line with international norms that put the onus on the operator to maintain safety instead of the supplier of nuclear reactors.

New Delhi is hoping the changes will ease concerns of mainly U.S. firms like General Electric Co GE.N and Westinghouse Electric Co that have been sitting on the sidelines for years due to unlimited risks in case of accidents.

Analysts say passage of the amended law is crucial to negotiations between India and the U.S. for a trade deal this year that aims to raise bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030 from $191 billion last year.

Modi's administration is confident of getting approval for the amendments in the monsoon session of parliament, set to begin in July, according to the sources.

Under the proposed amendments, the right of the operator to compensation from the supplier in case of an accident will be capped at the value of the contract. It will also be subject to a period to be specified in the contract.

Currently, the law does not define a limit to the amount of compensation an operator can seek from suppliers and the period for which the vendor can be held accountable.

LAW GREW OUT OF BHOPAL DISASTER

India's 2010 nuclear liability law grew out of the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster, the world's deadliest industrial accident, at a factory owned by U.S. multinational Union Carbide Corp in which more than 5,000 people were killed.

Union Carbide agreed to pay an out-of-court settlement of $470 million in damages in 1989.

The current liability law effectively shut out Western companies from a huge market, and also strained U.S.-Indian relations since they reached a deal on nuclear cooperation in 2008.

It also left U.S. firms at a disadvantage to Russian and French companies whose accident liability is underwritten by their governments.

The draft law also proposes a lower liability cap on small reactor operators at $58 million, but is unlikely to alter the cap for large reactor operators from the current level of $175 million, the three sources said.

India is betting big on nuclear power to meet its rising energy demand without compromising on net-zero commitments, for which it proposes to allow private Indian companies to build such plants.

Indian conglomerates like Reliance Industries RELI.NS, Tata Power TTPW.NS, Adani Power ADAN.NS and Vedanta Ltd VDAN.NS have held discussions with the government to invest around $5.14 billion each in the sector.

($1 = 85.6320 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Sarita Chaganti Singh, Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan.)

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Recasts throughout with information from Adani Ports and background

April 17 (Reuters) - Adani Ports APSE.NS, India's largest private port operator, said on Thursday it will buy an Australian deep-water coal export facility for an enterprise value of about A$3.98 billion ($2.54 billion), as it aims to grow its global presence.

As a part of the deal, Adani Port will issue 143.8 million shares to Carmichael Rail and Port Singapore Holdings to buy Abbot Point Port Holdings, which owns and operates the North Queensland Export Terminal, the port operator said.

North Queensland Export Terminal, which is a deep-water coal export terminal with a capacity of 50 million tonnes per annum, was purchased by Adani Ports in 2011 before it was sold to the Adani family in 2013 in a $2 billion deal.

As part of the deal, Adani Ports will also assume other non-core assets and liabilities on Abbot Point Port's balance sheet, which the company will realize within a few months of the deal, it added.

The terminal, which is located on Australia's east coast, is well-positioned for strong growth, supported by rising capacity, medium-term contract renewals, and future opportunities in green hydrogen exports, Adani Ports CEO Ashwani Gupta said.

The company aims to take the port's EBITDA growth to A$400 million within four years, Gupta said.

($1 = 1.5684 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

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Updates March 21 story with statement from India commerce ministry

By Sarita Chaganti Singh, Shivangi Acharya

NEW DELHI, March 24 (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has decided to let lapse a $23 billion program to incentivize domestic manufacturing, just four years after it launched the effort to woo firms away from China, according to four government officials.

The scheme will not be expanded beyond the 14 pilot sectors and production deadlines will not be extended despite requests from some participating firms, two of the officials said.

Some 750 companies, including Apple supplier Foxconn and Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, signed up to the Production-Linked Initiative scheme, public records show.

Firms were promised cash payouts if they met individual production targets and deadlines. The hope was to raise the share of manufacturing in the economy to 25% by 2025.

Instead, many firms that participated in the program failed to kickstart production, while others that met manufacturing targets found India slow to pay out subsidies, according to government documents and correspondence seen by Reuters.

As of October 2024, participating firms had produced $151.93 billion worth of goods under the program, or 37% of the target that Delhi had set, according to an undated analysis of the program compiled by the commerce ministry. India had issued just $1.73 billion in incentives - or under 8% of the allocated funds, the document said.

News of the government's decision to not extend the plan and specifics about the lag in payouts are being reported by Reuters for the first time.

Modi's office and the commerce ministry, which oversees the program, did not respond to requests for comment. Since the plan's introduction, manufacturing's share of the economy has decreased from 15.4% to 14.3%.

In a separate statement on Saturday, the commerce ministry said participating firms had produced $163 billion worth of goods as of November 2024. The ministry did not say if the program would be allowed to expire but said PLIs have "incentivized domestic manufacturing, leading to increased production, job creation, and a boost in exports."

Foxconn, which now employs thousands of contract workers in India, and Reliance didn't return requests for comment.

Two of the government officials told Reuters the end of the program did not mean Delhi had abandoned its manufacturing ambitions and that alternatives were being planned.

The government last year defended the program's impact, particularly in pharmaceuticals and mobile-phone manufacturing, which have seen explosive growth. Some 94% of the nearly $620 million in incentives disbursed between April and October 2024 were directed to those two sectors.

In some instances, some food-sector companies that applied for subsidies weren't issued them due to factors such as "non compliance of investment thresholds" and companies "not achieving stipulated minimum growth," according to the analysis. The document did not provide specifics, though it found production in the sector had exceeded targets. Reuters could not determine which companies the analysis referred to.

But Delhi had previously acknowledged problems and agreed to extend some deadlines and increase payment frequency after complaints from PLI participants. One of the Indian officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential matters, said that excessive red tape and bureaucratic caution continued to stymie the scheme's effectiveness.

As an alternative, India is considering supporting certain sectors by partially reimbursing investments made to set up plants, which would allow firms to recover costs faster than having to wait for production and sale, another official said.

Trade expert Biswajit Dhar at the Delhi-based Council for Social Development think-tank, who has said Modi's government needs to do more to attract foreign investment, said the country might have missed its moment.

The incentives program was "possibly the last chance we had to revive our manufacturing sector," he said. "If this kind of mega-scheme fails, do you have any expectation that anything is going to succeed?"

The stalling of manufacturing comes as India tries to circumvent the trade war unleashed by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has criticised Delhi's protectionist policies.

Trump's threat of reciprocal tariffs on countries like India that have a trade surplus with the U.S. means the export sector is increasingly challenged, said Dhar. "There was some amount of tariff protection ... and all that is going to be slashed."

HITS AND MISSES

The program was introduced at an opportune time for India: China, which for decades had been the world's factory floor, was struggling to maintain production amid Beijing's zero-COVID policy.

The U.S. was also seeking to reduce its economic reliance on an increasingly assertive Beijing, prompting many multinationals to pursue a "China plus one" policy of diversifying production lines.

With its large youthful population, lower costs and a government regarded as relatively friendly to the West, India seemed set to benefit.

India has become a global leader in pharmaceutical and mobile-phone production in recent years.

The country produced $49 billion worth of mobiles in the 2023-24 fiscal year, up 63% from 2020-21, government data show. Industry leaders like Apple now manufacture their newest and most sophisticated cellphones in India, after having started with low-cost models.

Similarly, pharmaceutical exports nearly doubled to $27.85 billion in 2023-24 from a decade ago.

But the success was not repeated in the other sectors, which include steel, textiles and solar panel manufacturing. India faces fierce competition from cheaper rivals like China in many of those fields.

In the solar industry, for instance, eight of the 12 companies that signed up to PLI are unlikely to meet their targets, according to a December 2024 analysis of the sector prepared by the renewable energy ministry and seen by Reuters. The eight firms included units of Reliance, Adani Group and the Indian conglomerate JSW.

The analysis found that the Reliance entity would only meet 50% of the production target it had been set for the end of the 2027 fiscal year, when the solar PLI scheme will expire. It also said that the Adani business had not ordered equipment it needed to manufacture the solar panels and that JSW had not "done anything yet."

JSW declined to comment, while Adani did not respond to questions.

The commerce ministry said in a January letter to the renewables ministry seen by Reuters that it would not agree to its counterpart's request to extend the scheme beyond 2027 as doing so "will result in unfair benefit for non-performers."

The renewables ministry said in response to Reuters' questions that it was committed to "fairness and accountability," as well as "ensuring that only those who meet their targets are rewarded."

In the steel sector, investment and production also lag targets. Fourteen of the 58 projects approved for PLIs have been withdrawn or removed due to lack of progress, according to the undated program-wide analysis.

($1 = 86.4425 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Shivangi Acharya and Sarita Chaganti Singh; Editing by Aftab Ahmed and Katerina Ang)

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NEW DELHI, March 22 (Reuters) - India's key manufacturing scheme received investments of nearly $19 billion as of November last year, the trade ministry said on Saturday, a day after Reuters reported New Delhi will let the $23-billion incentive program lapse amid disappointing results.

The incentive scheme will not be expanded beyond 14 pilot sectors and production deadlines will not be extended despite requests from some participating firms, Reuters has reported.

The trade ministry, in a statement, said private firms had produced goods worth nearly $163 billion under the scheme, 90% of the target until fiscal year 2024/25, and the government had in turn paid out less than $1.7 billion in incentives.

The payouts make for 8% of the scheme's intended subsidies, Reuters had reported.

Projects are implemented over two to three years and claims are usually made after the first year of production, as per the statement. "Hence, most of the projects are at implementation stage and will be filing incentive claims in due course."

The trade ministry's statement did not mention the Reuters report.

($1 = 85.9900 Indian rupees)

(Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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By Dhwani Pandya and Arpan Chaturvedi

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI, March 21 (Reuters) - Indian billionaire Gautam Adani's group is battling allegations in court this month that its planned multibillion-dollar power plant and a luxury housing complex breach environment laws, adding to its many legal headaches.

Such allegations have often troubled Adani projects in India and abroad. In Australia, the group battled a seven-year activist campaign against its Carmichael coal mine, and construction at its seaport in south India was halted for months in 2022 due to protests over coast erosion.

Now, Adani Group is defending itself against allegations made in India's National Green Tribunal that it started work on a $2 billion power plant without waiting for environmental clearance. This case is set for a hearing on Friday.

The lawsuit by an activist says the site for the plant is within a forest in the Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh. The suit seeks to halt the project saying it would devastate the area and impact wildlife, court papers show.

Adani denied in a March 6 filing that any of its activities at the site are environmentally damaging. "The project land is not a forest land," Adani also said in the filing.

State pollution control official Reetesh Kumar Tewari told Reuters that Adani stopped work at the site after it was sent a November warning notice about the construction.

Adani Group did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment. Debadityo Sinha, the activist who filed the lawsuit, declined comment citing ongoing legal proceedings.

Legal cases in India can drag on for years, and environment-related challenges often emerge as a sticking point for big companies.

The latest legal tussles come just as India's government has asked a local court to deliver a summons from the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission to group founder Gautam Adani over his alleged role in a $265 million bribery scheme. Adani has denied those allegations and said they are baseless.

LUXURY PLANS AND SLUM REDEVELOPMENT

Adani is pursuing two big projects in Mumbai, one of world's most expensive real estate markets, and both are being challenged over environmental issues.

Its luxury residential project in the coastal suburb of Bandra is being challenged by another activist, Zoru Bhathena, and a residents group who are trying to halt the project.

They are arguing in a case at the high court in Mumbai that the land Adani plans to use for the project has been reclaimed from the sea and remains a legally protected coastal region where no construction is allowed.

India's environment ministry and the Adani Group disagree, telling the court in February the land is no longer classified as a protected area following a rule change in 2019, non-public court filings reviewed by Reuters show.

The court has described the Bandra case as involving a "vital issue relating to environment protection". The next hearing on the matter is set for March 27.

Adani's other high-profile project in Mumbai is the redevelopment of Dharavi slum, one of the group's most ambitious undertakings. It started work there after winning a $619 million redevelopment bid two years ago.

Dharavi, about three-quarters the size of New York's Central Park and where 1 million people need to be rehoused, was featured in the 2008 Oscar-winning movie "Slumdog Millionaire". Its open sewers and shared toilets, close to Mumbai's international airport, stand in contrast to India's development boom across residential, commercial and infrastructure sectors.

The Adani-led Dharavi redevelopment company, now called Navbharat Mega Developers, was allotted 256 acres (104 hectares) of salt-pan lands in September to build rental housing for Dharavi residents as part of the project.

But activist lawyer Sagar Devre has filed a public interest litigation in the Mumbai high court against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, alleging it changed rules in August 2024 to allow residential development on salt-pan lands - ecologically sensitive areas that help in flood protection.

The court has not yet heard the case, but the rule change has been a topic of political wrangling, with India's Congress Party saying it is an example of Modi changing policy to help Adani - allegations of impropriety both have repeatedly denied.

Spokespersons for Modi's federal government did not respond to a request for comment on the salt-pan land issue.

(Reporting by Dhwani Pandya in Mumbai and Arpan Chaturvedi in New Delhi; Additional reporting by Saurabh Sharma; Editing by Aditya Kalra and Tom Hogue)

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By Sarita Chaganti Singh and Arpan Chaturvedi

NEW DELHI, March 13 (Reuters) - The Indian government has asked a local court to deliver a summons issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to billionaire Gautam Adani over alleged securities fraud and a $265 million bribery scheme, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

The summons, which was issued under Hague Service Convention that does not allow the serving of legal documents directly to defendants in India, would require Adani or his legal counsel to appear in the case in the United States, Indian lawyers said.

Adani Group has denied the allegations, describing them as "baseless" and vowing to seek "all possible legal recourse".

India's federal ministry of law has asked a district court in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Adani's home state, to deliver the summons to him, the letter dated February 25 shows.

"The summons seems to be for appearance in a court in New York. If service is effected through the Indian court, the respondents will have to appear," said Arshdeep Khurana, a criminal lawyer in India.

Adani and India's law ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The summons does not imply an extradition risk for the businessman, who oversees a sprawling conglomerate spanning airport construction to media, another lawyer said.

"Extradition proceedings only come in to the picture if the U.S. court issues warrants of arrest," said Malak Bhatt, founding partner at NM Law Chambers.

Reuters reported on February 18 that the SEC was making efforts to serve its complaint on Gautam Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, and was seeking help from India to do so.

Reuters could not determine if the summons against Adani's nephew has also been processed.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month said he did not discuss the Adani case with U.S. President Donald Trump during his visit to Washington.

(Reporting by Sarita Chaganti Singh and Arpan Chaturvedi; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

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Adds details, background throughout

March 2 (Reuters) - India's Adani Group has revived plans for major infrastructure investments in the U.S., where the group's founder has been charged with bribery, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

Since the election of President Donald Trump, the conglomerate has reactivated potential plans to fund projects in sectors such as nuclear power and utilities, as well as an East Coast port, the report said, citing four people close to founder and chair Gautam Adani.

Federal prosecutors in New York unsealed an indictment in November accusing Gautam Adani of bribing Indian officials to persuade them to buy electricity produced by Adani Green Energy ADNA.NS.

"We know what we want to do, but we will wait until this (case) resolves," the FT quoted a person close to Adani as saying.

Adani Group has said the charges were "baseless" and that it would seek "all possible legal recourse." It did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the FT report.

The group had previously been in talks with U.S. companies on potential partnerships and had looked at petrochemical investments in Texas, the newspaper said.

After Trump's November election win, Gautam Adani said the group planned to invest $10 billion in U.S. energy security and infrastructure projects, creating a potential 15,000 jobs.

Trump has vowed to make it easier for energy companies to drill on federal land and build pipelines.

"Once Trump came in, we have reactivated some plans," the FT said, citing another source it did not name.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked Indian authorities last month for help in its investigation of Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani over allegations of securities fraud and a $265-million bribery scheme.

In 2023 the conglomerate was accused by U.S.-based short-seller Hindenburg Research, which disbanded earlier this year, of improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation that sparked a $150 billion rout in shares of the group's companies. Adani denied those allegations.

(Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard)

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Updates with background, weather office's projections in paragraphs 3-5

NEW DELHI, Feb 28 (Reuters) - India has extended a mandate for imported coal-fired power plants to operate at full capacity until the end of April, a government order seen by Reuters on Friday showed, from an earlier deadline that was set for the end of February.

The extension of the mandate is due to high demand for electricity in the country, the order stated.

India's power ministry said last week that it expects electricity demand to go up to 270 gigawatts (GW) from last year's 250 GW, in the upcoming summer season, usually marked by searing high temperatures and heatwaves in many parts of the country.

The national weather office said earlier in the day that India will have above-average temperatures in March across most regions, following a warmer February.

India has about 17 GW of imported coal power plants operated by companies like Adani Power ADAN.NS, Mundra Power and Essar Power.

(Reporting by Sarita Chaganti Singh, writing by Hritam Mukherjee; Editing by YP Rajesh and David Evans)

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By Krishna N. Das

NEW DELHI, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Adani Power has agreed to fully restore supply from a 1,600 MW India power plant to Bangladesh in a few days after a gap of three months but has rejected Dhaka's request for discounts and tax benefits, two sources told Reuters.

Billionaire Gautam Adani's company halved supply to Bangladesh on October 31 due to payment delays as the country battled a foreign exchange shortage. This led to the shutdown of one of the two equal-sized units of the plant on November 1, followed by Bangladesh's request to keep supplying only half the power, citing low winter demand and as the payment issue bubbled.

Ahead of summer demand and on Bangladesh Power Development Board's (BPDB) request, Adani Power has agreed to resume full supplies by next week, said the two sources who had direct knowledge of the matter but declined to be named as they were not authorised to talk to the media. The plant in eastern India sells only to Bangladesh.

Adani Power, however, has not agreed to meet several other demands from BPDB, including giving discounts and concessions potentially worth millions of dollars to Bangladesh, said the sources. The two sides had a virtual meeting on Tuesday and more are likely to carry on the discussions.

"They don't want to give up on anything, even $1 million," said one of the sources, referring to Adani Power. "We have not got any concessions. We want a mutual understanding, they are invoking the power purchase agreement."

BPDB Chairperson Md. Rezaul Karim did not respond to questions about the differences. He told Reuters earlier this week that "now there is no big issue with Adani" and that full power supply was going to begin, while he tried to step up payments beyond $85 million a month.

An Adani Power spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company said in a statement following a Reuters story on Tuesday that "dispatch of power by a power generator is dependent on the procurers' requirements, which keep changing".

In December, an Adani source said BPDB owed the company about $900 million, while Karim said at the time the amount was only about $650 million. The pricing dispute revolves around how power tariffs are calculated.

BPDB earlier wrote to Adani Power seeking tax benefits worth millions of dollars and resumption of a discount programme that ran for a year until May.

(Reporting by Krishna N. Das in New Delhi; editing by David Evans)

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Adds Adani Power exchange filing, paragraph 8

By Krishna N. Das

NEW DELHI, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Bangladesh has asked Adani Power to fully resume supplies from its 1,600-megawatt plant in India, a Bangladesh official said, after more than three months of reduced sales with supplies halved due to low winter demand and payment disputes.

Adani, which signed a 25-year contract under former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2017, has been supplying power from its $2 billion plant in India's Jharkhand state. The plant, with two units each of 800 megawatts capacity, sells exclusively to Bangladesh.

Adani halved supply to Bangladesh on October 31 due to payment delays as the country battled a foreign exchange shortage. That led to the shutdown of one unit on November 1, resulting in the plant's operating at about 42% capacity.

Subsequently, Bangladesh told Adani to keep supplying only half the power.

The state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) said it had been paying $85 million a month to Adani to clear outstanding dues and has now told the company to resume supply from the second unit.

"As per our requirement today, they have planned to synchronise the second unit, but due to the high vibration, it didn't happen," BPDB Chairperson Rezaul Karim told Reuters, referring to some technical problems that stopped the unit from restarting on Monday.

"Right now, we are making a payment of $85 million per month. We are trying to pay more, and our intention is to reduce the overdue. Now there is no big issue with Adani."

The dispatch of power by a power generator is dependent on the procurers' requirements, which keep changing, Adani Power said in an exchange filing late on Tuesday, while commenting on the Reuters report. This is a normal scenario and is addressed under contractual arrangements, it added in its statement.

BPDB and Adani officials were due to meet virtually on Tuesday following another meeting recently to work out various issues between them, said a source with direct knowledge of the matter who did not want to be named as he was not authorised to talk to the media.

In December, an Adani source said BPDB owed the company about $900 million, while Karim said at the time the amount was only about $650 million.

The pricing dispute revolves around how power tariffs are calculated, with the 2017 agreement pricing off an average of two indexes. Adani's power costs Bangladesh about 55% more than the average of all Indian power sold to Dhaka, Reuters has reported.

A Bangladesh court has ordered an examination of the contract with Adani by a committee of experts, with results expected this month. This could potentially lead to contract renegotiations.

Last year, Bangladesh's interim government accused Adani of breaching the power-purchase agreement by withholding tax benefits that the Jharkhand plant received from New Delhi, Reuters reported in December citing documents. Bangladesh officials also said they were reviewing the contract.

A spokesperson for Adani told Reuters at the time that it had upheld all contractual obligations with Bangladesh and had no indication Dhaka was reviewing the contract.

Karim has not replied to Reuters' questions on whether the two sides have resolved their differences.

In November, U.S. prosecutors indicted Adani Group founder Gautam Adani and seven other executives for their alleged role in a $265 million bribery scheme in India. Adani Group has called the U.S. allegations "baseless".

In September, the Bangladesh government appointed a panel of experts to examine major energy deals signed by Hasina, who fled to New Delhi in August after deadly student-led protests.

(Reporting by Krishna N. Das in New Delhi; additional reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Sonali Paul)

(([email protected]; https://twitter.com/krishnadas56 ;))

Jan 29 (Reuters) - Adani Power Ltd ADAN.NS:

• GETS GST DEMAND ORDER FOR 156 MILLION RUPEES, PENALTY OF 156 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE8Crpyr

Further company coverage: ADAN.NS

(([email protected];;))

Adds quote, details in paragraphs 2-12

By Uditha Jayasinghe

COLOMBO, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The Sri Lankan government has started talks with India's Adani Group to lower the cost of power from two wind power projects the group will build in the island nation's northern province, the cabinet spokesman said on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka has been reviewing the group's local projects after U.S. authorities in November accused billionaire founder Gautam Adani and other executives of being part of a scheme to pay bribes to secure Indian power supply contracts.

Adani has denied the allegations.

"The Sri Lankan government is of the stance that we want a lower price and discussions with Adani have already started," cabinet spokesman and Health and Media Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said.

The government thinks it is possible to bring prices to about $0.06 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) or lower, below the earlier proposed price of $0.08, he said.

Adani did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Last week, Adani said that its power purchase deal with the Sri Lankan government was intact after the AFP news agency reported it had been revoked.

Adani said the Sri Lankan cabinet's decision earlier this month to re-evaluate the tariff approved in May was a "standard review process" with a new government and that the group remains committed to investing $1 billion in Sri Lanka's green energy sector.

Under the deal with Sri Lanka, Adani Green Energy ADNA.NS would build two wind power stations with a total investment of $442 million.

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka, which has suffered from power blackouts and fuel shortages, has been trying to speed up green power generation to hedge against surges in imported fuel costs.

The U.S. allegations raised concerns among some partners and investors of the group, with at least one Indian state reviewing its power deal with Adani and TotalEnergies TTEF.PA halting further investments in the conglomerate.

The Adani Group is also involved in building a $700 million terminal project at Sri Lanka's largest port in Colombo.

(Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe; Writing by YP Rajesh)

(([email protected]; X: @YPRajesh;))

Adds context on importance of India market for OpenAI in paragraph 3, Open AI comment in paragraph 10, global AI market estimates in paragraph 12

By Aditya Kalra and Arpan Chaturvedi

NEW DELHI, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Digital news units of Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, and other outlets including the Indian Express and the Hindustan Times, are joining proceedings against OpenAI for improperly using copyright content, legal papers show.

Courts globally are hearing claims by authors, news organisations and musicians who accuse technology firms of using their copyrighted work to train AI services without permission or payment.

India has more than 690 million smartphone users thanks to cheap mobile data plans and OpenAI has said the country is a critical market.

The Indian media outlets, including Adani's NDTV NDTV.NS and Ambani's Network18 NEFI.NS, have told a New Delhi court they want to join an ongoing lawsuit against the ChatGPT creator as they are worried their news websites are being scraped to store and reproduce their work for users of the powerful AI tool.

Reuters was first to report the case filing by the news publishers, which escalates an ongoing legal battle against ChatGPT in India. In the most high-profile battle, local news agency ANI was first to file a lawsuit against OpenAI last year. Global and Indian book publishers have also joined the lawsuit.

The 135-page case filing, which is not public but was reviewed by Reuters, argues OpenAI's conduct constitutes "a clear and present danger to the valuable copyrights" of Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) members and other outlets.

It refers to OpenAI's "wilful scraping ... and adaptation of content", adding that "the disproportionate power of tech companies in prioritising content and extracting advertising revenue has raised concerns among publishers."

The filing was made by the Indian Express, Hindustan Times, Adani's NDTV and the DNPA, which represents roughly 20 companies including Mukesh Ambani Network18 and players like Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar, Zee News, India Today Group and the Hindu. Many of these outlets have a flourishing newspaper and television news business too.

The Times of India is not part of the legal challenge despite being member of the DNPA, the filing said, without elaborating on the reasons.

Asked for comment, OpenAI reiterated an earlier statement that it was engaged in constructive partnerships with many news organisations, including in India, and was using publicly available data in a manner protected by fair use principles to builds its AI models.

None of the Indian media companies involved immediately responded to Reuters request for comment.

The global AI market is expected to grow to $320 billion to $380 billion by 2027, expanding 25% to 35% each year, with the India market likely to follow that trend, according to Boston Consulting Group and India's tech lobby group NASSCOM.

LANDMARK INDIA CASE

In the United States, the New York Times sued OpenAI and its largest financial backer Microsoft MSFT.O in December 2023, accusing them of using millions of its articles without permission to train chatbots to provide information to users.

The new Indian intervention will add firepower to ANI's lawsuit against OpenAI in India's most high-profile legal proceedings on the issue.

A hearing in ANI's lawsuit against OpenAI is scheduled for Tuesday.

Responding to the ANI case, OpenAI said in a court filing reported by Reuters last week that any order to delete training data would result in a violation of its U.S. legal obligations, and Indian judges have no jurisdiction to hear a copyright case against the company as its servers are located abroad.

Reuters, which holds a 26% interest in ANI, has said in a statement it is not involved in ANI's business practices or operations.

In recent months, OpenAI has signed deals with Time magazine, the Financial Times, Business Insider-owner Axel Springer, France's Le Monde and Spain's Prisa Media to display content.

The Indian publishers in their new filing argue OpenAI has entered into partnership agreements with media outlets abroad, but has not entered into similar deals in India, hurting the media companies.

Such conduct by OpenAI "in India betrays an inexplicable defiance of the law," the Indian media outlets' filing said.

The publishers also said OpenAI was set to become a profit-driven business benefiting from the creative works of the media industry. This would result in a "weakened press" and would not be in the best interests of a vibrant democracy, their filing said.

OpenAI made its first India hire last year when it tapped a former WhatsApp executive, Pragya Misra, to handle public policy and partnerships in the country of 1.4 billion people.

"India is really important because it's the youngest demographic in the world ... we've seen massive uptake of ChatGPT, it's almost our second largest country in terms of users outside of the US," Misra said in a recent interview with AIM TV.

OpenAI kicked off an investment, consumer and corporate frenzy in generative AI after the Nov. 2022 launch of ChatGPT. It wants to be ahead in the AI race after raising $6.6 billion last year.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra and Arpan Chaturvedi; Additional reporting by Praveen Paramasivam; Editing by Sonali Paul and Kate Mayberry)

((Email: [email protected]; X: @adityakalra;))

** Adani Power ADAN.NS rises 3.8% to 518 rupees

** India's top court agrees to review thermal power producer's appeal against Punjab electricity regulator PSERC's refusal to approve a 2006 Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) - media reports

** The 2006 PPA was between Udupi Power Corp (now Adani Power) and Punjab State Power Corp for supply of 101.5 MW of power

** PSERC rejected PPA, citing lack of long-term need, higher costs than cheaper options in market

** Adani Power did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment

** Stock set to snap five-day losing streak

** ADAN ended 2024 0.8% higher, its smallest annual gain since listing in August 2009

(Reporting by Yagnoseni Das in Bengaluru)

(([email protected];))

Jan 1 (Reuters) - Power Mech Projects Ltd POMP.NS:

• POWER MECH PROJECTS LTD - SECURES 2.94 BILLION RUPEES ORDER FROM ADANI POWER

Source text: ID:nBSEQyKj4

Further company coverage: POMP.NS

(([email protected];))

Adds detail, background from paragraph 2

Dec 27 (Reuters) - India on Friday extended its mandate for imported coal-based power plants to operate at full capacity until Feb. 28, a government circular showed.

In October, the government had invoked an emergency clause to direct companies including Tata Power TTPW.NS, Adani Power ADAN.NS and Vedanta VDAN.NS, to operate their imported coal fired plants till Oct. 15 and had further extended the mandate till Dec. 31.

Imported coal-based power plants in India have a combined annual capacity of nearly 16 gigawatts.

India's coal-fired power output had fallen for a second straight month in September due to slower growth in electricity use and a surge in solar generation.

The country's imports of thermal coal plunged 31.8%, its fastest rate of contraction in fifteen months, in October, Reuters had reported earlier.

India's overall coal-based power generation over April-September rose by 5% from a year earlier, government data shows.

(Reporting by Manvi Pant and Sethuraman NR in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

(([email protected]; +918447554364;))

Repeats story from Thursday morning in Asia

By Krishna N. Das

DHAKA, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Bangladesh's interim government has accused energy supplier Adani Power of breaching a multi-billion-dollar agreement by withholding tax benefits that a power plant central to the deal received from New Delhi, according to documents seen by Reuters.

In 2017, the Indian company controlled by billionaire Gautam Adani signed an agreement with Bangladesh to provide power from its coal-fired plant in eastern India. Dhaka has said it hopes to renegotiate the deal, which was awarded by then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina without a tender process and costs Bangladesh far more than its other coal power deals, according to Bangladesh power agency documents and letters between the two parties reviewed by Reuters, as well as interviews with six Bangladesh officials.

Dhaka has been behind on payments to Adani Power since supply started in July 2023. It owes several hundred million dollars for energy that has already been supplied, though the two sides dispute the exact size of the bill.

Bangladesh's de facto power minister Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan told Reuters the country now had enough domestic capacity to cope without the Adani supply, though not all domestic power generators were operational.

Nobel peace prize laureate Muhammad Yunus took power in August after a student-led revolution ousted Hasina, who critics accuse of stifling democracy and mismanaging the economy. She ran Bangladesh for most of the last two decades and was a close ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Reuters is reporting for the first time that the contract came with an additional implementation agreement that addressed the transfer of tax benefits. The news agency is also revealing details about Bangladesh's plan to reopen the 25-year deal, and that it hopes to use the fallout from U.S. prosecutors' November indictment of Adani and seven other executives for their alleged role in a $265 million bribery scheme to press for a resolution.

Adani Power has not been accused of wrongdoing in Bangladesh. A company spokesperson said in response to Reuters' questions that it had upheld all contractual obligations and had no indication Dhaka was reviewing the contract. The company did not answer questions about the tax benefits and other issues raised by Bangladesh.

Adani Group has called the U.S. allegations "baseless."

TAX EXEMPTIONS

Adani Power's Godda plant runs off imported coal and was built to serve Bangladesh.

The company said the Bangladesh deal helped further Indian foreign policy objectives and Delhi in 2019 declared the plant part of a special economic zone. It enjoys incentives such as exemptions on income tax and other levies.

The power supplier was required to inform Bangladesh swiftly of changes in the plant's tax status and to pass on the "benefit of a tax exemption" from India's government, according to the contract and implementation agreement signed on Nov. 5, 2017 between Adani Power and the state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB).

But Adani Power did not do so, according to letters sent by BPDB on Sept. 17, 2024 and Oct. 22, 2024 that urged it to remit the benefits.

The agreements and letters are not public but were seen by Reuters.

Two BPDB officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media, said they did not receive responses.

BPDB estimates savings of roughly 0.35 cents per unit of power if the benefit was passed on, the officials said. The Godda plant supplied 8.16 billion units in the year to June 30, 2024, according to an undated Bangladesh government summary of power purchases seen by Reuters, suggesting potential savings of about $28.6 million.

Power minister Khan said the savings would be a key part of future discussions with Adani Power.

'NEGOTIATED HASTILY'

Bangladesh in November scrapped a 2010 law that allowed Hasina to award some energy deals without a competitive bidding process.

The absence of tenders is unusual, said Tim Buckley, director of Australia's Climate Energy Finance think-tank, adding that auctions ensure "the best price possible."

In September, Yunus's government appointed a panel of experts to examine major energy deals signed by Hasina. A Bangladesh court has separately ordered a probe of the Adani deal.

Another panel asked to study the economy said in a white paper submitted to Yunus on Dec. 1 that the U.S. charges against Adani meant Bangladesh should "scrutinise" the power deal, which it described as "negotiated hastily."

Hasina, who has not been seen in public since she fled to India, could not be reached. Her son and adviser Sajeeb Wazed told Reuters he was not aware of the Adani Power deal but that he was "sure there was no corruption."

"I can only assume the Indian government lobbied for this deal so it was made," he said in response to allegations of political interference.

Modi's office and other Indian officials did not respond to requests for comment.

HARDBALL

On Oct. 31, Adani Power halved the power supply from Godda in response to the payment dispute with Bangladesh.

The company in a July 1 letter seen by Reuters also rejected a request from BPDB to extend a discount it had offered until May - resulting in savings of about $13 million for Bangladesh. It said it would not consider further discounts until payment was cleared.

Adani Power contends it is owed $900 million, while BPDB says arrears are about $650 million. Bangladesh suffers from a dollar shortage and BPBD officials told Reuters they haven't been able to obtain sufficient foreign currency for payment.

The halving of supply particularly angered Bangladesh, BPDB Chair Md. Rezaul Karim said, because it came after Dhaka in October remitted $97 million to Adani Power - its highest monthly payment this year.

The dispute revolves around how power tariffs are calculated, with the 2017 agreement pricing off an average of two indices.

The unit cost of energy from Godda was 55% above the average of all Indian power sold to Dhaka, according to the summary of Bangladesh's power purchases.

Bangladesh is pressing for Adani Power to use other benchmarks that would lower the tariff after one of the indices was revised last year, said three BPDB sources.

Adani Power has rejected that, one of them said, adding the two sides were meeting soon.

The agreements stipulate that arbitration be carried out in Singapore, but Khan said Bangladesh's next move depended on the outcome of the court-ordered investigation.

"If it is proven that bribery or irregularities had happened, then we will have to follow the court order if any cancellation happens," he said.

($1 = 119.0000 taka)

(Reporting by Krishna N. Das in Dhaka; Additional reporting by Maksud Un Nabi; Editing by Katerina Ang)

(([email protected]; https://twitter.com/krishnadas56 ;))

Updates with post-publication response from ex-chief minister

By Sarita Chaganti Singh, Sudarshan Varadhan

NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE, Dec 17 (Reuters) - The approach from the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) on Sept. 15, 2021 came out of the blue. The federal agency, tasked with developing the solar sector, wanted to know if the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh would like to sign India's largest renewables contract.

Two years earlier, Andhra Pradesh's energy regulator had said in a 10-year forecast the state had no short-term need for solar power, and should focus on other renewables that could provide 24-hour energy.

But just a day after SECI approached the state government, the 26-member state cabinet led by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy gave the deal its preliminary approval, according to cabinet records seen by Reuters.

While SECI's Sept. 15 letter did not name the energy supplier, it was publicly known at the time that the federal agency had only contracted with two suppliers, the larger of which was controlled by billionaire Gautam Adani, according to past statements from the two companies.

By Nov. 11, the state government had secured the nod from the energy regulator. On Dec. 1, state authorities signed a procurement agreement with SECI for the deal, which could eventually be worth over $490 million annually.

As much as 97% of that will go to Adani Green, the renewables unit of the billionaire's Adani Group conglomerate, according to documents related to the agreement, reviewed by Reuters.

The news agency spoke to a former state power regulator and an energy legal expert who said the 57 days between SECI's approach to the state government and regulatory approval from the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) for the 7,000 megawatt deal was unusually fast, although timeframes for such deals can vary.

The solar deal is now under scrutiny by U.S. prosecutors, who indicted Adani and seven other executives in November for alleged involvement in a bribery and securities fraud scheme involving several Indian states and one territory.

U.S. prosecutors allege that $228 million was offered to an unnamed Andhra Pradesh official by the defendants to direct the state's electricity distribution companies to purchase the solar power supplied to SECI by Adani Green.

Reuters reviewed 19 state government documents, many of them previously unreported, and interviewed more than two dozen state and federal officials about the deal, as well as independent energy and legal professionals. Most of the people spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Together they provide a picture of how political leaders overruled advice from finance and energy officials in order to approve the massive Adani deal. Some officials have publicly described the contract as likely to strain the state's coffers, potentially leaving taxpayers on the hook for thousands of megawatts of energy that Andhra Pradesh does not need.

Adani Green did not respond to Reuters' questions about the alleged corruption nor the speed of the approval process. Adani Group has previously called the allegations "baseless."

SECI told Reuters in a statement it was up to states and their regulators to decide how much power to purchase. It declined to answer other questions.

The office of Reddy, who was not named in the U.S. indictment and lost power in an election this year, referred Reuters to a Nov. 28 statement in which he denied being bribed and justified the deal on grounds it provided free power to farmers. Reddy's office declined to answer other questions.

A spokesperson for Reddy's party said after this story was published that state energy officials had thoroughly analysed the contract. The official said Andhra Pradesh had signed a good deal because solar prices had not fallen significantly since 2021.

APERC, which regulates the state's power sector and was responsible for due diligence on the deal, did not respond to repeated requests for comment on its processes and the U.S. allegations.

The current state government also did not respond to requests for comment.

DUE DILIGENCE

For most of Sept. 15, 2021 then-energy minister Balineni Srinivasa Reddy was unaware of any potential solar deal, he told Reuters.

But late that night, he received a call from a person in his office, whom he did not identify, about a proposal that required his signature for discussion in cabinet the next day, said Srinivasa Reddy, who joined a rival party this year.

"Never before" had he been so rushed to approve files, he said, and he was not given "details or time to study the matter."

Srinivasa Reddy said he signed off after being assured by a senior official at his department, whom he also did not identify, that the contracting party was SECI. He said he had "no idea the supplier was Adani."

Srikant Nagulapalli, who declined to comment, was then the top civil servant in Srinivasa Reddy's department. Reuters could not establish if Reddy consulted him or if he provided assurances about the deal.

The next day, cabinet approved the deal "in principle," according to minutes from the cabinet meeting, allowing the regulatory process to be fast-tracked.

On Oct. 21, the Andhra Pradesh Power Coordination Committee (APPCC) - which had been tasked with studying the deal after the preliminary approval - filed a report recommending the deal.

The committee was established by the state government to coordinate between state-owned distribution companies; its members include the state's top energy official and company executives.

Seven days later, the Andhra Pradesh cabinet officially committed to procuring 7,000 megawatts from SECI.

In doing so, it overrode advice from officials at the finance and energy departments that the contract did not represent good value.

On Oct. 28 - the same day as the cabinet meeting that approved the deal but before the greenlight was given - the finance department made a submission to the cabinet stating there was an industry trend of falling solar prices and that future agreements would likely be cheaper, according to cabinet minutes.

It said Andhra Pradesh had leverage because the government was the buyer, offering the supplier security that a default would be unlikely.

The treasury also questioned the duration of the 25-year contract, especially since supply was scheduled to start only in 2024, according to the minutes. The treasury said it believed costs could continue to fall in the period between agreeing the contract and power being supplied.

The energy department endorsed the treasury's advice.

The records of the cabinet deliberations do not document any discussion about the finance and energy departments' concerns beyond a statement in the minutes that the cabinet was "duly overruling the finance remark."

Andhra Pradesh will pay 2.49 rupees per kilowatt-hour when the solar power comes online, according to the agreement.

An Adani Green spokesperson told Reuters that supply would be delayed beyond 2024, citing delays in "grid availability."

However, an analysis released by the office of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu - who ousted Reddy's government in elections this year - found the state would likely have to pay more, because the contract did not account for certain taxes and duties that are typically included in such calculations.

A state official familiar with the matter said Andhra Pradesh is likely to pay as much as 23% over the price it agreed in the Adani contract once the taxes and duties are included.

Andhra Pradesh is now seeking to suspend the deal due to the indictment of Gautam Adani. A decision could come by year-end, an official told Reuters.

If the Adani deal goes ahead, the state treasury will be directly on the hook for solar bills running hundreds of millions of dollars annually, according to Reuters' review of contract documents. Annual payments to Adani once the power supply is fully operational will be roughly equal to state spending on social security and nutrition programs for the previous fiscal year.

($1 = 84.8380 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Sarita Chaganti Singh in New Delhi and Sudarshan Varadhan in Singapore; Editing by Aftab Ahmed and Katerina Ang)

(([email protected]; +91 99109 33884;))

Repeats story to widen distribution

By Sarita Chaganti Singh, Sudarshan Varadhan

NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE, Dec 17 (Reuters) - The approach from the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) on Sept. 15, 2021 came out of the blue. The federal agency, tasked with developing the solar sector, wanted to know if the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh would like to sign India's largest renewables contract.

Two years earlier, Andhra Pradesh's energy regulator had said in a 10-year forecast the state had no short-term need for solar power, and should focus on other renewables that could provide 24-hour energy.

But just a day after SECI approached the state government, the 26-member state cabinet led by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy gave the deal its preliminary approval, according to cabinet records seen by Reuters.

While SECI's Sept. 15 letter did not name the energy supplier, it was publicly known at the time that the federal agency had only contracted with two suppliers, the larger of which was controlled by billionaire Gautam Adani, according to past statements from the two companies.

By Nov. 11, the state government had secured the nod from the energy regulator. On Dec. 1, state authorities signed a procurement agreement with SECI for the deal, which could eventually be worth over $490 million annually.

As much as 97% of that will go to Adani Green, the renewables unit of the billionaire's Adani Group conglomerate, according to documents related to the agreement, reviewed by Reuters.

The news agency spoke to a former state power regulator and an energy legal expert who said the 57 days between SECI's approach to the state government and regulatory approval from the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) for the 7,000 megawatt deal was unusually fast, although timeframes for such deals can vary.

The solar deal is now under scrutiny by U.S. prosecutors, who indicted Adani and seven other executives in November for alleged involvement in a bribery and securities fraud scheme involving several Indian states and one territory.

U.S. prosecutors allege that $228 million was offered to an unnamed Andhra Pradesh official by the defendants to direct the state's electricity distribution companies to purchase the solar power supplied to SECI by Adani Green.

Reuters reviewed 19 state government documents, many of them previously unreported, and interviewed more than two dozen state and federal officials about the deal, as well as independent energy and legal professionals. Most of the people spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Together they provide a picture of how political leaders overruled advice from finance and energy officials in order to approve the massive Adani deal. Some officials have publicly described the contract as likely to strain the state's coffers, potentially leaving taxpayers on the hook for thousands of megawatts of energy that Andhra Pradesh does not need.

Adani Green did not respond to Reuters' questions about the alleged corruption nor the speed of the approval process. Adani Group has previously called the allegations "baseless."

SECI told Reuters in a statement it was up to states and their regulators to decide how much power to purchase. It declined to answer other questions.

The office of Reddy, who was not named in the U.S. indictment and lost power in an election this year, referred Reuters to a Nov. 28 statement in which he denied being bribed and justified the deal on grounds it provided free power to farmers. Reddy's office declined to answer other questions.

APERC, which regulates the state's power sector and was responsible for due diligence on the deal, did not respond to repeated requests for comment on its processes and the U.S. allegations.

The current state government also did not respond to requests for comment.

DUE DILIGENCE

For most of Sept. 15, 2021 then-energy minister Balineni Srinivasa Reddy was unaware of any potential solar deal, he told Reuters.

But late that night, he received a call from a person in his office, whom he did not identify, about a proposal that required his signature for discussion in cabinet the next day, said Srinivasa Reddy, who joined a rival party this year.

"Never before" had he been so rushed to approve files, he said, and he was not given "details or time to study the matter."

Srinivasa Reddy said he signed off after being assured by a senior official at his department, whom he also did not identify, that the contracting party was SECI. He said he had "no idea the supplier was Adani."

Srikant Nagulapalli, who declined to comment, was then the top civil servant in Srinivasa Reddy's department. Reuters could not establish if Reddy consulted him or if he provided assurances about the deal.

The next day, cabinet approved the deal "in principle," according to minutes from the cabinet meeting, allowing the regulatory process to be fast-tracked.

On Oct. 21, the Andhra Pradesh Power Coordination Committee (APPCC) - which had been tasked with studying the deal after the preliminary approval - filed a report recommending the deal.

The committee was established by the state government to coordinate between state-owned distribution companies; its members include the state's top energy official and company executives.

Seven days later, the Andhra Pradesh cabinet officially committed to procuring 7,000 megawatts from SECI.

In doing so, it overrode advice from officials at the finance and energy departments that the contract did not represent good value.

On Oct. 28 - the same day as the cabinet meeting that approved the deal but before the greenlight was given - the finance department made a submission to the cabinet stating there was an industry trend of falling solar prices and that future agreements would likely be cheaper, according to cabinet minutes.

It said Andhra Pradesh had leverage because the government was the buyer, offering the supplier security that a default would be unlikely.

The treasury also questioned the duration of the 25-year contract, especially since supply was scheduled to start only in 2024, according to the minutes. The treasury said it believed costs could continue to fall in the period between agreeing the contract and power being supplied.

The energy department endorsed the treasury's advice.

The records of the cabinet deliberations do not document any discussion about the finance and energy departments' concerns beyond a statement in the minutes that the cabinet was "duly overruling the finance remark."

Andhra Pradesh will pay 2.49 rupees per kilowatt-hour when the solar power comes online, according to the agreement.

An Adani Green spokesperson told Reuters that supply would be delayed beyond 2024, citing delays in "grid availability."

However, an analysis released by the office of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu - who ousted Reddy's government in elections this year - found the state would likely have to pay more, because the contract did not account for certain taxes and duties that are typically included in such calculations.

A state official familiar with the matter said Andhra Pradesh is likely to pay as much as 23% over the price it agreed in the Adani contract once the taxes and duties are included.

Andhra Pradesh is now seeking to suspend the deal due to the indictment of Gautam Adani. A decision could come by year-end, an official told Reuters.

If the Adani deal goes ahead, the state treasury will be directly on the hook for solar bills running hundreds of millions of dollars annually, according to Reuters' review of contract documents. Annual payments to Adani once the power supply is fully operational will be roughly equal to state spending on social security and nutrition programs for the previous fiscal year.

($1 = 84.8380 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Sarita Chaganti Singh in New Delhi and Sudarshan Varadhan in Singapore; Editing by Aftab Ahmed and Katerina Ang)

(([email protected]; +91 99109 33884;))

By Sarita Chaganti Singh and Krishna N. Das

NEW DELHI, Dec 16 (Reuters) - An Indian government agency charged with promoting renewable energy has changed the way it issues power tenders to reduce the risk of corruption after U.S. allegations of bribery in some tenders, said an official with direct knowledge of the matter.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) earns commission for linking renewable energy producers with buyers. It was an intermediary in solar power deals involving Adani Group and several states where U.S. authorities have said bribes were paid to unidentified officials between 2021 and 2022.

The ports-to-power Adani Group has denied the allegations, calling them baseless.

U.S. authorities have not accused SECI of any wrongdoing.

SECI, which selects renewable energy producers for projects through bids and then signs deals with power buyers, said last month it had "no basis so far" to investigate the allegations and that it was "not clear if any of SECI's covenants have been violated".

About 75% of SECI's new bids for renewable power will now be based on specific demand from states instead of the earlier practice of mainly seeking power suppliers first through tenders and then approaching buyers, said the SECI official, who did not want to be named, citing the sensitivity of the matter.

A spokesperson for SECI did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours on Monday.

The official said the earlier practice, which used to account for about 90% of the bids, had raised the risk of corruption by power producers seeking to influence buyers in states to sign up to deals even if they did not need the power. The official did not name any companies or give any examples.

The source said SECI had not found any reason to independently investigate any deals it had been part of and that no agency within India or outside had reached out to it.

The allegations against the Adani Group, nevertheless, could temporarily cut foreign investments in India's renewable sector, said the source, adding that SECI expected tendering to slow down for the rest of the fiscal year that ends on March 31.

SECI's target for this fiscal year was to find bidders for 15 gigawatts (GW) of power, but it has managed only about 6-7 GW so far.

India is still more than 10% short of its pledge to add 175 GW of renewable power by 2022. It wants to reach 500 GW by 2030.

(Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Mark Potter)

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Dec 10 (Reuters) -

• ADANI SEEKS FRESH LIFELINE FOR TROUBLED EAST INDIA POWER PLANT - BLOOMBERG NEWS

Source text: https://tinyurl.com/288457sg

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Recasts, adds detail on Rajasthan event, background on U.S. indictments

Dec 9 (Reuters) - India's Adani Group will invest over 7.5 trillion rupees ($88.5 billion) in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, a top executive said on Monday, marking the group's first major investment since the U.S. indictment of its billionaire founder.

The announcement, at an event in Jaipur city attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, comes less than a month after U.S. authorities accused founder Gautam Adani and some top executives of being part of a scheme to pay bribes worth $265 million to secure Indian power supply contracts.

The group has called the charges "baseless".

The indictment has sparked political wrangling in India as many opposition parties accuse Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of favouring Adani and blocking investigations against him in India, allegations both have denied.

Modi's BJP has said it had no reason to defend Adani and that the law will take its course.

The allegations have raised concerns among some partners and investors of the group, with at least one Indian state reviewing its power deal with Adani, and TotalEnergies TTEF.PA halting further investments in the conglomerate.

However, Adani's finance chief said last month that the group's investment plans remained on track.

The latest investments - valued at more than half of the group's $159 billion valuation - will be made in sectors including renewable energy, cement and logistics, said Karan Adani, managing director of Adani Ports APSE.NS.

Over 50% of the investments will be made over the next five years, Adani added.

Adani plans to set up four new cement plants to build additional capacity of six million metric tons per annum.

The group also plans to build the world's biggest integrated green energy ecosystem involving 100 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy, two million tonnes of hydrogen and 1.8 GW of pumped hydro storage, Adani added.

The group's clean energy arm Adani Green ADNA.NS is already building an energy park in the western state of Gujarat with a production capacity of 50 GW by 2030.

($1 = 84.7200 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Sethuraman NR. Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Mark Potter)

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Adds details, background

Dec 3 (Reuters) - Several entities linked to the Adani Group have approached the India markets regulator seeking to settle a case that accuses them of violating public shareholding regulations at some listed companies, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday.

The Securities and Exchange Board Of India (SEBI) had sent notices to Adani Enterprises ADEL.NS, the group's flagship company, as well as Adani Power ADAN.NS, Adani Ports APSE.NS and Adani Energy ADAI.NS alleging they had wrongfully categorised the shareholding of certain entities.

The groups' breaches of a minimum public shareholding requirement date back to 2020 and the SEBI had sought to recover about 25 billion rupees ($295 million) from the entities, ET said.

Adani Enterprises and one of its directors, Vinay Prakash, as well as an Ambuja Cements ABUJ.NS director, Ameet Desai, have proposed a settlement, ET reported.

Another proposal for a 2.8-million-rupees ($33,035) settlement is from Emerging India Focus Funds (EIFF), a Mauritius-based foreign portfolio investor that the SEBI says is linked to Vinod Adani, brother of Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, ET said.

The report did not have information regarding other settlement applications.

The proposals were submitted last week in response to a show-cause notice issued by the SEBI on Sept. 27 to about 30 Adani Group entities, the newspaper reported.

The entities have contested the charges in response to the notice and the settlement application is only a precautionary measure, ET added, citing a source.

The Adani Group did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Last month, U.S. authorities accused Gautam Adani and some top executives in the Adani Group of being part of a scheme to pay bribes of $265 million to secure Indian power supply contracts and of misleading U.S. investors during fund raises there, charges the group has called "baseless".

($1 = 84.7580 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Anuran Sadhu and Sethuraman NR in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

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By Krishna N. Das

DHAKA, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Bangladesh has halved the power it buys from neighbouring India's Adani Power, citing lower winter demand, government officials told Reuters on Monday, amid disagreements over dues running into hundreds of millions of dollars.

Adani, whose founder has been accused by U.S. authorities of being involved in a bribery scheme in India, charges which he has denied, halved supply to Bangladesh on Oct. 31 over payment delays as the country battles a foreign exchange shortage.

Subsequently Bangladesh told Adani to keep supplying only half the power for now, officials said, although it will keep paying its old dues.

"We were shocked and angry when they cut our supply," said Md. Rezaul Karim, chairperson of the state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB). "Winter demand is now down, so we have told them there is no need to run both units of the plant."

Adani has been supplying power under a 25-year contract signed in 2017 under ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, from a $2-billion power plant in India's eastern state of Jharkhand that has two units, each with capacity of about 800 megawatts.

A document seen by Reuters showed the plant ran at only 41.82% capacity in November, the lowest this year, with one unit shut since Nov. 1.

Two BPDB sources said Bangladesh had bought about 1,000 MW a month from Adani last winter, adding that Adani had asked the board when it would resume normal purchases, but had not received a definitive answer.

An Adani Power spokesperson said the firm was continuing supply to Bangladesh, although mounting dues were a significant concern, making plant operations unsustainable.

"We are in constant dialogue with senior officials of BPDB and the government, who have assured us that our dues will be cleared soon," said the spokesperson.

The firm was confident Bangladesh would fulfil its commitments, just as Adani had upheld its contract obligations, he added.

Karim said Bangladesh owed Adani about $650 million, and paid about $85 million last month and $97 million in October.

An Adani Power source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the dues had jumped to about $900 million, hurting its debt profile and risking a higher cost of funds.

Bangladesh wants to sharply lower prices under the Adani deal, unless it is cancelled by a court, which has called for an investigation into it, the de facto minister for power and energy told Reuters on Sunday.

The Adani Power spokesperson said the firm had no indication that Bangladesh was reviewing its power purchase pact.

Adani charges the highest rate of all Indian suppliers to Bangladesh, a government document seen by Reuters showed.

Its cost per unit was 14.87 taka during the fiscal year that ended on June 30 2024, compared with an average of 9.57 for all Indian suppliers.

The retail price in Bangladesh is 8.95 taka a unit, leading to an annual power subsidy bill of 320 billion taka ($2.7 billion).

"Because the prices are high, the government has to subsidise," said Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, Bangladesh's power and energy adviser. "We would like power prices, not only from Adani, to come down below the average retail prices."

($1=119.0000 taka)

(Reporting by Krishna N. Das in Dhaka; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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