RELIANCE

Adds Lone Star's response in paragraph 4

May 28 (Reuters) - BP's BP.L Castrol lubricants business is attracting interest from companies such as India's Reliance Industries RELI.NS, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The business has also attracted interest from buyout firms Apollo Global Management APO.N and Lone Star Funds, the report said, adding that a deal could fetch between $8 billion and $10 billion.

BP has sent out initial information to other potential bidders for the unit, including Brookfield Asset Management BAM.TO and Stonepeak Partners, it added.

BP, Apollo Global and Lone Star declined to comment, while Reliance Industries did not immediately respond outside business hours in India.

The bidders would join Saudi Aramco 2222.SE in considering bids for all or part of the business. Reuters reported last week that BP is seeking buyers for its Castrol unit, citing sources.

(Reporting by Unnamalai L in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)

(([email protected]))

May 27 (Reuters) - Reliance Industries Ltd RELI.NS:

• JIOBLACKROCK ASSET MANAGEMENT RECEIVES SEBI APPROVAL FOR MUTUAL FUNDS BUSINESS -STATEMENT

• SID SWAMINATHAN NAMED AS MD, CEO OF NEW ASSET MANAGEMENT CO OF JIOBLACKROCK ASSET MANAGEMENT-STATEMENT

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: RELI.NS

(([email protected];))

MUMBAI, May 26 (Reuters) - India's Jio Credit's plans to raise 15 billion rupees ($176.5 million), which includes a greenshoe option of 5 billion rupees, through sale of bonds maturing in three years, bankers said on Monday.

The company has invited bids from bankers and investors for the issue on Tuesday, they said.

Jio Credit, formerly know known as Jio Finance, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Jio Financial Services.

This would be the second bond issue by the company within a span of two weeks. It raised 10 billion rupees through bonds maturing in 2 years and 10 months at 7.19% coupon earlier this month.

Jio Credit did not immediately reply to a Reuters email for comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on May 26:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 84.9950 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

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Changes media packaging code, recasts first paragraph, adds investment targets for Reliance Industries in paragraphs 4-5

May 23 (Reuters) - Indian conglomerates led by billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani said in separate statements on Friday that they will invest more money to develop their projects in the country's northeast region.

The Adani Group will invest 500 billion rupees ($5.84 billion) over the next decade to develop infrastructure, including roads and highways, as well as green energy projects such as hydro and pumped storage, chairman Gautam Adani said at an industry event in New Delhi.

Earlier this year, he announced his ports-to-power conglomerate will invest 500 billion rupees in the northeastern state of Assam to expand airports, roads and gas distribution.

Reliance Industries, which has invested 300 billion rupees in the region so far, is aiming to increase it to as much as 750 billion rupees in the next five years, chairman Mukesh Ambani said at the same event.

The oil-to-retail group will set up 350 biogas plants in the region and will build factories to produce fast-moving consumer goods, he added.

($1 = 85.6880 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

(([email protected]; X: @MukherjeeHritam;))

By Sarita Chaganti Singh and Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI, May 14 (Reuters) - Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani will meet U.S. President Donald Trump and the emir of Qatar in Doha on Wednesday, two sources told Reuters, as his company Reliance Industries RELI.NS looks to foster ties with authorities in both nations.

Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, QIA, has invested in Reliance businesses over the years, and Ambani, who is Asia's richest man, has many business partnerships with the likes of U.S. tech giants such as Google GOOGL.O and Meta META.O.

Ambani will attend a state dinner for Trump at the Lusail Palace in Doha, but did not plan to hold any investment or business discussions, said the first source, who had direct knowledge of the matter.

Another London-based Indian business leader close to the Trump and Qatar administrations will also attend, said both the sources, without identifying the individual.

Further details of Ambani's agenda were not clear. Reliance did not immediately respond to Reuters' queries.

In February, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani visited India, where his country has committed to invest $10 billion across various industries.

Trump will travel to the United Arab Emirates from Qatar on Thursday in a trip that is focused on investment rather than security matters in the Middle East.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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

Adds details on pricing for satellite spectrum in paragraph 3-5, background throughout

May 9 (Reuters) - India's telecom regulator has recommended allotting satellite spectrum for commercial communication services for five years, it said on Friday, at a time when Elon Musk is getting closer to launching his Starlink high-speed internet in the country.

The recommendation also includes a possibility to extend an initial five-year spectrum allocation by a further two years depending on market conditions, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)said.

The telecom watchdog also recommended charging telecom operators 4% of their adjusted gross revenue for geostationary orbit-based fixed satellite services and for mobile satellite services.

This is subject to a minimum annual spectrum charge of 3,500 rupees ($41) per megahertz (MHz), according to TRAI.

For non-geostationary orbit-based fixed satellite services, an additional 500 rupees per subscriber per annum in urban areas should be charged, exempting rural and remote areas, it said.

The recommendations come as Elon Musk is working towards launching Starlink in India. Musk has urged New Delhi to allot spectrum for 20 years to focus on "affordable pricing and longer-term business plans," according to Starlink's public submissions.

TRAI had agreed to demands for a lower licence time-frame to see how the sector grows, Reuters had reported in March, citing a government source.

Musk and Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani signed a partnership in March that would allow Starlink devices to be sold in Ambani's Reliance RELI.NS stores, giving it access to a large distributor.

Ambani and Musk had previously been rivals - Ambani's telco subsidiary had unsuccessfully lobbied New Delhi for months to auction spectrum rather than allot it administratively, as Musk wanted.

Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS, India's No. 2 telco, has also pushed for a three-to-five year period for the licence. Bharti Airtel and Musk have also signed a distribution deal for Starlink.

($1 = 85.3610 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru. Editing by Aidan Lewis, Mark Potter and Susan Fenton)

(([email protected]; 8800437922;))

Updates with background paragraph 2 onwards

May 8 (Reuters) - The Indian government has agreed to a conditional nod for SpaceX's Starlink to start offering satellite-based internet services in the country, television news channel CNBC-TV18 reported on Thursday.

Starlink and the Indian Department of Telecommunications did not immediately respond to Reuters emails asking for comment.

Starlink in March signed agreements with Indian telecom operators Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS, Vodafone Idea VODA.NS and Reliance Industries RELI.NS Jio, in moves that would give the U.S. firm greater access to the world's most populous nation.

Elon Musk and Mukesh Ambani, who chairs the Reliance conglomerate, were at loggerheads over how airwaves should be assigned for satellite internet, with New Delhi finally siding with the allocation approach the U.S. billionaire lobbied for.

Starlink has been waiting since 2022 for licenses to operate commercially in India. New Delhi had long-delayed clearances for reasons including national security concerns.

(Reporting by Mrinmay Dey and Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

(([email protected]; +91 7362903319;))

May 5 (Reuters) - Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd ONGC.NS:

• SHELL, RELIANCE, AND ONGC COMPLETE OFFSHORE FACILITIES DECOMMISSIONING PROJECT - STATEMENT

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: ONGC.NS

(([email protected];;))

** Shares of Reliance Industries RELI.NS rise 1%, among top gainers on Nifty 50 .NSEI, which is up 0.4%

** Stock has risen 8.04% this week, on course for biggest weekly gains since May 2022

** RELI reported Q4 profit above estimates on April 25; stock has risen for the four sessions since

** Retail growth, likely listing of Jio, improvement in O2C profitability are key triggers for RELI's shares in FY26, multiple brokerages say

** Average rating of 33 analysts is "buy"; median target price is 1,546.5 rupees, 9% above current levels - data compiled by LSEG

** After falling 6% last year, RELI shares have gained 15.6% in 2025 so far

** Nifty rose 8.8% in 2024 and is up 3.1% in 2025 so far

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +91 9769003463;))

May 1 (Reuters) - Venezuela's oil exports fell almost 20% to some 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) in April, the lowest level in nine months, as cargo cancellations to U.S.-based producer Chevron CVX.N forced ships to return and left some ports empty, ship tracking data and documents showed.

Venezuela's state-run company PDVSA last month suspended most of the loading windows it had assigned to Chevron and ordered the return of some oil cargoes bound for the U.S. amid payment uncertainty related to the enforcement of U.S. sanctions.

The measures cut Chevron short of a May 27 deadline the U.S. Treasury Department had set to wind down oil operations and exports from the OPEC country, which has been under U.S. energy sanctions since 2019.

A total of 32 vessels departed from Venezuelan waters last month, carrying an average of 698,767 bpd of crude and fuel and 357,000 metric tons of oil byproducts and petrochemicals, according to LSEG vessel monitoring data.

The main destination of Venezuela's oil exports was China with some 428,000 bpd, followed by the U.S. with 138,000 bpd and India with 64,200 bpd, the data and documents showed.

Chevron's exports of Venezuelan crude to the U.S. plummeted 69% to some 66,000 bpd due to PDVSA's measures.

However, other customers of the state company, including France's Maurel & Prom MAUP.PA, U.S. Global Oil Terminals and India's Reliance RELI.NS increased their intake of Venezuelan crude and byproducts ahead of the May 27 deadline.

As part of oil swaps with some of those companies, Venezuela's imports of heavy naphtha rose to some 94,000 bpd in April, from 82,000 bpd in March, allowing PDVSA to increase storage of much-needed diluents for its extra heavy crudes.

PDVSA did not reply to a request for comment. Venezuela's Oil Minister Delcy Rodriguez this month traveled to China to discuss oil businesses.

The company between late March and early April halted one of its main crude upgraders, Petropiar, operated along with Chevron, to modify the facility's output, one of its strategies to refine more domestically, according to one of the documents.

Also in April PDVSA inaugurated loading of a new crude grade for export, Blend 22, with the first cargo bound for the U.S.

Venezuela's government has rejected President Donald Trump's hardening of sanctions on the South American country, saying the measures amount to an "economic war."

(Reporting by Reuters staff
Editing by Marguerita Choy)

** Indian benchmark indexes traded flat on Wednesday, with gains in index heavyweights HDFC Bank HDBK.NS and Reliance Industries RELI.NS offsetting broader losses

** HDBK, RELI up about 1% each

** Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi grants military chiefs freedom to respond to last week's deadly militant attack in Kashmir

** India has identified three attackers, including two Pakistani nationals, as "terrorists" waging a violent revolt in Kashmir; Islamabad has denied any role and says intelligence suggests Indian military action likely soon

** While anxiety may persist in the near term due to tensions with Pakistan, markets tend to stabilise going by history, says ICICI Securities

** Bajaj Finance BJFN.NS falls 5.5% despite higher Q4 profits; brokerages flag weak pre-provision profit and high credit costs as key negatives

** Automaker Tata Motors TAMO.NS drops 3% following multiple block deals executed at a discount

** Broader markets underperform, with small-cap .NIFSMCP100 and mid-cap indexes .NIFMDCP100 down 0.9% and 0.2%, respectively

** Nifty up 3.6% in April so far, set for second straight monthly rise

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +91 9769003463;))

** Reliance Industries RELI.NS climbs 2.6% to 1,405 rupees

** Stock extends gains after fourth-quarter results to 8%, marking its best two-day gains since May 2021

** At least 13 of 32 analysts tracking RELI raised their PT and a dozen upgraded stock post results on Monday, per data compiled by LSEG

** Stock rated "buy" on avg

** RELI up 17.3% in April; set for its best month since January 2024

** YTD, stock gains 16%

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; Mobile: +91 9591011727;))

April 28 (Reuters) - India's benchmark indexes are likely to open higher on Monday following better-than-expected earnings from heavyweight Reliance Industries and positive cues from Asian markets, with investors closely tracking tensions between India and Pakistan.

Gift Nifty futures GIFc1 were trading at 24,258.5 as of 7:59 a.m. IST, indicating the Nifty 50 .NSEI will open higher from Friday's close of 24,039.35.

Asian markets edged higher on the day in a cautious start amid continued uncertainty over U.S. trade policy.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday asserted that tariff negotiations were underway with China, which Beijing denied, marking the latest in a series of conflicting signals over the progress of de-escalation of a trade war threatening to sap global growth.

Investors will also closely watch for geopolitical cues amid tensions between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the Kashmir attack. The anxiety over India's next steps pulled the Nifty and Sensex .BSESN lower on Friday.

However, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained buyers in India for an eighth consecutive session on the back of a weakening U.S. dollar and the prospect of India's economy doing better than most major nations, as per analysts.

On the day, Reliance Industries RELI.NS will be in focus after it posted a fourth-quarter profit that beat estimates on the back of strong performance in its retail and digital businesses.

Mahindra & Mahindra's MAHM.NS stock will be in the limelight as it announced plans to buy a majority stake in truck and bus maker SML Isuzu SMLI.NS for 5.55 billion rupees ($65.00 million).

Investors will also watch Tata Technologies TATE.NS, which missed fourth-quarter revenue estimates due to slowing global demand for electric vehicles.

($1 = 85.4040 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

(([email protected];))

April 25 (Reuters) - Reliance Industries Ltd RELI.NS:

• RELIANCE JIO INFOCOMM Q4 NET PROFIT 66.42 BILLION RUPEES

• RELIANCE JIO INFOCOMM Q4 REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 300.18 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: RELI.NS

(([email protected];))

By Arathy Somasekhar

HOUSTON, April 23 (Reuters) - Some tankers Chevron had chartered to move crude from Venezuela to the United States this month are now being marketed for spot contracts elsewhere, sources said, after state company PDVSA canceled loading permits and ordered the firm to return cargoes amid payment uncertainty related to sanctions.

The marketing of the vessels indicates that Chevron does not expect to load all the cargoes it typically ships from Venezuela in a month even if it eventually finds a way to resolve the disagreement with PDVSA.

Tanker Sea Dragon, which had discharged Venezuela's Boscan heavy crude in Philadelphia, was being marketed by Agelef Maritime Services, two sources familiar with the matter said.

Chevron was marketing vessel Andromeda, which earlier this month discharged Venezuelan Hamaca crude at Port Arthur, the sources added.

At least six more tankers Chevron had chartered to carry Venezuelan crude to the U.S. in coming weeks as part of the wind down of its U.S. license through May 27 were stalled in the Caribbean Sea waiting for directions after PDVSA last week ordered two cargoes to be returned and canceled loading permits to others, cutting the deadline short.

As of Wednesday, Chevron-chartered tanker Dubai Attraction, which finished loading some 300,000 barrels of Venezuelan Boscan crude in early April, was still awaiting customs paperwork to return its cargo, according to ship tracking data and sources.

Carina Voyager, managed by a Chevron unit, was near Aruba after returning its 500,000-barrel cargo to PDVSA last week, LSEG shipping data showed.

Sea Jaguar's loading window at Venezuela's Jose terminal, originally scheduled for mid-April, was canceled by PDVSA, according to a document seen by Reuters. The ship was on Wednesday hovering around Aruba, according to tracking data.

PDVSA and Chevron did not reply to requests for comment.

Other tankers chartered by trading house Vitol VITOLV.UL were loading and discharging normally at Venezuelan ports, according to the data and documents, while vessels chartered by Reliance Industries RELI.NS for India delivery and Maurel & Prom MAUP.PA for Europe departed on schedule, ahead of the May 27 deadline to wind down cargoes and operations.

(Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by Franklin Paul)

(([email protected]; +1 832 610 7346; Twitter: @ArathySom;))

STOCKHOLM, April 22 (Reuters) - Sweden's Ericsson ERICb.ST is planning to manufacture all its telecom antennas for the Indian market in the country, the company said on Tuesday.

Demand from India's telecom companies started to skyrocket in 2023, as Bharti Airtel and Jio, the telecom unit of Reliance Industries, started to scale up 5G services, and cushioned a slowdown of orders from the United States, Ericsson's top market.

Ericsson, which started manufacturing in India in 1994, will localize all its passive antenna production for the Indian market by June, it said in a statement. It also has manufacturing facilities in Mexico, Romania and China.

The company expects to export a significant portion of the antennas manufactured in India after meeting domestic needs, it said.

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm, editing by Louise Rasmussen)

(([email protected]; +46 70 721 1004; Reuters Messaging: [email protected]))

BENGALURU, April 18 Reuters - Diary of India economic, corporate events on April 18

ECONOMIC, CORPORATE .BSE500 EVENTS:

(Compiled by Bengaluru Newsroom)

(([email protected]))

April 17 (Reuters) - Reliance Industries Ltd RELI.NS:

• DISSOLUTION OF RELIANCE GLOBAL PROJECT SERVICES PTE. LTD.

Source text: ID:nBSEmtSKX

Further company coverage: RELI.NS

(([email protected];;))

April 15 (Reuters) - India has launched an auction of three coal bed methane blocks and 55 small discovered fields for exploration and production, said Pallavi Jain Govil, head of upstream regulator Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, on Tuesday at an event in Delhi.
Two of the coal bed methane blocks are in the state of West Bengal and one in the western state of Gujarat.
India also signed contacts for oil and gas blocks, offered under a licensing round earlier this year, Govil said, as the world's third largest oil consumer seeks to boost its local output.

The country imports over 80% of its over 5 million barrels per day of oil needs.
India's top explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp ONGC.NS signed contracts for exploration of 11 blocks, while Oil India OILI.NS signed for six blocks.
ONGC also signed an exploration contract for one block in tie up with BP BP.L and Reliance Industries RELI.NS, and teamed up with Oil India for three blocks.
Vedanta VDAN.NS signed contracts for seven blocks and Hindustan Oil Exploration Company HOEX.NS for one block.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma in New Delhi; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)

(([email protected]; +91 7982114624;))

April 11 (Reuters) - Reliance Industries Ltd RELI.NS:

• NAUYAAN TRADINGS COMPLETED ACQUISITION OF FURTHER 10% EQUITY STAKE IN NAUYAAN SHIPYARD

Source text: ID:nBSEbwtmyl

Further company coverage: RELI.NS

(([email protected];;))

** HSBC identifies five Indian stocks — Reliance Industries RELI.NS, ICICI Bank ICBK.NS, TVS Motor TVSM.NS, Shriram Finance SHMF.NS, and Adani Ports APSE.NS — as its top picks offering profit visibility

** Says, impact of U.S. tariffs on Indian markets likely limited on lower or limited domestic macro risks, lower export dependence to U.S. compared to other Asian peers

** However, does not expect a strong earnings rebound in FY26 as it sees capex yet to pick up, urban consumption remaining soft

** Expects Reliance to benefit from retail turnaround, digital growth, new energy momentum

** ICICI Bank offers strong growth with stable asset quality; TVS could gain from rural demand recovery

** Shriram Finance stands out for its superior asset quality; Adani Ports is a proxy for India's trade and infra growth, says HSBC

** On the day, TVSM rises 1.4%, RELI and ICBK edge up

** SHMF falls 2.1%, APSE slips 0.3%

** Benchmark Nifty 50 index .NSEI drops 0.6%

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +91 9769003463;))

** Shares of oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries RELI.NS lose as much as 7.5% to 1,114.85 rupees, their lowest levels since October 6, 2023

** RELI with a weightage of 8.1% drags benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI 4% lower

** "Weaker global fuel demand due to tariff uncertainty could hurt refining margins of RELI," says Morgan Stanley

** The drop in the session drags RELI to "oversold" territory, with the relative strength index (RSI) slipping to 28.6

** The session's losses also push RELI to losses for 2025 so far; RELI stock down about 1% in 2025, compared with NSEI's 7.6% drop

** This is the sharpest single-day drop for RELI since June 4, 2024, when markets fell after the ruling National Democratic Alliance returned to power with a smaller majority

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +91 9769003463;))

By Nidhi Verma

April 3 (Reuters) - India's gasoline demand is expected to peak by 2035, and gasoil (diesel) consumption by 2041 or beyond as motorists shift to cleaner fuels, an executive at Reliance Industries RELI.NS said on Thursday.

India, seen as a key driver for global oil demand growth, has set a goal to eliminate net carbon emissions by 2070.

India is set to lead global oil demand growth this year, surpassing China, with fuel consumption expected to increase throughout the next decade.

"Energy transition is absolutely on the cards. In our country it is not going to be one fuel which is going to be dominant," said Harish Mehta, president of Strategy and Business Development at Reliance Industries.

Apart from gasoline and gasoil, India will see a dominant role of gaseous fuels such as liquefied natural gas, compressed natural gas and compressed biogas in the transportation sector along with electric mobility, Mehta said at an event run by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell.

India would have a "bouquet of energy sources or the fuels for transport and other things" simultaneously.

Reliance, which operates the world's largest refining complex at Jamnagar in western Gujarat, has two refineries at the complex processing about 1.4 million barrels of crude per day.

To make the fuels affordable and mitigate the impact of volatility in global oil markets for consumers, he expects India's government to continue to intervene in local fuel pricing.

India's oil and gas consumption is expected to grow at 3-4% annually, requiring a push to boost domestic hydrocarbons production, said A. K. Singh, chairman of Oil and Natural Gas Corp ONGC.NS.

Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS chairman, A S Sahney, said as India's energy demand continues to rise, state refiners are expanding capacities by about 20% in the next two years.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

(([email protected]))

April 2 (Reuters) - Reliance Industries Ltd RELI.NS:

• RELIANCE TO PARTNER WITH BLAST FOR ESPORTS BUSINESS IN INDIA

Further company coverage: RELI.NS

(([email protected];))

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, April 1(Reuters Breakingviews) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of his mission to "Make India Great Again" when he met Donald Trump in February, leaning on the U.S. president's motto to "Make America Great Again". For both leaders, the vision counts on spurring domestic manufacturing. But India's mission is faltering. Modi may want to copy some of Trump's aggression to put that right.

Modi first articulated his Make in India vision to turn the country into a manufacturing hub a decade ago. The government may now let its $23 billion flagship scheme to achieve that goal lapse, Reuters reported last week, citing four unnamed government officials. The production-linked incentive scheme, launched in 2020, offered cash payouts to firms in 14 sectors meeting specified output targets. The goal was three-fold: increase local production, cut imports and create jobs. Five years on, its track record looks patchy.

While success in churning out smartphones led by Apple's AAPL.O iPhone helped raise the country's share of global exports to 2.4% in 2022 from 0.1% in 2017, the PLI failed in most other sectors. Even corporate giants including $200 billion Reliance Industries RELI.NS and Adani Enterprises ADEL.NS were unable to meet targets. The government withheld some payouts. Ultimately Vietnam and Mexico gained more from the China-plus-one opportunity. Manufacturing's share of India's GDP stood at 13% in 2023, well behind the PLI's original 25% target.

Small pivots are afoot: a new subsidy for making electronics components announced on Friday set a target for jobs and capital investment in addition to turnover. Trump may also force some changes required. To preempt U.S. tariffs, India removed levies on inputs for electric vehicle batteries, among other things, for example.

Modi's top economic adviser in January identified the government "getting out of the way" as the key to cutting the cost of doing business. A uniform set of labour laws, speedier land supply, and power connections for new factories would help. To achieve that, Modi will have to persuade the country's 28 provinces to agree on adopting common terms for business.

The Indian leader withdrew proposed legislation on acquiring land in his first term but he can push the issue again and make progress if he can marshal the will with which he introduced a single tax code and a real estate law in 2017. There will be a political cost but it may be a small price to pay to avoid the wrath of swathes of unemployed people.

Follow @ShritamaBose on X

CONTEXT NEWS

India will offer subsidies worth $2.7 billion to boost electronics components manufacturing. The plan, announced in a statement on March 28, will aim to add nearly 92,000 direct jobs.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has decided to let lapse a $23 billion program to incentivise domestic manufacturing, four years after it launched, Reuters reported on March 24, citing four unnamed government officials.

(Editing by Una Galani and Ujjaini Dutta)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on BOSE/
[email protected]))

Adds comment from Venezuela's vice president and oil minister in paragraphs 5-6

March 31 (Reuters) - French oil group Maurel et Prom MAUP.PA said on Monday that the United States had revoked its licence to operate in Venezuela, sending its shares plunging 15% in early trade.

Reuters reported on Saturday citing sources that the Trump administration had notified foreign partners of Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA PDVSA.UL of the imminent cancellation of authorisations that allowed them to export Venezuelan oil and byproducts.

Spanish oil company Repsol REP.MC was also notified that its licence had been revoked, it said on Monday, prompting Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares to say that his government would defend the interests of the firm.

Italy's Eni ENI.MI confirmed on Sunday that it was also notified by U.S. authorities that it would no longer be allowed to receive oil from PDVSA as payment for gas it produces in Venezuela.

Oil and gas operations in Venezuela were normal on Monday, vice president and oil minister Delcy Rodriguez said in a social media post.

"Those transnational companies whose license was revoked by the U.S. government at the request of failed Venezuelan extremists are welcome to continue to participate in production in a win-win scheme of contracts with national industry," she said.

Former President Joe Biden's administration had authorised exceptions to U.S. sanctions on Venezuela to allow individual companies to source Venezuelan oil to feed refineries from Spain to India.

U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order last week declaring that any country buying oil or gas from Venezuela will pay a 25% tariff on trades with the United States.

M&P, majority-owned by the government of Indonesia, was granted a licence in May 2024 for its 40% consolidated interest in Venezuelan firm Petroregional del Lago, which operates the Urdaneta Oeste field in Lake Maracaibo.

The company said in a press release that it had received notification of the licence revocation from the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) dated March 28 with a wind-down period until May 27.

"M&P is currently assessing the implications of this decision in close consultation with its legal advisers," it added.

M&P shares were down by 15% in Paris as of 0854 GMT, Repsol was down 1.5% in Madrid while Italy's Eni was only slightly lower.

India's Reliance Industries RELI.NS, operator of the world's largest refining complex, will halt Venezuelan oil imports after the United States announced the 25% tariff on nations buying crude from the South American nation, three sources told Reuters last week.

The Indian conglomerate had obtained approval from U.S. authorities last year and has been importing an average of 2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude per month, according to LSEG data.

(Reporting by Michal Aleksandrowicz in Gdansk; Editing by Jamie Freed, Milla Nissi, Jason Neely and Mark Porter)

(([email protected]; +48 58 769 66 00;))

Adds context on Venezuela's exports in paragraphs 5-7, replies in paragraph 8

By Marianna Parraga

HOUSTON, March 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. government has notified foreign partners of Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA of the imminent cancellation of authorizations that allow them to export Venezuelan oil and byproducts, sources close to the decision by President Donald Trump's administration said on Saturday.

In recent years, former President Joe Biden's administration granted the authorizations to secure Venezuelan oil for refineries from Spain to India as exceptions to the U.S. sanction regime on the South American country.

The companies that had received licenses and comfort letters from Washington include Spain's Repsol REP.MC, Italy's Eni ENI.MI, France's Maurel & Prom MAUP.PA, India's Reliance Industries RELI.NS and U.S. Global Oil Terminals.

Most companies had already suspended imports of Venezuelan oil following Trump's imposition this week of secondary tariffs on buyers of Venezuelan oil and gas, according to sources and vessel tracking data.

The combination of tariffs and license cancellations to enforce sanctions is expected to squeeze Venezuela's oil exports in the coming months, after they began to decline in March, according to the data.

In February, Venezuela exported 910,000 barrels per day of crude and fuel, above January's 867,000 bpd.

Similar measures by Trump's first administration in 2020 knocked down Venezuela's oil output and exports, creating the need for PDVSA to use intermediaries to allocate cargoes to China, and leading to a pact with Iran. Those middlemen still do business with PDVSA.

PDVSA, Repsol, Eni, Maurel & Prom, Reliance and the U.S. State Department did not immediately reply to requests for comment. Global Oil could not be reached for comment. The U.S. Treasury Department declined to comment.

Last month, Trump said a key license to U.S. producer Chevron CVX.N to operate in Venezuela and export crude to the U.S. would be canceled. Days later, the Treasury Department ordered the company to wind down Venezuelan operations, and last week extended the deadline to May 27.

The withdrawal of the most important U.S. license for Venezuela's energy industry has sent a strong signal of Washington's policy change toward Venezuela as Trump's administration also curbs migration, with a special focus on Venezuelans illegally in the U.S.

Following reports by international observers of irregularities in President Nicolas Maduro's 2024 reelection, Trump has ramped up pressure on his government while accusing him of failing to make progress on electoral reforms and migrant returns.

It was not immediately clear if all PDVSA partners were given the same May 27 deadline to wind down operations. The terms of Chevron's license termination also have not been completely clarified.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this month that foreign oil companies in Venezuela would receive new guidance.

Maduro has criticized the sanctions, saying they amount to an "economic war."

(Reporting by Marianna Parraga, additional reporting by and Stefanie Escenbacher; Editing by David Gregorio and Rod Nickel)

(([email protected]; +1 713 371 7559; Reuters Messaging: @mariannaparraga))

March 28 (Reuters) - Reliance Industries Ltd RELI.NS:

• TRANSFERRED ITS 100% STAKE IN RELIANCE PROJECTS & PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SERVICES TO RELIANCE RETAIL

• DEAL FOR AGGREGATE CONSIDERATION OF 1 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE8fj0SV

Further company coverage: RELI.NS

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Corrects paragraph 14 to say India's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment

By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, March 27 (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco is in talks to invest in two planned refineries in India as the world's top oil exporter looks for a stable outlet for its crude in the world's fastest-growing emerging market, several Indian sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

India, the world's third-biggest oil consumer and importer, wants to become a global refining hub as Western companies cut crude processing capacity in their shift to cleaner fuels.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's share of India's oil imports has declined as refiners that have invested billions of dollars in upgrading their plants diversify crude sources to tap cheaper alternatives, including from Russia.

Aramco is in separate talks to invest in Bharat Petroleum Corp's (BPCL) BPCL.NS planned refinery in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh and a proposed Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) ONGC.NS refinery in western Gujarat state, the sources said.

Aramco, BPCL and ONGC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Both Indian firms are state-controlled.

While ONGC's Gujarat refinery plans are at a nascent stage, BPCL's chairman said in December that it aimed to invest $11 billion in its Andhra Pradesh refinery and petrochemical project.

Two refinery sources said separately that the projects would proceed regardless of whether Aramco invests.

"It all depends on the proposal that Aramco gives," one of them said.

Sources said state-controlled Aramco proposes to supply oil equivalent to three times its stake in each project, and wants to sell its share of production either in India or by export.

"We want flexibility in crude procurement. If we give them 30% stake, they want to supply crude equivalent to 90% of the capacity, which is not possible," the second refinery source said.

Other details, including potential investment size and the configuration of the planned refineries, were not immediately available.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans to visit Saudi Arabia in the second quarter, and the two countries will attempt to reach an agreement before the visit, said a third source with knowledge of the matter.

India's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Aramco has long been scouting for refining opportunities in India.

In 2018 it joined a consortium of Indian companies to build a 1.2 million barrels per day refinery and petrochemical project in western India and in 2019 it signed a non-binding agreement for a 20% stake in Reliance Industries' RELI.NS oil to chemical business.

However, the huge refinery project has been delayed by difficulties over procuring land and the deal with Reliance was called off due to differences over valuation.

In January, Indian Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said India would look to set up three refineries of 400,000 bpd each.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma. Additional reporting by Shivam Patel in New Delhi and Yousef Saba in Dubai. Editing by Mark Potter)

(([email protected]; +91 11 49548031; Reuters Messaging: [email protected]))