Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

India’s copper exports decline 70 per cent on Vedanta plant shutdown

THE closure of Vedanta Ltd’s copper smelter in India has adversely impacted country’s copper products export in the financial year (FY) 2018-19, a latest data showed today (24).

The value of India’s copper products exports fell 70 per cent in the year ended in March 2019 due to the shutdown of company’s copper smelter, according to India’s Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC).


India’s exports of copper, copper products were $1.07 billion (£772.34 million) in FY 2018-19, down when compared to £2.69bn recorded during FY 2017-18, data from EEPC showed.

Exports to China, world’s top importer of the base metal fell over 80 per cent in FY 2018-19 from the last fiscal year.

Vedanta’s closed copper plant in the southern Indian city of Thoothukudi has a refining capacity of over 400,000 tonnes, a year.

India has an installed copper refining capacity of one million tonnes.

Suranjan Gupta, the executive director of EEPC India was quoted as saying in Reuters: “Sterlite alone accounts for about 40 per cent of the country’s production. So exports fell due to their shutdown.”

Sterlite Copper, a subsidiary of Vedanta closed its smelter in Thoothukudi last year, following an order from Tamil Nadu state government.

The state government’s order came after 13 demonstrators killed in a police firing during a protest against alleged environmental pollution at the copper plant.

More For You

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

Workers are engaged at their sewing stations in a garment factory in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 9, 2025. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

BANGLADESH, the world's second-biggest garment manufacturer, aims to strike a trade deal with the US before Donald Trump's punishing tariffs kick in next week, said the country's top commerce official.

Dhaka is proposing to buy Boeing planes and boost imports of US wheat, cotton and oil in a bid to reduce the trade deficit, which Trump used as the reason for imposing painful levies in his "Liberation Day" announcement.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Bond yields ease following Starmer’s support for Reeves

THE COST of UK government borrowing fell on Thursday, partially reversing the rise seen after Chancellor Rachel Reeves became emotional during Prime Minister’s Questions.

The yield on 10-year government bonds dropped to 4.55 per cent, down from 4.61 per cent the previous day. The pound also recovered slightly to $1.3668 (around £1.00), though it did not regain all its earlier losses.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

Customers shop for 'Kolhapuri' sandals, an Indian ethnic footwear, at a store in New Delhi, India, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

INDIAN footwear sellers and artisans are tapping into nationalist pride stoked by the Prada 'sandal scandal' in a bid to boost sales of ethnic slippers with history dating back to the 12th century, raising hopes of reviving a struggling craft.

Sales are surging over the past week for the 'Kolhapuri' sandals that have garnered global attention after Prada sparked a controversy by showcasing similar designs in Milan, without initially crediting the footwear's origins.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Economy grew 0.7 per cent in Q1 2025, fastest in a year

THE UK economy expanded at its fastest pace in a year during the first quarter of 2025, driven by a rise in home purchases ahead of a tax deadline and higher manufacturing output before the introduction of new US import tariffs.

Gross domestic product rose by 0.7 per cent in the January-to-March period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, confirming its earlier estimate. This was the strongest quarterly growth since the first quarter of 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less
Anil Agarwal

Vedanta Resources, which is based in the UK and owned by Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal, has been working on reducing its debt. (Photo credit: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Resources signs £438 million refinancing deal

VEDANTA LTD said on Thursday that its parent company, Vedanta Resources, has signed a loan facility agreement worth up to £438 million with international banks to refinance existing debt.

The refinancing move, where old loans are replaced by new ones, often at better terms like lower interest rates, has led ratings agencies such as S&P Global Ratings and Moody's to upgrade their outlook on the company this year.

Keep ReadingShow less