Geoff Law
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Geoff Law published Supreme Court strikes out Adani's lawsuit against climate campaigner Ben Pennings in Blog 2024-12-06 15:41:21 +1100
Supreme Court strikes out major part of Adani's lawsuit against climate campaigner Ben Pennings
Today, the Queensland Supreme Court struck out key allegations made by the Adani Group against climate campaigner and father, Ben Pennings. Adani has 28 days in which to appeal.
The judgment comes after four years of trauma for Ben and his family, having to endure what some described as the Adani Group's 'attack-dog legal strategy' in which millions of dollars of costs were sought against Pennings for the alleged impacts of his efforts to stop Adani's climate-wrecking Carmichael coal mine from proceeding.
'This false vilification of Ben Pennings through legal accusations has effectively been a four-year gaol sentence with an unknown date of execution. It cried out for action for governments around the country to make such actions illegal as in many jurisdictions overseas,' said Bob Brown.
'For the conservation movement, Ben will be an enduring hero until the day the coal mining stops and beyond,' said Bob Brown.
The Guardian has published an account of the judge's decision as well as reactions by Ben Pennings and Adani:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/dec/06/queensland-supreme-court-adani-coalmine-case-ben-pennings-ntwnfb
The complete judgment can be read here:
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Geoff Law published Albanese called upon to investigate Adani’s dealings in Australia following USA indictment in Blog 2024-11-22 08:35:38 +1100
Australian PM urged to investigate Adani’s dealings in Australia following USA indictment
ALBANESE CALLED UPON TO INVESTIGATE ADANI’S DEALINGS IN AUSTRALIA FOLLOWING USA INDICTMENT
Infamous billionaire, Gautam Adani, was yesterday indicted by prosecutors from the Department of Justice in the USA on charges alleging bribery and deception.
The indictment says that Adani and associates were charged with ‘conspiracies to commit securities and wire fraud and substantive securities fraud for their roles in a multi-billion-dollar scheme to obtain funds from U.S. investors and global financial institutions on the basis of false and misleading statements’.
Geoff Law, the coordinator of AdaniWatch for the Bob Brown Foundation, called on Australian PM Anthony Albanese to bring about an investigation by Australian authorities into allegations concerning the Adani Group’s business dealings in Australia. These include the controversial Carmichael coal mine in Queensland, the subject of intense protests between 2016 and 2019, and the North Queensland Export Terminal at Abbot Point.
Mr Law said the Adani Group’s ‘opaque web of companies and trusts’, revealed by the ABC in 2017 should be investigated. This complex web includes entities in tax-haven countries such as the British Virgin Islands, which experts say might enable Adani companies in Australia to minimise the tax they pay. The role of Gautam Adani’s older brother, Vinod Adani, in entities with financial dealings with the Adani Group’s Australian businesses should also be probed. Entities allegedly controlled by Vinod Adani have been central to the explosive Hindenburg Research report of January 2023 and other reports in the international finance media.
‘PM Albanese should ensure that the age of impunity for oligarchs that prevails in other countries should not apply in Australia,’ Mr Law said.
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Geoff Law published Modi government snubs environment court over Adani’s Gare Pelma II coal project in Blog 2024-09-17 08:10:56 +1000
Modi government ignores environment court over Adani’s Gare Pelma II coal project
In a move of dubious legality, the Modi government has intervened to approve an Adani-developed coal mine previously ruled invalid by India’s environmental court. In January 2024, the National Green Tribunal said that government officials had colluded with the project proponent to deny entry to large numbers of people attempting to attend the ‘public’ meeting to voice their concerns. The tribunal ruled that affected people had been deprived of a ‘fair, impartial, unbiased and valid public hearing’ regarding the impacts of the Gare Pelma II coal project. The homes and livelihoods of thousands of tribal people in 14 villages will be significantly impacted if the mine proceeds. Opponents of the project are assessing their options for tackling the government’s decision in the courts.
Key details of the project:
- Name: Gare Pelma II
- Owned by: Mahagenco
- Adani subsidiary (mine developer and operator): Gare Pelma II Collieries Private Limited
- Location: Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, India
- Coal reserves: 1059.29 million tonnes
- Planned output per annum: 23.6 million tonnes per annum
- Area of lease: 48 ha
- Mining method: over 90% open-cast
- Cost: US $902 million
- Current status: Environmental approval re-validated
- Area of impact: 14 villages, farmland, forest, water resources and up to 2245 families
The Modi government has reinstated environmental approval of the Gare Pelma II coal project, despite India’s top environmental court having previously invalidated the approval due to flaws in the public-consultation process. Documents indicate that instead of conducting fresh public hearings, the central government relied on proceedings of group discussions with local communities conducted by a not-for-profit organisation.
The revalidated environmental clearance of the project was issued on 13 August 2024 by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (‘the ministry’). The project is proposed by the Adani Group in Raigarh district in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh. On 15 January 2024, the central-zone bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) quashed the project’s environmental approval, citing a host of shortcomings, including the fact that the ‘public hearing [had] not been conducted in accordance with law’.
‘The NGT’s judgement clearly stated that the public hearing was invalid because it was not conducted in accordance with the rules,’ Rinchin, an activist, who was amongst the four petitioners to the tribunal, told this correspondent. ‘If the ministry has deemed that public hearing as valid, it is a contempt of the NGT’s order. The ministry was never asked to adjudicate on an issue that was already deemed invalid by the tribunal.’
Other shortcomings in the environmental assessment process were pointed out in the tribunal’s judgment. These included the lack of a proper health assessment, the potential impact of the proposed project on water resources, and the need for a carrying-capacity study to consider whether the region could withstand the environmental impacts of yet another coal development. Petitioners say that these issues should have been included in the environmental impact assessment.
Local communities protest
Local communities in Raigarh have begun protesting at having been bypassed during the project’s approval process.
The coal block has total coal reserves of 1050.29 million tons (MT) and will affect at least 14 villages of the Raigarh district, many of which are largely populated by tribal communities. Local people interviewed by this correspondent during a visit to the area in November 2023 expressed extreme resentment over the manner in which Chhattisgarh’s erstwhile Congress government had rushed through the project’s public hearing. An Adani Group subsidiary, Gare Pelma II Collieries Private Limited, is the project’s MDO (mine developer and operator). The coal block belongs to Mahagenco, a public-sector power company belonging to the government of the western Indian state of Maharashtra.
‘Around mid-August, the project proponent began circulating copies of a letter in project-affected villages saying that is has obtained environmental approval from the ministry. This is how local communities came to know about the approval,’ Raigarh-based environmental campaigner Rajesh Tripathy told this correspondent.
A copy of the letter dated 16 August 2024 has been obtained by AdaniWatch. Local communities claim that the project proponent has not attached copies of the environmental approval with this letter.
‘This environmental approval is null and void, in the first place, because prior consent of local project-affected communities has not been obtained. Prior consent for diversion of land for any project is mandatory under law in all tribal-dominated areas in India,’ said Tripathi.
‘In fact, local communities conducted their own community meetings in which they rejected the coal-mining proposal. The minutes of the meeting and its resolution were duly notified to the state government.’
(Story continues below)
Read more
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Geoff Law published ‘New police station just to protect Adani,’ say villagers threatened by Gondulpara coal in Blog 2024-09-13 09:25:33 +1000
‘New police station just to protect Adani,’ say villagers threatened by Gondulpara coal
In the north-eastern Indian state of Jharkhand, villagers have vehemently opposed Adani’s misnamed ‘Gondulpara’ coal-mine project for three years, bringing work to a standstill. Now, the government has decided to establish a police station in the affected area. The people say that their pleas for a permanent police presence fell on deaf ears when Maoist extremists murdered village leaders some years back, but now that Adani’s interests are at stake, the government is bringing in the constabulary.
Basic information on the 'Gondulpara' project:
- Name of project: Gondulpara coal mine
- Location: Gondalpura village and surrounds, state of Jharkhand, India
- Owner: Adani Enterprises Ltd
- Coal reserves: 176 million tons
- Type of mining: Opencast
- Project area: 520 ha
- Households impacted: from 500 to 1950 (depending on the source), including people from 'scheduled tribes'
(This article is based on a translation from the daily Hindi paper Prabhat Khabar of 1 September 2024 in the Gondalpura area)
In late August 2024, the people of the panchayats (village councils) of the Gondalpura village area met to formally oppose the takeover of their lands for Adani’s 'Gondulpara' coal project. They resolved to oppose coal mining and any other industrial project in their green and fertile precinct.
The people also objected to the establishment of a new police station. They wrote complaints to the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and various other departments. They said that when Gondalpura had been impacted, some years ago, by Maoist extremists, the government had ignored the villagers’ pleas for police protection. Two prominent villagers, including headman Nageswar Mahato, were killed by the extremists, but still a police presence was denied them.
Now, when an Adani company has come to destroy farms, fields and forests with a huge coal mine, the government has decided to establish a police station to protect the company’s interests from protests by the local people.
‘We, the people, strongly object,’ said a village spokesperson, ‘and if the government does not listen to us, we will be forced to start major protests.
‘For 499 days, the people of Gondalpura have sat in peaceful demonstration [against Adani's coal project], and no government person or political leader has come to us.’
The people pledged to protect their lands, forest and water from Adani’s coal mine.
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AdaniWatch Update Newsletters
AdaniWatch Newsletter Number 25
23 January 2025
Judge assigned to Adani fraud case in the USA
The AdaniWatch newsletter is back after a short year-end break. The three cases against Gautam Adani and others that were filed in the USA in November 2024 have been rolled into the one case and a judge has been assigned. Also, during the last month, Adani has announced several billion dollars of investments in coal power and coal mining, as well as a new business in petroleum and chemicals. It has sold 13.5% of the huge Adani Wilmar palm-oil company. That and more in the 25th edition of the Update.
MAIN NEWS
Judge assigned to USA Adani case
A US district judge has been assigned to hear the various criminal and civil prosecution cases against Gautam Adani and others, who have hired top law firms for their defence. (4 January 2025).
Hindenburg shuts down
Hindenburg Research, whose explosive report of January 2023 rocked the Adani Group to its core, will be ‘disbanded’, founder Nathan Anderson has announced. Adani stock prices zoomed in response, highlighting the short seller’s influence over investors despite the Adani Group’s attempted rebuttals. (16 January 2025)
Adani sells 13.5% stake in Adani Wilmar
Last year, the Adani Group announced that it will exit Adani Wilmar, its joint venture with Singapore’s Wilmar International, and in January 2025 sold 13.5% of the company. Adani Wilmar sells cooking oil and has been one of India’s biggest importers of palm oil, most of it from uncertified sources. Adani Wilmar had suffered wild swings in its share value, with recent significant drops. (16 January 2025)
Adani’s huge real-estate project in Mumbai to obliterate an ancient livelihood
https://www.adaniwatch.org/adani_s_mumbai_apartment_project_to_obliterate_an_ancient_livelihood
Adani’s massive real-estate development of Mumbai’s salt pans will obliterate an ancient livelihood. Traditional salt workers will be displaced, bird habitat wiped out, and the teeming city placed at greater risk of flooding. (23 January 2025)
Adani coal mine seeks 40% expansion
https://www.adaniwatch.org/big_adani_coal_mine_seeks_40_expansion
The Suliyari coal mine, operated by Adani Enterprises, is seeking to expand production from 5 million tonnes per annum to 7 million tonnes per annum. The environmental approval for the mine’s existing capacity was rushed through by the Modi regime in 2021. (20 December 2024)
Adani coal-power unit fails to pay penalty
Adani’s Udupi coal power plant has failed to pay Rs 52 crore (US $6 million) imposed by the National Green Tribunal in 2022 for violating environmental conditions. The Modi government’s central pollution control board has taken no action to recover the amount. (20 January 2025)
Adani to invest billions into coal power in central India
Adani plans to invest Rs 60,000 crore ($6.9 billion) in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh to expand its coal-power plants by additional 6120 MW. Adani also runs coal mines in the state’s forests. (12 January 2025)
Adani-Israeli drone crashes at trials
An Adani military drone crashed into the sea during trials by the Indian Navy. The drone was built in partnership with Israel’s Elbit Systems. (15 January 2025)
OTHER NEWS
Adani to enter petrochemicals
Not content with being the world’s largest private developer of coal, Adani will enter another major fossil-fuel business. It will launch a joint venture with Thailand-based Indorama Ventures, one of the largest petrochemical companies in the world, to refine petroleum and produce chemicals. (7 January 2025)
Adani coal-mining partner exits
Adani Enterprises has acquired the 26% stake held by Sainik Mining in the five-year-old joint venture, Gidhmuri Paturia Collieries. The company name refers to a coal block in central India where mining is yet to commence. (27 December 2024)
Reliance inks Adani coal-power deal
Adani Group rival Reliance Industries has signed a deal to buy 500 MW of coal power from Adani’s Mahan Energen coal-power plant for 20 years. (21 December 2024)
Adani’s ‘deadline’ for Bangladesh power bill
https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/t29eadzech
Adani Power has demanded that Bangladesh pay outstanding bills of US $845 million for coal power from the controversial Godda plant by July 2025, or else face penalty fees. (19 January 2025)
Jefferies cuts Adani stock targets
Investment firm Jefferies has cut its estimate of future stock prices of Adani Ports and Adani Green Energy by 22% and 35% respectively. (20 January 2025)
US house Republican supports Adani
US house representative Lance Gooden, a Republican from Texas, has supported the Adani Group and questioned American investigations into the billionaire. (15 January 2025)
Adani telecom plans in limbo
Adani may drop its plans to launch 5G wireless services after being penalised repeatedly for not using the spectrum it won at a government auction in 2022. (16 January 2025)
Adani bids for realty firm
The Adani Group is in talks to acquire the India arm of Dubai-based Emaar group, a large realty firm, for Rs 5000 crore (US $580 million). (15 January 2025)
Adani set to win highway deal
Adani Road Transport emerged as the highest bidder to manage a part of National Highway 38 in southern India with a winning bid of Rs 1692 crore ($196 million). (15 January 2025)
DID YOU KNOW?
Moving a school and clinic for Adani’s coal power
As Adani Power seeks to triple the capacity of its 1320 MW coal power plant at Kawai in Rajasthan state, it has made an unusual request to the local government. A government-run school and clinic are situated just 750 metres from the power plant. In June 2024, Adani Power asked the government to relocate both these facilities ‘to a suitable location at a safer distance’ (PDF, page 83). It has promised the Indian environment ministry it won’t commission its expansion without this relocation. Rajasthan is among the poorest states of India, with below average levels of health and education.
AdaniWatch Newsletter Number 24
19 December 2024
Shock waves from US indictment and arrest warrant for Gautam Adani continue
The Adani Group continues to face the fallout of the US indictment against Gautam Adani on allegations of bribery and fraud. The Indian parliament stalled as the Modi government refused to discuss the matter. Meanwhile, Adani (the world’s biggest private developer of coal) has continued to pursue massive new coal projects in India with severe consequences for endangered wildlife, forests, indigenous people and, of course, the Earth’s climate.
The AdaniWatch newsletter will take a month’s break and resume coverage of the Adani saga in the fourth week of January 2025. All the best for readers over the Christmas and New Year period.
MAIN NEWS
US financing for Adani port in Sri Lanka is scuttled
https://www.ft.com/content/f3060e5d-720b-4518-b9c5-4480fbf1228b
Adani Ports said it will not be accepting US $500 million in financing from the US International Development Finance Corporation for its port project in Sri Lanka. Did they jump or were they pushed? (11 December 2024)
Indian parliament stalls over Adani bribery charges
The Indian parliament’s winter session could not proceed as the Modi government stymied the Opposition’s demands to discuss bribery charges against Gautam Adani. Meanwhile, the BJP-controlled parliament expunged references to ‘Adani’ from the speeches of leading opposition figure, Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra. (2 December 2024)
Adani coal plant ‘threatens tiger corridors’
https://www.adaniwatch.org/adani_plans_big_new_coal_power_plant_in_tigerland
Adani Power’s proposed 3.2-GW Anuppur coal-power plant in central India is near tiger reserves and a wildlife corridor so could disrupt the movements of tigers. The $4.3 billion project’s application for approval is ‘misguiding’ India’s environment ministry about its true impacts on wildlife, says a written representation to the ministry. (9 December 2024)
Top Bangladesh court orders review of Adani/Godda power deal
https://www.adaniwatch.org/bangladesh_s_top_court_orders_review_of_adani_power_deal
The highest court in Bangladesh has ordered a review of Adani’s power contract with the country. The ‘lopsided’ deal allegedly fails to pass on generous financial concessions made by India to Adani’s Godda coal-power plant.
Adani seeks concessions for troubled Godda coal-power plant
Adani is seeking to supply power to India from its troubled coal-power plant at Godda. The Modi government conferred enormous financial advantages to the power plant because it was pitched as a purely ‘export oriented’ project to supply power to Bangladesh, which is reviewing the deal. (10 December 2024)
Case against Adani is ‘strong’
Experts say that the US case against Gautam Adani and others is ‘strong’ and corroborated by evidence but that his extradition (due to the arrest warrant against him) seems unlikely. (16 December 2024)
Modi govt solar-auction rules helped Adani
The solar-power auction that Adani won – and which led to the US indictment over bribery allegations – was designed in a way that raises many questions. According to an investigation, a series of exemptions and extraordinary conditions reduced competition and helped the Adani Group dominate the auction. (5 December 2024)
OTHER NEWS
Key claims thrown out in Adani case against Australian climate campaigner
According to lawyers for Ben Pennings, the climate campaigner being sued by Adani in Australia, the court has thrown out several key claims against him.
Indian solar agency to tweak rules
India’s solar-power agency will modify its tendering criteria to avoid the ‘risk of corruption’ following the Adani indictment. (16 December 2024)
Adani’s bribery case has varied outcomes
Gautam Adani’s case in the US is fraught with complexities in international law and jurisdictions, with outcomes ranging from a possible arrest by Interpol to Indian courts rejecting an extradition request. (6 December 2024)
Adani indictment puts Jefferies in tough spot
https://www.ft.com/content/795d9162-4020-4061-b2d5-c4d47708485d
Jefferies, the only US investment bank after the Hindenburg Report to help Adani companies raise equity, now faces the prospect of having to discontinue its relationship with Adani and his sprawling conglomerate. (26 November 2024)
Barclays ‘suspends’ Adani loans
British lender Barclays has suspended offering new financing to the Adani Group following the US indictment, and had been gradually decreasing its exposure since the Hindenburg Report. (29 November 2024)
Japanese banks stick with Adani
Japanese banks Mizuho Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group have no plans to stop financing Adani companies and may even offer additional funds. (29 November 2024)
Regional party’s defence falls short
US authorities have alleged that Gautam Adani ‘paid or promised a bribe’ to government officials ‘at or in connection with’ a meeting in August 2021 with the chief minister of the state of Andhra Pradesh. The relevant political party in this state, the YSR Congress Party, has denied the allegation in a rebuttal that ‘does not hold’, according to this report. (16 December 2024)
Adani and India-Sri Lanka relations
https://www.eurasiareview.com/12122024-the-adani-factor-in-india-sri-lanka-relations-analysis/
As Sri Lanka’s new president tours India on his first official visit, professionals and university professors from the island nation have asked him in a strongly worded open letter to cancel a controversial Adani wind-power project. (12 December 2024)
Adani dangles billions at state
The Adani Group has promised an eye-watering Rs 7.5 lakh crore (US $88 billion!) worth of investments in the Indian state of Rajasthan as it runs a PR blitz to counter bribery allegations in the US. (9 December 2024)
India ‘dependent’ on handful of billionaires
https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/india-needs-more-not-fewer-powerful-tycoons-2024-12-12/
The Adani bribery scandal highlights the risks of India’s increasing dependence on a handful of billionaires to meet its economic goals. (12 December 2024).
Adani scandal unlikely to affect Indian clean energy goals
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g3md3p9ngo
The allegations against Adani are not likely to affect the implementation of India’s clean-energy goals, of which the Adani Group contributes one-tenth, according to industry leaders. (10 December 2024)
Adani’s Dharavi revamp in the clear as BJP forms government
The BJP alliance’s landslide victory in Maharashtra state elections means the Adani Group can move forward with its controversial Dharavi redevelopment project. (13 December 2024)
DID YOU KNOW?
Adani to face green court for allegedly clearing wildlife habitat
In July, India’s national green tribunal took cognisance of news reports of large-scale clearing of vegetation at the site of a coal-power plant being built by the Adani Group. The $2.2-billion 1600-MW power plant at Mirzapur in northern India is awaiting environmental approvals. A local environmental group says the area’s vegetation is proposed as a conservation reserve for sloth bears (pictured). While the tribunal had registered a case against the state and central governments, in October it added the relevant Adani company, calling on it to file its response before the next hearing in February 2025. The case will test a company’s ability to clear natural vegetation and will help hold governments to account when it comes to forest-protection laws.
AdaniWatch Newsletter Number 23
6 December 2024
‘Things can never be the same’ for Adani and Modi following US indictments
The indictment of Gautam Adani and accomplices in a bribery scandal has cast a long shadow over the Group’s operations in India and abroad. National leaders have questioned or cancelled deals, and the Group’s history of alleged misdeeds and closeness to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi have again grabbed global attention. With an arrest warrant against Adani in the United States, he may face his greatest challenge yet.
This 23rd edition of the AdaniWatch newsletter covers the indictment’s fallout, with some updates on other Group businesses at the end.
BRIBERY INDICTMENT – TOP NEWS
‘Shockwaves across the world’
The DOJ indictment against Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and other senior executives sent ‘shockwaves across the world,’ as The Times of India put it. The Adani Group’s ratings were downgraded and projects cancelled in countries such as Kenya. (22 November 2024)
Bangladesh takes hard line on power
Bangladesh’s interim leadership cut its imports of electricity from Adani’s Godda coal-power plant, and wants the power prices to be cut after its high court ordered an investigation into the contract between Bangladesh and Adani. Bangladesh could even cancel the contract based on the investigation’s findings. (1 December 2024)
TotalEnergies hits pause on Adani investments
French energy giant TotalEnergies said it had halted investments in the Adani Group, saying it had not been made aware of the investigations by US authorities that led to the November indictments. Total has invested in Adani’s gas and green-energy ventures, with its exposure estimated at US $4-5 billion. (25 November 2024)
Kenya cancels Adani projects
Kenyan president Willian Ruto announced that his government would cancel two imminent deals with the Adani Group: a proposed contract to revamp the Nairobi airport, and a contract to build power transmission lines. The airport proposal had already sparked furore against Adani. (21 November 2024)
Rating agencies go ‘negative’ on Adani firms
Moody’s, Fitch Ratings and S&P downgraded their outlook to ‘negative’ for various Adani companies following the US indictment. Fitch cited ‘increased corporate governance risk and potential contagion risk’, downgrading one container terminal subsidiary and three energy-related firms and placing three other entities under ‘rating watch negative’. (26 November 2024)
Rahul Gandhi calls for Adani’s arrest
The leader of India’s opposition, Rahul Gandhi, who has long been critical of the closeness between the Adani Group and the prime minister, called for Gautam Adani’s arrest after the US indictment. (27 November 2024)
Congress state leader returns Adani donation
The Congress’s chief minister in Telangana state has returned the Rs 100 crore (US $12 million) he had controversially raised from the Adani Foundation as a donation for a skills university. (26 November 2024)
Andhra Pradesh reviews solar-power deal
Andhra Pradesh, where many of the alleged Adani Group bribes were paid, is reviewing the solar-energy deal at the centre of the US allegations. The current ruling party, which was not in power when the bribes were allegedly paid, is a crucial alliance partner in PM Modi’s federal government, and could invoke an ‘integrity clause’ in the power contract. (3 December 2024)
US investment agency reassesses US $550 million for Adani’s Sri Lanka port project
The US international development finance corporation, which had announced it will lend US $550 million to an Adani port in Sri Lanka last year, is ‘actively assessing the ramifications in light of the recent DOJ announcement.’ (25 November 2024)
‘Things can never be the same’
The charges against Gautam Adani will leave the group permanently changed, and will test the relationship between Adani and PM Modi. (30 November 2024)
OTHER NEWS
GQG shares drop
The Australia-listed shares of GQG Partners, the investment firm that famously backed the Adani Group with additional investments following the Hindenburg Research report, plunged 13% following news of the Adani indictments. One analysis estimated GQG could have lost US $390 million in the value of funds it manages. (2 December 2024)
Adani shares suffer overall drop
Share prices in Adani companies tanked 20% on the first trading session after the announcement by the US Department of Justice. They have recovered somewhat but remain lower than before the allegations surfaced. (3 December 2024)
Adani case might damage India’s clean-energy ambitions
https://www.asiapacific.ca/publication/adani-indictment-threatens-indias-clean-energy-ambitions
The bribery allegations against Adani could derail India’s ambitious goals to ramp up its use of renewable energy, in which the company plays a crucial role. (28 November 2024)
Did Adani Green breach loan rules?
It has been reported that Adani Green Energy did not inform some of its lenders about the investigation of the US Department of Justice (of which the Adani Group must have been aware for many months prior to November’s shock announcement). This may have violated loan covenants, potentially opening up the chance of legal action against the Group. (2 December 2024)
Adani Green’s debt under lens
The US indictment could mean that Adani Green Energy’s debt-fueled growth gets stymied. Three quarters of the investments in the company are in the form of loans. (22 November 2024)
Adani Gas business affected
https://themorningcontext.com/business/adani-total-gas-shareholders-need-to-worry
The suspension by TotalEnergies of Adani-related investments has put a spanner in the works of Adani Total Gas, which provides gas to homes and factories in dozens of Indian cities. It is already the worst performing stock in the Adani Group. (27 November 2024)
AdaniWatch calls for investigations
AdaniWatch has called upon Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese to investigate the Adani Group’s business dealings in Australia, including allegations that parts of its operations are designed to channel profits to offshore tax-haven firms. (22 November 2024)
Adani seeks to ‘settle’ shareholding case
Seven investment companies have asked Indian market regulator SEBI to settle cases alleging violation of public shareholding rules in Adani companies. These include Emerging India Focus Funds, allegedly linked to Vinod Adani (Gautam’s older brother). (3 December 2024).
Documents ‘falsified’ for Adani-developed coal project
https://www.adaniwatch.org/documents_falsified_to_enable_new_adani_coal_mine_to_proceed
A government body overseeing the welfare of indigenous communities has concluded that documents were falsified in order to claim that local village councils had consented to the proposed Parsa coal mine in central India. The project, owned by a state power company, is being developed by an Adani company. (23 November 2024)
DID YOU KNOW?
The other green energy ‘scandal’
The bribery charges against Gautam Adani and others strike at the heart of the Group’s green-energy projects, which it frequently promotes as a contrast to its deep investments in coal and coal power. But this isn’t the first time questions have been raised over the Group’s propriety in the business of producing green energy. In 2017, an order by India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence referenced some pending investigations against the group (the order was, otherwise, exonerating Adani coal-power companies from money-laundering charges) – see PDF on AdaniFiles. It said that the directorate was investigating Adani Renewable Energy LLP in a case regarding the import of equipment for the Bitta solar plant in Gujarat. Bitta was Adani’s first foray into solar power and was commissioned in 2011. There has been no news since of whether the investigation has concluded, and if so, whether it had similarities to the cases filed by the US DoJ and market regulator.
AdaniWatch Newsletter Number 22
22 November 2024
Gautam Adani and associates indicted in the USA over alleged bribery scheme
In breaking news, Gautam Adani has been indicted in the USA, with prosecutors alleging that an Adani company promised to pay US $250 million in bribes to Indian officials, hoodwinking US investors in the process. This follows the freezing, two months ago, of over US $300 million of funds in a Swiss bank account while prosecutors investigate allegations concerning a close business associate of Adani. Clearly, the Adani Group is not having as easy a ride in the USA, Switzerland, Kenya, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as it has enjoyed in India and Australia.
The last fortnight has also seen sensational revelations from prominent Indian politicians claiming that Gautam Adani hosted a meeting to broker political alliances in Maharashtra, India’s second biggest state, where Adani has colossal real-estate projects. And another life has been claimed by an accident involving a truck contracted to work on Adani Ports’s massive Vizhinjam project. All this and more in the 22nd edition of the AdaniWatch Update.
TOP NEWS
Gautam Adani and other Group associates indicted in the USA over bribery allegations
Gautam Adani has been indicted over bribery allegations in the USA. Prosecutors allege Adani companies promised $250 million in bribes to Indian officials in a long-running scheme over solar-power contracts. Adani and others have been charged with ‘conspiracies to commit securities and wire fraud and substantive securities fraud for their roles in a multi-billion-dollar scheme to obtain funds from US investors and global financial institutions on the basis of false and misleading statements’. (20 November 2024)
Adani's controversial role in political meetings
https://www.newslaundry.com/2024/11/15/powertrip-did-adani-try-to-mediate-bjp-shiv-sena-peace
Gautam Adani has been accused of political interference by hosting a dinner of political heavyweights in 2019. The Adani Group has huge contracts in Maharashtra (including the hugely controversial Dharavi slum redevelopment), the home state of the politicians concerned, and where elections occurred this week. Although the leaders have since rowed back, their claims are available on video (here and here). (15 November 2024)
Adani’s salty land deal
https://www.adaniwatch.org/mumbai_s_publicly_owned_saltpans_slated_for_massive_adani_real_estate_project_threatening_city_with_floodingIn Mumbai, the Modi government has allowed Adani to use publicly-owned salt pans as part of its Dharavi redevelopment project, allegedly threatening the city with flooding. (8 November 2024)
Bangladesh 'hostage' to Adani coal power
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cze3lpye9ggo
Bangladesh has begun paying back over US $800 million in dues to Adani for supply of coal power from the Godda plant. But the company has yet to resume full supply of electricity, prompting Bangladesh's energy advisor to say they 'will not let any power producer hold us hostage and blackmail us.' (4 November 2024).
Adani coal mine drives human-elephant conflict
Adani’s coal mine in the Hasdeo forests of central India has caused rising conflict between wild elephants and humans. The mine has disrupted the migration corridors of the elephants, a risk well known but neglected when the environmental approvals were granted. Now, the animals have ‘lost their corridor, and they’ve become aggressive,’ says an expert. (16 November 2024)
Adani coal-power expansion approved
https://www.adaniwatch.org/adani_s_raipur_coal_power_plant_gets_nod_for_massive_expansion
The Modi government has issued environmental approval to Adani to expand its Raipur coal-power plant to almost 3 GW capacity from the current 1.37 GW. The approval comes despite concerns over the plant burning high-ash coal and apparent violations of undertakings made at the public hearings conducted when the power plant was first approved. (19 November 2024)
SEBI denies info on chair’s recusal
https://thewire.in/government/hindenburg-buch-allegations-sebi-rti-act
Market regulator SEBI has declined a Right-to-Information request on whether chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch has indeed recused herself from meetings where she may have had a conflict of interest – a promise SEBI made following Hindenburg Research’s allegations about Buch and an offshore tax-haven entity with links to Adani. (14 November 2024)
Adani Ports project’s trucks claim another life
https://www.adaniwatch.org/family_of_truck_casualty_left_destitute_as_adani_s_vizhinjam_port_makes_historyA tip truck contracted to carry rocks for Adani’s Vizhinjam port in southern India killed a young woman while trying to overtake the motorbike on which she was a passenger, in yet another instance of the trucks’ dangerous record. A young man was killed in an accident in March, and a woman lost a leg last December. (14 November 2024)
Film on Bob Brown wins award in India, screens in Mumbai
The inspirational film about Bob Brown (founder of Bob Brown Foundation which runs AdaniWatch and this newsletter) was on Friday 22 November in Mumbai at the ‘All Living Things Festival’ where it won an award. (21 November 2024)
OTHER NEWS
SEBI chair’s refusal reflects larger trend
https://thewire.in/government/modi-dominance-house-panels-battleground
SEBI chair Madhabi Puri Buch’s refusal to appear before the Indian parliament’s public accounts panel (which summonsed her) is part of a larger pattern of the Modi government subverting legislative guardrails. (14 November 2024)
Congress leader defends accepting Adani’s investments
The chief minister for southern Telangana state has defended his eagerness to accept Adani's investments even as his Congress party leadership accuses the Group of having a corrupted relationship with PM Modi. The minister said the money he accepts is for investment in the state while Modi allegedly 'gives money' to the Adani Group. (9 November 2024)
Adani set to open port terminal in Sri Lanka
https://www.ndtvprofit.com/business/adani-jkh-terminal-at-sri-lankas-colombo-port-expected-to-be-operational-from-q1cy25Even as Sri Lanka's new government reviews an Adani wind-power project, Adani Ports has commenced construction of a container terminal in Colombo under a joint venture with a local conglomerate. (10 November 2025)
Adani the 'force' behind Indian government, says Congress
The opposition Congress party's spokesperson has said that recent revelations in Maharashtra prove that the Adani Group is 'the force which controls the government, in the Centre and the states', adding that 'it has also proved that Modi is working for Adani'. (18 November 2024)
'Will scrap Adani deals if elected'
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/on-mva-return-will-first-scrap-pro-adani-decisions-uddhav-thackeray/articleshow/115393733.cmsOpposition leader in Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray, has said that if his alliance wins the state elections of 20 November, it will cancel 'all pro-Adani deals' signed by the state's current BJP-alliance regime. (18 November 2024)
Adani’s Dharavi project an election issue
https://scroll.in/article/1075733/why-dharavi-has-become-a-talking-point-in-maharashtras-elections-and-its-residents-are-anxiousAnxieties over Adani’s controversial project to redevelop Asia’s largest slum, Dharavi (in Mumbai), have become an issue in the upcoming state elections in Maharashtra. (18 November 2024)
Adani's 'big' real estate plans for Mumbai
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/real-estate/adani-realty-plans-big-realty-push-in-mumbai-to-rival-jio-convention-centre/article68879081.eceEven as it faces political heat in Maharashtra, the Adani Group has planned a 'big realty push' in Mumbai with huge new residential and commercial projects, as well as a convention centre near the Navi Mumbai airport that the Group is constructing. (17 November 2024)
Adani to invest in USA
Following Donald Trump’s election victory, Gautam Adani announced that his Group would invest US $10 billion in ‘energy security and resilient infrastructure projects’ in the USA. (14 November 2024)
Adani hosts European ambassadors
https://www.business-standard.com/companies/news/gautam-adani-hosts-european-leaders-on-tour-to-khavda-mundra-projects-124111201098_1.htmlAmbassadors from the European Union, Belgium, Denmark and Germany were guests of Gautam Adani at his port in Mundra and renewables park in Khavda, discussing ‘strengthening global partnerships to drive India’s energy transition and accelerate the hydrogen ecosystem’. (12 November 2024)
Adani to enter ‘cooling solutions’
https://www.business-standard.com/companies/news/as-cooling-space-hots-up-tata-adani-look-to-sell-it-as-a-service-124111700409_1.htmlAdani Energy Solutions plans to enter the cooling business as climate change heats India (partly due to coal mined and/or burnt by Adani!). (17 November 2024)
Adani to enter aluminium, steel businesses
https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/adani-group-copper-aluminium-steel-business-energy-solutions-vedanta-tata-hindalco-jsw-steel-ultratech-cement-ambuja-11731319005428.htmlAdani plans to spend US $5 billion to enter the production of iron, steel and aluminium over the next 3-5 years – all sectors that require ecologically devastating mining of ores as well as use of coal and coal-fired power. (12 November 2024)
DID YOU KNOW?
Adani, Maharashtra politics and coal
The two politicians who recently revealed Gautam Adani’s involvement in private talks to form a political coalition in Maharashtra – Sharad Pawar and his estranged nephew Ajit Pawar – have a long connection with the billionaire. They belong to the Nationalist Congress Party (currently split into two factions led by each). Their colleague in the party, businessman and former minister Praful Patel, was once linked to an Adani coal-power plant in his constituency in eastern Maharashtra. A private company owned by Patel and his spouse owned a small stake in the power plant when it was being built, and signed a deal to acquire up to 26% in the project. Patel also openly lobbied the central government (at the time run by a Congress-led alliance in which his party was a partner and he a cabinet minister) to allocate a coal deposit close to a tiger reserve to the plant. This was denied by the environment ministry, and Patel’s firm sold back the stake to Adani. Sharad Pawar also supported Adani after Hindenburg Research’s report in 2023.
AdaniWatch Newsletter Number 21
6 November 2024
Adani Group ‘protected by a syndicate’ including PM Modi, says India’s Congress party
The Congress Party has leveled sensational allegations against the India’s prime minister, the Adani Group and the regulator of the Indian stock market, SEBI, claiming the Group’s business interests are being protected by a ‘syndicate’ headed by PM Narendra Modi. This occurred even as SEBI issued notices to Adani entities and family members based on the allegations of Hindenburg Research and other reports. Meanwhile, the Adani Group has reported massive growth in coal mining and its output of coal power this year. That and more in the 21st edition of the AdaniWatch Update.
TOP NEWS
SEBI’s notices to Adani
Market regulator SEBI has issued show-cause notices to a number of Adani family members, including Group founder Gautam, and associated entities in India and abroad alleging violations of securities laws. The notices stem from the Hindenburg allegations, according to a media publication that has seen the documents. Separately, Adani Power said it had received notices from SEBI for violating rules pertaining to its shares. (30 October 2024)
New allegations against Modi, chair of market regulator and Adani
The Congress party has alleged that SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch is protecting Adani’s financial interests, and that PM Modi is protecting her as otherwise she may make disclosures that ‘take him down with her’. (30 October 2024)
Conspiracy to save Adani ‘monopoly’, says Congress
Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has alleged in a series of videos that a ‘syndicate’ of the ruling BJP party and regulatory agencies are working together to protect Adani Group’s businesses in airports, weapons, cements, power and other key economic sectors. (29 October 2024)
PEKB coal operations expand despite weakened coal-dust measures and no hospital
https://www.adaniwatch.org/adani_coal_washery_to_expand_despite_broken_hospital_undertaking
In India’s Hasdeo forests, Adani is expanding its operations at a contentious coal mine, thanks to concessions granted by the Modi government. In September, proposed measures to control coal dust at the project’s coal washery were weakened. And the project proponent has failed to build a hospital, despite the deadline for completion of the hospital being February 2024.
‘And everywhere that Modi went, Adani was sure to go’
https://www.adaniwatch.org/how_modi_supported_adani_s_global_ambitions_at_india_s_expense
In eleven countries on three continents, the Adani Group has moved to expand its operations following diplomacy by Prime Minister Modi. Controversies surrounding the deals have frequently hurt India’s international reputation. (29 October 2024)
Violent clashes as protests mount against Adani’s Parsa coal project
Violent clashes have occurred in India between police and villagers as Adani contractors felled trees for the Parsa coal mine. Police charged protesters with batons. Injuries to police and locals ensued.
https://www.adaniwatch.org/violent_clashes_as_protests_mount_against_adani_s_parsa_coal_project
Adani coal power burns bright
https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/corporate/ADANIPOWER_28102024165555_APLinvpre30092024.pdf
Adani Power supplied 29% more electricity in the six months ending September 2024 compared with the same period last year, thanks to ‘higher demand and capacity addition’. Its profits before tax were higher by 69%. Its report referred to an ’80 GW additional coal-based capacity’ to meet India’s rising demand, a truly horrifying statistic for the world’s climate. (30 October 2024)
Adani cuts power to Bangladesh
After weeks of uncertainty, Adani Power has begun to cut power supply to Bangladesh from its Godda coal-power plant because of unpaid dues amounting to US $850 million. The company is supplying only half the plant's normal capacity, which was exclusively contracted to Bangladesh under special arrangements for the Godda project which greatly benefited Adani but not Bangladesh. (3 November 2024)
OTHER NEWS
Kenyan court suspends Adani power plan
Kenya’s high court has suspended Adani’s US $736 million plan to build electricity transmission lines in the African country until it adjudicates a petition challenging the project. The court had previously suspended an airport deal between Adani and Kenya. (25 October 2024)
Credit upgrade for Adani Power
Adani Power, which not long ago teetered on the brink of bankruptcy, has seen an upgrade in credit ratings from ‘stable’ to ‘positive’, following ‘robust power demand, remunerative tariffs in merchant power and benign coal prices’. (30 October 2024)
Adani coal power for Maharashtra
Maharashtra state’s power distributor has signed a deal with Adani Power to source 1496 MW of coal power for 25 years. (30 October 2024)
Adani Enterprises to raise US $238 million
Adani Enterprises, the arm that owns the group’s coal-mining and trading operations, aims to raise Rs 2000 crore (US $238 million) in debt from investors, after successfully raising Rs 800 crore (US $95 million) recently. (30 October 2024)
Adani extraction of coal rises 39%
In an investor presentation, Adani Enterprises has said its ‘mining services’ arm, which engages in coal mining, dispatched 17.5 million tonnes in the six months ending September 2024, a 39% rise over the same period in 2023. (29 October 2024)
Banks vie for Adani coal project loan
Top private and government-owned banks in India are interested in contributing to a Rs 20,000 crore (US $2.3 billion) loan for Adani’s controversial project to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from coal (likely to be imported from Australia). (31 October 2024)
State chief minister meets Adanis
The chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, whose party’s support is crucial for the stability of PM Modi’s national government, met Rajesh and Karan Adani to discuss the Group’s potential investments in ‘ports, mining, ring road, IT, tourism and AI’. (29 October 2024)
Adani to build its first cement factory
After acquiring several established cement companies, the Adani Group now plans to build a cement factory in eastern India at about Rs 3000 crore (US $356 million). (28 October 2024)
Adani Green drops US $1.5 billion fundraise
Adani Green Energy has decided to drop its plan to raise US $1.5 billion in debt from foreign investors, as the Group tries to ‘rebuild investor confidence’ after the Hindenburg Research report of 2023. (16 October 2024)
Small investors cut Adani stockholding
‘Retail’ investors cut their holding in stocks of seven out of 11 Adani companies in the quarter ending September 2024 as stock prices saw significant declines ranging from 2% in Adani Ports to 15% in NDTV’s share prices. (15 October 2024)
Did you know?
Adani’s new iron-ore mining plans
In its half-yearly financial results declared recently, Adani Enterprises made a surprise announcement: during this period it won a contract to develop and operate an iron-ore mine in eastern India’s Odisha state. The Taldih mine is owned by SAIL, the Indian government’s steelmaking firm, for its own use. The mine has an extraction limit of seven million tonnes per annum. Iron-ore mining in India has cleared forests that are populated by indigenous groups, drained groundwater resources, displaced wild animals into farms and residential areas, and choked villages with dust. Adani has for some years tried to enter the business by winning government contracts (as it does with coal), but has yet to commence any operations. One iron-ore contract it won in Chhattisgarh sparked so many protests from tribal groups that Adani abandoned the project. Will it succeed this time?
AdaniWatch Newsletter Number 20
25 October 2024
Adani – the world’s biggest private developer of coal to become India’s biggest cement business
Welcome to the 20th edition of the AdaniWatch Update. In the last fortnight, Adani has continued its strategy of buying cement companies and financially distressed coal-power plants. That means the world’s biggest private developer of coal will soon also become India’s biggest cement business. Both of these industries are huge contributors to climate change. Meanwhile, the Adani Group has accused scientists of being ‘biased’ for describing its Australian coal mine’s likely damage to an ancient, sacred spring, even though the research had been peer-reviewed. On the financial front, a relatively small Indian mutual fund ended up buying almost half of Adani’s US $500-million stock sale.
Do write in with your comments and suggestions to [email protected]
TOP NEWS
Gunshots at village protest against coal mines in NE India
Seventy-six villages in eastern India face an existential threat from coal mines proposed by Adani and another company. At a recent rowdy protest against the other company, police fired gunshots. (17 October 2024)
Adani Wilmar’s poor showing on certified palm oils
https://www.adaniwatch.org/adani_ducking_and_weaving_over_palm_oil_impacts
Adani Wilmar, one of India’s biggest importers of palm oil, reports that just 3% of the palm oil it imports has been certified as environmentally sustainable. This means that the rest of the oil could have come from plantations that have destroyed rainforests, including orangutan habitat, and where human-rights violations may have been committed. (15 October 2024)
Adani to buy yet another cement firm
Adani has signed a deal to acquire Orient Cement for Rs 8100 crore (US $965 million). The deal will now be scrutinised by India’s competition regulator. This will be the latest acquisition in Adani’s spree of buying cement firms as it aims to become India’s largest cement company. (22 October 2024)
Adani attacks scientists for their research on coal-mine impacts in Australia
Adani has accused scientists of bias for their peer-reviewed study finding that Adani’s Carmichael coal mine is likely diverting water from the ancient Doongmabulla springs, accusing them of being ‘anti-coal campaigners’. The springs are of great spiritual significance to the land’s traditional owners in this dry landscape. (22 October 2024)
Adani to move displaced Dharavi people to garbage-dump land
The Maharashtra state has allotted land to an Adani company in the area occupied by Mumbai’s infamous Deonar garbage dump to house some of the many thousands of people to be displaced by the Group’s redevelopment of the Dharavi shantytown (pictured). (14 October 2024)
Adani bids for another coal-power plant
Adani Power has submitted bids for the bankrupt 1350 MW Sinnar coal power plant in western India, hoping to add to its acquisitions of financially distressed coal-power plants. (16 October 2024)
OTHER NEWS
Sri Lanka’s reconsideration of Adani wind project
The newly elected Sri Lankan government’s decision to reconsider Adani’s US $440-million wind power project continues to make news. Environmentalists had already challenged the environmental approval for the project in the courts. (14 October 2024)
Indian court revives Adani’s bid for coal plant
India’s Supreme Court has revived a bid of Rs 27,000 crore (US $3.2 billion) by Adani to acquire the bankrupt 1800 MW KSK Mahanadi coal-power plant. (14 October 2024)
Adani signs up for another Kenya project
Adani Energy Solutions has signed a deal to build and operate electricity transmission lines in Kenya for 30 years, even as Adani faces the ire of many Kenyans over its bid to revamp the Nairobi airport. (11 October 2024).
Modi government ‘clears’ Madhabi Puri Buch
The Modi government has, unsurprisingly, cleared SEBI chair Madhabi Puri Buch of any mooted misdemeanours in relation to concerns raised against her by Hindenburg Research. She is expected to continue serving as the head of India’s market regulator until her term ends in February 2025. (22 October 2024)
Adani’s donation to Congress state government
Gautam and son Karan Adani met the Congress party chief minister of the state of Telangana to hand over Rs 100 crore (US $12 million) to set up a university in the state, raising eyebrows over varying attitudes towards the Group within the party. (18 October 2024)
Court setback to Adani Airports
India’s Supreme Court has declined a plea by Adani-owned Mumbai Airport, along with the owner of Delhi airport, that challenged the jurisdiction of India’s airport regulator regarding the setting of certain fees. (18 October 2024)
Adani acquires airport restaurant firm
https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/corporate/ADANIENT_15102024135231_AELIntimation15102024.pdf
The Adani Airports company has entered airport hospitality by acquiring a controlling stake in Semolina Kitchens, whose business in airport restaurants was previously owned by Travel Food Services. (15 October 2024)
Adani in, airport employees out
Over 300 employees of the Thiruvananthapuram airport in the southern Indian state of Kerala, which three years ago was contracted by the Modi government to an Adani company, have opted to be transferred to other government airports. (15 October 2024)
Adani completes $500-million share allotment
Adani Enterprises has raised Rs 4100 crore (US $488 million) by allotting shares to institutional investors. Its share price has since fallen below the allotment price. (17 October 2024)
Indian fund buys half of Adani’s US $500-million share allotment
A lesser-known Indian mutual fund, Quant, has bought an unusually high 47% of the US $500 million worth of shares that Adani Enterprises offered for sale to institutions. (16 October 2024)
Adani and Ambani ‘enable’ Modi’s Hindutva plans
https://muslimmirror.com/how-ambani-and-adani-are-stealthily-fueling-bjps-hindutva-agenda/
A prominent Muslim news outlet has accused the Adani Group and its rival, the Reliance conglomerate of Mukesh Ambani, of helping to enable the Modi regime’s policies that allegedly discriminate against Muslim people through these conglomerate’s businesses in media and infrastructure projects. (22 October 2024)
Did you know?
Adani coal acquisitions encumbered by environmental violations
Adani’s strategy to acquire bankrupt coal-power plants in India comes with a dirty lining. Many of these plants may be guilty of violating environmental laws. Any non-compliances will now become Adani’s responsibility. One example of this came up in 2022. An investigation in the Indian Express newspaper found that a number of coal-power plants in central India had for years illegally transported coal on village roads, violating conditions on environmental approvals. One of them, then known as the Korba West Power Company, was acquired in 2019 by Adani (it was renamed Raigarh Energy Generation and eventually absorbed into Adani Power in 2023). India’s national environmental court responded to news reports and began lengthy hearings. On 19 October 2024, the tribunal finished hearings and said it will pronounce its final order soon, which will determine whether the firms are guilty of violations and, if so, what penalties to impose. The judgment may set a precedent for how the Adani Group deals with the past misdeeds of the firms it buys – and also illuminate its own role post-acquisition.
AdaniWatch Newsletter Number 19
10 October 2024
Adani’s foreign adventures cause headaches, while in India sycophancy rules the day
Adani’s foreign adventures continue to trouble the group, from its port in Israel to its projects in Kenya and Sri Lanka. In India, its unprecedented plans to ‘sell’ a coal block have raised concerns, and its plans to transmogrify an infamous Mumbai shantytown have become an election issue. Meanwhile, an Indian ‘news’ website has suddenly begun posting exaggerated praise of Gautam Adani. That and more in the 19th edition of this newsletter. You can refer to all the newsletter archives here and write back with your feedback and suggestions on [email protected].
TOP NEWS
Adani’s coal ‘sale’ raises red flags
https://www.adaniwatch.org/adani_s_move_to_sell_coal_block_could_open_flood_gates
Adani plans to sell a coal deposit, an unprecedented move in India’s recently privatised coal-mining sector. The move comes only two years after the Modi government allocated the block to Adani, despite the Adani company being the sole bidder in both auctions for block. Experts warn that such a sale could ‘open the floodgates’ for widespread speculation in coal-based real estate, destabilising local economies and disadvantaging indigenous inhabitants. (4 October 2024)
Where Modi goes, Adani businesses follow
Most Adani group projects outside India were announced within months of PM Modi visiting those countries or hosting a head of government. Countries where Modi diplomacy has immediately preceded a proposed Adani deal include Kenya, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Tanzania and Israel. (19 September 2024).
Parliament panel summons chair of market regulator
The Indian parliament’s public accounts panel, which is led by an opposition MP, has summoned Madhabi Puri Buch, chairperson of SEBI, to provide oral depositions on the ‘functioning’ of the market regulator. The ruling BJP has objected to the summons. In August, Buch was alleged to have had investments in an Adani-linked company. (5 October 2024).
Economist criticises Adani’s bid for Nairobi airport
A finance professor has said that the terms of Adani’s plan for the Nairobi airport do not favour Kenya. He warns that Kenyans are in danger of losing control of a public asset which they may have to buy back from the Adani company at the end of the 30-year lease period, and that an unfair share of the risk will be borne by Kenya. (30 September 2024).
Adani eyes Tanzania power deal
Tanzania is in talks with the Adani group for a US $90-million investment to construct high-voltage power lines in the African nation. (4 October 2024).
Shares in Adani Ports fall 5% amid Middle-East escalation
Investors in Adani Ports are spooked over the economic impact of escalating conflict in the Middle East, with Adani’s Haifa port in Israel at the centre of those concerns. (7 October 2024)
Adani’s Dharavi shantytown project becomes an election issue
Adani’s plan to redevelop the Dharavi slum in Mumbai has become a rallying point for anti-BJP politicians in the upcoming elections to the Maharashtra state legislature. Dharavi was made famous by the 2008 movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. The revamp could involve the relocation of over half a million people. (3 October 2024).
OTHER NEWS
Sri Lanka to review Adani wind project
The Sri Lankan government will review the government’s deal with Adani for a wind project. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had promised to cancel it prior to his election last month. (8 October 2024).
Adani’s Kenya imbroglio
https://www.adaniwatch.org/furore_over_adani_s_pitch_to_revamp_nairobi_airport
More questions have surfaced regarding Adani’s controversial bid to renovate the Nairobi airport. Its sudden bid was submitted less than three months after PM Modi discussed Indian ‘expertise’ in revamping airports with the Kenyan president. (27 September 2024).
Adani’s other Kenya project raises eyebrows
Adani’s Nairobi airport controversy has revived concerns over its US $730-million proposal to construct high-voltage electricity transmission lines in Kenya. (6 October 2024).
Supreme Court to hear Adani coal dispute
India’s apex court will hear a dispute between Adani and a Gujarat state company over the allocation of a coal block in central India. (27 September 2024).
Adani blends hydrogen in cooking gas
Adani Total Gas has begun blending ‘green’ hydrogen in the cooking gas it supplies to Ahmedabad city. (6 October 2024).
Adani plans to buy Heidelberg cements India
The Adani Group is in talks to acquire the Indian cement operations of German company Heidelberg Materials in a deal possibly worth US $1.2 billion. Adani has previously flagged its intention to become the biggest producer of cement in India. (7 October 2024).
Adani’s payment code at Lucknow airport sparks concerns
Experts have flagged privacy concerns over a digital-payment system being implemented by Adani for retailers at its Lucknow airport. (8 October 2024).
Adani Foundation’s school takeover draws criticism from state Opposition
Adani Foundation’s takeover of a Christian missionary school – at the behest of the local BJP coalition government – has led to criticism by the state Opposition. (8 October 2024).
Google, Adani ink power deal
Google has entered a deal with Adani to receive solar and wind power from the latter’s upcoming Khavda energy installation in western India. (3 October 2024).
DID YOU KNOW?
India.com strokes Adani’s ego
India.com is a forgettable outlet that posts news updates and popular content about India. Lately, it has focussed on the Adani Group, with gushing overuse of the word ‘masterstroke’ when describing Gautam Adani. Sample this, this, this, this, this, this and this – all in just the last fortnight. The cricketing analogy implies that these are examples of virtuosic play in the world of business. In reality, these decisions are largely mundane, such as two Adani companies joining a ‘utilities net-zero alliance’, or an acquisition of a cement company. India.com is owned by the Zee group, an Indian media company currently experiencing financial difficulties. There is talk of Adani planning to acquire the company. Is Zee’s sycophancy a masterstroke?
AdaniWatch Newsletter Number 18
27 September 2024
Adani Group faces threats in Switzerland, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Bangladesh
Welcome to the 18th edition of the AdaniWatch Update. This has been a fraught fortnight for the Adani Group, with corporate misadventures reported in Switzerland, Kenya, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Meanwhile, the controversy festers over the head of India’s stock-market regulator, and the Adani Group continues to ramp up its coal developments.
MAIN NEWS
Switzerland freezes ‘Adani-linked’ assets
Publication of the bare essentials of a case in a court in Switzerland has led to a frenzy of international stories about the Adani Group. Swiss authorities have frozen $311 million in the account of a company allegedly involving long-time Adani associate, Chang Chung-Ling (pictured at left in the image in the disseminated version of the newsletter), while allegations of money laundering are investigated. (13 September 2024).
Will new Sri Lankan president axe Adani wind-power scheme as promised?
Prior to his election as president of Sri Lanka, the left-wing Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that Adani’s 450 MW wind project in the island nation was ‘corrupt’ and promised to cancel it. The project had already been tackled in the courts over environmental issues. Will he walk the talk? (23 September 2024).
Bangladesh to scrutinise Adani / Godda power contract
Bangladesh’s interim government may investigate a contract entered into by the country’s deposed regime to buy coal power from Adani’s Godda plant, an unnamed functionary told Indian Express. Critics have long raised concerns over the unfavourable terms of the deal. (12 September 2024).
Did two states favour Adani coal-power bidders?
https://www.reporters-collective.in/trc/two-power-tenders-by-bjp-ruled-states-favour-adani-group
Two contracts for coal power by BJP-led state governments appear to favour Adani; both carried requirements that ‘coincide’ with Adani’s recent coal-power expansion plans. For example, the tender by Rajasthan required a bidder to put up a 3200 MW unit within the state – which Adani said it would do at its Kawai plant just before the tender was publicised. (23 September 2024).
Modi government overturns environmental thumbs down for Adani coal mine
The Modi government has re-issued an approval to Adani’s Gare Pelma II coal mine, effectively overruling a decision by India’s environmental court to cancel the approval. (17 September 2024).
Row over proposed Adani airport deal simmers in Kenya
In September, aviation workers in Nairobi went on strike to protest against the Kenyan government’s consideration of a deal with Adani over the country’s principal international airport. Kenya’s highest court has suspended the arrangement while it considers a petition brought by opponents of the deal. (13 September 2024)
OTHER NEWS
Fresh questions on the Adani group
In an interview with AdaniWatch, Indian economist Prasenjit Bose has said that fresh allegations by Hindenburg Research on the SEBI chairperson would affect India’s financial security and mean the Supreme Court should reopen its case into the company. (20 September 2024).
Adani underground coal project sparks concerns
https://www.adaniwatch.org/forests_wildlife_threatened_by_adani_s_gondbahera_coal_project
Adani’s proposed Gondbahera Ujheni underground coal mine has sparked concerns over its possible impact on water resources and wildlife. (24 September 2024).
Adani seeks speedy Indian connection to Godda plant
Adani is seeking a ‘speedy link’ to the Indian grid for its Godda coal-power plant, which is embroiled in controversy over its contract with Bangladesh (23 September 2024).
Adani’s coal-power acquisition gets fresh boost
Adani Power moved closer to buying the bankrupt 600 MW Butibori coal-power plant in central India after its original owner settled a loan dispute. (18 September 2024).
New police station in village protesting Adani coal project
The Indian state of Jharkhand has set up a new police station in Gondalpura village, where feisty locals have fought an Adani coal project to a standstill. (13 September 2024).
SEBI withholds information on chairperson
India’s market regulator, SEBI, has declined to answer a Right to Information request that asked how many times chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch had recused herself from meetings citing conflicts of interest. Buch is the subject of allegations by Hindenburg Research pertaining to an Adani-linked offshore tax-haven fund. (20 September 2024).
Corruption ombudsman wants more detail on claims against Buch
India’s corruption ombudsman, the Lokpal, has sought more details from MP Mahua Moitra and other complainants related to their claims against SEBI chair Madhabi Puri Buch. (21 September 2024)
Adani’s aggressive acquisition strategy
The Adani Group is said to have accumulated a $5-7 billion ‘war chest’ to acquire companies engaged in cement, airports, weapons, ports, power and consumer goods. (20 September 2024).
Adani contracts turn around brother-in-law’s firm
A bankrupt firm acquired by Rakesh Shah, Gautam Adani’s brother-in-law, is now worth US $1 billion, reportedly due to orders from the Adani Group. (9 September 2024).
Adani the ‘leading contender’ for infrastructure firm
Adani is ‘the leading contender’ to acquire ITD Cementation, a nine-decades-old Indian company engaged in infrastructure and construction. (20 September 2024).
Adani plans semiconductor strategy
Adani officials believe that the Group’s upcoming semiconductors business, along with data centres, would together form one of the largest companies in the group. (18 September 2024).
India top court to decide fate of tax notices
India’s Supreme Court is hearing a petition that could determine the legality of tax notices received by companies, including Adani Enterprises, from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence. (11 September 2024).
DID YOU KNOW?
Adani copper-smelting case at Mundra ends
In 2020, a local farmers’ group in Mundra – Adani’s citadel – filed a case in India’s national environmental tribunal demanding cancellation of approvals given to Adani’s proposed copper smelter. They alleged the approval concealed and misrepresented data. For example, despite over 100 hectares of forest land being sought for the project, the environmental impact assessment said only some ‘shrubs’ would be cleared. While this case progressed, on 7 September 2022, tax agents of the Modi government raided the offices of the petitioner’s counsel, the noted environmental lawyer Ritwick Dutta. On 19 October 2022, the petitioner withdrew its case saying it was now ‘convinced’ that the approval was based on due process. The tribunal, nevertheless, continued hearing the matter without the petitioner. On 6 August this year, it decided the matter in favour of the Adani project, which had anyway commenced copper operations in March. This is a sad and overlooked instance of how law, business and autocratic politics intersect in Adani’s India.
AdaniWatch Newsletter Number 17
12 September 2024
Adani suffers growing pains abroad while the SEBI scandal intensifies at home
Welcome to the 17th edition of the AdaniWatch Update. Adani is facing setbacks in Kenya over its bid to take over the Nairobi airport. Meanwhile, a furore in India has intensified over the failure of the head of India’s market regulator to adequately investigate allegations of malpractice against the Adani Group.
Whether it’s the Kenya airport fiasco, unpaid power bills by Bangladesh, or the Adani Group’s move to borrow more money, all developments have been tracked in past editions of this newsletter. You can check out the archives in one page, here. If you like the newsletter, do drop us a line at [email protected].
MAIN NEWS
Allegations against Indian market regulator continue to make international news
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly3kvzp317o
The international credibility of India’s market regulator remains threatened as the barrage of allegations intensifies. The chief of SEBI has been accused of failing to adequately disclose the investments she and her husband had made in one of the offshore tax-haven funds that is the subject of Hindenburg’s allegations against the Adani Group. More recently, growing dissent within the regulator’s staff has spilled into the public arena via protests. (9 September 2024)
Position of chief of India’s market regulator ‘untenable’
Criticism of the head of SEBI, India’s stock-market regulator, has continued, with some commentators calling for her resignation following last month’s revelations by Hindenburg Research. (27 August 2024)
Kenya court suspends Adani deal
The Kenya High Court has suspended the deal that allowed Adani to take over the Nairobi airport. The petitioners, including the Kenya Human Rights Commission, claimed the deal was ‘unaffordable, threatened job losses, was a fiscal risk and did not offer taxpayers value for money’. (10 September 2024).
Adani’s Kenya deal sparks protests
Protests erupted in Kenya, mainly by aviation worker unions, over a deal to lease Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Adani. The workers voiced their opposition to the deal in August. The Congress party warned that such anger could harm India’s international relations, since Adani’s closeness to PM Modi is well known. Meanwhile, Adani has set up a subsidiary to run the airport (5 September 2024).
Adani dials Bangladesh for unpaid power bills
Adani’s financial woes in Bangladesh have worsened. Gautam Adani has called the Bangladesh government’s interim chief, Muhammed Yunus, regarding unpaid power bills that now amounting to over US $500 million. (10 September 2024).
Adani may stop power supply from Godda to Bangladesh
Adani Power is considering stopping the supply of electricity from its Godda power plant to Bangladesh because of mounting unpaid power bills. (10 September 2024).
Tribunal suspends Adani’s purchase of coal-power plant
A tribunal has suspended the acquisition of Coastal Energen, a bankrupt coal-power firm in south India, by a consortium led by Adani Power. The firm’s shareholders and an erstwhile director had filed a petition raising concerns about the consortium’s governance. They have claimed that the other partner in the consortium, Dickey Alternative Investment Trust, was a ‘front’ for Adani Power. (6 September 2024).
OTHER NEWS
Hindenburg/SEBI row blows up in Mauritius
Mauritius-based funds named in Hindenburg’s report on the Adani Group have petitioned a tribunal for more time to comply with new rules put in place by India’s market regulator. (6 September 2024).
Adani’s $10 billion project with Israeli chip firm
Even as it faces flak for supplying drones to the Israeli military, the Adani Group has partnered with another Israeli firm, Tower Semiconductors, to set up a chipmaking facility in India worth up to US $10 billion. (6 September 2024).
Adani ‘could become a trillionaire’
Gautam Adani could become a trillionaire by 2028 if the conglomerate he heads continues to grow by 123% as in recent years. (9 September 2024).
Adani sets up China subsidiary
Adani has set up a subsidiary in China, Adani Energy Resources (Shanghai), to provide supply-chain solutions and project-management services. (8 September 2024).
Adani concludes purchase of coal-power plant
Adani Power has said it has concluded its acquisition of the power plant previously owned by the bankrupt firm Lanco Amarkantak Power. The plant has a capacity of 600 MW and is expanding by another 1320 MW. (6 September 2024).
Adani’s purchase of bankrupt Radius Estates in court again
India’s Supreme Court has admitted a petition against Adani’s controversial plan to acquire bankrupt Radius Estates for a tiny percentage of its debt. (6 September 2024).
Adani to borrow billions via bonds
Adani plans to borrow up to Rs 40,000 crore (US $4.7 billion) through bonds issued to individual investors in the next 3-4 years. (5 September 2024).
Adani and TotalEnergies enter new partnership
French giant TotalEnergies will invest US $444 million in a new venture with Adani Green Energy to build and run solar-energy installations. (3 September 2024).
Adani Green pays back loan
Adani Green Energy has paid back US $750 million of bonds using funds from its deal with TotalEnergies and from a controversial Adani family fundraise. (9 September 2024).
Adani to raise US $1.5 billion
Adani Green Energy and Adani Energy Solutions plan to raise US $1.5 billion in bonds with global banks by next February. (5 September 2024).
Did you know?
Adani’s China syndrome
Protests against Adani’s Nairobi airport project have sparked a curious media propaganda – that Adani is challenging Chinese dominance in global infrastructure, and that the protests are, by implication, pro-China. These views were put forward in a serious-sounding analysis in The Economic Times, published without a byline, as well as in OpIndia, an acerbic right-wing blog (it featured a photo of Xi Jinping). The truth is that the Adani Group has a long-standing relationship with China. The Group’s controversial import of coal-power equipment, that allegedly led to US $1 billion of laundering in the early 2010s, was from Chinese manufacturers. Adani’s massive push for solar energy also largely uses cheap panels imported from China. In a recent biography of Adani, the author mentions Adani’s supposed challenge to Chinese infrastructure and says, ‘it is unlikely that Gautam-bhai would seek to antagonise the Chinese. He is a businessman and knows that having good relations with China will be important. […] they could re-emerge as customers for Adani’s coal mines.’
AdaniWatch Newsletter Number 16
28 August 2024
Welcome to the sixteenth edition of the AdaniWatch Update. Adani is buying up more coal-power plants in India, even as its environmental record comes under more scrutiny. Meanwhile, the Adani family is making quiet attempts to clean up its shareholding of its publicly-listed firms, and calls have mounted for the removal of the chair of India’s stock-market regulator following revelations by Hindenburg Research earlier this month.
TOP NEWS
Adani coal plant gets govt bonus
While being assessed, Adani’s controversial Godda coal-power project was given multiple tax benefits because 100% of the power was for export – to Bangladesh. Now with that country in turmoil, the Modi government has amended rules to allow the Godda plant to supply power to India’s domestic market, in a brazen display of cronyism. (23 August 2024).
Bangladesh ‘owes Adani US $800 million’
Adani Power has unpaid dues worth $800 million from Bangladesh regarding sale of electricity from its Godda coal-power plant, the Bangladesh Bank chair has said. (23 August 2024).
Adani coal plant in court over potential wildlife impacts
https://www.adaniwatch.org/adani_s_mirzapur_coal_power_project_could_impact_threatened_wildlife
India’s National Green Tribunal has initiated a case regarding Adani’s coal-power project in Mirzapur in northern India due to potential impacts on forest and wildlife. The company and the Modi government have claimed the project involves no forest area. The Tribunal rarely initiates such a case on its own. (20 August 2024).
‘Sack SEBI chair’, says senior journalist
N. Ram, a senior editor and director of the respected The Hindu newspaper, has called for the chair of the regulator of India’s stock market, Madhabi Puri Buch, to be sacked in light of Hindenburg Research’s findings of her link to a fund with stakes in Adani firms. (24 August 2024).
Adanis aim to sell shares in firms
The Adani family aims to sell shares worth $3.6 billion in publicly-listed Adani companies, bringing down its ownership to less than 68% of the total shares (the legal limit is 75%). The family has historically owned high portions of such firms, making the share price vulnerable to manipulation, according to Hindenburg Research. (23 August 2024).
Adani struggles to get land for Dharavi residents facing displacement
Adani is ‘struggling’ to secure land for its project to demolish and rebuild Dharavi, the infamous shantytown located in Mumbai. It had sought 230 ha from government agencies to relocate about 700,000 people. But it has received ‘not a single inch’ of it, a government official has said. (25 August 2024).
OTHER NEWS
Further questions on conduct of chair of the regulator
Madhabi Puri Buch continued to earn money from a consultancy firm during her tenure at SEBI, Reuters has reported, flagging potential violation of rules and a ‘very serious’ breach of conduct that makes her position as head of the regulator ‘completely untenable’. (16 August 2024).
Will revamp of auditing, governance of Adani firms address criticism?
Gautam Adani plans to hire a CEO and auditors for his ‘family office’, which maintains the Adanis’ shareholding in listed firms. This is a nod to criticisms by the likes of Hindenburg Research about the family’s shareholding in its publicly-listed companies. (22 August 2024)
Adani seeks yet another coal-power plant
Adani Power is in talks to acquire the defunct 600 MW Butibori coal-power plant in central India run by Reliance Power. (21 August 2024).
Green light for Adani coal-plant acquisition
India’s company-law tribunal has approved Adani’s acquisition of bankrupt Lanco Amarkantak Power for Rs 4101 crore (US $489 million), with 600 MW operational and an expansion of 1320 MW under way. (22 August 2024).
Congress questions India’s monopoly regulator
The opposition Congress party has questioned the Competition Commission of India about its ‘passive’ role in the Adani Group’s monopolising of key sectors of India’s economy. (22 August 2024).
Congress protests against alleged Adani-SEBI links
India’s opposition Congress party held demonstrations to demand probes into the Adani Group and SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, accused by Hindenburg of having a conflict of interest with the Group. (23 August 2024).
Adani awaits mega coal-power plant result
Bidders have a final chance to better Adani Power’s bid to acquire a bankrupt 3600 MW coal-power plant. (21 August 2024).
Adani looks to Mongolia for copper
Adani Enterprises is planning to source copper ore from Mongolia, according to reports. (25 August 2024).
Adani Power shares fall on stake sale
Shares in Adani Power, which owns the Group’s coal-power plants, fell 3% after reports that the Adani family plans to sell a 5% stake in the company. (22 August 2024).
Adani turns to Indian banks for funds
After years of tapping international markets for funds, Adani is increasingly turning to Indian banks, with the domestic proportion of the Group’s debt increasing from 29% to 36% in the last year. (25 August 2024).
Did You Know?
Harmful effects of Adani’s eastern coal port
Adani acquired the Krishnapatnam Port in south-eastern India in 2021. Coal is one of the biggest commodities handled at the port. Late last year, an irate resident wrote to India’s national green tribunal complaining that ‘dusty clouds’ of coal from the port are carried by winds to neighbouring villages, causing ‘severe health disorders’. The letter alleges that environmental-protection rules are ‘willfully’ violated. In January 2024, the tribunal initiated a case based on the letter and formed a panel to investigate the matter. Recently, the panel submitted its findings to the tribunal, which are yet to be made public. If these allegations are found to be true, will the tribunal make Adani clean up its act?
AdaniWatch Update newsletter number 15
16 August 2024
Head of India’s stock-market regulator had ‘hidden stake’ in fund at centre of Adani scandals, says Hindenburg
In a shocking revelation, Hindenburg Research has alleged that the head of India’s stock-market regulator has had ‘a hidden stake’ in an offshore investment fund with Adani links. This Bermuda-based investment fund is at the centre of the scandals surrounding the Adani empire. This claim against one of India’s highest officials is very serious, but will the Modi government act? Meanwhile, AdaniWatch has outlined the details of the Adani Group’s colossal coal-mining agenda and Adani is facing heat in Kenya over its Nairobi airport deal.
TOP NEWS
Hindenburg’s explosive new allegation
https://hindenburgresearch.com/sebi-chairperson/
In what is perhaps its most significant revelation yet, Hindenburg Research says that, in 2015, Madhabi Puri Buch, chairperson of India’s markets regulator SEBI, and her spouse had invested in an offshore fund that was run by an Adani Enterprises director and used by Vinod Adani to invest in Indian stocks. Documents provided by a whistleblower were published as proof. Hindenburg Research says this helps explain SEBI’s painfully slow and inconsequential probe into Adani’s offshore investors. (10 August 2024)
AdaniWatch cited in new Hindenburg report
An AdaniWatch exposé is cited as evidence in the latest, explosive Hindenburg report. AdaniWatch has run several stories over the past three years that have revealed details of the Adani Group’s shadowy offshore investors which are at the centre of an ongoing scandal. (11 August 2024)
‘The seeming complicity of the highest officials’
https://x.com/INCIndia/status/1822349708905333070
Jairam Ramesh of India’s opposition Congress party has again demanded a joint parliamentary panel to investigate what he terms the ‘seeming complicity of highest officials of the land’ in the Adani/SEBI scandal. He has also questioned the purpose of Gautam Adani’s two meetings with the SEBI chair in 2022. (11 August 2024)
Spotlight on Bangladesh coal power
Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled the country last week due to massive protests, played a key role in the sale of power from Adani’s Godda plant to her country. Critics have said the deal is not in Bangladesh’s best interests. Now, Hasina is gone but the country owes Adani $400 million in pending dues. (6 August 2024)
Adani’s colossal coal-mining agenda
https://www.adaniwatch.org/the_details_of_adani_s_colossal_coal_mining_agenda
The Adani Group owns and/or operates six coal mines and has another 16 in the pipeline. The total amount of coal in all these coal deposits exceeds 7 billion tonnes. In this exclusive report, AdaniWatch lays bare Adani’s mounting commitment to the exploitation of more and more coal. (5 August 2024)
Kenya aviation workers protest ‘Adani threat’
The Kenya Aviation Workers Union has demanded the government drop Adani’s proposal to lease the Nairobi airport, alleging that the deal was done ‘clandestinely’. (8 August 2024).
OTHER NEWS
Locals fight an Adani coal-power expansion
Fearing toxic pollution, local people are fighting a 2.2GW expansion of Adani’s Raigarh coal-power plant. (8 August 2024)
Adani makes top bid for another coal-power plant
Adani is set to take over the bankrupt 1800 MW KSK Mahanadi power plant in central India, continuing its coal-power spree. (3 August 2024)
Adani to build another coal-power plant
Adani plans to build a coal-power plant with a capacity of 1600 MW at Mirzapur in northern India at a cost of US $1.6 billion. (1 August 2024)
Adani plans to raise US $1 billion
Adani Enterprises, which encompasses the coal-mining arm of the Adani Group, plans to raise US $1 billion in equity, partly to fund its green hydrogen projects. (7 August 2024)
Adani coal-power sales up 38%
https://www.adanipower.com/newsroom/media-releases/Adani-Power-announces-Q1-FY25-results
Adani Power sold 38% more power in the quarter ending June 2024, compared with the same period in 2023. In the same announcement, Adani Power anticipated a ‘resurgence’ in demand for coal power in India. (31 July 2024)
Questions on Adani’s Kenya airport deal
The Kenya government ignored expert advice to advertise a public tender to upgrade the Nairobi airport and instead went for a ‘private’ proposal by Adani, according to a media report. (24 July 2024)
Adani to build power line in Kenya
The Adani Group has received approval to build a US $900-million transmission line and associated substations in eastern and southern Kenya. (7 August 2024)
Adani’s succession plans
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-08-08/can-gautam-adani-s-succession-plan-work
According to Bloomberg, Gautam Adani has set up a succession plan in which the 62-year-old will step down at age 70 and his family will continue to own and run the empire. (8 August 2024)
Adani rapped for delay in 5G rollout
https://www.newindianexpress.com/business/2024/Aug/10/adani-gets-reminder-over-delay-in-5g-rollout
India’s telecommunications regulator has asked the Adani Data Networks company to explain its continued delay in rolling out 5G services in the country and reminded the company of its contractual obligations. (10 August 2024)
Did You Know?
Hindenburg exposé blacked out by Adani and Ambani media
Last weekend showed why conglomerates like the Adani Group have bought up media outlets. The latest exposé by Hindenburg was picked up by the Indian press minutes after it was released on Saturday night. Even mainstream news sites – which usually shy away from criticising Adani – flashed the report amongst their top stories. But NDTV, the TV station owned by Adani, reported only the denial by the regulator’s chairperson and a counter-accusation that Hindenburg was attempting to assassinate her character. Interestingly, News18, owned by fellow billionaire Mukesh Ambani, ran the same line.
AdaniWatch newsletter number 14
Adani’s impacts at home and abroad
Welcome to the 14th edition of the AdaniWatch Update, a digest of Adani-related updates from the last fortnight. This edition is a reminder that it’s not just Adani’s coal operations, but also its ports, palm oil and ‘green’ energy projects that threaten environments and livelihoods. Meanwhile yet another Indian NGO critical of Adani has been targeted by the Modi government, and the Adani Group looks to step up its expansion into Africa.
Do you enjoy reading this newsletter? How can we improve? Tell us on [email protected].
MAIN NEWS
Adani’s peculiar coal partner
https://themorningcontext.com/business/adanis-ties-with-adi-group-make-convenient-business-sense
The little-known Adi Group buys billions of dollars of imported coal from the Adani Group and claims to be an unrelated party. However, a report in the Morning Context says the two groups work in tandem in ways that may violate competition and disclosure rules. (22 July 2024)
Adani coal dust wrecks local lives
Blasting and fugitive dust from Adani’s coal mine operations near Talabira in eastern India have wrecked local lives. AdaniWatch’s on-ground investigation has found polluted streams, abandoned pastures and suffering villagers who are not compensated for their hardships. (24 July 2024).
Adani ‘green’ project threatens biodiversity hotspot
Adani’s ‘green’ pumped-hydro storage project in India has threatened the Western Ghats, a global biodiversity hotspot. Local environmentalists and residents say the environmental impact assessment ignores many impacts on the forest and adjacent wildlife reserves. (18 July 2024).
Adani arm to sell off coal-power plant
Recognising the dirty credentials of coal power, Adani Energy Solutions, which distributes electricity to customers, has decided to divest from its 500 MW Dahanu coal power plant in western India. It will do so to increase its ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) score, the company said, and is booking nearly Rs 823 crore ($98 million) in losses from the decision. (25 July 2024).
Modi government torpedoes funding for Indian NGO critical of Adani
The Modi government has cancelled the foreign-donations licence of the Centre for Financial Accountability, an Indian NGO that has been critical of the Adani Group including of its coal mining. (11 July 2024).
Modi’s attack on Rahul Gandhi just ‘election propaganda’, says anti-corruption body
India’s national anti-corruption body has rejected a petition seeking an investigation into Modi’s pre-election claims that the Adani group had sent ‘truckloads of cash’ to the Congress party. Modi’s claim consisted of ‘election propaganda’ based on ‘fictional facts’. (19 July 2024).
Creditors cop a severe ‘haircut’ as Adani acquires bankrupt real-estate firm
Eyebrows have been raised about how Adani managed to acquire a bankrupt real-estate firm for a tiny percentage of the debt of the firm. The deal delivers a 96% ‘haircut’ to major creditors that loaned huge amounts for a troubled Mumbai housing project. (30 July 2024)
OTHER NEWS
Adani operations ‘destroying’ coastal area
Adani’s port operations near southern India’s Chennai are damaging marine life and degrading local health and fishing livelihoods. (17 July 2024).
Adani Power fined for flouting director rules
Adani Power has been fined US $1800 by the National Stock Exchange for not having the required number of independent directors on its board. (20 July 2024).
Suspicion aroused over plan to allow Adani to ‘collect’ power-bill payments in Hyderabad
The Telangana government, run by the Congress party, plans to bring in Adani to collect power-bill payments in the state capital, Hyderabad, raising suspicions and causing an uproar by the opposition. (13 July 2024).
Another Adani pumped-hydro project in dense forest
An expert body of India’s environment ministry has allowed Adani Green Energy to conduct an environment impact assessment and public hearing for a pumped storage project covering a dense forest in eastern India. The body had earlier deferred the decision on ecological concerns. (16 July 2024).
Adani eyes Nairobi airport, Kenya
Adani Airports has submitted a proposal to upgrade Nairobi’s international airport – another move in the Group’s recent expansion into Africa. (25 July 2024).
Bhutan king meets Adani
Bhutan’s king visited Adani’s huge renewable-energy project in Gujarat and met Gautam Adani to ‘foster collaboration’ between the Himalayan nation and the Group. (24 July 2024)
Adani Wilmar plan to sell US $670-million stake in palm-oil firm
Adani Wilmar, a joint venture importing huge amounts of palm oil into India, has selected investment banks to help find buyers of a US $670-million stake in the company. Adani and Wilmar have to reduce their ownership of the company from 88% to 75% to comply with stock-market laws. (16 July 2024).
First equity stake sale since Hindenburg
Adani Energy Solutions plans to raise Rs 5000 crore (US $597 million) by selling equity in the first such stake sale since the Hindenburg Report. (25 July 2024).
Adani Ports pays back bonds
https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/corporate/ADANIPORTS_25072024162514_APSEZSEIntimation.pdf
Adani Ports has paid back dollar bonds amounting to US $325 million that were due in July 2024 that were listed on the Singapore exchange. (25 July 2024).
Did you know?
Adani’s palm-oil footprint in south-east Asia
Over-shadowed by its coal mines, coal power and port operations, the impact of Adani’s palm oil operations receives little attention. The global palm-oil industry is notorious for destroying the habitat of orangutans, tigers and other endangered wildlife in south-east Asia. Adani imports and refines palm oil through its partnership with Singapore-based Wilmar, which reportedly controls 3300 sq km of lands for oil-palm cultivation. As per Adani Wilmar’s latest declaration dated 2022, it handled 1.8 million tonnes of palm-oil products, of which 1.3 million were not certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a standard run by the palm-oil industry. The company explained that it plans to achieve 100% RSPO certification by 2028. It has also said meeting full certification ‘depends on the demand of certified palm oil in the market’. The only activities it planned to conduct to promote certified palm oil were to ‘attend RSPO meetings’.
AdaniWatch newsletter number 13
19 July 2024
Adani digs in as world’s largest private developer of coal
This fortnight saw more action on Adani’s continued expansion of coal interests, from mining to power and cement. The Adani Group has dug itself in as the world’s largest private developer of coal. The group also received the first ship at its controversial new port in Kerala and announced plans to expand into south-east Asia. We also have follow-ups from Hindenburg’s explosive rebuttal to the regulator of India’s stock market.
TOP NEWS
Hindenburg spotlight on Indian banker
Prominent Indian banker Uday Kotak is in the spotlight after it was revealed that his Kotak Mahindra Bank was involved in helping Hindenburg’s short trades on Adani. Kotak is a donor to the BJP and has praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s controversial demonetization policy. (9 July 2024).
State to probe Adani on coal
The Tamil Nadu’s anti-corruption wing will probe Adani for allegedly supplying the state with coal whose quality is allegedly poorer than promised. This follows an expose on the subject by the OCCRP in May. The state government is led by a party opposed to the BJP. (2 July 2024).
Outrage greets ‘review’ of quashed approval for Adani coal mine
The Modi government has formed a panel to ‘review’ an environmental approval to Adani’s US $902 million Gare Palma II coal mine. The approval had been quashed by India’s environmental court for not assessing health impacts or adequately consulting the local people. (6 July 2024).
Villagers oppose tree felling for coal mine
https://www.adaniwatch.org/hasdeo_tribal_people_brace_for_more_conflict_over_adani_coal_mine
The fight against Adani’s coal mining in India’s Hasdeo forests continues. A meeting called by the government to seek local consent for a fresh round of tree felling dissolved into chaos as villagers shouted down officials to oppose the plan. (3 July 2024).
Growing concerns over alleged Carmichael mine impact on sacred springs
Scientists and indigenous residents in Australia have reiterated that Adani’s Carmichael coal mine is polluting the Doongmabulla springs, a nationally important wetland. The Australian environment department has said it is ‘aware of the matter and is making inquiries’. (13 July 2024).
Adani accused of under-reporting forest loss at coal plant
A report says that Adani’s proposed Mirzapur coal power plant over 365 hectares of land in northern India is located entirely within forested land. But the company’s forest-approval application claims that only 12 hectares of forest land would be used. The forest is a habitat for protected wildlife such as the sloth bear and striped hyena. (12 July 2024).
Adani’s controversial Vizhinjam port opens
Adani’s Vizhinjam trans-shipment port has received its first ‘mothership’ of containers. The development has been plagued by protests, with allegations that its transmogrification of the local coastline has caused deaths and severe erosion. The first container ship arrived on a trial run, and the port will open for business in September, with Adani pledging to invest even more in the port. (11 July 2024).
OTHER NEWS
Adani to build Vietnam port
Adani Ports has received an in-principle approval from the Vietnam government to build a greenfield port in Da Nang. (13 July 2024).
Supreme Court halts pastureland order
India’s highest court has suspended an order by the Gujarat High Court to return 108 hectares of pasture to villagers near the Mundra Port. Adani’s sprawling industrial zone had taken over nearly 200 hectares of pasture, which locals said left little for them to graze their cattle. (10 July 2024).
Adani eyes another coal power plant
Adani has formally expressed its interest in taking over a bankrupt 1350 MW coal power plant in western India, adding to its huge expansion plans. (15 July 2024).
Supreme Court cans appeal
https://india-news/supreme-court-rejects-plea-to-review-order-in-adani-hindenburg-case
India’s Supreme Court has rejected an application for it to review its order from January, in which it had declined to order a separate probe into the Adani Group stemming from the Hindenburg Research report. (15 July 2024).
Hindenburg’s ‘small’ earnings
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/02/investing/india-gautam-adani-hindeburg-intl-hnk/index.html
Hindenburg Research has said that it earned about US $4 million (a surprisingly small sum for a Wall Street firm) from its short sales on Adani and would barely break even. Its explosive report of January 2023 alleged long-term malfeasance by Adani Group companies, making governance of India’s stock market an international issue. (2 July 2024).
Adani enters chemicals business
Adani Wilmar, the joint venture making cooking oils and other edibles, has acquired a majority stake in an Indian chemicals firm. Its ‘speciality’ chemicals are used in home & personal care products, food additives, plastics & polymers, agrochemicals, lubricants and petrochemicals. (11 July 2024).
Adani interested in container corp
Adani would be interested to invest in the government’s container logistics firm Container Corporation of India at the ‘right price’. (12 July 2024).
Adani eyes another cement firm
The Adani Group is said to be interested in acquiring bankrupt Jaypee Cements, adding to a series of takeovers aimed at making Adani India’s largest cement maker. (16 July 2024).
Did you know?
Adani’s Mundra pastureland grab
At Mundra, the Adani Group has taken over hundreds of hectares of pastures for its mega port and special economic zone, built a wall around it, and then barely put much of it to use. This has cut off villagers who grazed cows and buffaloes on the ‘free’ pastures as livelihood. (The situation is reminiscent of the 18th century enclosure of commons in Europe by large landowners.) In 2011, some villagers challenged the allotment of 400 hectares of pastureland to the project. They petitioned Gujarat’s high court, arguing that the allotment violated a rule that reserved pastureland area in a specific proportion to the total number of cattle. The state government argued back that under the rule some cattle could not be included in this calculation as they were ‘useless’ or used ‘for business purposes’. The court agreed and dismissed the villagers’ case. Now, in a separate case related to a nearby village, the court has ordered Adani to return 108 hectares of pastureland. The matter is in appeal at the Supreme Court, which hopefully would not question the ‘usefulness’ of local buffaloes.
AdaniWatch newsletter number 12
5 July 2024
Hindenburg scathing of Indian market regulator’s clumsy attempt to shoot the messenger
Hindenburg Research has issued an update on the Adani Group following the issuing of a ‘show cause’ notice to it by the Indian market regulator, SEBI. The update lists 42 reports by independent media outlets that have elaborated on or substantiated the allegations in Hindenburg’s explosive report of January 2023, including four by AdaniWatch. Other media quoted include the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Forbes, the Financial Times, the Guardian and Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, the impacts of the Adani Group’s exploitation of coal and its port expansions continue to harm local communities. In Sri Lanka, community representatives are suing an Adani wind-energy company in that country’s Supreme Court. And campaigners in Dharavi feature in a documentary about the Adani Group’s plans to demolish and re-build the world’s largest shantytown, potentially rendering hundreds of thousands of inhabitants homeless or jobless.
TOP NEWS
Hindenburg latest report scathing of Indian market regulator, SEBI
https://hindenburgresearch.com/adani-update-sebi/
Hindenburg Research, whose explosive report of January 2023 accused the Adani Group of perpetuating ‘the largest con in corporate history’, has been served with a ‘show cause’ notice by the Indian market regulator, SEBI. The notice takes issue with aspects of Hindenburg’s shorting of Adani stocks. Hindenburg Research has responded, describing the notice as ‘nonsense, concocted to serve a pre-ordained purpose: an attempt to silence and intimidate those who expose corruption and fraud perpetrated by the most powerful individuals in India’.
Regulator’s notices to Adani companies are ‘trivial’
The Adani Group seems serenely untroubled by the attention it has received from SEBI that arise from the Hindenburg report of January 2023. Chief financial officer Jugeshinder Singh has said that ‘some’ notices to Group companies by SEBI are ‘trivial’ and a ‘procedural thing’. (25 June 2024).
Adani coal mine’s harsh realities
https://www.adaniwatch.org/the_harsh_life_at_the_coal_face_of_adani_s_talabira_mine
Adani’s coal projects in Talabira in eastern India have left a trail of destruction and displaced people, according to an exclusive ground report in AdaniWatch. Those displaced prefer not to move into soulless resettlement colonies while others fight a hard battle against the mine’s expansion. (25 June 2024)
Adani’s ‘killer’ rocks in Kerala
Lack of dredging around a loading area for rocks being barged to Adani’s huge breakwaters at Vizhinjam has been responsible for the deaths of at least 73 fishermen in boat accidents, a Congress legislator has alleged. He argued that Adani was supposed to have dredged a nearby channel but has so far failed to do so adequately. Procuring the rocks for the giant breakwaters had already caused controversy, with a student killed when a rock fell from a truck, and with criticism of the impacts of quarries in the hinterland. (24 June 2024).
Adani’s wind project sued
https://thediplomat.com/2024/06/adanis-wind-power-project-in-sri-lanka-hits-rough-weather/
Environmentalists and a bishop have sued Adani’s controversial wind-power project in the Sri Lankan Supreme Court, the first litigation in that country against the billionaire’s group. The petition questions the environmental impact assessment as well as the procedure of awarding the contract – familiar themes when it comes to criticisms of Adani’s operations elsewhere. (17 June 2024).
Adani to make more weapons
Adani is steadily growing into a major weapons-industry contractor in India. The group has signed a deal with French firm Thales to manufacture rockets in India. The 70-mm missiles will be attached to Indian combat helicopters. (28 June 2024).
A new battle cry: ‘We are from Dharavi’
https://www.adaniwatch.org/_we_are_from_dharavi_has_become_a_battle_cry
With its demolition and reconstruction by Adani looming large, Asia’s largest shantytown, Dharavi, has erupted in protests. Its famous artisans, manufacturing workers and rappers ask where they will end up in this documentary published by AdaniWatch. Some community campaigners warn that up to 500,000 residents of Dharavi, made famous in the film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, could become homeless and/or jobless. (21 June 2024)
OTHER NEWS
Adani seeks US $15.6 billion for capital expenditure
Even as its companies face investigations for violating market rules, the Adani Group has planned US $15.6 billion worth of capital expenditure in 2025 and plans to raise up to US $2.5 billion in ‘equity capital’ in the fiscal year ending March 2025. (25 June 2024).
Adani’s massive airport plans
The Adani Group says it plans to invest US $21 billion in its airports business over the next decade and to list the company on stock markets by 2028. It envisages making huge profits from the ‘non aero’ side of things due to the lucrative business of developing real estate fringing the airports. (26 June 2024).
Charges up 50% at Adani airport
An Adani airport in south India will now charge 50% more fees from passengers, while landing charges for aircraft are up three times. (26 June 2024).
Adani Green plans US $24 billion in outlays
Adani Green Energy says it will invest Rs 2 trillion (US $24 billion) in the years to 2030, a large amount of it borrowed. (25 June 2024).
Adani’s ‘indigenous’ solar is Chinese
Adani’s plant that manufactures solar panels relies on Chinese equipment and is seeking visas for 30 engineers from China. Adani was in favour of domestic manufacturing of solar equipment and lobbied to have an import duty placed on imported equipment in order to protect itself from Chinese imports. (28 June 2024).
Foreign entities owned by Adani family buy 2% in Adani Enterprises
Adani Enterprises disclosed that three foreign funds of the Adani family bought 2% of the company’s shares from September 2023 to 12 June 2024. (14 June 2024).
Gautam Adani’s salary ‘just’ US $1 million
Gautam Adani’s salary in the fiscal ending March 2024 was ‘just’ Rs 9.26 crore (US $1.1 million), lower than those of other business owners in India. Most of Adani’s wealth comes from his ownership of shares in Adani companies. Adani’s influence on national policy is somewhat greater than his salary would imply. (24 June 2024).
Adani interested in copper mining
Having commenced its copper-smelting business, the Adani Group is now planning to carry out copper mining in eastern India. Adani officials were present at a meeting for prospective contractors for Hindustan’s copper mines in the state of Jharkhand. (24 June 2024).
S&P’s certificate to Adani
Ratings firm S&P has said that ongoing investigations into the Adani Group will not affect the credit rating of Adani Ports, enabling the company to borrow more money. (26 June 2024).
NDTV expands under Adani
Gautam Adani claims that TV network NDTV, which he bought in a hostile acquisition in 2022, saw a 39% growth in digital traffic and expanded into regional markets. Unsurprisingly, the station, once critical of the BJP, has seen a marked pro-Modi, pro-Adani stance since the takeover. (24 June 2024).
Adani-investing fund under probe
Quant, which was famously among the few Indian mutual funds owning Adani stocks, is under investigation for violating stock-market rules. (24 June 2024).
Adani bet on biogas is more than just hot air
https://themorningcontext.com/business/gautam-adanis-biogas-bet-shines-light-on-the-sectors-revival
Adani’s investments in biogas, once an obscure technology, follow favourable policy changes by the Modi government in recent years. (19 June 2024).
Did You Know?
Adani’s ‘coal man’ rakes in the rupees
Vinay Prakash, who heads the Adani Group’s ‘natural resources’ business, which consists largely of coal mining and trading, was paid a whopping Rs 90 crore (US $11 million) in the fiscal year ending March 2024, according to recent disclosures. This is almost ten times what the group chief financial officer was paid. Prakash’s remuneration shows the importance of coal to the Group. Prakash, who has a doctorate from India’s premier mining school, is a longtime Adani loyalist who joined the Group in 2001 and is said to have ‘nurtured’ its interests in resources. In a recent biography on Gautam Adani, Prakash praises the billionaire for foreseeing the use of larger coal-bearing ships rather than smaller ones. The bet paid off and Adani businesses now account for 95% of the largest-sized coal ships arriving in India. Too bad about the consequences for the Earth’s climate and for the millions of Indian citizens vulnerable to the impacts of a heating environment.
AdaniWatch newsletter number 11
20 June 2024
What now for Adani Group in third term for Indian PM Modi?
As Prime Minister Modi settles back in power for a third term, all eyes are on the future of the Adani Group. As always, there are multiple developments in the group’s quest for more coal and coal power. Questions are also being raised about interviews Modi and a colleague gave to Adani-owned TV channels predicting a boom in stock prices. That, and more, in the eleventh edition of the AdaniWatch Update. Do send in your feedback and thoughts to [email protected]
BIG NEWS
‘Less BS, more jobs’ is the call to the Adani Group in the new political era
https://www.ft.com/content/11355013-6a4a-4548-8a58-9339a3602a5e
With Narendra Modi returning to government without a clear majority for his BJP, favoured corporates such as the Adani Group may ‘feel the heat’ to meet the prime minister’s infrastructure goals. They may also hedge their bets with other political parties, according to an analysis in the Financial Times. They would be expected to deliver ‘less BS, more jobs’. (14 June 2024).
Interviews to Adani-owned channels under the microscope
https://thediplomat.com/2024/06/was-there-a-scam-in-indias-exit-poll-predictions/
Indian opposition politicians have demanded probes into the manner in which the Indian stock market crashed after the election results were announced on 4 June. They have targeted interviews by Narendra Modi and his right-hand man, Amit Shah, in which they openly predicted the market to rise on result day. Interestingly, both interviews were with Adani-owned NDTV and NDTV Profit channels. (12 June 2024)
Adani Australia coal port raises hedge-fund loans
American hedge funds Fallaron Capital and King Street have loaned AUD $500 million (US $333 million) to North Queensland Export Terminal, Adani’s coal port in north-eastern Australia. With international banks becoming wary of funding the Adani Group’s coal operations, the Group has had to resort to private loans that bear higher interest rates, according to this Indian newspaper. (13 June 2024).
Adani shuffles ownership of hot-potato Dhirauli coal project
https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/corporate/ADANIENT_03062024190311_AELIntimation03062024.pdf
Adani Enterprises will transfer ownership of its controversial Dhirauli coal mine in central India to a subsidiary of Adani Power. This is in line with the strategy of the Adani Group’s flagship company to move away from owning its own coal mines. It will also ‘help improve Adani Enterprises’ ESG parameters,’ the company said. Switching ownership of the Dhirauli coal project within the Adani Group will, of course, do nothing to address the project’s impacts on climate, forests, elephants and indigenous people. (3 June 2024).
OTHER NEWS
Adani prefers to mine for government utilities over owning its own coal mines
https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/corporate/ADANIENT_03062024190311_AELIntimation03062024.pdf
Adani Enterprises would prefer to run coal mines for state-government utilities than to own the coal mines it operates, according to a stock-market filing. Adani’s model of being a ‘mine developer and operator’, rather than an owner, was pioneered a decade ago with its coal operations in the Hasdeo forests. It says that operating rather than owning carries ‘lower price risk, good margins and long-term revenue visibility’. (3 June 2024).
Detained at night for Adani coal
In an exclusive interview with AdaniWatch, a tribal chief from the Hasdeo forests reveals how the police detained him and others in the dead of night to allow Adani’s chainsaws to fell thousands of trees for a coal mine. (14 June 2024).
Narrow escape for tribal leader
https://www.adaniwatch.org/_i_got_a_call_saying_the_police_were_coming_for_me
Even as police detained tribal activists to allow an Adani company to fell Hasdeo forests, a few managed to escape. In this interview with AdaniWatch, a village leader describes how the Adani company and local authorities connived to enable coal projects to proceed on ancestral lands. (13 June 2024).
Adani coal mine a ‘state-corporate nexus’, says winner of the ‘green Nobel’
Alok Shukla, the Indian campaigner who was awarded the Goldman Prize 2024 for standing up to Adani’s coal mines in the Hasdeo forests, has criticised the Indian government and Adani’s nexus in an interview with AdaniWatch. (11 June 2024).
BHEL gets Adani coal power order
Adani Power has placed orders worth Rs 3500 crore (US $419 million) to buy equipment to set up two 800MW units for generating coal power. The orders have been placed with the Indian government’s power-equipment company. (6 June 2024).
More weapons, drones by Adani
Adani Defence has partnered with UAE-based EDGE group for cooperation in research into and production of missiles, drones and other weaponry for global clients. (11 June 2024).
Adani firms yet to recover peak prices
https://www.ft.com/content/62d83124-f22f-4f00-bf74-32f36bc15a78
The stock prices of all Adani stocks recently peaked on 3 June 2024 and then crashed on the day India’s election results were published. While stocks have recovered somewhat, all except ACC and Ambuja Cements have yet to climb back to peak levels. (4 June 2024)
Adani attends Modi oath ceremony
Gautam Adani was among the attendees at the ceremony where Narendra Modi took the oath for his third term in office. This was seen as both ironic and hypocritical on the part of the prime minister, given that, at the height of the election campaign, Modi had accused Adani of sending ‘truckloads of cash’ to the opposition Congress party. (9 June 2024)
Adani firm buys south Indian cement maker
The planned acquisition of Penna Cements by Ambuja Cements (an Adani subsidiary) will increase the latter’s capacity by 20% to 89 million tonnes per annum. The deal cost the Adani Group a staggering Rs 10,000 crore (US $1.2 billion). Cement production is a major consumer of coal. (13 June 2024).
Adani’s $3 billion plan to take over cements in India
Adani plans to become India’s biggest cement-maker in the coming years with an acquisitions budget of nearly $3 billion. (13 June 2024).
Adani airports capture one-third of India’s air-cargo market
In the fiscal year ending 2024, Adani Airports accounted for 30% of the air cargo market in India, with one million tonnes handled. (9 June 2024).
Adani expands port ops to Kolkata
Adani Ports has won a contract from the Modi government to run container operations at the Kolkata port in eastern India. (7 June 2024).
Operations resume at strike-hit Adani port https://nsearchives.nseindia.com/corporate/ADANIPORTS_03062024090252_APSEZLetter.pdf
Operations have restarted at the Gangavaram Port where workers were on strike demanding higher wages. The strike caused a loss of six million tonnes of cargo, the company has disclosed. (3 June 2024).
Did you know?
Now that Prime Minister Modi is back in power…
Here’s just one example of the way the Adani Group gets away with environmental damage with not even a slap on the wrist from the Modi government. In 2022 India’s national auditor agency, which operates independently as per the Constitution, released a report on environmental violations in India that laid out damning evidence of violations in an expansion by Adani Ports at the company’s Dahej port in western India. The project involved ‘reclaiming’ 23 hectares of intertidal mudflats, which are hotspots of marine biodiversity as well as breeding grounds for fish and feeding grounds for birds. But the EIA submitted by the Adani company said that the mudflats were ‘biologically inactive’. The Modi government accepted this explanation and issued an environmental approval to the project. The auditor pointed out that the government never independently examined Adani’s claim. Worse, the mudflat area was used as a cargo storage area for, amongst other things, a coal stockpile. The auditor pointed out that this was a violation of India’s coastal-protection rules and should never have been permitted.
AdaniWatch newsletter number 10
7 June 2024
Adani stocks hit hard by shock Indian election result
Welcome to the tenth edition of AdaniWatch the AdaniWatch newsletter. As expected, the alliance headed by PM Modi’s BJP party has won India’s general election, but far less convincingly than anticipated. Will the Adani Group respond accordingly and attempt to curry favour with emerging opposition figures?
Meanwhile, a major story on more evidence of alleged wrongdoing in Adani’s import of coal into India has been published. Despite this, Gautam Adani is back as Asia’s richest man. His company continues to spread its footprint, now to a port terminal in East Africa. Do send your thoughts and suggestions on [email protected]
MAIN NEWS
Shock Indian election result hits Adani stocks
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0vv93pz14zo
India’s general elections have delivered a significant setback to Narendra Modi. Though headed for a third term as India’s prime minister, he will be dependent on coalition partners to form government, with the opposition INDIA alliance performing better than most pundits had expected. According to the Washington Post, stocks in the companies headed by Gautam Adani, widely seen as enjoying a close and symbiotic relationship with Modi, suffered a 20% drop in the wake of the shock result.
Adani accused of coal-quality fraud
https://www.ft.com/content/7451f2de-91fa-49f3-acb3-e83ab5c00eff
Over 1.5 million tonnes of coal that the Adani Group supplied to a south Indian power utility was of a lower grade than was declared, according to a latest investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and shared with the Financial Times. The suspected fraud, dating back to 2014, meant power utilities burnt more coal than expected, creating more pollution. This follows earlier OCCRP allegations that the Group paid inflated prices of coal to middlemen based abroad. (22 May 2024)
Adani says ‘difficult to comment’
Confronted with evidence that allegedly points to a possible fraud, the Adani Group told the OCCRP it was ‘difficult to comment on individual cases due to sheer volumes of data and the elapsed time’, despite the mega billions of dollars the Group has at its disposal. (22 May 2024).
International organisations seek early ruling on Adani coal matter
Reacting to the OCCRP report, 21 organisations, including Bob Brown Foundation, Extinction Rebellion and Transparency International Australia, have written to India’s Chief Justice asking for early decisions on cases related to Indian investigations into the coal imports scandal. (24 May 2024).
Adani’s Bijahan coal project draws expert criticism
https://www.adaniwatch.org/tribal_forest_dwellers_resist_adani_s_bijahan_coal_project
Adani’s Bijahan coal project in Odisha threatens the homes and livelihoods of hundreds of tribal forest dwellers. AdaniWatch’s Ayaskant Das is the first journalist ever to visit these people to report on their struggle, and his ground-breaking report immediately drew responses from two Heavy-hitting coal experts.
OTHER NEWS
Adani plans stake in major Indian payments firm
The Adani empire continues to spread. It is said to be in talks to buy a stake in PayTM, one of India’s largest apps doing digital payments. This could be a part of Adani’s plans to enter the businesses of e-commerce and digital payments, both booming industries in India, as FT reported. The Adani Group already has a presence in logistics, data centers and food staples, which it could leverage. (29 May 2024).
Unusual plea seeks restraint on Modi and Gandhi
A farmer has filed a court case asking India’s two most prominent political leaders, Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi, to cease making ‘baseless’ allegations against the Adani Group. (27 May 2024).
Adani companies to raise billions
Coal-mining arm Adani Enterprises will raise Rs 16,600 crore (nearly US $2 billion) in the coming months, according to the company. Adani Energy Solutions also seeks to raise Rs 12500 crore (US $1.5 billion). (29 May 2024).
Adani Green may miss 2030 targets
Adani Green Energy may not be able to meet its target of installing 45 GW of renewables by 2030 due to financing issues, according to UK-based Snowcap Research. (31 May 2024).
Into Africa
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240531019622/en/
Adani Ports has signed a 30-year concession to operate a container terminal at Dar-es-Salaam Port in Tanzania, with an aim to ‘enhance trade volumes … between our ports and East Africa’. (31 May 2024).
Gautam Adani again Asia’s richest person
With a rise in Adani company stock prices, Gautam Adani is yet again Asia’s richest man, worth $111 billion. (2 June 2024).
Japan envoy meets Adani
Japan’s ambassador to India, Hiroshi Suzuki, met Gautam Adani and visited Mundra (the Group’s biggest port) and the Group’s renewable energy park in Khavda. (30 May 2024).
Adani claims ‘triumph’
Even as India’s stock-market regulator continues its investigations of alleged malpractice by Adani Group companies, in latest annual reports Adani has claimed ‘triumph’ over the ‘trials’ of the Hindenburg report, released about 18 months ago. In a common message to companies, Adani said the Group has raised Rs 40,000 crore (US $4.7 billion) and dropped debt levels. (29 May 2024).
Adani plans Dharavi cricket tournament
Even as residents of Dharavi (Asia’s largest slum) oppose Adani’s redevelopment plans, the Adani Group is organising cricket matches to make a good impression. (31 May 2024).
Adani family ups stake in firms
Adani family companies located outside India bought shares worth over Rs 4600 crore (US $550 million) in Adani Enterprises and Adani Green Energy, according to stock-market data. (29 May 2024).
Adani Wilmar shares down 20% in last year
Shares in Adani’s food and cooking oil firm have dropped 20% in the last year, even as other group firms did well in the period. (Adani Wilmar is a massive importer of palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia) (30 May 2024).
Adani to acquire bankrupt realtor despite collusion claim
A tribunal has allowed an Adani firm to acquire bankrupt firm Radius Estates, rejecting accusations from banks that collusion in the process resulted in Adani’s single bid. (27 May 2024).
Did You Know?
Coal irregularities could have huge implications
The Adani Group is back in the spotlight for alleged irregularities in how it imported coal from Indonesia. Adani Enterprises is India’s biggest firm engaged in such ‘coal import services’, which it calls Integrated Resources Management. Since most of the coal power is produced by state and central government utilities, these are also presumably the company’s biggest clients. Adani also claims to be the largest off-taker of coal from Indonesia, where it owns a coal mine. So, if the allegations are proven true – that is, if test results were falsified – it would raise doubts on not just the consignments reported by OCCRP but also many other shipments of coal imported over the last two decades. It would also point to possible large-scale corruption in energy utilities all over India (governed by parties across the political spectrum, not just the BJP). With Integrated Resources Management estimated to grow by 35% in coming years, an investigation is urgently needed.
AdaniWatch newsletter number 9
22 May 2024
Calls mount for probe into Adani Group financial affairs
Welcome to the ninth edition of the AdaniWatch Update. Adani has officially become a major campaign issue in India’s national elections, with Prime Minister Modi himself making a rather bizarre accusation against the Adani Group. The markets regulator has initiated a probe into some Adani firms’ transactions. Meanwhile the coal businesses of the Adani Group, already the world’s biggest private developer of coal, continue to expand. You can share your feedback and suggestions to [email protected].
BIG NEWS
Modi’s bizarre accusations against Adani, Ambani and Rahul Gandhi
https://www.adaniwatch.org/pm_modi_s_shocker_on_adani_and_ambani
In an astonishing turn of events, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked if the Adani Group is illegally funding the opposition Congress party by sending them ‘sacks full of cash’ and ‘chori ka maal’, Hindi slang for dirty money. Campaigning for India’s national elections, Modi falsely accused Rahul Gandhi of not naming Adani (and fellow billionaire Mukesh Ambani) in campaign speeches and asked if a ‘deal had been struck’. Gandhi has never stopped linking Modi with Adani. (16 May 2024)
Congress demands probe into Adani ‘sacks of cash’
The Congress party has demanded that Modi investigate the Adani Group for allegedly sending it ‘sacks of cash’. Rahul Gandhi asked if Modi’s comment was based on ‘personal experience’. (8 May 2024)
Is there a wider crackdown on Adani companies?
https://www.adaniwatch.org/are_please_explain_notices_to_6_adani_companies_part_of_bigger_crackdown
Recent actions against the Adani Group by India’s markets regulator could portend further investigations into the group. First, it issued notices to foreign investors of Adani firms, leading them to seek a settlement. Now, it has issued notices to Adani firms for alleged violation of disclosure rules. (15 May 2024).
Adani key to Modi’s plans for India
Gautam Adani and fellow billionaire Mukesh Ambani are Indian ‘Rockefellers’, benefitting from and contributing to Narendra Modi’s economic plans for India (including massive expansion of coal power), writes CNN. This is a pertinent read given Modi’s favourable chances at being re-elected as prime minister for another five years. (8 May 2024).
Norway fund excludes Adani Ports
Norway is excluding Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd from its sovereign fund over concerns for human rights. (18 May 2024).
Adani Sri Lanka project sued
Environmentalists in Sri Lanka have sued an Adani wind-energy project citing environmental impacts and transparency issues. (17 May 2024).
OTHER NEWS
Carmichael mine may be harming sacred spring
Australia’s nationally important Doongmabulla springs may be getting harmed by Adani’s Carmichael coal mine in Queensland, state environment officials have submitted to a court. (2 May 2024).
Adani acquires coal-power transmission line
Adani Energy Solutions has acquired a power transmission line linking Mahan to the grid. Adani recently acquired and announced plans to expand the Mahan coal-power plant. (16 May 2024).
Adani Power hits all-time high valuation
Adani’s coal power firm has hit an all-time high valuation on Indian stock markets and is now worth about Rs 2.51 lakh crore or $30 billion. The company, which was nearly bankrupt a few years ago, is on a high following a revival in India’s coal power sector. (16 May 2024).
Adani’s massive coal-power expansion at Kawai
https://www.adaniwatch.org/colossal_three_fold_expansion_of_coal_power_at_kawai_proposed_by_adani
Adani Power has planned a 3.2 GW addition of coal power at its Kawai plant, as part of its overall 7.7 GW addition plans over the coming years. It says it has earmarked at least $5.6 billion for investments related to coal power. (13 May 2024).
Adani says coal mining not an ESG concern
In a conference call with financial analysts, the head of Adani’s natural resources department said coal mining is not an issue pertaining to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) for the firm since they are not consuming the coal but ‘only’ providing a service to customers. Another greenwash. (2 May 2024).
Adani to invest $590 million in data centers in 2024-25
Adani Enterprises will invest Rs 5000 crore ($590 million) into data centers in the ongoing fiscal year ending March 2025, officials revealed in a recent conference call with analysts. Adani Enterprises officials revealed that Google, Amazon and Microsoft are among the clients for its growing data centers business. ‘They are not our competitors. We see them as our partners,’ an official told analysts in a call. (2 May 2024).
Did you know? Congress’s investigations into Adani
The date 15 May 2024 marked ten years since India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence issued damning show-cause notices to an Adani Group company alleging that it had laundered millions of dollars into tax havens by importing overpriced equipment for its coal-power plants. Interestingly, this notice was issued one day before India’s national election results were announced, which put Narendra Modi in the prime minister’s office with a landslide mandate. Some commentators have wondered if the notice’s date was a coincidence, or was it the Congress party’s final salvo before leaving office – and whether it would take up these issues again if it is voted back to power on 4 June. (Under Modi’s tenure, the Directorate dismissed its own notices against the Adani company concerned, a decision upheld by the courts.)
AdaniWatch newsletter number 8
10 May 2024
AdaniWatch Update – Regulator says ‘please explain’ to Adani companies
Welcome to the eighth edition of the AdaniWatch Update, a comprehensive look at major Adani news. The last fortnight was very interesting, with long-delayed regulatory action from the regulator against Adani companies and some their offshore investors. In addition, various quarterly financial results from Adani companies were revealing. We look forward to hearing your feedback and suggestions, on [email protected]
MAJOR NEWS
Hindenburg fallout: regulator says ‘please explain’ to six Adani firms
Six Adani Group companies say they have received notices from Indian stock-market regulator SEBI over undisclosed related-party transactions and other issues. The notices, which seek explanations from the firms as a first step towards a possible indictment, were issued in the quarter ending March 2024, and are considered to be in connection with SEBI’s investigation into the companies after the Hindenburg report. The firms are Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Adani Power, Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Wilmar and Adani Total Gas (3 May 2024).
Twelve offshore Adani investors in regulator’s crosshairs
India’s stock-market regulator, SEBI, has found that 12 offshore investors in Adani companies violated rules on investment limits and mandatory disclosures, according to a Reuters report. This is a major development linked to the Hindenburg report, which accused offshore investors of acting as fronts for the Adani family and manipulating share prices. A similar theme has frequently been aired by AdaniWatch. (22 April 2024).
Eight offshore Adani investors hope for just a slap on the wrist
Eight of the 12 offshore investors in the Adani Group that are now under the SEBI lens have proposed to settle with the market regulator, according to The Economic Times. Under Indian stock-markets rules, an accused party can settle a case without admitting guilt by paying a fine and accepting other minor penalties – effectively a slap on the wrist. (23 April 2024).
Opposition promises Adani probe if elected
Following media reports about SEBI’s investigations into offshore investors in Adani companies, India’s opposition Congress party said that it will constitute a parliamentary probe into the Adani Group if it is elected to office in the current national elections. It has said that Prime Minister Modi can no longer cover up ‘his close friend’s illegality’. (24 April 2024).
Church accounts frozen over Adani protests
The Latin Catholic Church of southern India's Kerala state has said that its bank accounts have been frozen following its involvement in protests against Adani’s controversial Vizhinjam port. (23 April 2024).
Outrage over ‘death trucks’ bound for construction site of Adani port project
https://www.adaniwatch.org/outrage_over_death_trucks_at_adani_vizhinjam_port
When a young man on a motorbike was killed by a rock falling from a tip truck on its way to Adani’s Vizhinjam port project, protests broke out on the streets. (3 May 2024)
OTHER NEWS
Campaigner against Adani coal mines wins prestigious Goldman Prize
On 29 April 2024, the Goldman Environmental Prize was awarded to Alok Shukla, an Indian campaigner for the rights of indigenous people impacted by Adani’s slew of coal-mine projects in the Hasdeo forests. He is dedicating the award to the courageous local people who have taken on Adani’s colossal coal agenda in their ancestral forests.
Adani coal power surges in 2024 fiscal
https://www.adanipower.com/newsroom/media-releases/Adani-Power-announces-Q4-FY24-results
Adani Power has reported a 48% rise in its production of coal power in the year ending March 2024, compared with the year ending March 2023. The controversial Godda plant went online and all other plants showed higher output. Total income increased 36% while profit after tax doubled. (2 May 2024)
Adani coal mining rises in 2024 fiscal
Dispatch of coal from its mines by Adani Enterprises grew 22% in the year ending March 2024 to 30.9 million tonnes, according to its recently released financials. (2 May 2024)
State Bank of India set to bankroll Adani’s coal-to-PVC plans
Adani’s massive proposed facility to convert coal to polyvinyl chloride (PVC plastic), used to make pipes, will likely get financing of Rs 17000 crore (US $2 billion) from the State Bank of India. (4 May 2024).
Adani stocks decline after ‘please explain’ notices revealed
The share prices of Adani Ports, Adani Enterprises and Adani Wilmar declined 1.5-2% after they received show-cause notices from SEBI over violations of disclosure rules. (3 May 2024).
Gautam Adani’s brazen greenwash on coal
https://www.adanipower.com/newsroom/media-releases/Adani-Power-announces-Q4-FY24-results
This one deserves a global greenwashing award. In a press statement announcing Adani Power’s quarterly financials, Gautam Adani said the company’s growing coal portfolio actually helps a transition to renewables. He said coal power is ‘acting as the balancing supply to enable greater integration of renewables in the grid.’ (2 May 2024)
Adani’s huge trans-shipment port in southern India to commence operations this year
The Modi government has approved Adani’s Vizhinjam port’s status as a trans-shipment terminal. The company said the port will commence operations this year. (26 April 2024).
Questions raised over coal-power plant bid
The founders of a bankrupt coal-power plant being acquired by the Adani Group have filed a petition with the National Company Law Tribunal raising alleged ‘glaring irregularities’ in the process of acquisition. (2 May 2024).
Adani Ports gets AAA rating, coal handling to grow
A ratings firm has given Adani Ports the coveted AAA rating, saying that its business in shipping coal will continue to expand (as AdaniWatch has reported). (30 April 2024).
Adani Enterprises’s quarterly profit drops 38%
Adani Enterprises’s profit for the quarter ending March 2024 dropped by 38% from the same period in 2023. (2 May 2024).
Adani eyes 5 GW electrolyser capacity
Adani expects to have 5 GW capacity to manufacture electrolysers used in hydrogen production. About 8 GW capacity is expected to be online in India by 2025. (2 May 2024).
Adani wants US $1 billion
The Adani Group is talking to overseas investors to raise US $1 billion to fund airports and solar-panel manufacturing. (29 April 2024).
Adani keen on Philippines port
Karan Adani, on a visit to the Philippines, disclosed his company’s interest in developing a deepwater port in Bataan in the South East Asian nation. Adani also met Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr for a ‘courtesy call’. (4 May 2024).
Did You Know?
Gautam-ji’s thoughts on Rahul-ji (and Modi-ji)
As India’s national elections occur, the opposition Congress has heightened its criticism of the Adani Group. It has promised a parliamentary probe into the Group’s financial dealings and accused it of getting undue favours from the Modi government. What does Gautam Adani make of all this? In a rare interview given by Adani last January, the interviewer repeatedly asked him about his views on Rahul Gandhi. ‘Rahul-ji is a senior politician and I respect him,’ he said, before reminding the audience that his first coal-mining contract was with the Congress government in Rajasthan, which also gave land for one of Adani’s earliest coal-power projects. The mogul’s current views on Rahul Gandhi and the Congress are yet to be aired.
CORRECTION
In the previous edition of the Update, there was an erroneous headline that totally changed the meaning of the item. The correct headline should have been ‘Opposition leader says India is ‘Adani’s government’. Sorry about that.
https://www.thehindu.com/elections/lok-sabha/rahul-gandhi-in-bhandara/article68061720.ece
AdaniWatch newsletter number 7
26 April 2024
Welcome to the seventh edition of the AdaniWatch Update, a newsletter on everything the Adani Group has been up to in the last fortnight. As always, there’s a focus on the coal projects of Adani, the world’s biggest private developer of coal.
We also have exclusive news about a huge coal power expansion project, and updates on the group’s cements, ship-leasing, ports, data centre and urban development. We’d love to hear your ideas and feedback, mail us on [email protected].
MAJOR NEWS
Adani plans huge expansion of coal power plant
Adani Power plans to add 3200 MW of capacity to its Kawai coal power plant in Rajasthan state, according to recently filed environmental-approval applications. The plant currently has a 1320 MW capacity. The more than tripling of capacity will require 470 ha of additional land and burn 12.9 million tonnes of coal per annum over and above the 5.5 million tonnes in the existing units. Coal would be sourced from nearby mines. This plan comes amid the Adani Group’s recent optimism about growth opportunities in coal power. (28 March 2024)
Switch of power contract a coup for Adani at expense of Madhya Pradesh
The Adani Group has pulled off a major coup at the expense of the state of Madhya Pradesh by transferring a power contract from a stalled coal-power project to the up-and-running, expanding Mahan plant. The switch is advantageous to Adani because a high tariff was transferred to a plant with lower production costs. Mahan is on the doorstep of vast coal deposits recently acquired by the Adani Group via auctions of questionable value to the Indian taxpayer. (23 April 2024)
Adani awarded colossal coal deposit despite low bid
https://www.adaniwatch.org/adani_awarded_colossal_indian_coal_deposit_despite_low_bid
A colossal coal block in central India was awarded to an Adani company despite there being only one other bidder. A first round of auctions for the block attracted no other bidders and was cancelled. In the second round, the only other bidder was a company without coal mines in India and which is closely connected to a minister in the Indian government. (22 April 2024)
Workers protest at Adani coal port
Port workers at Adani’s Gangavaram port in eastern India are on strike demanding better pay, health coverage and a ‘dust allowance’. The port, which Adani acquired in 2022, handles coal that is crucial to nearby government-run steel mills, which are now on the verge of shutting down due to the protests. A senior BJP leader has asked the workers to allow the coal to go to the mills. (18 April 2024).
Adani expects surge in coal businesses
https://www.adaniwatch.org/coal_imports_surge_adani_bullish_about_coal_in_india
In recent disclosures, the Adani group has said it expects significant growth from coal, including mining, trading and handling coal at its Indian ports. These disclosures contradict statements by the Modi government that India will soon have ‘zero’ imports of coal. (15 April 2024).
Adani to open think tank on climate, energy transition
While India’s independent think tanks are having their funding choked by the Modi government, Adani will now open its own think tank to ‘research’ the energy transition, among other subjects. With Adani’s huge and growing coal-mining business, one can imagine what his think tank’s position on fossils would be. (11 April 2024).
Activists occupy Adani ‘green’ museum in London
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/science-museum-adani-climate-protests-2469959
In April, climate activists occupied the Adani-sponsored climate gallery in London’s Science Museum, carrying placards that said ‘coal out of our museum’ and calling Adani a ‘giant coal baron’; ‘weapons manufacturer’; ‘human-rights abuser’; and ‘environmental criminal’. (15 April 2024)
OTHER NEWS
Adani slum plan to create ‘largest displacement’
Adani’s proposed redevelopment of Asia’s largest slum, Dharavi in Mumbai, would create ‘one of the largest displacements of people,’ an expert on workers in the slum has told AdaniWatch. (17 April 2024).
Number of shareholders in Adani companies declines
Adani Enterprises had 28% fewer individual shareholders at the end of March 2024 than a year ago, while Adani Power, Adani Ports, ACC and Ambuja Cements saw 10-23% declines too. (19 April 2024).
Adani family finally converts Ambuja Cements warrants
Ending weeks of uncertainty, the Adani family has converted the remaining warrants in Ambuja Cements worth Rs 8339 crore ($1.55 billion), possibly after raising loans worth $750 million to fund the purchase. AdaniWatch has covered how proxy advisors and institutional investors in India think the warrants route of infusing funds is not ideal. (18 April 2024).
GQG ups stake in Adani Group
Investment firm GQG Partners, which invested in the Adani Group at the height of the Hindenburg saga, now owns 3-5% shares in six of eight listed Adani firms. (18 April 2024).
India abstains from vote on Israel arms embargo
India’s surprise abstention from a UN vote on an embargo of arms sent to Israel is suspected to be linked to Adani’s exports of drones to the Israeli military. (17 April 2024).
Adani’s media man was once independent
Sanjay Pugalia, who leads Adani’s media acquisitions, was once known for his forthright style and critical views on the BJP, according to a recent in-depth profile. (20 April 2024).
Adani aims to dominate Indian cements
https://www.constructionworld.in/cement-news/adani-group-aims-for-cement-dominance/53937
The Adani Group plans to cater to one-fifth of India’s cement demand by 2028, an ambition termed by one trade publication as ‘cement dominance’. (17 April 2024).
Adani’s Poseidon adventure
The Adani Group is investing US $315 million to set up a ship-leasing business called Poseidon. (12 April 2024).
Opposition leader says India is ‘Adani’s government’
https://www.thehindu.com/elections/lok-sabha/rahul-gandhi-in-bhandara/article68061720.ece
As India’s national elections begin, the main opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has said the Modi government is ‘Adani’s government’ and that ‘everything is done for one billionaire’. (13 April 2024).
Congress leader defends Adani contracts
The Congress chief minister of a southern India state has said that his government’s recent deals with Adani worth $2.3 billion do not imply favouritism. (13 April 2024).
BJP ally says he ‘knows’ Adani
Ajit Pawar, a powerful regional ally of the ruling BJP, said in a poll campaign that he ‘knows’ Adani and can ‘seek help’ from him for investments. (21 April 2024).
Did you know?
Adani’s dominance in steel-making coal
The workers' strike at Adani’s Gangavaram port has revealed the group’s growing dominance in the import of coking coal for India’s steel plants. At least two major steel plants have said that they will have to shut their furnaces if the port does not evacuate their coal supplies soon enough. When Adani acquired the port in 2022, the high share of coal cargo was known, but its sheer centrality to the supply chain for coking coal was not. As it happens, another nearby port at Krishnapatnam, which Adani also owns, is also a major supplier of coking coal to a steel-making region in south-central India. India doesn’t have enough coking coal reserves, and with hydrogen-based steel still a distant dream, imports are critical to feed the national ambition of being self-sufficient in steel. A perfect situation to feed Adani’s expanding coal ambitions.
AdaniWatch Update Newsletter Number 6, 12 April 2024
Welcome to the sixth edition of AdaniWatch Update, a comprehensive update of Adani-related news. Adani is already the world’s biggest private developer of coal but is still expanding its coal footprint through new coal mines and coal ports. Meanwhile, the Adani Group has sponsored India’s most prestigious award for journalism. Please share your feedback and suggestions on [email protected]
MAIN STORIES
Adani acquires yet another coal-handling port
Adani Ports has acquired a 95% stake in Gopalpur Port in eastern India. The port, located in the state of Odisha, is in proximity to coal mines in the forests of central India, as well as a nascent steel industry. The port predominantly handles thermal coal, coking coal and iron ore. This is the third coal-handling Adani port in the region, after Dhamra Port and a terminal at the Visakhapatnam Port. (26 March 2024)
Adani coal mine approved despite concerns over forest loss
Adani’s upcoming Dhirauli coal mine in central India will clear 600,000 trees, wildlife habitats of leopards, elephants, and other protected species, and the traditional lands of the indigenous Baiga tribe. Although the local forest department raised an alarm against this destruction, the new BJP state government approved the project. For now, the central environment ministry has asked the state to review the proposal again, particularly for its impacts on wildlife. (26 March 2024).
Heat wave to benefit Adani coal-power businesses
With India forecasted to experience heat waves this summer, Adani businesses are likely to benefit. This report in Adani’s own NDTV Profit news channel says the federal government is considering invoking emergency provisions to direct coal-power stations to run at high capacity. This would benefit Adani Power’s Mundra coal-power plant, which has no other long-term power commitments, the report says. (3 April 2024)
Deadline passes for regulator’s report on Hindenburg allegations
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/sebi-sbi-stock-manipulation-adani-congress-9248560/
On 3 January 2024, India’s Supreme Court directed market regulator SEBI to complete its investigation into the Adani Group ‘preferably within three months’. The deadline has passed but it is not clear if SEBI has submitted its report. The opposition Congress party expressed the fear that SEBI might seek an extension to submit its findings, which would go beyond the national elections scheduled in May and June. (3 April 2024)
Coal power brings Adani and Ambani together
The Reliance Industries of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani has bought a 26% stake in Adani’s coal-power subsidiary Mahan Energen. Reliance will also buy 500 MW of power for its own use. This is the first collaboration between the two billionaires, who have competing interests in renewable energy, data centers and wireless communications. (29 March 2024).
OTHER STORIES
Vizhinjam Port to be operational by September
In a surprise announcement, the Adani Group said its controversial and troubled Vizhinjam container port in southern India will begin operations in September to coincide with Onam, a local harvest festival. (2 April 2024)
Adani Solar lobbying may cost the firm $100 million
A pending verdict by India’s electricity regulator may cost Adani Solar over $100 million – an indirect outcome of its own lobbying for import restrictions. (5 April 2024).
Rising concerns over Dharavi demolition
Adani’s Dharavi slum rehabilitation may render thousands of poor residents homeless and jobless. In this exclusive interview, an urban-policy expert from Mumbai outlines concerns about this colossal project. (3 April 2024)
Adani commences copper manufacturing
Adani’s Kutch Copper unit sent its first batch of cathodes to customers, beginning the Group’s foray into metals. (28 March 2024).
Adani engages Israeli firm for cleaning solar panels
Adani will install Israeli firm Airtouch’s robotic cleaners on its solar farms in Rajasthan, which would not require water but would generate fewer jobs. (4 April 2024).
Adani converts Ambuja warrants
The Adani family converted warrants worth Rs 6661 (US $800 million) in Ambuja Cements ahead of their expiry. (28 March 2024).
Adani plans coal-power additions
After a long lull, Adani Power has planned an ambitious 6 GW addition to its coal-power capacity. (2 April 2024)
Vast tracts in Gujarat are central to Adani’s ‘green’ ambitions
The Gujarat district of Kutch (or Kachch), where Adani is immensely influential, is also central to the Group’s green ambitions that require vast tracts of land. (8 April 2024).
Adani to pour ‘billions’ into renewables
The Adani Group says it will invest US $27 billion into manufacturing and installing solar and wind-energy projects between now and 2030. (7 April 2024)
Congress turncoat attacks Adani critics
A BJP leader, Gourav Vallabh, who recently switched from the opposition Congress party, has told his old party to ‘stop criticising Adani’. (8 April 2024).
Green vs Green at Adani Wind project in Sri Lanka
https://island.lk/govt-urged-to-fix-issues-and-go-ahead-with-adani-wind-power-project-in-mannar/
After wildlife experts raised concerns over Adani’s controversial wind project in Sri Lanka, some ‘pro-renewables’ activists have come out in support of the project. (8 April 2024)
DID YOU KNOW?
Adani shadow on journalism awards
The Ramnath Goenka Awards are often called the Pulitzer Prize of India. They have a history of recognising courageous and impartial journalism. But like all media activities in India in the last few years, the awards have been seen to soften towards the Modi government and crony corporations. At this year’s award ceremony, held in March, observers were only slightly shocked to find that Adani was one of its two title sponsors. The ceremony was held for story submissions from 2021 and 2022, when a number of important environmental and corporate investigations into the Adani Group were published (some of which were cited in the Hindenburg report). Stories on Adani or its growing environmental footprint were absent from the awards. It didn’t help that the awards were given out by minister Nitin Gadkari, who in 2017 was accused of breaking the rules to approve a port project that helped an Adani coal terminal. Many journalists saw Adani’s sponsorship as part of the awards’ decline. Such is the rise of the Adani Group in the media industry that one satirical website joked that Adani had accidentally acquired an Indian pregnancy test company because its brand has the word ‘news’ in it.
AdaniWatch Update Newsletter Number 5, 29 March 2024
Welcome to the fifth edition of the AdaniWatch Update. Plenty has happened since our last dispatch, including a probe by the US justice department into Gautam Adani, and environmental concerns over two supposedly green projects of the group. Meanwhile, the publicly-listed companies of Adani have suffered losses in share value worth tens of billions of dollars.
Don’t forget to send us your feedback, thoughts and leads to [email protected].
US PROBE INTO ADANI GROUP
US probes Adani for bribery
https://thewire.in/business/adani-entity-under-investigation-in-the-us-report
US federal prosecutors are investigating the Adani Group – and, reportedly, Gautam Adani himself – for allegedly paying bribes to Indian officials for favourable treatment on an energy project, Bloomberg reported. The probe is part of ongoing investigations into the Group following the Hindenburg report. Adani companies told Indian stock exchanges that the news is ‘false’ because the group has not (yet) received notices from the US justice department. However, the US probe counters the Group’s narrative that the US government gave it a ‘clean chit’ when it approved a loan to Adani Ports to build a port terminal in Sri Lanka last November. (15 March 2024)
Adani shares, bonds decline as US widens probe
Despite the Adani Group’s denials, markets in India and abroad took Bloomberg’s report seriously. Adani stocks in India lost a total of US $8.4 billion on 18 March 2024, with Adani Enterprises falling 5% that day. Adani Power, Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Total Gas and Adani Ports registered losses over 2%. Adani Ports and Adani Green Energy RJ also declined in US bond markets. (18 March 2024)
Adani stocks still overvalued by over 32%
https://www.adaniwatch.org/are_adani_s_listed_firms_looking_down_the_barrel_of_a_major_correction
The share prices of publicly-listed Adani companies could fall further in the near future, suggests an analysis in AdaniWatch. Assessing the intrinsic values of Adani companies using different methods of valuation shows that their share prices are overvalued by at least 32%. The recent fall in share prices following news of the US probe news could, in fact, be a part of a larger correction. (24 March 2024)
COAL
Government expert body red-flags destruction of forests, wildlife for Dhirauli coal mine
An Indian governmental expert body has red-flagged the proposed destruction of forests for the Adani Group’s massive Dhirauli coal mine. The central Indian forest earmarked for mining is part of an elephant corridor near a wildlife sanctuary inhabited by tigers. Thousands of forest-dependent indigenous people rely on these forests for water and small-scale forest products. (26 March 2024)
Adani’s greenwash on coal continues
The Adani Group’s doublespeak on carbon emissions was on display in a CNN feature on Adani’s massive Khavda renewable energy project. Sagar Adani, the 30-year old nephew of Gautam, said if India’s future energy needs are met by coal, it would ‘kill all other sustainable energy initiatives happening all across the world, in terms of carbon emissions’. But a few paragraphs later, he is quoted saying the Adani Group would not stop investing in coal since 600 million people would be ‘coming into middle income and upper income’ (sic), and later blames ‘activists in developed nations’ for not understanding India’s challenges. He appears not to have heard of India’s own anti-coal campaigners who are facing a crackdown from the Modi government. (20 March 2024)
Supreme Court dismisses Adani Power plea
India’s Supreme Court has dismissed a petition by Adani Power to receive US $166 million for coal power supplied to Rajasthan state, holding that it did not follow court procedure. It also fined the company Rs 50,000 (about US $600). The state had argued that the company’s demand was ‘mischievous’ and an ‘abuse of process’ to ‘extract’ the money. (18 March 2024)
MAJOR ADANI PROJECTS
Adani uses copy-pasted EIA for pumped-hydro project
https://www.indiejournal.in/article/impact-report-for-an-adani-project-raises-eyebrows
The environment impact assessment of an Adani pumped-hydro project in India’s Western Ghats has sections copied from a different report, environmental campaigners have found. The allegedly copied sections include references to an irrigation project in a different state, and contradictory sentences about whether or not forests would be submerged by the Adani project. These are serious issues which strike at the root of the EIA, but Adani’s EIA contractor has brushed these off as ‘typos’ in a ‘draft report’. The Western Ghat mountain range is a biodiversity hotspot. (22 March 2024)
Adani’s Sri Lanka wind project raises environmental concerns
Adani’s proposed 250MW wind-power project in northern Sri Lanka is in hot water over environmental concerns. Rohan Pethiyagoda, a biodiversity expert, has termed the project a ‘wasteful scam’ and its environmental impact assessment an ‘absolute disgrace’. In a recent YouTube video, he alleges the assessment ignores the impact of the project on migratory birds. Adani has termed this a ‘vicious campaign’. (21 March 2024)
Student crushed to death under boulder that fell off truck contracted for Adani port project
Ananthu Ajikumar, a 26-year-old student of dentistry in southern India’s Kerala, was tragically killed by a boulder that fell off a truck contracted as part of an Adani port project. The truck was carrying rocks to an Adani tetrapod manufacturing unit for its Vizhinjam port construction. The truck was allegedly loaded beyond legal limits, and the 20 kg boulder fell on Ananthu’s head and then his chest, crushing his ribs and injuring his heart and liver. He died a few hours later. The company has promised Rs 1 crore (US $120,000) in compensation, although Ananthu’s student loan alone is reportedly worth half that much. A few months ago, a teacher lost her leg after her scooter was hit by another rock-carrying Adani truck. Ironically, Ananthu died on the same day Adani Ports’s Vizhinjam subsidiary won an international safety award. (24 March 2024)
Adani considers another container terminal in southern India
Adani Ports was one of the companies that attended a pre-bid meeting to build a container terminal at the government port at Thoothukudi in southern India. This is not too far from Adani’s Vizhinjam port. If Adani Ports is selected, it would mark the company’s dominance over southern India’s coastal trade with a presence at all major ports. (22 March 2024)
Govt is ‘selling all Mumbai to Adani’, says opposition leader
Rahul Gandhi, India’s prominent opposition leader, has accused the Maharashtra BJP coalition government of ‘selling’ Mumbai land to the Adani Group. This comes after a slew of contracts were awarded to Adani companies to ‘redevelop’ slums and government-owned land (see earlier editions of the Update). Adani called Gandhi’s comments ‘preposterous, malicious and unfounded’. (17 March 2024)
Dharavi’s ‘ineligible’ residents face eviction
https://www.newslaundry.com/2024/03/20/adanis-dharavi-redevelopment-new-dreams-or-nightmare
Nearly two in three residents of Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum, would be ineligible for replacement housing under the Adani Group’s massive redevelopment of the area, according to the scheme’s critics. The residents, among the poorest in the city, do not have paperwork to prove their residence in Dharavi before 1 January 2000, the official cut-off date. The Adani Group says it will rehabilitate everyone, but that remains to be seen. (20 March 2024)
OTHER FINANCES
Mauritius has provided Adani data to India
Mauritius has provided data on the beneficiaries of Adani’s shareholding companies incorporated in that (tax-haven) country to Indian stock markets regulator, the Mauritius Minister for Financial Services told reporters on the sidelines of his official visit to India. The Indian regulator, SEBI, is concluding its investigation into the Adani Group’s alleged stock-market manipulation using offshore entities in Mauritius, among other countries. This alleged manipulation was one of the key parts of the explosive Hindenburg report of January 2023. SEBI has until April to finish the investigations, as per a Supreme Court deadline. (23 March 2024).
Adani part of India’s highly unequal ‘billionaire raj’
Economic inequality in India has ‘skyrocketed’ in the last two decades, according to a new study by noted economist Thomas Pikketty and colleagues. India’s wealthy now own 40% of the country’s total wealth, and inequality under the new ‘billionaire raj’ is worse than during the British Raj, the authors said. This has naturally drawn attention to the likes of Gautam Adani, among Asia’s richest and one of the billionaires minted in the last two decades on the back of businesses dealing in coal and infrastructure. (23 March 2024)
Adani’s curious absence from ‘electoral bond’ disclosures
Over the last few weeks, India has disclosed the list of companies that secretly donated many billions of rupees to India’s political parties through so-called electoral bonds. The disclosure, based on a Supreme Court ruling that such bonds were unconstitutional, shows that mining and infrastructure companies were major donors, and that the ruling party, the BJP, was the biggest recipient of such funds. The Adani Group was widely expected to appear in the disclosures but its name was nowhere on the list. The only connection it has is with a road contractor called ABC India Limited, which donated Rs 4 million to the BJP, and in which Adani Properties held a 1.2% stake until last December. The Adani Group has stated that it has never bought electoral bonds. Does the company not donate to political parties? Or if it does, then how does it do so? (21 March 2024)
Adani Total Gas appoints controversial auditor to board
https://www.bseindia.com/xml-data/corpfiling/AttachHis/4fa7744e-17e0-4313-8fcb-b023301ba6a2.pdf
Adani Total Gas has appointed chartered accountant Mukesh M Shah to its board as an independent director. Shah’s accounting firm serves as auditor to Adicorp Enterprises, which has controversial links to Adani Group companies and was named in Hindenburg Research’s report. Shah also sits on the board of Adani Power and seven other Adani subsidiaries. The appointment comes after the company was fined by the Indian stock exchange for delaying appointment of an independent director (see previous edition of this Update). (21 March 2024).
Adani overcharging for natural gas?
Industries in Gujarat, Adani’s home state, have threatened to stop using natural gas if Adani Total Gas does not reduce its gas price in line with global rates. Although international gas prices have reportedly dropped 50% in the last year, Adani Total Gas has not changed its sale price, the industrialists have complained to the company. The company has been given a 10-day ultimatum. (20 March 2024).
Airports regulator doubts Adani numbers
The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India has raised questions over Adani’s Thiruvananthapuram airport in southern India, which the group controversially took over in 2021. The Authority said that Adani Airports awarded a contract for non-aeronautical services (restaurants, shopping, etc) to another Adani company through ‘restrictive bid criteria’ and a ‘low revenue share’. Adani is also underestimating its revenue from such services by a factor of four, the authority said. Under India’s airport tariff rules, this could enable Adani to charge higher fees from passengers and airlines. (20 March 2024)
DID YOU KNOW?
Adani Ports’s love of coal
Within the ‘blue chip’ companies in the Adani Group, Adani Ports projects itself as one that is relatively fossil-free, compared with the likes of Adani Enterprises and Adani Power that are steeped in coal. Adani Ports is known for its dominant position in container-handling operations, which is usually for non-mined goods such as clothes or electronics. Last month, it even boasted of receiving top rankings in ESG (environmental, social, governance) ratings by multiple agencies. But Adani Ports’s origin and growth are inextricably linked to coal. According to Gautam Adani’s biography released last year, when he founded the Mundra port, coal was a crucial cargo that made it viable. Adani began ‘lobbying with state electricity boards to use his port for importing coal’. He was already a major coal importer; moving all of his coal consignments into the port ‘made Mundra economically viable’ and unleashed ‘synergies that continue to play to this day’. Indeed, the port recently revealed that coal and containers are equally the highest share of cargo class that it handles. And of course, Australian coal is exported out of Abbot Point, which is operated by Adani Ports too. Is it time to start seeing Adani Ports as a company inextricably enmeshed in the coal industry?
AdaniWatch Update Newsletter No 4, 15 March 2024.
Welcome to the fourth edition of the AdaniWatch Update. The last fortnight has been controversial as always for the Adani Group. It emerged as a major defence contractor supplying to India and Israel, as well as India’s next big real-estate player with interests in hotels and commercial properties. In an investor presentation, the Adani Group displayed its optimism about the future of coal power in India (it’s the biggest private developer of coal projects in the world), and also expressed interest in lithium mining. Don’t forget to write to us with your suggestions and leads at [email protected]
COAL AND GAS
Adani Power keen on expanding coal power by 4.8 GW
Adani Power is leading an effort by Indian private coal-power producers to 'bet big' on the sector in India, according to a Reuters report. In recent closed-door discussions, the firms told the Modi government they would expand coal-power capacity by 10 gigawatts by reviving stalled projects and expanding old plants. Adani Power's commitment of adding 4.8 GW is the largest in the group, and will no doubt benefit from coal supplies from its own mines, including in Queensland. (5 March 2024).
Adani plans 32% expansion in coal-power capacity
Adani Power aims to add 5500 MW in coal-power capacity in the near future, according to a recent presentation made by the company to investors. This represents a 32% addition to the 15,500 MW in operation and 1600 MW under construction by the company. Adani Power further estimates that 59% of India’s electricity supply in 2032 will be coal-based. This contrasts with the Group’s narrative that it is committed to climate action by building clean power sources. (1 March 2024)
Only one third of Adani coal-power plants abate deadly gas
Coal-power plants emit sulphur dioxide, a deadly gas that can cause respiratory diseases, stunt the growth of trees and cause ‘acid rain’. That’s why plants are required to install flue gas desulphurisation or FGD systems, which abate emission of sulphur dioxide. But only 31% of Adani Power’s plants have installed FGD, it revealed in a recent investor presentation. It expects to reach 100% FGD in its coal-power plants only by 2029. (1 March 2024).
Adani plans more coal power in already polluted area
An Adani Power subsidiary has proposed to add 1600 MW of coal power at the Bandhaura power plant in Singrauli district in central India. The plant already has 1200 MW capacity in operation and another 1600 MW under construction. Now, the company wants to add another 1600 MW, taking the total capacity to 4400 MW. Singrauli is notorious for air pollution caused by coal mining and coal-power plants and is officially designated a ‘severely polluted area’. In a decision released on 26 February, the Modi government’s expert panel raised concerns over increased air pollution, but permitted the company to carry out environment studies and a public hearing. (26 February 2024)
Adani Total Gas fined for not having an independent director
https://www.bseindia.com/xml-data/corpfiling/AttachHis/074e5cdb-21c0-4672-aa5f-3cf8dbb1b607.pdf
India’s two main stock exchanges have fined Adani Total Gas, a joint venture between Adani and France’s Total group, for not hiring an independent director. The company says it is running an ‘extensive process’ and will appoint one soon. Is it waiting for a government official to retire? The fine is a measly Rs 355,000 ($4280). (23 February 2024).
NEW ENTERPRISES
Adani interested in Lithium mining in central India
The Adani Group has expressed interest to the Modi government in surveying and extracting lithium from a recently discovered deposit in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Adani’s Indian coal-mining operations in India are also in this state. The Geological Survey of India discovered the deposits in 2023 in over 256 hectares of land, which includes 84 hectares of forest. The government is auctioning mining rights to the block. (11 March 2024)
Adani to enter chip manufacturing?
Gautam Adani recently had a ‘great meeting’ with senior officials from Qualcomm, a global giant in semiconductor and communication equipment. Adani was particularly taken by the firm’s vision for ‘semiconductors, AI, mobility, edge appliances and much more,’ he posted on X (formerly Twitter). The Modi government has a Rs 76000 crore ($9.1 billion) program to promote semiconductor manufacturing in India. (11 March 2024)
Adani’s Navi Mumbai Airport struggles to woo airlines
The Navi Mumbai Airport being built by Adani has so far been unable to convince IndiGo and Air India, India’s largest airlines, from operating from there. The existing Mumbai airport (run by Adani since 2021) will continue to be sufficient, IndiGo’s CEO told the Financial Express. Poor connectivity from Navi Mumbai to the city is one of the reasons airlines are reportedly wary. (26 February 2024)
Adani to invest US $7.2 billion in airports
The Adani Group will invest Rs 60,000 crore ($7.2 billion) in the next 10 years into airports, Karan Adani has announced. The company will bid for all 25 government-run airports that are up for privatisation, he said. Interestingly, Adani says the money will go not just into airport infrastructure such as runways but also into nearby ‘hotels and shopping malls’. Meanwhile, Narendra Modi, on the campaign trail for the upcoming national elections, inaugurated an Adani airport terminal. (11 March 2024).
Adani opens massive ammunition complex
Since 2015, the Adani Group’s defence-manufacturing enterprise has emerged as a major arms supplier. After supplying military drones to Israel and the Indian Navy, it has now opened a 200-hectare arms-manufacturing facility in northern India which will meet 25% of India’s small-calibre ammunition requirements. It will also make 12 types of guns and 40 types of rocket and ammunition systems. One gun happens to share its name with that of Gautam Adani’s younger son, Jeet. (27 February 2024).
Adani to make 'big investments' in weapons thanks to Modi-government policies
From coal mining to airports and now weapons, the Adani Group’s expansion proceeds in lockstep with government policies. The Group took to its own TV station, NDTV, to signal 'big investments' over the next 10 years into defence manufacturing. At a ‘defence summit’ organised by NDTV, Adani Defence’s CEO Ashish Rajvanshi explicitly linked his company’s optimism to a push ‘in the last five years’ from the Modi government for local manufacturing of military equipment. (8 March 2024)
Human rights group demands cancellation of Adani drone unit
The Human Rights Forum, a non-profit active in southern India, has demanded the government cancel Adani's drone-manufacturing contract with Israeli firm Elbit Systems, under which drones are being supplied to the Israeli army. Adani had recently signed a deal with the Telangana state government for further expansion of its aerospace manufacturing facility. ‘While several countries have withdrawn support to Israel in the face of its inhuman carnage of Palestinians, Adani continues to profit from it, lining its pocket with blood money,’ the Forum wrote. (8 March 2024)
Adani enters five-star hotels business
The Adani Group will open two five-star hotels next to the international terminal of its Ahmedabad Airport. This marks its first entry into hospitality. The US $180-million undertaking is expected to take five years to complete. This is yet another part of the group’s massive expansion into the real-estate business, frequently driven by the Group’s ownership of airports. (28 February 2024)
Adani’s Dharavi project comes with sweeteners
Slum redevelopments in India are hotly contested by affected families, who have often succeeded in delaying or stopping such projects. As Adani plans to rebuild Asia’s largest slum in Mumbai, details are emerging about incentives offered by the BJP coalition state government that could minimise local dissent. These include: a five-year exemption from state goods-and-services tax for affected commercial units, and a stamp-duty exemption on the first sale of commercial and industrial realty. (10 March 2024).
Adani to build 26 EV charging stations
The BJP government in the state of Uttar Pradesh has awarded an Adani company a contract to set up 26 electric-vehicle charging stations along expressways in the state. Adani Total Energies E-Mobility Limited outbid five other bidders. The Modi government has proposed to make expressways ‘EV-ready’, and Adani, as a major supplier of electricity in the country, has sniffed an opportunity. (9 March 2024)
FINANCE
Adani ‘charm offensive’ yields investor interest
Adani Green Energy has successfully sold US $409 million worth of bonds to global investors in a turnaround since the explosive Hindenburg report of January 2023. Reasons are reported to include an overall interest in India and a ‘charm offensive’ by Adani officials. 55% of these investors were from Asia or the Middle East, in comparison to the earlier dominance of investors from the US and Europe. (5 March 2024).
‘Warrants’ purchases by Adani Group into own companies raise concerns
https://www.adaniwatch.org/partial_purchases_by_adani_family_into_group_companies_raise_concerns
The Adani family has infused funds into the Group’s own publicly-listed companies through a financial instrument which has been criticised as a sign of poor governance. The instrument, known as ‘warrants’, enables the promoter group to make a part purchase of shares, retaining the right to complete the purchase (or not) at a later date. The concern is that the Adani family has the ability to ‘ride the stock market’ in completing its purchase of additional shares in Group companies. (1 March 2024)
Adani taps Japanese banks
Japanese banks have been focusing on India. The Adani Group has relied increasingly on them to substitute for Wall Street firms that grew wary following the Hindenburg report’s revelations. Japanese bank MUFG facilitated Adani’s investor roadshows following the report’s fallout. (27 February 2024)
GROUP AFFAIRS
Former income-tax investigator joins board of Adani Ports
Adani Ports has appointed a retired senior investigator of India’s income-tax department as an independent director on its board. MV Bhanumathi, who retired last May, had lately launched probes into, among others, politicians and public personalities opposed to the BJP. The Adani Group did not figure in her investigations. The group has a history of appointing retired regulatory officials and bureaucrats to its boards (see the second edition of this Update). (4 March 2024)
Congress politician accuses ‘Modi’s friend’ of taking over prime land
Adani’s realty push in India has caught the attention of opposition parties. A Congress legislator has accused the Mumbai municipal body of helping the Adani Group capture prime land in the city. 'Bandra reclamation land, Air India colony land, Mulund, Kanjurmarg, salt pan lands. Who was given all of this? The honourable friend of the country’s Prime Minister, Adani,' Varsha Gaikwad said during a session of the Maharashtra state legislature. BJP politicians were quick to come to Modi’s (and thus Adani’s) defence. (See previous editions of the Update for some of these deals). (29 February 2024)
Did you know?
With Hasdeo coal mines, Adani wins either way
The Chhattisgarh government recently began cutting trees for an expansion of Adani's coal mines in India’s Hasdeo forests. The tree felling was pending for over one and a half years, because of opposition from the local indigenous community. But this wasn't a big setback for the Adani Group, as apparent from the latest annual report [See Page 14 of PDF] of the Rajasthan state power utility, which is the end-user of the coal. (The annual report was released last September and has not been written about earlier).
The report says that supplies from the Hasdeo mine stopped in August 2022 after the initial coal mine area was exhausted. Then, to bridge the shortfall in coal supply, the government of India offered coal from one of its own mines. But the Modi government also 'directed' the utility to engage Adani Enterprises to transport the coal from the government mine to Rajasthan. The government also 'directed' the utility to place orders for imported coal, again from Adani Enterprises, for blending with the government-mined coal, the annual report says. Now that the trees have been felled by the new BJP government in Chhattisgarh, Adani's mining will resume. No matter the challenge, Adani gets by, with a little help from its friends.
AdaniWatch Newsletter Number 3, 1 March 2024.
Welcome to the third edition of the AdaniWatch Update. The Adani Group is the world’s biggest private developer of new coal projects, so is having a devastating impact on the world’s climate. We have many updates on the Adani Group’s coal ventures, including two important legal challenges in India and Australia. There’s more on the controversial and destructive Vizhinjam port project, on several new enterprises that will adversely affect the environment, and on the Adani Group’s role in providing the state of Israel with new weapons. Don’t forget to send us your feedback, thoughts and leads on [email protected].
COAL
Green court overturns approval for Adani coal mine due to collusion and ignorance
A recent order by India’s National Green Tribunal, overturning the environment approval to an Adani-operated coal mine, reveals several irregularities. The government left out affected people from the public consultation and ignored its own medical institute’s findings on severe health impacts of coal mining. (23 February 2024)
Adani plans to use coal ash from Godda power plant in cement factory
Adani-owned Ambuja Cements has said it would set up a new cement grinding unit worth Rs 1000 crore ($120 million) near its Godda coal power plant, which went online in 2023. The unit would use fly ash from the plant and is yet another example of the apparent synergy between the group’s coal and cement verticals (see previous edition of this update for more). (21 February 2024)
Adani coal mine expansion ravages biodiversity-rich forest
The expansion of the Adani-operated coal mines in the Hasdeo forests in central India has led to nearly 150,000 trees being cut, with another 399,000 estimated to face the axe. Shortly after a recent tree felling, distressed wild elephants charged into a hamlet, killing an indigenous person. (19 February 2024)
Case in Queensland court against Adani coal mining
Traditional owners of the Adani Group’s Carmichael coal mine have filed a case in the Queensland Supreme Court, alleging breach of their human rights due to alleged pollution by the mine of sacred wetlands. A group of owners says it will present evidence of hydrocarbon contamination and groundwater decline caused by the mine. (17 February 2024)
Bangladesh struggles to pay Adani for Godda coal power
https://businesspostbd.com/power-energy/bb-approves-112b-payment-to-adani-power
Bangladesh’s central bank has had to step in to cover a shortage of US Dollars in the country to pay US $1.12 billion to Adani for sourcing electricity from its Godda coal plant. This has revived concerns about whether the power-import deal is in the country’s best interests. (17 February 2024)
Adani Group’s coal business funds new ventures
https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/adani-is-gift-that-will-keep-giving-2024-02-14/
Proceeds from the Adani Group’s polluting operations such as mining coal are supporting its growth in new ventures like airports, data centers and green energy, according to a column in Reuters. (14 February 2024).
Jeffries upbeat on Adani coal company
American financial firm Jeffries has made talked up its ESG and sustainability goals. But that has not stopped it from recommending investors buy shares of Adani Enterprises, the main coal-mining firm of the Adani Group. Jeffries expects the stock to rise 20%, it said in its first ever report on the company. (13 February 2024)
Adani to take over bankrupt coal-power plant
Adani Power and a consortium partner have received approval from India’s antitrust watchdog to take over a bankrupt 1200MW coal-power plant located near India’s southeastern coast. The Coastal Energen plant uses 5.2 million tonnes per annum of imported coal, so is another potential client for Adani’s Australian and Indonesian coal mines. (13 February 2024)
FINANCES AND NEW BUSINESSES
Adani to enter nuclear power?
The Modi government is talking to five Indian power companies, including Adani Power, to invest $5.3 billion each in developing public-private nuclear-power facilities, according to Reuters. The companies would be expected to acquire land and water and carry out construction, while the government would operate the facilities as is required by Indian law. (21 February 2024)
Judicial rulings stymie investigation into alleged ‘over-invoicing’ scam by Adani Group
https://www.adaniwatch.org/judicial_rulings_stymie_probe_into_adani_over_invoicing_allegations
In early 2024, rulings by the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court appear to have shunted any effective investigation of some serious allegations against the Adani Group off into the never-never. The judgments pertain to allegations of ‘over-invoicing’ by Adani Power, a practice where goods are imported through an intermediary at an inflated price, allowing the buyer to pocket the difference while over-charging consumers. (21 February 2024)
Adani begins production at massive desert solar installation
Adani Green Energy has begun operating 551 MW of capacity from its Khavda solar park in an arid part of Gujarat. It plans a massive 30 GW deployment there over five years, modifying vast swathes of the desert ecology with solar panels, roads and infrastructure for an 8000-strong workforce. Indian law exempts solar projects from environmental impact assessments, and most desert environments aren’t protected by environmental laws. (20 February 2024)
Adani’s Vizhinjam port a ‘sweet deal’
While local fisherfolk suffer from its construction, the Adani group’s Vizhinjam port in Kerala offers several incentives to the company, many of them unusual among such projects in India. According to this report, the company is footing just one-third of the total cost, gets to mortgage all project assets, and earns an extra ‘fee’ of Rs 19,555 crore ($2.3 billion) at the end of the concession period. (21 February 2024)
Adani Vizhinjam Port to get ‘viability’ rupees
Adani Ports’s controversial Vizhinjam Port project in southern India will soon receive Rs 817 crore ($98 million) of ‘viability gap funding’ from the Modi government – essentially taxpayer money to make unviable projects possible. The Kerala government has agreed to sign requisite paperwork to get these funds credited, on the condition that Adani withdraws legal claims to be paid Rs 3854 crore ($464 million) by the state (over delays in building the port), and that it builds the remaining two phases of the project by 2028 instead of 2045. (16 February 2024)
Adani to capitalise on truck-fuel transition
The Indian government intends to deploy liquefied natural gas as a replacement to diesel for truck fuel. Adani Total Gas plans to capitalise on this with an expansion of LNG outlets on highways (as well as LNG import terminals, the first of which was opened last year). (18 February 2024)
Adani wins big new Mumbai real estate contract
Adani Realty has won a contract to develop over 10 ha of sea-facing land in Mumbai. The contract, to build commercial and residential premises, was awarded by a public company run by the state BJP coalition government. Adani is fast dominating the mega-city’s real-estate market, considered among the world’s most expensive. It is redeveloping Asia’s largest slum and developing land near the Mumbai airport (see first and second edition of this update). (16 February 2024)
Adani to enter aircraft-leasing business
Adani Ports has floated a subsidiary, Udanvat Leasing, that aims to acquire and lease aircraft to airlines. Aircraft leasing is a $178 billion global market. The company aims to invest Rs 555 crore (US $67 million) into the business and will receive benefits from a tax-free zone in Gujarat. (14 February 2024)
WEAPONS
The Adani Group, weapons and Israel
https://www.adaniwatch.org/the_adani_group_weapons_and_israel
The Adani Group manufactures deadly drones, sniper rifles and assault weapons in joint venture with Israeli arms company. A major product is Hermes 900, a drone that can carry 400 kg.
Adani-built drones in the Israel-Palestine conflict
https://www.deccanherald.com/india/india-sends-adani-made-drones-to-israel-5-things-to-know-2893895
Twenty drones built by an Adani facility in India have been sent to Israeli Defence Forces, and are reportedly active in the Gaza conflict. The drones, being built in partnership with an Israeli firm, were recently supplied to the Indian Navy too (see first edition of the Update). (14 February 2024)
DID YOU KNOW?
Adani is trying to buy goodwill with its handouts in coal-business areas?
Indian companies involved in mining and other polluting activities are known to fund ‘social’ activities to buy local goodwill, without having to abate pollution. The Adani Group seems to follow this principle quite closely with its coal-related initiatives. In Australia, it supports the footy team North Queensland Cowboys (through its subsidiary Bravus) and was recently present ‘front and centre’ at a season-starting event. In India, last week it donated Rs 60 lakh (US $72,000) to two Hindu temples near its Udupi coal power plant. It has also funded ‘education, health, rural infrastructure and sports’ in the vicinity, says a Times of India report. A friendly biography of Gautam Adani, released in 2023, lists more: a school near the sprawling Mundra port precinct, a football academy near the Hasdeo forests coal mines, rice-farming training near the Tiroda coal-power plant, a school at the Kawai coal-power plant, and skills programs in Hasdeo, Kawai and Godda.
AdaniWatch Update Number 2, 14 February 2024
Welcome to the second edition of the Adani Update, a fortnightly newsletter where we compile recent developments related to the Adani Group of companies. As with the last edition, we have plenty of updates on the Group’s growing coal footprint, new forays in foreign countries (and continents) and its ever-increasing control over Indian media.
COAL
Adani Power likely to take over central Indian coal-power plant
Adani Power will likely take over the 1920 MW Amarkantak coal power plant in central India, according to The Economic Times. The company remained the sole bidder in an auction for the plant under bankruptcy rules after other bidders did not show up (the company has said it is yet to receive official confirmation). This is a remarkable turnaround for Adani Power, which was originally disqualified from the process (see our previous edition for more). (9 February 2024)
Adani Maharashtra coal mine set for approval
https://www.adaniwatch.org/green_light_for_adani_s_gondkhairi_coal_mine_despite_water_fears
Adani’s Gondkhairi underground coal mine has been approved amid local protests and concerns it would deplete water resources in the drought-prone region. An expert committee of the Modi government has recommended environmental approval for the project, ignoring intense opposition at a local public hearing. (8 February 2024)
Adani Power was paid $1 billion in excess charges for coal power, alleges Opposition
The opposition Congress party has made the startling accusation that the BJP-led state government of Gujarat has paid an excess of nearly US $1 billion to Adani Power for coal-fired electricity in 2022 and 2023, compared with prices originally contracted with the company. The state says it paid higher charges because of an increase in the price of imported coal. With Adani now running a coal mine in Australia, it should provide cheaper coal, the opposition retorted. (7 February 2024)
India’s green court quashes approval for Adani coal mine
India’s environment court has struck down environmental approval for the Gare Pelma-II coal mine in Chhattisgarh, which Adani Enterprises is developing on contract. The tribunal reportedly said a mandatory public hearing conducted for the project was invalid. The mine would displace 14 villages. (5 February 2024)
Adani cement subsidiary to buy Adani coal
Adani Enterprises will now sell bulk coal to Sanghi Cement, a subsidiary of Adani-owned Ambuja Cements. The Adani Group’s recent entry into India’s cement industry first made sense given the group’s heavy use of the product in building infrastructure. Turns out, that’s not all. Making cement requires coal, and the Adani Group has plenty of it. (6 February 2024)
Adani Power gets ratings upgrade as Godda coal-power plant goes online
As Adani Power’s Godda coal-power plant goes online, the firm’s financial risk has reduced, according to a recent finding by CRISIL, a subsidiary of S&P. The ratings firm also cited relief from electricity-tariff regulators and the Supreme Court’s recent order in the Hindenburg case. (5 February 2024)
Coal shipments power Adani Ports’s growth
For the quarter ending December 2023, Adani Ports reported a 44% rise in cargo volumes over the same quarter in 2022, the highest ever quarterly volume handled by the company, and the highest monthly volume at its flagship Mundra port in Gujarat. Coal shipments were a big driver of this growth (p.40). In a call with analysts, Karan Adani said the company has found new opportunities moving coal between its ports along India’s coastline, thanks to the rise in India’s coal volumes and the introduction of private-sector mining. (The Modi government has also promoted movement of coal by sea). (1 February 2024)
The global lenders supporting Adani coal businesses
https://www.banktrack.org/download/coal_havens/240122_coal_havens_opt.pdf
A recent briefing by BankTrack identifies 15 outstanding bonds worth $7.8 billion issued by the Adani Group that finance its coal-related businesses. The 19 bond arrangers and underwriters, who enabled the financing, include a who’s who of global banks such as Barclays, which the report called the Adani Group’s ‘steadfast supporter’ and among its ‘most loyal financiers’. (January 2024)
MEDIA
Adani in-law bids for bankrupt news wire
Rakesh Shah, Gautam Adani’s brother-in-law, is one of the bidders of United News of India, a 65-year-old news wire that has filed for bankruptcy, reports Newslaundry. The news wire fell into losses after India’s state broadcaster, which is under the control of the Modi government, cancelled its subscription in 2020. (3 February 2024)
Adani Group takes over Indian news agency
The Adani Group’s media empire continues to grow. It has now acquired Indo Asian News Service, a major news wire in the country. The Adani Group now controls two TV news stations, a business-news website and a general news wire, thus emerging as a major media company in India. (18 January 2024)
FINANCES AND GROUP AFFAIRS
Adani could soon run Sri Lanka airports
Weeks after a Nepal cabinet minister asked Gautam Adani to consider taking over the country’s three airports, a minister from Sri Lanka has said that Adani Airports could take over three airports in the island nation, including the international airport in capital Colombo, where the Group is already building a container terminal and a wind-power project (which was allegedly handed to the company on Modi’s wishes). (9 February 2024)
Adani wants to make electric buses
Adani Enterprises has submitted a bid to supply and operate 3600 electric buses under a Modi government scheme launched last year to provide 10,000 e-buses to cities. Winners would receive financial support from the government (totaling US $694 million) for 10 years. (9 February 2024)
Adani bids for Tanzanian container terminal
Adani Ports intends to take over a container terminal at Tanzania’s main port in Dar Es Salaam. The east African country’s antitrust regulator will now assess whether the deal, which is in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Ports Group, would harm competition. Adani Ports already runs container berths at the port under a contract from the ports authority. (8 February 2024)
Questions over Adani Green’s Western Ghats projects
Large hydroelectric projects are supposed to be banned in India’s Western Ghats forests, one of the world’s hottest hotspots of biodiversity. But the Modi government has allowed Adani Green Energy to conduct environmental assessments for three such projects. Meanwhile, an advisor to Adani Green has quit a government environment panel after Opposition claims of conflict of interest. (7 February 2024)
Adani hosts Australian ex-PM Turnbull in Gujarat
https://twitter.com/gautam_adani/status/1754566524956766549
In early February, Gautam Adani and his wife, Priti, hosted Australian ex-PM Malcolm Turnbull and his wife, Lucy, in Gujarat. The Turnbulls visited an Adani renewable energy park. ‘Every engagement with Mr Turnbull is enriching, thought-provoking and educational,’ Gautam Adani posted on X (formerly Twitter). As Australia’s 29th Prime Minister, Turnbull played a key role in advancing the Carmichael coal venture. (6 February 2024)
Adani Ports readies controversial port in Kerala
https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/kerala/commissioning-of-vizhinjam-port-to-get-delayed-1.9295886
The Adani Group is nearing completion of its Vizhinjam port, ignoring protests from local fishing communities and claims that the project exacerbates coastal erosion. The Group says construction will be completed in May but has demanded the state government of Kerala, which commissioned the project, to ‘immediately’ cough up INR 1200 crore (about $144 million) to meet this deadline. (4 February 2024)
Adani Group to begin producing copper
The Adani Group will soon dominate copper manufacturing in India, coinciding with climbing demand for the metal from electric vehicles and batteries. Its first copper manufacturing plant will commence operations by the end of March, the Press Trust of India reported. This will bring the group to par with India’s largest copper manufacturer, and a planned expansion in 2029 will make it India’s largest. (4 February 2024)
DID YOU KNOW?
The recent resignation by a senior Adani Green Energy advisor from the government’s environmental expert panel on hydroelectric projects brought to light how senior officials from government entities can end up in Adani companies. Many of them have dealt with the Adani Group as regulators or served in a competing public company.
Take Adani Enterprises: its independent directors include a civil servant who served in senior posts of government departments dealing with renewable energy and civil aviation, and another who served in senior positions in Gujarat and in India’s international trade ministry. In Adani Ports, independent directors include a former senior diplomat and former secretary for internal security. Adani Energy Solutions has retired chiefs of government electricity utilities on its board and in senior management. Adani Gas is led by a former senior employee of two state gas utilities.
The Adani Green Energy official who resigned from the expert panel is a former director of the Indian government’s hydropower development company. His was the first case of an Adani official being appointed to a government regulatory panel. Will it be the last?
AdaniWatch Update Number 1, 31 January 2024
Welcome to the first edition of the Adani Update. This fortnightly newsletter brings you all important developments from across the Adani Group of companies, ranging from updates on their coal projects, ongoing cases in courts, investigative stories, and so on. It is your single source for updates related to the group. We’d love to hear suggestions on how we may improve the content, and we welcome leads on what to include. Do write to us on [email protected].
Coal mines and coal power
Case update: over-invoicing of power equipment imports
The Supreme Court has declined to review its verdict of last March absolving Adani Power of illegally buying overpriced power equipment from a Dubai company linked to Vinod Adani. All eyes are now on the Delhi High Court, which in December directed a ‘meticulous’ inquiry into the imports, but later suspended its order pending the Supreme Court’s review. (26 January 2024)
Adani Power rakes in rupees as Godda plant goes online
Adani Power, which runs coal-fired thermal plants of the group, reported a staggering 60% rise in revenues in the September-December quarter compared with the same period in 2022. The company attributed the growth to, among other reasons, the commissioning of the controversial (read Adani Watch reports here, here) Godda plant in Jharkhand. Meanwhile, in yet another related party transaction, the company will sell two data centers to an Adani joint venture for INR 540 crore (about AUD 98 million). (25 January 2024)
Adani Power case languishes in top court
https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/supreme-court-registry-adani-power-dushyant-dave-247448
India’s Supreme Court has pulled up its own administration for not listing a case related to an Adani Power coal-power project in Rajasthan. An electricity utility has challenged a demand by the Adani company for additional payments of INR 1376 crore (about US $166 million). The case was listed finally, and the judges have reserved their verdict. (23 January 2024)
Adani plans cement unit near coal-power plant
https://www.cemnet.com/News/story/176265/adani-group-ponders-new-cement-plant-in-godda.html
The Adani group is planning to set up a cement manufacturing unit near Godda in Jharkhand, where it is exporting power to Bangladesh from a controversial 1600 MW thermal power plant. The group plans to use fly ash generated from burning coal as raw material for cement. (22 January 2024)
Adani Group’s toxic coal-to-plastics plan
https://www.adaniwatch.org/adani_s_proposed_coal_to_pvc_plant_toxic_threats_to_a_fragile_coast
The Adani Group plans to convert coal into polyvinyl chloride – a type of plastic – at a planned facility in Mundra, Gujarat. Veteran journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta interviewed plastics-policy commentator Swathi Seshadri on the toxic manufacturing process and how the project relates to the Carmichael coal mine in Australia. (16 January 2024)
An ‘unsolicited’ offer to buy out thermal plant
Adani Power is in the running with competitor Reliance to buy out a bankrupt coal-fired coal- power plant in central India. Lanco Amarkantak Power has 600 MW capacity with another 1320 MW under construction. The units are close to the Group’s coal mines in the biodiversity-rich Hasdeo Arand forest and draw water from the Hasdeo river. (8 January 2024)
Financial Updates
Supreme Court says no to more probes into Adani
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/adani-supreme-court-verdict-sebi-probe-9092873/
Numerous financial developments outlined below have followed from the India’s Supreme Court refusal to order a special investigation into the Adani Group’s alleged manipulation of stock prices. Petitions had been filed following Hindenburg Research’s short-selling report in January 2023, which accused the Adani Group of ‘pulling the greatest con in corporate history’. The court found the Indian stock market regulator’s ongoing investigation to be adequate – apparently ignoring its own technical committee’s finding that the probe could not reach the heart of the matter. It has instead asked for a probe into Hindenburg’s short-selling trades. (4 January 2024)
Gautam Adani back among world’s richest
Share prices of Adani companies rose following the Supreme Court verdict of 4 January 2024, putting Gautam Adani back in the league of the world’s richest. Group shares had crashed to just one-third of their value following release of the explosive Hindenburg report, and are still about 24% below pre-Hindenburg levels, reports The Economic Times. Of the ten listed companies, seven are still below last year’s prices – Adani Total Gas is 74% down, while Adani Ports and Adani Power are up 47% and 87% respectively. (25 January 2024)
Global asset managers raised Adani bondholding in 2023
Wall Street giants Blackrock and State Street are among asset managers who raised their ownership of Adani company bonds in 2023 amid the rout following Hindenburg’s report, reports Bloomberg. (24 January 2024)
S&P revises outlook on two Adani firms, but says governance still a concern
Even ratings firms know the stock market regulator’s investigation into allegations against the Adani Group will yield little. Ratings giant S&P revised its outlook on Adani Ports and Adani Electricity Mumbai to ‘stable’ from ‘negative’, citing low downside risk from regulatory investigations following the Supreme Court order of 4 January. But it said high promoter control and related party transactions remain ‘relative weakness’ for the Group. (22 January 2024)
Adani eyes Telangana for investments
https://telanganatoday.com/brs-out-of-the-way-adani-now-sets-eye-on-telangana
The Adani Group is eyeing investments in defence manufacturing and data centers in the southern state of Telangana. This is attributed to the new Congress government in the state, which is courting the Group even as the party’s national leaders criticise PM Modi for his alleged closeness to the Group. (20 January 2024)
Adani Properties purchase yields windfall for BJP politician
Adani Properties, a private firm owned wholly by the Adani Group, bought a piece of ecologically-sensitive wetland in northern India from a local BJP politician. He had bought the land at a reportedly low price a few months earlier, Scroll.in reports. (20 January 2024)
More documentary evidence of suspicious shareholding in Adani firms
Investigative journalists continue to reveal new information on the Adani Group. Tax-haven firms of two key Adani associates of the Group have traded in Adani company shares, potentially violating Indian shareholding rules as per documents published by AdaniWatch. Given that Adani stocks have low public shareholding, these trades could have manipulated stock prices – one of the key allegations against the group. (19 January 2024)
Adani Green fundraising red-flagged
Late in December 2023, Adani Green Energy announced it would raise close to US $1.1 billion from the Adani family, in exchange for warrants that can be converted to shares within 18 months. Now, a proxy advisory firm has said the move is against interests of minority shareholders, saying the family should have ideally bought equity upfront. (10 January 2024)
Adani Ports raises debt
Following the Supreme Court verdict, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone announced that it would raise US $60 million in bonds, its first debt raise in two years. But the company had to offer a higher interest than comparable issuers, apparently to appease investors who continue to be circumspect about the group. The company plans to raise up to INR 5000 crore (US $600 million) from bond markets. (9 January 2024)
Adani buys out cement firm
The Adani Group has acquired Asian Concrete and Cements Private Limited, which runs units in northern India. The group had thrown a surprise in 2022 by acquiring ACC and Ambuja Cements to become India’s second largest cement company. A reminder that these companies are ultimately owned by a Vinod Adani-linked firm. (8 January 2024)
Adani’s controversial Mumbai ‘slum dog’ redevelopment
The Adani group has appointed contractors for its ambitious Dharavi slum redevelopment project in Mumbai and announced a survey of residents. In 2022, the group won a tender to demolish and redevelop Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum, after the Maharashtra state government cancelled an earlier tender won by a different company. The state government also amended its real-estate rules, allegedly enabling the Adani Group to sell more transferable development rights arising from the project. (1 January 2024)
Community Protests
Fisherfolk oppose Adani port expansion in southern India
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-67942639
Adani Ports’s plan to expand its Kattupalli port in southern India is facing opposition from local fisherfolk and environmentalists. The state chief minister, who was elected to office in 2021, has not kept his poll promise to scrap the project. (25 January 2024)
Adani Group’s demolitions in Mumbai face protest
The Adani group began demolishing a neighbourhood near the Mumbai airport, where it plans to build new commercial infrastructure. It faced ‘heated’ opposition from residents, who claimed the Supreme Court had suspended the demolitions until February. (24 January 2024)
Orchardist alleges harassment for opposing Adani power line https://www.adaniwatch.org/orchardist_penalised_for_opposing_adani_transmission_line
The story of a 70-year old orchardist in eastern India sums up the life of those who oppose an Adani Group project. He has faced harassment and intimidation for defending his fruit trees from the electricity transmission line connecting Adani Power’s coal-power plant in Godda with Bangladesh.
Airports
Adani Group plans investments in Nepal
In late January, Gautam Adani held discussions with Nepal’s finance minister and expressed interest in taking over two airports, including Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport, as well as building hydropower projects. (27 January 2024)
Adani Airports to expand beyond India
The Adani Group says it will look at operating airports outside India, possibly in Southeast Asia, according to a report in Livemint. The group had no airport businesses four years ago. Meanwhile, its Navi Mumbai airport is nearing completion. Once operational, it would put the group in the rare position of running two airports in a major Indian city. (8 January 2024)
New Ventures
Adani to seize smart meter bounty
India’s smart meter policy aims to replace the country’s 250 million-or-so electricity billing meters with internet-enabled devices. Adani Energy Solutions, which already has orders for 20 million meters from various states, aims to take 25% of the total market share. It also signed a deal with wireless services giant Airtel for connectivity. (26 January 2024)
Adani to build EV charging stations
The Adani Group is making slow inroads into India’s electric-vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. In January 2024, it won a tender to set up charging stations for EVs in the western Indian city of Pune. The group’s electricity arm already provides EV charging to housing complexes. Last month, Adani Total Gas also announced plans to set up 75,000 EV charging stations. In Pune, it will receive electricity from the government utility at a rate below what is charged to commercial users, according to the Indian Express. It will also get land to develop solar power sources. (10 January 2024)
Indian Navy to fly Adani-built surveillance drones
Nine years ago, the Adani Group was not a defence-equipment manufacturer. This month, it handed over state-of-the-art surveillance drones to the Indian Navy. The unmanned aerial vehicle is based on a system developed by Adani’s Israeli partner firm Elbits. Last year, the Indian military placed drone orders with Elbits under an ‘emergency procurement’ program. India’s armed forces are looking at procuring 155 such medium-altitude drones, according to The Hindu. (10 January 2024)
Tesla to build cars at Adani industrial zone?
An intriguing report by a senior shipping journalist in The Economic Times claims that Tesla might set up an electric car factory in the Adani Group’s special economic zone in Mundra. The article, based on information from unnamed sources, says Tesla might choose Mundra because of its tax exemptions and proximity to the huge Mundra port. (9 January 2024)
Adani Group affairs
Gautam’s son Karan gets promoted
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone elevated CEO Karan Adani as its managing director, replacing his father Gautam Adani, who is now the executive chairman. Ashwani Gupta, a former chief operating officer at Nissan, was named the new CEO. (3 January 2024)
Modi and BJP may not have declared Adani jet expense
Narendra Modi famously used an Adani group private jet in 2014 to fly to Delhi to be appointed as India’s 14th prime minister. Gautam Adani had then said that this was a commercial lease. But an investigation by Abir Dasgupta for AdaniWatch finds that neither Modi nor his Bharatiya Janata Party have reported paying for the aircraft. Meanwhile, the group will double its jets fleet. Will Modi fly in them this election? (18 January 2024)
Gautam Adani attends temple ceremony
Gautam Adani attended the consecration ceremony of the controversial Ram temple in northern India, at the site of a medieval mosque that was illegally demolished in 1992 by Hindu extremists. The temple was built following Supreme Court orders in 2019. The ceremony was widely considered to be a pageant for PM Modi ahead of national elections. Adani said the temple’s opening is a ‘gateway to enlightenment and peace’.
https://twitter.com/gautam_adani/status/1749259166143975577
Did you know? A family affair.
Karan Adani’s elevation as the managing director of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, replacing his father Gautam at the top of the group’s most financially stable company, confirmed his position as the heir apparent to the Adani family empire. It also spotlights the quiet rise of the second generation of Adanis into prominent roles that seem to be clearly divided – perhaps to prevent future disputes? Gautam’s younger son, Jeet, who graduated in 2019, is involved in group finance and the airports and digital app businesses. Their elder cousin Pranav, son of Vinod Adani, leads the agricultural, real-estate and piped-gas pursuits of the group, and is also the ‘chief custodian of Brand Adani’. Sagar, son of Rajesh Adani, graduated in 2015 and is executive director of Adani Green Energy. Absent are Vinod’s two daughters (one of whom is married to the son of fugitive businessman Jatin Mehta). Rajesh’s young daughters, Rahi and Vanshi, have Adani coal-bearing ships named after them, and it remains to be seen if they join the Group as they grow older. Vanshi, who graduated last year, interned with the group as a student.
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Geoff Law published ‘Adani Go Back!’ Fact-finding report on resistance to Adani’s ‘Gondulpara’ coal project in Blog 2023-05-22 09:26:10 +1000
‘Adani Go Back!’ Fact-finding report on resistance to Adani’s ‘Gondulpara’ coal project
A fact-finding mission has found that Adani’s proposed ‘Gondulpara’ coal mine will destroy over 500 ha of fertile farmland and forests in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Five villages will be severely impacted. Over 780 families will be displaced. Villagers told the authors of the report that they have been persecuted by government authorities for having taken such a strong stance against Adani’s coal project. Police have charged protesters with various offences. Government assistance for the area’s livelihoods has been terminated. The local cooperative has been instructed not to buy rice from farmers opposed to Adani’s project. Still, the protests continue.
Report authors, Akash Ranjan and Dhiraj Kumar, are social activists based in Jharkhand who are working to enhance rights to food security. In April 2023, they visited villages threatened by the Adani Group’s proposed ‘Gondulpara’ coal mine. (Note that Adani continues to misspell the name of the area’s main village – Gondalpura.)
They undertook this mission to explore the reasons behind the steadfast opposition of local people to the project, which was allotted to Adani Enterprises in November 2020. This is a summary of their fact-finding report.
Five villages will be severely impacted by the mining project with 781 families displaced
A total of 513 ha of land will be acquired for the project in and around the villages of Gondalpura, Gali, Balodar, Hahe and Phoolang. Of this, 43.5% is raiyyati land (land owned by the people for which legal rights to cultivate it are held); 42.8% is forest land; and 13.7% is Gair Majarua land – that is, land publicly owned for public purposes such as water supplies, crematoria, temples and so on.
Out of the five villages, 115 ha of raiyyati land will be acquired in Gondalpura, 71 ha in Gali, and 37 ha in Balodar. Rayyati land will not be acquired in the villages of Hahe and Phoolang.
A total of 781 families will be displaced due to mining.
Multi-crop land is being acquired for coal mining
About 223 ha of farmland of three of the above villages is to be taken over for mining. This land is highly fertile, supporting more than one crop each year. Rice, wheat, sugarcane, vegetables and pulses are cultivated. There is abundant ground water. According to the villagers, water is available here at a depth of about six metres. Rice yield is approximately 5-6 tonnes per ha per year.
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Geoff Law published Powerful farmers’ blockade against coal mine thwarts Adani and armed police in Blog 2023-05-17 08:33:24 +1000
'Kindly leave from here!' Farmers’ blockade against coal mine thwarts Adani and armed police
At a cluster of small villages in north-eastern India, a David-and-Goliath struggle is being played out between Adani and the local people. Government authorities have connived with the Adani Group, which is attempting to take over farms, forests and villages for a huge coal mine. But the people have fought back, blocking Adani’s henchmen at every turn.
The name of Adani’s 550-ha coal project is ‘Gondulpara’, a misspelling of the main village affected, Gondalpura. Four other villages would also be severely impacted in this fertile region of the Indian state of Jharkhand.
This powerful film shows hundreds of local people blocking an access road to one of the threatened villages in October 2022. Adani and government officials confront the people, reading officious verbiage through a megaphone. The are backed by uniformed, armed police. Not far from here, in 2016, villagers protesting against a coal mine proposed by a different company were gunned down. This film by the Rimil Umul Collective is testament to the courage of people defending their land, water, livelihoods and way of life.
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Geoff Law published Has West Bengal lost confidence in Adani’s ability to develop the huge Tajpur port project? in Blog 2023-02-28 09:57:50 +1100
Has West Bengal lost confidence in 'the ginger trader's' ability to develop the huge Tajpur port project?
In 2022, the government of the Indian state of West Bengal selected the Adani Group as the developer of a major new port at Tajpur, on the Bay of Bengal. However, with the recent meltdown in the value of Adani’s stocks, questions have been raised about the conglomerate’s ability to deliver the project. The conspicuous absence of the previously much-touted development from February’s state budget speech added fuel to the fire, as did the chief minister's reference to Adani as a 'ginger trader' (petty operator). Meanwhile, fishing communities remain fearful that the project’s impacts on the coastline will deprive them of their traditional livelihoods.
With the sharp nosedive in the fortunes of the Adani Group in early 2023, questions have been raised about the fate of Adani’s ambitious port project on the Bay of Bengal in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. On 9 October 2022, a year after being re-elected to power, the West Bengal chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, selected the Adani Group to develop a deep-sea port at Tajpur.
But after no mention at all was made of the Tajpur port project in the government’s budget speech this year, opposition parties in West Bengal were quick to take a dig at Banerjee’s government. Clearly, this budget presentation was a departure from budget speeches of the past few years in which the Tajpur port had featured prominently. In addition, Banerjee’s pointed remarks against the group’s chairperson Gautam Adani, pertaining to questions of exposure of India’s financial institutions to the beleaguered business group, have added fuel to the political speculation.
Speaking at an event in Howrah city near Kolkata earlier this month, Banerjee obliquely referred to Adani as an Adaa’r Byapari, which literally means ‘a ginger trader’ in Bengali language but is a colloquial derogatory term used for petty operators. This occurred barely a year after her widely publicised meeting with the business tycoon to procure financial investments in West Bengal.
‘Where do you (the common people) keep your savings? Many in the LIC [Life Insurance Corporation], many in housing investments, many in banks… Where is all that money going? The money is going to the home of the Adaa’r Byapari [ginger trader],’ Mamata said at the event in Howrah.
Nevertheless, notwithstanding its rout in the stock market, the Adani Group has reportedly made clear its intention to proceed with the Tajpur port project.
Following the budget speech, made by the state’s finance minister Chandrima Bhattacharya in the legislative assembly on 15 February 2023, Opposition political leader, Suvendu Adhikari, pointed to the conspicuous absence of Tajpur. The only mention of the port project pertained to the proposed construction of an economic corridor linking the port with Raghunathpur township on the state border with neighboring mineral-rich Jharkhand. The economic review report of West Bengal for the financial year 2022-23, which was presented by the state government in the legislative assembly on the same day as the budget speech, contains a reference to Tajpur Port regarding a Letter of Intent.
In the budget speech for the previous financial year, Bhattacharya had enthused about how the port project would be the harbinger of economic prosperity for West Bengal.
‘The proposed deep-sea Tajpur Port, a first of its kind in the state, is another large infrastructure project conceived as a long-term initiative for development of alternative seaports and integration of port-rail-road infrastructure for the creation of sustainable logistics infrastructure in the state. Over 1000 acres of land have been identified for developing the Port Project. It will harness huge logistics potential, attract further investment in allied infrastructure and industrial development and provide employment opportunities to a large number of our youth,’ the minister stated in last year’s budget speech.
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Geoff Law published Adani's coal-based community conflicts in India in Blog 2023-02-02 15:12:41 +1100
The forgotten people in Adani's agenda of coal exploitation in India - a list of community conflicts
The Adani Group's colossal agenda for exploiting coal has created community backlash across the length and breadth of India. Indigenous people, traditional land-users and fishing communities have bravely tackled Adani's plans in order to defend their livelihoods and way of life. They have protested on land and at sea; in villages and in cities; on the streets and in the forests. This compilation gives details on 14 epicentres of conflict that have arisen from Adani's exploitation of coal in India.
Here is a link to the PDF:
1. COAL MINES
The Parsa Kente coal projects in the Hasdeo forests (Chhattisgarh)
For each of the Parsa Kente coal projects, Adani is the Mine Developer and Operator (MDO) on behalf of a Rajasthan power company that owns the mining leases. The projects threaten the biodiverse Hasdeo forests, home to elephants that become vulnerable and dangerous when their habitat is fragmented.
Protests to defend their lands, livelihoods and culture by Adivasi (indigenous tribal people) have been occurring for many years and include a 300-km march from the forests to the state capital in October 2021. The conflict has led to splits within the state government and between the state and national government. The one operating mine, the PEKB coal mine, has overcome all obstacles despite community opposition. In 2022, the community mounted peaceful direct-action protests against works to expand the PEKB mine. In June 2022, the state government said that works are ‘on hold’, but subsequently tree-felling resumed for the PEKB extension.
Status: 1 operating mine, 2 under development
Adani companies: Adani Enterprises Ltd., Parsa Kente Collieries Ltd.
Community organisations: Hasdeo Aranya Bachao Sangharsh Samiti (HABSS) – the Save Hasdeo Forest Committee; spokesperson Jainandan Singh Porte. Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan; spokesperson Alok Shukla.
And many more.
Gare Pelma II coal mine (Chhattisgarh)
For the three Gare Pelma coal projects, Adani is the MDO. In June 2019, over 100 villagers protested at a meeting initiated by Adani, saying that 13 villages could be destroyed. Further protests occurred in October 2019. Reports have found that people inhabiting this region of densely packed coal mines and coal-power stations suffer serious illnesses.
Status: 1 operating mine, 2 under development
Adani companies: Adani Enterprises Ltd
Community organisations: Mehnatkash Majdoor Kisan Ekta Samiti, spokesperson Rajesh Tripathi
Media stories:
Talabira II and III coal blocks (Odisha)
For the Talabira II and III coal projects, Adani is the MDO. Facing displacement are 1894 families from six villages. Some say their consent to mining was forged. Forests that have provided sustenance were destroyed in 2019, leading to civil disobedience. On 8 March 2022, 13 men were arrested for resisting dumping of overburden. Talabira I is disused but its waste degrades adjacent farms, leading to a community petition to the National Green Tribunal and a fine against the Adani company concerned.
Status: Talabira I mine now disused; Talabira II and III coal blocks under development
Adani companies: Adani Enterprises Ltd; Adani subsidiaries Raipur Energen Limited and Talabira (Odisha) Mining Private Limited (TOMPL)
Community groups: Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air – Director Nandikesh Sivalingam; Dilip Sahu, a social activist; Hemanta Rout, local freelance journalist
Media stories:
Gondulpara / Gondalpura coal block (Jharkhand)
The misnamed Gondulpara coal block was ‘acquired’ by Adani Enterprises in November 2020. People from at least five affected villages in the Gondalpura area have resisted Adani’s attempts to commence preparatory works and acquire their land, angrily confronting officials. India’s peak body has called for the Gondalpura / Gondulpara coal project to be scrapped. Villagers have so far out-manoeuvred Adani and the state in their attempts to hold the meetings necessary for the approvals process.
Status: Under development
Adani companies: Adani Enterprises Ltd
Community groups: National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM)
Media stories:
(List of conflicts continues below)
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Hindenburg revelations point to perceived climate of impunity
MEDIA RELEASE
27 January 2023
AdaniWatch Responds to Hindenburg Report: ‘A Perceived Climate of Impunity’
AdaniWatch has scrutinised the activities of the Adani Group and related businesses for over three years.
The revelations contained in the Hindenburg report are consistent with a pattern of corporate misconduct observed over those years. But the report and initial response to it miss a crucial context that should bear on the thinking of businesses, citizens and governments: Adani is not working alone.
Geoff Law, Coordinator of Adani Watch, said: ‘Gautam Adani is in some sense a leading business partner of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. If the allegations are true, they are just another example of what happens when crony capitalism and regime favouritism create a perceived culture of impunity.’
This culture extends well beyond the scope of the Hindenburg report. Both the Adani Group and other regime-allied businesses require far closer scrutiny.
‘India has enjoyed a pass largely on the fact that it’s not as bad as Russia or China. But the world needs to wake up to the plight of Indian democracy and governance before it’s too late to reverse dangerous trends,’ Mr Law added.
Adani Watch intends to continue monitoring and exposing the harmful effects of the Adani Group on people and the planet. Adani, the richest man in Asia, multiplied his wealth from an estimated 7 billion USD to an estimated 120 billion after Modi became India’s Prime Minister in 2014. (The crash in Adani’s share prices of 27 January is said to have reduced Mr Adani’s ranking to seventh richest and his fortune to USD 93 billion.)
Mr Adani is sometimes called ‘the King of Coal’ and has a colossal agenda for new coal mines and coal-power stations in India, exacerbating climate change and displacing thousands of indigenous people. Adani’s extraordinary closeness to the current Indian government is a matter of global environmental concern.
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The elephant in Adani’s room
The status of a new elephant reserve in central India could determine whether dozens of coal projects go ahead. The biodiverse Hasdeo forests, home to tribal people such as the Gond, are threatened by a slurry of proposed coal mines. The forests are also home to the endangered Asian elephant, and the recently declared Lemru elephant reserve has put the coal industry, including the Adani Group, on notice.
Hundreds of elephants roam the Hasdeo forests in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh. According to government sources, central India holds 10% of India’s total population of about 27,000 wild elephants.
However, as more development proceeds in these forests, encounters between rural people and elephants increase in frequency. Such encounters can be deadly – both to humans and to pachyderms. Various reports based on government data say that 325 people and 70 elephants were killed during encounters in Chhattisgarh between 2015 and 2019.
This situation can only worsen if proposed coal mines (including Adani’s) in the Hasdeo forests proceed. The 1800-square-kilometre expanse of forest is said to occur on top of over five billion tonnes of coal. An international data base says that the Hasdeo forests contain 23 ‘coal blocks’ – major deposits of coal, each of which would support at least one mine. If these huge excavations proceed – along with all the associated roads, working camps and powerlines – the Hasdeo forests will become utterly fragmented and more and more elephants and villagers will come to grief. A recent documentary highlighted these threats to the elephant’s existence in states such as Chhattisgarh.
One means of dealing with these conflicts is to declare an elephant reserve. Across India as a whole, more than 25 elephant reserves have been established since the 1990s. They cover some 58,000 square kilometres and contain a population of over 20,000 elephants. The reserves do not have the status of national parks. Traditional activities of the Adivasi (indigenous tribal people such as the Gond) can continue within elephant reserves, where there is a strong emphasis on managing human-wildlife conflict. Various forms of development are allowed within the reserves. However, the explicit recognition of an endangered species is supposed to inform prescriptions applied by governments.
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Geoff Law published Women’s-rights campaigner in India acquitted after wrongful imprisonment for two years in Blog 2023-01-09 08:58:05 +1100
Women’s-rights campaigner in India acquitted after wrongful imprisonment for two years
On 5 January 2023, well known indigenous-rights campaigner, Hidme Markam, was released from Jagdalpur Central prison. She had been wrongfully incarcerated by the Indian state of Chhattisgarh since March 2021. This followed her wrongful arrest – effectively an abduction – by the Chhattisgarh police. After nearly two years in prison facing five serious charges relating to sedition, she finally had her day in court and was acquitted of four charges and released on bail regarding the final charge. But will she be compensated by the state of Chhattisgarh?
As far as the police and the state government are concerned, the incarceration of Hidme Markam served its purpose. Her crucial work representing indigenous women had been successfully interrupted.
There has been no indication yet from either the police or the Chhattisgarh government whether Hidme will be compensated for her abduction and incarceration. There has not even been an apology.
On 9 March 2021, Hidme had been speaking at a gathering of women for International Women’s Day in the district of Dantewada, educating women about their rights in a region beset by strife between state and Maoist militia groups. One of the causes of the conflict is mining.
One of the controversial local mining projects being opposed by indigenous people is the proposed Bailadila iron-ore mine, of which the Adani Group is the developer. To the tribal inhabitants of the area, a local feature, Nandiram Hill, is a sacred site threatened by the proposed mine. Conflict has arisen over this and other mines, leading to the involvement of the police and other state para-military forces in Chhattisgarh. Such groups have been accused of gross violations of human rights, particularly against women.
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Geoff Law published Adani high up on Oxfam list of world’s carbon-emitting billionaires in Blog 2022-11-11 09:34:59 +1100
Adani high up on Oxfam list of world’s carbon-emitting billionaires
In November 2022, Oxfam released a report quantifying the carbon footprints of the investments of the world’s billionaires. Gautam Adani came close to topping the list. Six of his group’s companies were documented as emitting a carbon equivalent total of almost 30 million tonnes per annum. These greenhouse gases are spewed into the Earth’s atmosphere by Adani’s coal-power stations, gas installations and coal mines. Adani’s ports and railways add to this toxic toll by transporting colossal quantities of coal.
According to Oxfam’s website, ‘the world’s richest people emit huge and unsustainable amounts of carbon and, unlike ordinary people, 50% to 70% of their emissions result from their investments.
‘New analysis of the investments of 125 of the world’s richest billionaires shows that on average they are emitting three million tonnes a year, more than a million times the average for someone in the bottom 90% of humanity.
‘The study also finds billionaire investments in polluting industries such as fossil fuels and cement are double the average for the Standard & Poor 500 group of companies. Billionaires hold extensive stakes in many of the world’s largest and most powerful corporations, which gives them the power to influence the way these companies act.
‘Governments must hold [these billionaires] to account, legislating to compel corporates and investors to reduce carbon emissions, enforcing more stringent reporting requirements and imposing new taxation on wealth and investments in polluting industries.’
The spreadsheet accompanying the report lists the following Adani companies with the following carbon footprints arising from their investments. (The spreadsheet can be found by clicking on ‘English data file’ beneath the ‘Download File’ option on the website.)
Name of billionaire
Company
Carbon footprint (kTCO2 equivalent)
Billionaire’s share of ownership
Gautam Adani
Adani Power
26,359
55.1%
Gautam Adani
Adani Transmission
2,275
70.0%
Gautam Adani
Adani Enterprises
628
69.2%
Gautam Adani
Adani Ports and SEZ
181
56.3%
Gautam Adani
Adani Total Gas
66
37.4%
Gautam Adani
Adani Green Energy
19
59.4%
Total
29,528
Oxfam’s spreadsheet, when ordered according to the carbon footprint of each enterprise, has Adani Power as third on the list, its emissions exceeded only by China (where it seems that no particular billionaire could be identified), and by ArcelorMittal, the company of Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal.
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Geoff Law published Is Adani the world’s most thin-skinned tycoon? in Blog 2022-11-09 09:02:59 +1100
Is Adani the world’s most thin-skinned tycoon?
In September 2022, Gautam Adani briefly surpassed Jeff Bezos to become the world’s second-richest person. He is now a permanent fixture amongst the top ten richest men on Earth. Adani’s personal net worth is said to be US $147 billion. He’s the richest man in Asia. His close links to Indian Prime Minister have become a thing of notoriety.
Gautam Adani is lionised by an army of acolytes in India. A gushing biography of him, published by Penguin, is said to be ‘a compelling business story and portrait of one of the most influential men in India right now.’
Backed by a colossal fortune and the accolades of millions, you would think that Mr Adani would feel secure enough to brush off criticism. However, it seems that behind Mr Adani’s ever-smiling visage is a hyper-sensitive, thin-skinned personality that feels the need to squash critics of his Group's operations.
This is best illustrated by the growing number of defamation cases mounted either by Mr Adani or by companies that are part of his Group against Indian journalists and media platforms. The latest of these is a lawsuit filed in August 2021 in Mr Adani’s home state of Gujarat against Delhi-based freelance journalist Mr Ravi Nair. This case came to light in July 2022.
According to the complainant company, Adani Enterprises Limited, Mr Nair has used Twitter to issue a number of comments with ‘the sole intent to tarnish the image of the complainant company and creating panic and chaos amongst the shareholders and investors’.
The tweets themselves are described in the complaint as ‘scandalous, frivolous, misleading, derogatory, libellous and defamatory’ that have allegedly been posted ‘wilfully, mindfully, deliberately and with such intent that it will be read by the public at large on social media’. (Adani seems to be highly indignant that posts on social media are intended for public consumption.)
Adani Enterprises Ltd claims to be concerned that this ‘series of strenuous tweets’ will ‘blemish the image, goodwill and reputation of the complainant company and the Adani Group’.
The melodramatic language employed only serves to pique one’s curiosity about what has actually been said in these tweets. Has Mr Nair accused the Adani Group of indulging in slavery or drug-trafficking? Has Mr Adani been described as an axe-murderer?
Hardly! In fact, the vast majority of the 26 offending tweets consist of the usual sort of commentary found in public discourse about political developments in a democracy. According to Adani’s complaint, the number of ‘likes’ pertaining to these tweets number in the hundreds, with the number of re-tweets generally numbering in the dozens. Most refer to attached stories published by the mainstream media.
However, towards the end of the series of offending tweets, there are four that refer to articles written by Mr Nair himself and published by AdaniWatch. Two of these pertain to the controversial Pench coal-power development in Madhya Pradesh; two pertain to the rather shadowy group of offshore investors in various publicly-listed Adani Group companies. The complaint itself, in fact, refers to a ‘defamatory article’ about these offshore investors published by AdaniWatch. Given that the complaint was filed in court the very next month, one wonders whether it is Mr Nair’s work for AdaniWatch in July 2021 that forms the main motivation for the court action.
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Geoff Law published Villagers at Gondalpura out-manoeuvre Adani coal company in game of cat and mouse in Blog 2022-11-01 08:41:25 +1100
Villagers at Gondalpura out-manoeuvre Adani coal company in game of cat and mouse
An intense game of cat and mouse is being played out between an Adani coal company and villagers in the north Indian state of Jharkhand. Adani intends to obliterate dwellings, fields and forests with a giant coal mine and is attempting to go through the motions of acquiring land from the residents. However, the villagers have responded by refusing Adani’s financial inducements, attending meetings in force, rejecting Adani’s demands, blocking access for Adani contractors, and even physically ejecting Adani officials from the area.
The neighbourhood of the north Indian town of Gondalpura faces an existential threat. An Adani company is proposing to excavate 300 ha of the land for a coal mine (misnamed ‘Gondulpara’). Residents of five villages will be displaced if the coal mine proceeds.
The Gondulpara (sic) coal block in the state of Jharkhand was ‘sold’ to Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) as part of a huge auction initiated by the Modi government in 2020. The people who live there were not consulted.
Subsequently, residents of the villages of Gondalpura, Gali, Balodar, Hahe and Phulang have been attending village meetings and rallies, chanting:
jal, jangal, jamin hamara hai = water, forest, land are ours
jal, jangal, jamin, bachao = save our water, forest and land
company wapas jao, wapas jao = company go back, go back
To gain government approval for the mine, Adani has organised a series of formal meetings. This is ostensibly a means of acquiring community approval; in reality it’s a devious way of faking it. The people are only too aware of the way in which these formal processes can be steamrolled by companies, contractors, government officials and police. They have responded with a well-organised effort to head off any bogus approval for a mine that, if it proceeds, will destroy their livelihoods and way of life.
This rundown of recent events gives an idea of the cat-and-mouse game that has played out amongst the fertile fields of Jharkhand.
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Geoff Law published Arrest warrant served on AdaniWatch contributor due to Adani defamation case in Blog 2022-10-20 10:23:24 +1100
Journalist hit by arrest warrant due to Adani defamation move
The Adani Group has mounted a defamation case against freelance journalist Ravi Nair who is based in Delhi. Nair has been a frequent contributor to AdaniWatch. The complaint against Nair was filed in the court of Gandhinagar in Adani’s home state of Gujarat and is dated 19 August 2021.
Adani’s case against Nair ostensibly pertains to 26 tweets, but his hard-hitting contributions to AdaniWatch also feature in Adani’s complaint. The vast majority of the tweets clearly constitute expressions of opinion on matters already in the public domain.
The Delhi Union of Journalists condemned this attack on Nair. In a media release referring to Nair’s case and another, the union said ‘these attacks constitute a continuum of attacks and threats to independent journalists and journalism in India today’.
In the month preceding the filing of Adani’s complaint, Nair had authored stories on the Group’s troubled Pench coal-power project and on the shadowy players involved in offshore investors in Adani companies. The content of these stories was compelling. Adani Enterprises Limited has not explicitly included these AdaniWatch articles as part of its complaint, but the timing of the case and the innocuous nature of the material on which the complaint purports to be based suggest that the AdaniWatch stories constitute a significant part of the motivation behind Adani’s defamation case against Nair.
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Geoff Law published Protests put the wind up renewable-energy companies in Gujarat in Blog 2022-04-20 08:51:32 +1000
Protests put the wind up renewable-energy companies in Gujarat
The mass installation of wind turbines in the Indian state of Gujarat is causing havoc for pastoralists, animals and the ecology. Because much of the land in question has been officially categorised as ‘wasteland’, the usual controls on development do not apply. Protests by traditional users of the land have already prevented one company from completing a wind-energy project. Will Adani be the next culprit?
According to a report in Mongabay, the district of Kachchh in the north-western Indian state of Gujarat has been targeted for wind-energy development because of its favourable geology and climate. The report quotes an Indian wind-energy authority’s assessment that Gujarat has the capacity to produce over 22% of India’s wind energy.
The lands intended for the erection of wind turbines are not uninhabited. Though arid, they are the traditional pastures used by generations of pastoralists. The thorny scrubland provides habitat for species such as the desert cat, hyena, fox, nilgai, spiny-tailed lizard and desert monitor.
According to the Mongabay report, these woodlands have been officially mis-categorised as ‘wasteland’ by India’s national forest department. This means that provisions designed to protect forest habitats from unregulated development do not apply.
As a result, natural vegetation and even hillocks have been flattened to make way for wind turbines. Local people are aghast. They are losing important grazing land and forest resources. The area’s cherished peacocks have been electrocuted by the dozen. Noise pollution has plagued some settlements.
When protests against these incursions occurred in 2021, one of the companies concerned abandoned work on its unfinished wind turbines.
Adani Green Energy Limited has gained approval for development of wind turbines in the area but has yet to commence construction. Gujarat is the home state of the Group’s founder, Gautam Adani, and the massive conglomerate is used to getting its way when it comes to controversial port expansions and coal-power stations. It remains to be seen whether the Group will respond any differently when it comes to local concerns about the impacts of industrial-scale wind power.
AdaniWatch supports the development of renewable energy in India but unless proponents such as the Adani Group's companies consult meaningfully with the local people affected, the entire industry could be brought into disrepute.
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Geoff Law published Is Adani complying with court order to save Great Indian Bustard from transmission lines? in Blog 2022-04-13 09:01:20 +1000
Is Adani complying with court order to save Great Indian Bustard from transmission lines?
A directive by India’s highest court could affect recent works by Adani on large solar-power installations in the state of Rajasthan. The court has directed the state to file reports on the progress in complying with an order made last April to place new power lines underground. The measure is required to protect the Great Indian Bustard, an endangered species that requires the arid grasslands of Rajasthan for its survival. It is believed that at least one major solar-power project in Rajasthan has not complied with the directive.
Adani has a number of solar-power projects in Rajasthan. In August 2021, protests broke out against a solar project’s alleged encroachment on to tribal grazing lands. The offending entity was alleged to be a joint venture between Adani Green and JV Rajasthan Solar Park Company Limited, a corporation owned by the Rajasthan state government.
Recently, the Supreme Court directed Rajasthan to file its compliance reports with last year’s directive regarding power lines and the Great Indian Bustard. ET Energy World has reported environmentalists saying that Rajasthan officials could be ‘in a fix’ because at least some power lines were believed to have been erected above ground.
The court’s ruling arose from a public-interest case seeking to protect the Great Indian Bustard from lethal electrocution caused by collisions with power-transmission cables. Such deaths are a significant threat to birds. A government study found that five birds per kilometre of power line die every month in the desert region. For a critically endangered species such as the bustard, every human-induced death pushes it closer to extinction.
The Supreme Court ruled that in notified parts of the bird’s habitat, all future power-transmission cables, including those that would serve an Adani solar installation, are to be laid underground.
Now, the Rajasthan government has to explain to the Supreme Court how (or indeed, whether) it has complied with this order. If the transmission lines associated with new solar arrays have been installed above ground, there could be penalties that affect the viability of these projects.
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Geoff Law published Call for international finance boycott after Adani says it will self-finance coal port in Blog 2022-03-29 09:29:08 +1100
Call for international finance boycott after Adani says it will self-finance coal port
International finance companies have been urged to cut ties with the entire Adani Group due to its practice of financing controversial coal operations with funds from other Adani entities. This is how Adani has sidestepped what is effectively an international financial boycott of its Carmichael coal project. Revelations that Adani will self-fund the refinancing of its Abbot Point coal port have prompted the call to cut ties.
This story is sourced from a post by climate-campaign group Market Forces.
According to a note published on 14 March, the Moody’s ratings agency has indicated that the Adani Group has told the agency that an external finance company will not be refinancing US $500m of bonds issued by its Abbot Point coal port. Instead, the funds will come from within the Adani Group. The US $500 million worth of bonds mature in December 2022. They help pay for Adani’s lease of the North Queensland Export Terminal (NQXT).
NQXT (rebranded from Adani Abbot Point Terminal) is the port via which all coal mined from the Adani Carmichael coal mine will be exported; it is therefore an integral part of the notorious Carmichael project.
According to Moody’s, Adani plans to self-fund the refinancing. ‘Moody’s understands from NQXT’s management that the bonds will be refinanced via a drawdown on a subordinated shareholder facility, which is being funded by its sponsor’. In plain English, this means that Adani is planning to refinance the debt with funds from within the wider corporate structure of the massive Adani Group.
The Adani Group is a sprawling conglomeration of businesses engaged in ports, airports, real estate, palm oil, logistics, agriculture, power generation, solar energy, power transmission and, of course, coal mining. Analysts say that financing of any of the Group's companies helps free up funds for operations that would otherwise struggle for finance - such as the Carmichael mine and its associated coal port at Abbot Point.
Adani’s purchase of a 99-year lease for the port from the Queensland government in 2011 was debt-funded, and it has since struggled to refinance that debt on several occasions. The Moody’s note also says that Adani has already contributed US $359 million to NQXT since 2020, mainly for the refinancing of previous maturing debts for which it was unable to raise external funds.
It is not known from where this cash originated before being paid to NQXT via its Singapore-based sponsor, and it is not known from where exactly within the Adani conglomerate these new funds will come.
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Geoff Law published Tour de Carmichael May 2022 - call for participants in Blog 2022-03-28 09:23:04 +1100
Tour de Carmichael May 2022 - call for participants
Coedie McAvoy, son of cultural elder Adrian Burragubba, has made the following call for participants in this year's 'Tour de Carmichael', a five-day cultural tour on pushbikes through country impacted by Adani's destructive Carmichael coal project:
Waddamuli wanggarrayn! Hello everyone!
Ngadyu narri Coedie. My name is Coedie.
As a Wangan and Jagalingou man, I invite you to come to my Country.
I am writing to you from Waddananggu, where we have occupied Wangan and Jagalingou homelands for over six months now, opposite the Adani/Bravus Carmichael mine pit.
For over 200 days and 200 nights we have been re-occupying our land. Despite Adani’s attempts to remove and antagonise us, we have continued our cultural ceremony unhindered. And we have made history – our rights to practise our culture on a mining lease have now been recognised under Queensland human-rights laws.
Tour De Carmichael is not a protest but a guided cultural tour on pushbikes. Come and learn about the significant sites and how they relate to Wangan & Jagalingou people. We will be holding cultural workshops at different campsites at the end of each day.
Tour De Carmichael - Cycle for Country
WHAT: 5-day, 100-km guided cycle tour led by me, Coedie, son of Adrian Burragubba, to learn about Wangan and Jagalingou culture and see what’s at risk from Adani’s destructive mega coal mine. The tour is family friendly and is working with the Queensland Police Service to provide a safe environment. We will have support vehicles driving behind that can carry water, food and camping gear.
WHEN: Monday 23rd May – Friday 27th May 2022.
WHERE: Wangan and Jagalingou country in central Queensland. The bike ride begins at the corner of the Gregory Highway and Elgin Road, with the finish line being the Waddananggu ceremony in front of the Adani Carmichael mine pit. We will be stopping at different camps along the way to break up the Tour.
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