Nilesh Narwekar

KPI Green Energy has launched today and listed India's first externally credit-enhanced green bond worth Rs 670 crore on the National Stock Exchange. The five-year bond offers an 8.5% annual coupon rate and is rated AA+(CE) by CRISIL and ICRA, backed by a 65% guarantee from GuarantCo. Proceeds will fund solar, wind, and hybrid power projects in Gujarat, aiming to provide clean power to 2.10 lakh people annually and reduce carbon emissions by over 3.40 lakh tonnes yearly. The company targets developing 1 GW of renewable capacity by FY26 and aims for 10 GW by 2030. Funding Clean Energy Projects The proceeds from this innovative green bond issue are earmarked for funding solar, wind, and hybrid power projects in Gujarat. These projects are expected to have a significant impact on both the environment and local communities:

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Leadership in Today’s Business Dynamics Attended a session on “ Leadership in Today’s Business Dynamics by Nandita Pandey during the 2 day mining meet 2025 at Chennai. UltraTech Cement is growing at a furious rate and requires dynamic and forward looking leaders who can adopt to the situation and keep performing and growing. The dynamic of the business are also changing rapidly with new domestic players growing aggressively and the world order is fluid ready to reorient and readjust. During these times the leaders should embrace change as new normal and be prepared first mentally with changed mindset and then on ground. This session was in line with the requirements. The short session had all the ingredients required for the leadership today and was delivered with finesse by Ms. Nandini Pandey. Though the session covered a range of topics, I had some profound learnings which I would like to share. 1. To be a leader who wants to continue leading should be able to adopt, inspire and transform. Easier said than done but what stop a leader is not the lack of resources or his / her ability, but the resistance to change or the feeling of discomfort with new order. To overcome this change should be viewed differently. 2. To view change differently, the change should be understood. Every change takes something away. Most of us concentrate only on what it takes away, but every change brings something new, it adds to our skills and personality. So, to quickly overcome the resistance to change, every leader should identify what the change is going to add and create positivity to dispel the fear and resistance. But, to implement it with the team, a leader requires something more. 3. As a leader you cannot have one personality. On one hand you are required to remain positive and pitch for the advantages and urgent need to the team. On the other hand you are required to anticipate / understand the pitfalls of the impending change and work out for dampening the effect with senior management. On another front you are required to identify new skills and deploy them in your team and alternatively fish out the skills and manpower not required after the change. To be a leader, you are required to be all of them and may be many more, so you should have the ability to switch / don different hats / change the personality as per requirement and excel in all of them and work in such a way that it benefits the company. 4. A ‘win win’ situation is always advised, appreciated and encouraged. But, a trade off for a ‘win win’ situation in an organisation is between leaders or departments or units. I was introduced to a new concept what is called a third WIN situation. Many a times a ‘win win’ situation between two departments may not be a win for the company. So, in every trade off the organisation should win. Care should be taken that to ensure that the 3rd win is always in focus while executing individual or joint wins. Rest in comments. #leadership #change

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India’s landmark GST reforms approved in the 56th meeting of the GST Council on September 3, 2025 represent a decisive shift towards a simpler, fairer, and growth-oriented system aligned with the aspirations of ‘Atmnirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Vikasit Bharat’. Providing a big boost to the fertilizer sector, the GST rates for essential inputs for manufacturing of nitrogenous and NPK fertilizers viz. Ammonia, Sulphuric Acid and Nitric Acid have been reduced from 18% to 5%. This rationalization in duty corrects the Inverted Duty Structure for the fertilizer industry thereby improving working capital efficiency. As the fertilizer industry plays a key role in driving India’s agricultural output, these benefits of GST reforms will help in ensuring timely availability of fertilizers to the farmers by encouraging domestic production. Moreover, promoting ‘Balanced Use of Fertilizers’ to ensure long term sustainability of soil and plant health, the rationalised GST structure provides for reduction on Micronutrients under serial 1(g), Schedule 1, Part (A) of Fertilizer Control order 1985 from 12% to 5%. This reduction in GST for micronutrients will significantly encourage PM-PRANAM Scheme (PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness Generation, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother-Earth) designed to encourage States and Union Territories to reduce their chemical fertilizer use by adopting sustainable farming practices and promoting organic alternatives. The revised GST rates and exemptions which will come into effect from 22nd September 2025, will provide timely relief to the fertilizer industry and farming community. The salient features of the GST reforms pertaining to fertilizer sector are enumerated as below: Fertiliser Inputs Ammonia, Sulphuric Acid, Nitric Acid (18% to 5% GST) Rate cut corrects inverted duty structure (IDS) for major raw materials for fertilizer production. Fertilizer companies will save significantly on raw material costs. This corrects the inverted duty structure and improves working capital efficiency. Reduces input cost for fertilizer companies, preventing price hikes for farmers. Ensures timely availability of affordable fertilizers, directly aiding farmers during sowing seasons. Micronutrients Several Micronutrients — (12% to 5%) Promotes eco-friendly and sustainable farming practices by making bio-based inputs more affordable. Direct benefit to small organic farmers and FPOs, aligning with Govt’s Natural Farming Mission. Micronutrients under serial 1(g), Schedule 1, Part (A) of Fertilizer Control order 1985 will be brought to 5% GST from 12%. GST cut on micronutrients will expand the market for eco-friendly agri-inputs, opening new product lines and revenue streams for fertilizer companies.

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Three Timeless Lessons from Charlie Munger I’ve been reading The Worldly Wisdom of Charlie Munger — and every page feels like a quiet masterclass in clarity and common sense. I’m still making my way through the book, but three ideas have already left a lasting impression on me: 1. Be Reliable Your first duty is to faithfully do what you’ve promised. As Munger warned, if you’re unreliable, “you will be outrun by hordes and hordes of mediocre turtles.” Reliability might not sound glamorous, but it compounds silently over time. It’s what separates enduring trust from fleeting impressions. 2. Keep Learning, Always The wisest people are voracious learners. They read constantly, absorb from great minds, and reflect daily. Munger’s advice: “Go to bed every night a little wiser than you were that morning.” Knowledge doesn’t grow in sudden bursts — it’s built drip by drip, day by day. 3. Think in Reverse When faced with tough problems, Munger’s trick is simple: invert them. Instead of asking “How can I succeed?” start with “What will cause me to fail?” His line stays with me — “If you can figure out where you’re going to die, you’ll never go there.” Inversion forces clarity. It strips away noise and helps focus on what truly matters. Reliability builds trust. Lifelong learning builds depth. Inversion builds clarity. These aren’t just investment lessons — they’re life principles worth living by. #CharlieMunger #MentalModels #LifelongLearning #Leadership #WorldlyWisdom #ProblemSolving #Reliability #Reading #PersonalGrowth

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IRON ORE AVAILABILITY IN INDIA Steel Secretary said in an interview to a Korean agency that one of the advantages of India's steel sector is abundant iron ore resources (www.biz.chosun.com- 31/07/2025), while NMDC in its annual report for the year 2024-25, warned that India could become a net importer of iron ore (The Hindu Business Line- 12/08/2025). The position is summarised below: 1. India has 24,058 million tonnes (MT) resources of hematite ore (of this, 4,560 MT are proved reserves, and 1,649 MT are probable reserves) and 11,228 MT resources of magnetite ore (reserves are 203 MT). 2. Currently only hematite reserves are used since majority of magnet reserves are in ecologically sensible areas; besides being of low Fe content. 3. Of the proved reserves of hematite ore, 23.4% is high grade (>65% Fe), 41.8% medium grade (Fe 62-65%), 24.7% low grade (<62% Fe) and rest unclassified. 4. Between FY19 and FY25, iron ore production increased from 206.5 MT to 289 MT at a CAGR of 5.7%, while crude steel production increased from 110.9 MT to 152 MT, at a CAGR of 5.5%. Production of high-grade ore is coming down (20% down in FY24) while that of low-grade ore is going up (up 21% in FY24) 5. During the above period, iron ore exports ranged from 16.2 MT to 57.7 MT (low grade ore of <58% Fe; higher grade ore has export tax of 35%), while imports ranged from 1.3 MT and 12.8 MT. In FY25 iron ore availability was 271 MT (289 MT production, 24 MT exports and 6 MT imports) and consumption is estimated at about 250 MT. 6. Indian iron ore is characterised by high gangue (Al2O3 + SiO2-5 to 6%) and high Al2O3/SiO2 ratio (>2). This increases slag volume and coke rate. 7. Present capacity of iron ore beneficiation is 143 MT and is expected to go up to 170 MT by 2030 (not much of alumina reduction). 8. Scrap usage in steelmaking is low (20.8% in FY25) as domestic generation is low (~27 MT in FY25) since India is a developing country. Many countries are restricting exports to conserve it for their own use for decarbonisation). 9. Iron ore requirement is estimated at 419 MT in FY31, 495 MT in FY36 (25% scrap usage) and 600 MT in 2047 (35% scrap usage- ~200 MT requirement). With this requirement, available proved reserves will last only a few years. 10. To ensure continuous availability at higher steel production levels, India has to: a) bring more mines into operation, b) convert remaining resources to reserves, c) undertake extensive exploration to locate more deposits, d) find ways of utilising magnetite and e) undertake extensive beneficiation to increase Fe content and reduce Al2O3 content. 11. Without above measures, India will become an importer of iron ore. May be imports will be from Australia and Simondou, a Rio Tinto project in Guinea.

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