News Analysis India

Tag: Reliance Industries

  • Reliance-linked Qwik Supply gave Rs 385 cr to BJP, Rs 25 cr to Shiv Sena

    New Delhi: Qwik Supply Chain Private Ltd, a little-known company with a registered address at Navi Mumbai’s Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC) and having links to Reliance Industries, gave Rs 395 crore to the BJP and Rs 25 crore to the Shiv Sena, data uploaded by the Election Commission showed Thursday.

    Qwik Supply, the third largest donor to political parities using electoral bonds, bought Rs 410 crore bonds between 2021-22 and 2023-24, and gave all but Rs 25 crore to the BJP. The amount of Rs 25 crore was given to the Shiv Sena in 2022.

    The company, which is described as a manufacturer of warehouses and storage units, gave no money to any other political party, the data uploaded by the Election Commission showed. Electoral bond purchases and donated by Qwik Supply were behind Rs 1,368 crore of Future Gaming and Hotel Services — another little-known lottery company — and Rs 966 crore of Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering & Infra.

    Honeywell Properties Private Ltd, another firm with a Reliance link, purchased bonds worth Rs 30 crore on April 8, 2021 and gave all of them to the BJP.

    When the Reliance connection first came to light last week, a Reliance Industries spokesperson had in response to a detailed questionnaire, said, “Qwik Supply Chain Pvt Ltd is not a subsidiary of any Reliance entity.” It, however, had not commented on its association with the firm. Qwik Supply, an unlisted private company, was incorporated on November 9, 2000, with an authorised share capital of Rs 130.99 crore. Its paid-up capital is Rs 129.99 crore.

    The firm had a revenue of over Rs 500 crore in 2022-23 (April 2022 to March 2023) but profit numbers were not known.

    It bought electoral bonds worth Rs 360 crore in 2021-22 to give away to political parties. In the same year, its net profit was only Rs 21.72 crore. It bought another Rs 50 crore worth of bonds in 2023-24.

    The company has three directors, and one reported key management personnel.

    The longest-serving director currently on board is Tapas Mitra — who incidentally also sits on the board of 25 other companies — was appointed on November 17, 2014.

    Mitra is a director of partnership firms such as Reliance Eros Productions LLP and companies such as Jamnagar Kandla Pipeline Company Pvt Ltd.

    Jamnagar Kandla Pipeline is registered in Ahmedabad at an address shared by some other Reliance companies, such as Reliance Paging Pvt Ltd, Jamnagar Ratlam Pipeline Pvt Ltd, Reliance Tankages Pvt Ltd and Reliance Oil and Petroleum Pvt Ltd.

    Vipul Pranlal Mehta has been a director on the board of Qwik since December 10, 2019. He is also a director of eight other companies, including one called Rel Icons and Traders Pvt Ltd.

    Sridhar Titti is the most recently appointed director, joining the board on November 27, 2023.

    One of two directors of Honewell Properties, Satyanarayanamurthy Veera Venkata Korlep, has been on the board of several Reliance group firms since 2005. The company also shares its registered address with several group firms.

    Filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) showed Reliance Group Support, Reliance Fire Brigade and Reliance Hospital Management together owning 50.04 per cent of Qwik, which provides logistics and supply chain support to Reliance’s retail unit.

    Nexg Devices Pvt Ltd, a firm linked to Surender Lunia, purchased Rs 35 crore worth of electoral bonds in May 2019 and November 2022. Another firm linked to him, Infotel Business Solutions bought electoral bonds worth Rs 15 crore in May 2019.

    He was the one who sold a 29.18 per cent stake in NDTV held by Reliance-linked firms to the Adani Group.

  • Reliance Industries to develop state’s first multi-modal logistics park in Chennai

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: India’s multi modal logistics park (MMPL) spreading over 184.27 acres will be developed by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) in Chennai. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the project in May.  

    It is estimated to cater to 7.17 Million Metric Tonne (MMT) cargo in a period of 45 years. The government proposed to build 35 MMLPs at strategic locations to enable seamless freight movement across multiple modes, said officials.

    The MMLP at Chennai will be developed in three phases with estimated developer investment of Rs 783 crore. Phase 1 development is targeted within two years; by 2025 leading to commercial operations.

    NEW DELHI: India’s multi modal logistics park (MMPL) spreading over 184.27 acres will be developed by Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) in Chennai. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the project in May.  

    It is estimated to cater to 7.17 Million Metric Tonne (MMT) cargo in a period of 45 years. The government proposed to build 35 MMLPs at strategic locations to enable seamless freight movement across multiple modes, said officials.

    The MMLP at Chennai will be developed in three phases with estimated developer investment of Rs 783 crore. Phase 1 development is targeted within two years; by 2025 leading to commercial operations.

  • Reliance’s brand new FPSO collides, no one injured 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A brand new floating production system of Reliance Industries Ltd was involved in a minor collision with a barge off the east coast, but no one was injured and project work has not been impacted, the company said.

    The Ruby floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel destined for the deep-water MJ gas condensate development in the KG-D6 block in the Bay of Bengal, was involved in a collision with an accommodating barge, causing minor damage to the vessel.

    “Due to rough weather, the gangway from the accommodation barge Nor Goliath got lifted and made contact with the staircase on the FPSO causing minor damage to the stairs,” a company spokesperson said.

    Promptly, Nor Goliath, the spokesperson said, pulled away along with the gangway.

    The gangway was secured back on Nor Goliath and inspected.

    “Further, there was no personnel injury and there is no impact on the overall project schedule and commissioning,” the spokesperson added.

    FPSO is a giant ship that not just has machinery to help produce oil and gas lying below the sea surface but also living quarters and work stations.

    Gangway is a raised platform or walkway providing a passage.

    MJ is the third and last of a set of discoveries that Reliance and its partner BP are developing in the eastern offshore block.

    The two will use a floating production system at the high sea in the Bay of Bengal to bring to production the deepest gas discovery in the KG-D6 block.

    FPSO vessel Ruby was built by South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries, with the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation contract awarded in 2019.

    The double-hulled vessel has a crude production capacity of 60,000 barrels per day and about 12.7 million cubic meters per day of gas.

    It sailed from South Korea a few weeks back and was at the anchorage at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, when its stern hit and damaged Nor Goliath’s gangway.

    Ruby suffered minor damages but Nor Goliath’s gangway was damaged. The Gangway will have to be repaired.

    Reliance chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani had previously stated that MJ field is likely to be commissioned by the end of this year, helping the KG-D6 block in which it is located increase its “contribution to nearly 30 per cent of India’s gas production”.

    The two partners are spending around USD 5 billion on three separate development projects in the KG-D6 block – R-Cluster, Satellite Cluster, and MJ which together are expected to produce around 30 million standard cubic meters per day of natural gas by 2023.

    R-Cluster started production in December 2020 and the Satellite Cluster came onstream in April last year. MJ is expected to come on stream before the end of the year.

    While the R-Cluster has a plateau gas production of about 12.9 mmscmd, the Satellite Cluster will have a peak output of 6 mmscmd.

    Combined gas output from R-Cluster and Satellite Cluster stood at more than 19 MMcmd during April-June, according to Reliance.

    Reliance has so far made 19 gas discoveries in the KG-D6 block.

    Of these, D-1 and D-3 — the largest two — were brought into production in April 2009, and MA, the only oilfield in the block, was put into production in September 2008.

    While the MA field stopped producing in 2019, the output from D-1 and D-3 ceased in February 2020.

    Other discoveries have either been surrendered or taken away by the government for not meeting timelines for beginning production.

    MJ’s reservoirs are about 2,000 metres below the D1-D3 gas fields.

    Reliance holds a 66.67 per cent operating interest in KG-D6, with BP holding the remaining 33.33 per cent.

    NEW DELHI: A brand new floating production system of Reliance Industries Ltd was involved in a minor collision with a barge off the east coast, but no one was injured and project work has not been impacted, the company said.

    The Ruby floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel destined for the deep-water MJ gas condensate development in the KG-D6 block in the Bay of Bengal, was involved in a collision with an accommodating barge, causing minor damage to the vessel.

    “Due to rough weather, the gangway from the accommodation barge Nor Goliath got lifted and made contact with the staircase on the FPSO causing minor damage to the stairs,” a company spokesperson said.

    Promptly, Nor Goliath, the spokesperson said, pulled away along with the gangway.

    The gangway was secured back on Nor Goliath and inspected.

    “Further, there was no personnel injury and there is no impact on the overall project schedule and commissioning,” the spokesperson added.

    FPSO is a giant ship that not just has machinery to help produce oil and gas lying below the sea surface but also living quarters and work stations.

    Gangway is a raised platform or walkway providing a passage.

    MJ is the third and last of a set of discoveries that Reliance and its partner BP are developing in the eastern offshore block.

    The two will use a floating production system at the high sea in the Bay of Bengal to bring to production the deepest gas discovery in the KG-D6 block.

    FPSO vessel Ruby was built by South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries, with the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation contract awarded in 2019.

    The double-hulled vessel has a crude production capacity of 60,000 barrels per day and about 12.7 million cubic meters per day of gas.

    It sailed from South Korea a few weeks back and was at the anchorage at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, when its stern hit and damaged Nor Goliath’s gangway.

    Ruby suffered minor damages but Nor Goliath’s gangway was damaged. The Gangway will have to be repaired.

    Reliance chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani had previously stated that MJ field is likely to be commissioned by the end of this year, helping the KG-D6 block in which it is located increase its “contribution to nearly 30 per cent of India’s gas production”.

    The two partners are spending around USD 5 billion on three separate development projects in the KG-D6 block – R-Cluster, Satellite Cluster, and MJ which together are expected to produce around 30 million standard cubic meters per day of natural gas by 2023.

    R-Cluster started production in December 2020 and the Satellite Cluster came onstream in April last year. MJ is expected to come on stream before the end of the year.

    While the R-Cluster has a plateau gas production of about 12.9 mmscmd, the Satellite Cluster will have a peak output of 6 mmscmd.

    Combined gas output from R-Cluster and Satellite Cluster stood at more than 19 MMcmd during April-June, according to Reliance.

    Reliance has so far made 19 gas discoveries in the KG-D6 block.

    Of these, D-1 and D-3 — the largest two — were brought into production in April 2009, and MA, the only oilfield in the block, was put into production in September 2008.

    While the MA field stopped producing in 2019, the output from D-1 and D-3 ceased in February 2020.

    Other discoveries have either been surrendered or taken away by the government for not meeting timelines for beginning production.

    MJ’s reservoirs are about 2,000 metres below the D1-D3 gas fields.

    Reliance holds a 66.67 per cent operating interest in KG-D6, with BP holding the remaining 33.33 per cent.

  • Reliance Industries Limited refutes reports of Nita Ambani joining BHU as faculty

    By ANI
    MUMBAI: Reliance Industries Limited on Wednesday said that the news on a proposal to make Reliance Industries Executive Director Nita Ambani a visiting professor at Banaras Hindu University is false.

    Reliance Industries Limited spokesperson told ANI that the news is fake adding that “no proposal or invitation to make her visiting lecturer of BHU has been received” nor has it been extended to Nita Ambani from the university.

    ALSO READ | BHU students oppose proposal to make Nita Ambani as visitng professor

    Several media houses had reported that students staged a demonstration at Banaras Hindu University on Tuesday opposing a proposal to make Nita Ambani a visiting professor. 

  • BHU students oppose proposal to make Nita Ambani as visitng professor

    By PTI
    VARANASI: Opposing a proposal to make Reliance Industries executive director Nita Ambani as a visiting professor, students staged a demonstration at Banaras Hindu University on Tuesday.

    Shubham Tiwari, one of the protesting students, said instead of Ambani, those who have set an example of women empowerment should be invited.

    Meanwhile, Prof Nidhi Sharma, coordinator of the Centre for Women’s Studies and Development, said the proposal to make Nita Ambani a visiting professor has been sent to the authorities.

    She said, “Ambani is a woman entrepreneur. If she joins our centre, the women of Purvanchal will get the benefit of her experience.”