India-Japan Fund to invest Rs 400 crore in Mahindra Last Mile Mobility business Mumbai-headquartered automotive company Mahindra & Mahindra has executed a binding agreement with India-Japan Fund (IJF), afund managed by National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), which will see IJF invest Rs 400 crore in Mahindra Last Mile Mobility (MLMML). MLMML houses Mahindra’s last-mile mobility business including three-wheelers – Alfa, Treo, Zor – and four-wheeler SCV – Jeeto brands. As per the companies, IJF will investRs 400 crore at a valuation of up to Rs 6,600 crore, resulting in IJF’s ownership ranging between 6.06% and 8.25% stake in MLMML. IJF will join International Finance Corporation (IFC) as an investor in MLMML, which was incorporated as a subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra and commenced commercial operations in September 2023, pursuant to closing of Asset Transfer and Business Transfer Agreements with M&M. Dr. Anish Shah, Group CEO & MD, Mahindra Groupsaid,“We are delighted to have NIIF as a partner in our last mile mobility journey through IJF. At Mahindra Group, we are committed to developing sustainable mobility solutions that help in accelerating the decarbonization of the transport sector. The robustness of our business model has attracted marquee investors such as IFC in the past and now IJF, which will help us move closer to our mission to be ‘Planet Positive’ by 2040.” Krishna Kumar G, Partner, India Japan Fund, NIIF said, “The fund’s investment in MLMML not only underlines our dedication to promoting sustainable and innovative mobility solutions, but also strengthens partnership between India and Japan in high-growth sectors. Together with our partners JBIC, we believe that our investment in MLMML should yield transformative results in the last-mile mobility domain, driving economic growth, generating employment and ensuring environmental sustainability.” Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director and CEO, Auto & Farm Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra said,“MLMML is a pioneer in revolutionising the electric three-wheeler growth in India, enabling customer prosperity including employment generation and providing sustainable last mile connectivity. It is a market leader in this segment, and was awarded the first automotive Production Linked Incentive (PLI) certificate. The large-scale electricifcation of the last-mile mobility segment holds tremendous promise as it offers profitable solutions to micro-entrepreneurs and all our efforts are directed towards increasing penetration and adoption.”
If the current trend continues for a longer period of time, not only oil mills but oilseeds growers will also not be able to get good rates of their produce, says Samir Shah, president of Gujarat State Edible Oils and Oil Seeds Association (GEOA). Shah who is also past president of SOMA says that due to various international factors rates of edible oils had gone up considerably, especially imported oils earlier this year.
“With a view to curb rising prices of edible oil, the Government of India reduced import duty on edible oils. Considering the fact that India is producing hardly 30 percent of its edible oil requirement, the decision was right at that point of time. Now when international prices of edible oils have gone down by 15 percent to 25 percent and high production period has started in edible oil exporting countries, the government should gradually increase import duty to protect local oil mills and oilseeds growers,” said Shah. GEOA has also made representation before Union Minister for Commerce & Consumer Affairs, Piyush Goyal to increase import duty.
In June import duty on edible oils was ranging from 35 to 55 percent, since then the government gradually reduced import duty and at present it is ranging from zero percent to 15 percent on different edible oils, he said.
Just a month back prices of edible oils were through the roof and the government took appropriate measures by reducing import duty in order to protect consumers, says Atul Chaturvedi, president of Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA). “Prices of edible oils are coming down globally. Kharif sowing has already started across the country. In the interest of local farmers, it is high time to enhance import duty in a phased manner to encourage local edible oil value chain,” opined Chaturvedi.
On Thursday imported Palm oil prices were at around Rs 2100 per 15 kg as against local Rs 2700 and Rs 2550 of groundnut and cottonseed oils. Prices of other local oils including ricebran, coconut, soyabean and mustard remained as high as Rs 2350, Rs 2520, Rs 2500 and Rs 2580 respectively.
India imports around 13-13.5 million tonnes of edible oils, of which around 8-8.5 million tonnes (around 63 per cent) are palm oil. Though the price of other imported Sunflower oil remained at around Rs 2700 per 15 kg, but import quantity of the oil is much lower than that of palm oil.