Tata Chemicals Secures $110M Soda Ash Contracts via SVM Acquisition in US Bankruptcy Deal

Tata Chemicals Limited ("TCL") today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Tata Chemicals North America Inc. ("TCNA"), has been declared the successful bidder in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of Searles Valley Minerals Inc. ("SVM"), USA, for the acquisition of North American soda ash customer contracts representing over 500,000 metric tonnes to be serviced from September 2026 through December 2028. These contracts are expected to generate revenues of more than USD 110 million over the contract period.

The acquisition strengthens TCNA's position in the North American soda ash market by expanding its domestic customer base and enhancing long-term customer relationships. The transaction is expected to improve demand visibility, support customer retention, and drive sustainable value creation.

TCNA has entered into an Assignment and Assumption Agreement ("ASA") with Searles Valley Minerals Inc. for the acquisition of certain soda ash customer contracts and related commercial rights. The transaction has been approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware with cash consideration payment of USD 21.16 million and remains subject to customary closing conditions under the ASA.

Mr. R. Mukundan, CEO & Managing Director, Tata Chemicals Limited, said: "This acquisition represents a strategic opportunity to strengthen our presence in the North American soda ash market and expand our customer base. The acquired contracts secure over 500,000 metric tonnes of demand and are expected to generate revenues exceeding USD 110 million through December 2028. The transaction enhances our portfolio of long-term customer relationships, improves demand visibility, and reinforces our commitment to delivering reliable supply and superior service. It is aligned with our strategy of driving profitable growth and creating sustainable value for all stakeholders."

About Tata Chemicals Ltd

A part of over US$ 180 billion Tata Group, Tata Chemicals Limited, is a leading supplier of choice to Glass, Detergent, Industrial and Chemical sectors. The company has a strong position in the crop protection business through its subsidiary company, Rallis India Limited. Tata Chemicals has world class R&D facilities in Pune and Bengaluru.

$45M Javelin Pact Strengthens India-US Defense Bond

Image - lockheedmartin.com

India has officially signed a $45.7 million agreement with the United States to procure 100 Javelin anti-tank guided missiles and 25 launch units, marking a major boost to the Indian Army’s anti-armor capabilities. The deal was finalized on August 28, 2026, under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program.

The FGM‑148 Javelin is a U.S.-made, man‑portable “fire‑and‑forget” anti‑tank guided missile designed to destroy armored vehicles, bunkers, and fortified positions with precision. It is widely regarded as one of the most effective infantry anti‑armor weapons in service today.

Key Details of the Javelin Deal

• Agreement Type: Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route
• Value: $45.7 million (~₹292 crore)
• Package Includes: 100 FGM-148 Javelin missiles, 25 Lightweight Command Launch Units (LwCLU), 1 “fly-to-buy” evaluation missile, training materials, simulators, technical manuals, spare parts, and lifecycle support
• Suppliers: Javelin Joint Venture — RTX Corporation and Lockheed Martin
• Delivery Route: Emergency Procurement (EP) to fast-track induction

Capabilities of the Javelin System

• Type: Man-portable, medium-range, fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile
• Range: ~2.5 km effective engagement
• Modes: Top-attack and direct-attack
• Targets: Armored vehicles, bunkers, fortified positions
• Guidance: Imaging infrared seeker for precision targeting

Strategic Significance for India

• Operational Impact: Enhances infantry’s ability to neutralize modern armored threats
• Partnership: Strengthens U.S.-India Major Defense Partnership
• Industrial Cooperation: Opens the door for co-production in India with Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL)
• Regional Context: Provides advanced anti-armor capability amid tensions with China and Pakistan

Risks & Considerations

• Cost vs. Indigenous Development: Reliance on imports may slow indigenous ATGM programs
• Production Capacity: Co-production talks with BDL could mitigate dependency
• Deployment Pressure: Rapid induction under EP may strain training and logistics

Quick Comparison: Javelin vs. India’s Indigenous Nag ATGM

System	Origin	Range	Guidance	Deployment
Javelin	U.S. (RTX + Lockheed Martin)	~2.5 km	Imaging infrared seeker	Infantry, man-portable
Nag ATGM	India (DRDO + BDL)	~4 km	Imaging infrared seeker	Vehicle-mounted (NAMICA)

FGM‑148 Javelin Missile Overview

Key Facts

• Origin: United States, developed by the Javelin Joint Venture (Lockheed Martin + RTX/Raytheon)
• Entered Service: 1996 with the U.S. Army and Marine Corps
• Users: Over 25 allied nations including UK, France, Australia, Ukraine, and India
• Combat Record: Proven effective in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and Ukraine

Technical Specifications

• Type: Man‑portable, shoulder‑fired anti‑tank guided missile
• Range: ~2.5 km with standard CLU; up to 4 km with Lightweight CLU
• Guidance: Passive infrared seeker — fire‑and‑forget
• Warhead: Tandem‑charge HEAT designed to defeat explosive reactive armor (ERA)
• Flight Modes: Top‑attack and direct‑attack
• Weight: ~22 kg ready‑to‑fire
• Crew: Operated by 1–2 soldiers

Operational Advantages

• Fire‑and‑Forget: Operator can take cover immediately after launch
• Day/Night Capability: Thermal imaging allows use in all weather conditions
• High Survivability: Low launch signature reduces detection risk
• Versatility: Effective against tanks, bunkers, fortifications, and helicopters

Strategic Importance

• For India: Enhances infantry’s ability to counter armored threats, complements indigenous Nag ATGM
• For Allies: Demonstrates battlefield effectiveness and interoperability with NATO/U.S. systems
• Global Impact: Symbol of modern infantry anti‑armor warfare, highlighted during Ukraine conflict

Javelin vs. Other ATGMs

System	Origin	Range	Guidance	Deployment
Javelin	U.S.	2.5–4 km	Infrared, fire‑and‑forget	Man‑portable
Nag ATGM	India	~4 km	Infrared seeker	Vehicle‑mounted
Spike ATGM	Israel	2.5–8 km	Electro‑optical	Man‑portable/vehicle

GVFL Invests ₹30M in Edgeverse to Advance Edge AI Perception Tech for India’s Two‑Wheeler Mobility

Founders of Edgeverse India Pvt. Ltd

Deep-tech startup to strengthen its AI-powered perception stack for two-wheelers and expand across mobility, industrial automation and defence

GVFL has invested ₹30 million in Edgeverse India Pvt. Ltd., a deep-tech startup developing edge AI-based perception technology for mobility and other real-world applications.

The investment will support Edgeverse's next phase of growth, including the development of India-specific road intelligence, camera and radar technology, and the commercialisation of its AI-powered perception solutions.

Founded in 2023 by Arindam Ghosh, Subrata Debnath and Navaneeth A, Edgeverse is building a hardware-agnostic perception stack that combines edge AI with sensors such as cameras and radar. The technology is designed to help original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and Tier-I suppliers deploy advanced safety and perception capabilities across vehicles.

Edgeverse's flagship offering, Perceiva ARAS, is an Advanced Rider Assistance System software stack designed for camera- and radar-based applications. The company is also developing an integrated ARAS solution comprising processor hardware, sensors and proprietary perception software.

India being the world's largest two-wheeler market and a leading producer presents a significant opportunity for advanced safety and rider-assistance technologies that can be deployed without substantially increasing the cost, size or power consumption of vehicles. With an estimated 375–400 million two-wheelers already on Indian roads, the market offers considerable scope for companies developing technologies tailored to local traffic and road conditions.

According to SIAM, India recorded 21.7 million domestic two-wheeler sales in FY2025-26, the highest ever for the segment and a 10.7% increase over the previous year. The country also recorded 5.18 million two-wheeler exports during the year, underlining its position as both a major consumption market and a global manufacturing and export hub.

Perceiva ARAS app on motorcycle digital cluster, Edgeverse India Pvt. Ltd

ARAS Collision Zones-1, Edgeverse India Pvt. Ltd

“Edgeverse is building a differentiated technology platform at the intersection of edge AI, perception and mobility safety. Its capabilities across both software and hardware, combined with a focus on solving for Indian road conditions, present an interesting opportunity in the evolving mobility technology ecosystem,” said Mihir Joshi, Managing Director, GVFL.

Edgeverse has previously received ₹18.5 million in seed funding from ARTPARK and was selected as one of the winners of the NASSCOM Mobility Innovation Challenge 2025. With the latest investment, Edgeverse is focused on translating its technology development and early industry engagements into scalable commercial deployments. The company aims to emerge as a trusted perception technology partner for OEMs and are in advance talks with the large global tier-I suppliers building India-focused camera, radar and edge AI solutions for the next generation of intelligent mobility.

“With GVFL's support, we are looking to accelerate product development and move towards wider commercial deployment,” said Arindam Ghosh, Co-Founder & CEO, Edgeverse. “Our vision is to make life-saving edge intelligence accessible and build technology in India that can compete globally.”

Edgeverse began with the objective of making two-wheelers safer through real-time sensing and intelligent alerts. The company has since developed its own processor board and camera module and conducted on-road testing for front- and rear-collision detection.

The startup has demonstrated its technology to potential customers, including Ather, and is engaging with players across the mobility and technology ecosystem such as Cavli and Qualcomm, as it works towards wider adoption of its perception stack. The company has also developed Perceiva DMS, a camera-based Driver Monitoring System for commercial vehicles, along with a radar perception stack.

Over the next six to twelve months, Edgeverse plans to build an Indian road dataset covering 100,000 kilometres, develop a 2MP camera and a 77 GHz radar module, and secure multiple commercial agreements for its ARAS and DMS solutions.

The company will also strengthen its team and explore applications across industrial automation and defence.

Wipro and Google Cloud Expand Partnership to Scale AI into Core Enterprise Operations

Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO), a leading AI-powered technology services and consulting company, today announced the expansion of its partnership with Google Cloud to accelerate the enterprise-wide adoption of Gemini Enterprise and agentic AI. Additionally, Wipro is scaling the internal deployment of Gemini Enterprise and will empower over 10,000 AI-certified specialists, including 1,500 Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs), with advanced AI capabilities to enhance productivity, streamline operations, and accelerate decision-making.

As part of this partnership, Wipro has launched the LIFT (Launch-Ignite-Flywheel-Transform) framework to help enterprises accelerate AI transformation and operationalize agentic AI at scale. Powered by Wipro Intelligence™, the unified suite of AI platforms, solutions, and transformative offerings, the LIFT framework integrates Gemini Enterprise with Wipro’s AI-powered delivery platforms, WINGS and WEGA. This unified ecosystem enables organizations to seamlessly transition from basic task-automation to embedding secure, autonomous AI agents directly into their core, multi-step business workflows.

“AI is foundational to how Wipro is shaping its future, driving innovation, transforming operations, and delivering differentiated value for our clients,” said Kanwar Singh, Managing Partner and Global Head of Technology Services, Wipro Limited. “By strengthening Wipro Intelligence™ with Gemini Enterprise, we are embedding intelligence into everyday core operations, helping clients scale outcomes, adapt faster, and compete more effectively in a dynamic environment.”

To accelerate value creation, Wipro is building a dedicated team of more than 1,500 certified FDEs, combining Google Cloud’s expertise with Wipro’s consulting and engineering capabilities to seamlessly scale AI adoption from pilot to enterprise-wide deployment.

“Our partnership with Wipro continues to drive real-world value for enterprise customers looking to scale AI across their organizations. The strong demand for Gemini Enterprise indicates the value it is adding for customers today,” said Kevin Ichhpurani, President, Global Partner Ecosystem, Google Cloud. “By embedding Gemini Enterprise into their own operations and their customer-facing platforms, Wipro is demonstrating how AI transformation drives tangible efficiency. Together, we are helping joint customers bridge the gap between AI potential and business performance using Google Cloud’s agentic AI capabilities.”

Drawing on its AI transformation experience through the ‘Operate Better with AI’ strategy and ‘Client Zero’ approach, Wipro has deployed Gemini Enterprise as its central agentic orchestration platform. Gemini’s advanced reasoning and long-context capabilities have enabled Wipro to build autonomous AI agents that streamline critical workflows across compliance, HR, and sales intelligence, transforming AI from basic task automation into an enterprise-wide decision intelligence layer.

Furthermore, Wipro has integrated Antigravity Command Line Interface into its software engineering ecosystem, enabling agentic workflows that assist developers with planning, coding, testing, and application modernization. This transition has delivered highly quantifiable outcomes for development lifecycles, including productivity improvements for custom application development and significant reductions in post-production defects.

Vedanta Deploys India’s First High‑Speed Portable Rig to Unlock Gold and Critical Minerals

India's First Portable Rig for Gold  Critical Mineral Exploration_Vedanta Employee at Site in Chhattisgarh

• Built for inaccessible and tough terrains, it is the first high-speed hydrostatic portable rig in India that can carry out high-speed drilling up to 1,000 metres. 
• Vedanta holds the largest number of critical mineral blocks; poised to back India's bid to cut import dependence as global demand is expected to triple by 2030

Vedanta Limited (NSE: VEDL; BSE: 500295), a leading global producer of metals, critical minerals and technology, that powers the industries of today and is incubating the industries of tomorrow, has reinforced its commitment to technology-led innovation by commissioning India's first-ever high-tech, high-speed hydrostatic portable rig equipped with advanced safety features. The rigs have been deployed at two of Vedanta's flagship exploration projects in Chhattisgarh dedicated to gold and exploration of critical minerals such as nickel, chromium and platinum group elements.

Critical mineral exploration demands exceptional technical expertise and deep-shaft mining capabilities, a high-barrier domain where Vedanta stands out among a select few national and global players. As the energy transition accelerates, Vedanta is uniquely positioned to bridge the critical mineral deficit by leveraging its integrated smelting infrastructure and advanced geological tech to unlock complex blocks.

Purpose-built for inaccessible and tough terrains, this rig can carry out high-speed drilling up to 1,000 metres compared to the typical 300–400 metre range, without losing precious time in inter-location movement — a first for exploration capability in the country. The deployment marks a significant leap in Vedanta's exploration infrastructure, enabling faster, safer, minimally intrusive and more efficient access to India's largely untapped mineral reserves.

Vedanta has placed itself at the forefront of India's critical minerals push, being the only company to have secured 10 critical mineral blocks across gold, manganese, copper, nickel-chromium-PGE (Platinum Group of Elements) tungsten, graphite, vanadium, rare earth elements and potash, with exploration already underway across five blocks. Recently, Vedanta has also been declared the Successful Bidder for the Punnam Manganese Block in Andhra Pradesh.

India's Untapped Mineral Potential

The government estimates suggest close to 80% of India's mineral resources remain unexplored. Gold is vital for medical applications, high-reliability electronics and other strategic industries, while critical minerals such as copper and nickel underpin AI infrastructure and data centres, renewable energy, electric mobility, defence, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing. India's task is to move beyond extraction alone and build capability across exploration, mining, processing, refining, recycling and manufacturing.

The opportunity is simple: India's resource advantage will be won not by what lies beneath the ground, but by how much value it builds above it.

According to the International Energy Agency, global critical mineral demand for clean energy technologies is projected to nearly triple by 2030 under its Net Zero Emissions Scenario, and quadruple by 2040, reaching close to 40 million tonnes annually. This has accelerated efforts by countries to diversify critical mineral supply chains away from dependence on any single country or source, positioning India as a natural partner in the shift. India holds substantial reserves of rare earth elements and critical minerals, giving it strong potential to become a key player in global supply chains though the country remains largely import-dependent despite this geological potential.

Vedanta 2.0 – Transformation through Technology

Vedanta 2.0 represents the group's vision to build a technology-driven, future-facing conglomerate centred on sustainable growth. While strengthening its core businesses, the group is simultaneously expanding into critical minerals as part of the clean-energy value chain, having secured several new mineral blocks and stepped-up exploration activity.

Vedanta Group holds a differentiated position as one of the few Indian companies with mineral assets spread across India, South Africa, Namibia, Liberia and Zambia, giving it access to diverse, high-potential reserves. The company plans to expand into new geographies with stable regulatory environments, deepen value-added processing within India, and build mining partnerships aligned with global environmental, social and governance standards.