Chennai News Desk

13 Mar 2026

Ashok Leyland has announced plans to invest between INR 400 crore and INR 500 crore to establish a new battery pack manufacturing facility at Pillaipakkam near Chennai in Tamil Nadu. The greenfield facility will support the company's electric mobility strategy and strengthen localisation of battery pack production in India. The project forms part of investment commitments made by the Hinduja Group under a memorandum of understanding signed with the Tamil Nadu government in September 2025. The plant is expected to enhance domestic EV manufacturing capability and contribute to the development of the country's electric vehicle ecosystem.Read more

13 Mar 2026

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved Cube Highways and Infrastructure V Pte. Ltd's acquisition of certain road asset businesses belonging to the Dineshchandra R. Agrawal Group. The transaction involves four special purpose vehicle companies that operate highway projects in India under concession agreements with government authorities. These projects function under toll and annuity models. Cube Highways, a foreign portfolio investor registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, continues to expand its presence in India's operational highway sector through acquisitions of infrastructure assets developed by construction companies.Read more

13 Mar 2026

IDBI Bank has moved ahead with plans to establish a new office in Amaravati after signing a lease agreement with the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA). The bank has been allotted 0.4 acres of land in Uddandarayunipalem where it plans to develop its office with an investment of about INR 50 crore. The project is expected to generate around 200 employment opportunities. Officials from IDBI Bank and APCRDA completed the agreement and registration process in the presence of senior representatives, marking another institutional investment in the developing capital region.Read more

13 Mar 2026

Drone logistics company Skye Air Mobility has raised USD 9 million in a Series B funding round led by IAN Alpha Fund, with participation from AVNM Ventures, Faad Capital and Bajaj Capital. The funding will be used to expand the company's hyperlocal drone delivery network and strengthen its technology infrastructure across India. Founded in 2019, the company has already completed around 3.6 million autonomous deliveries and works with clients such as Blue Dart Express, Flipkart and Tata 1MG. The fresh capital will support geographic expansion and further development of its airspace management and logistics technology platforms.Read more

Bangalore News Desk

13 Mar 2026

The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has issued a final warning to 1,010 property owners who have not paid property tax, with total pending dues estimated at about INR 33.9 crore across five city corporations. The unpaid amount includes around INR 14.3 crore from 510 major defaulters and INR 19.6 crore linked to about 500 reassessment cases. Civic officials have asked zonal authorities to speed up recovery and have published lists of major defaulters online. The authority has also begun auctioning properties to recover dues, with two properties already auctioned in the KR Pura zone.Read more

13 Mar 2026

Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) has proposed deploying Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology to enhance property tax assessment and strengthen municipal revenue collection in Mysuru, Karnataka. The civic body intends to conduct drone-based aerial surveys to generate precise three-dimensional maps of properties, enabling authorities to identify building dimensions, number of floors, land-use changes, and unauthorised constructions that may currently be outside the tax net. MCC presently collects around INR 237 crore annually in property tax from nearly two lakh residential and commercial properties, while water tax collection stands at about INR 60 crore. With LiDAR-based GIS property mapping, the civic body expects property tax collections to increase to approximately INR 300 crore and water tax receipts to about INR 90 crore. The proposal has been submitted to the state urban development department, following a technical demonstration conducted by experts from the National Institute of Technology, Calicut.Read more

12 Mar 2026

The initial public offering (IPO) of Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust (RIIT), sponsored by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), was subscribed 16% on the first day of bidding. The INR 6,000 crore InvIT issue received bids for 3.39 crore units against 21.33 crore units on offer, according to stock exchange data. The institutional investor category was subscribed 20%, while the portion reserved for other investors saw 11% subscription. A day earlier, the InvIT raised INR 1,728 crore from anchor investors including Life Insurance Corporation of India, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance and Bajaj Life Insurance. The issue is priced at INR 99-100 per unit and will remain open until March 13. The InvIT is backed by an initial portfolio of five toll road assets spanning more than 260 km across four states.Read more

Kolkata News Desk

12 Mar 2026

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has sealed several commercial establishments in central Kolkata as part of an enforcement drive to recover unpaid property taxes from defaulting property owners. In one such operation, civic officials sealed 15 shops at Shreeram Arcade near SN Banerjee Road after issuing distress warrants to traders who had failed to clear outstanding tax dues. Municipal officials indicated that property tax arrears of around INR 5.5 crore remain pending from the shopping complex alone. Some traders reopened their establishments after making partial payments during the drive, while the civic body has set a deadline of 31 March for full settlement of dues. The enforcement action forms part of a broader municipal effort to improve property tax compliance among commercial establishments in key trading areas of central Kolkata.Read more

Mumbai News Desk

12 Mar 2026

Investment manager Arnya Real Estates Fund Advisors and Mumbai-based developer Supreme Universal have secured commitments of about INR 1,030 crore for their Arnya Real Estate Fund � Equity, marking the first close of the investment platform launched in November 2025. The Sebi-registered Category II alternative investment fund has a target corpus of INR 1,250 crore and will focus primarily on residential redevelopment opportunities in Mumbai, while also evaluating projects in Pune. Capital has been raised from a mix of domestic and offshore investors, including family offices and high-net-worth individuals, with around INR 220 crore committed by the sponsors themselves. The fund will deploy equity capital into redevelopment-led housing projects, with individual investments expected to range between INR 80 crore and INR 200 crore across several transactions currently under evaluation.Read more

Pune News Desk

12 Mar 2026

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is examining the use of artificial intelligence to identify unassessed properties and strengthen property tax collection as part of its revenue strategy for the upcoming financial year. Civic officials indicated that roughly 3.5 lakh properties within the city remain outside the municipal tax database, including buildings in newly merged areas and redeveloped structures where records have not been updated. The proposed AI-based assessment system would analyse municipal records, building footprints and geospatial data to detect properties missing from the tax net or inaccurately assessed. The initiative forms part of PMC�s broader effort to improve tax recovery and expand its revenue base, with the civic administration targeting around INR 7,000 crore in property tax collections from defaulters in the current fiscal year.Read more