Reliance Industries (RIL) said on Thursday that it awaits clarity on access to Venezuelan crude oil for buyers other than those from the US after Washington launched a major military operation in the South American country last week. “We await clarity on access for Venezuelan oil by non-US buyers and will consider buying the oil in a compliant manner,” a RIL spokesperson said. The response from India’s largest private sector refiner comes in the backdrop of speculation that Washington’s intervention in Venezuela is unlikely to lead to an immediate spike in production and export of crude oil from the latter’s ageing oil and gas infrastructure, at least in the next 6 months.

Bharat Forge on Thursday said it has inked a pact with Germany-based Agile Robots SE to explore a strategic collaboration in AI-driven robotics and intelligent industrial automation. Driven by Bharat Forge’s extensive domain expertise and Agile Robots’ ingenious intelligent robots and automation solutions, this collaboration will see the deployment of cutting-edge solutions for the automotive, healthcare, and consumer electronics industries, the company said in a statement.

Bajaj Finserv, one of India’s largest and most diversified financial services companies, has completed the acquisition, together with Bajaj Holdings & Investment Ltd and Jamnalal Sons Private Ltd, of 23 per cent stake in its insurance subsidiaries – Bajaj General Insurance and Bajaj Life Insurance – from Allianz SE, for ₹12,190 crore and ₹9,200 crore, respectively. The acquisition takes the ownership of the Bajaj Group in both insurance companies to 97 per cent from 74 per cent, giving Bajaj Finserv complete control of the insurance companies with 75.01 per cent stake. This acquisition marks the end of a very successful 24-year joint venture between Bajaj Finserv and Allianz SE.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) on Thursday (January 8) said it has received an income tax assessment order of ₹1,559.69 crore for the financial year 2021-22 (assessment year 2022-23). HUL said the order will have no material impact on its financials, operations, or other business activities. The company will file the necessary appeal with the appellate authority within the permissible timeline. 

National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. (NSE), has announced an ongoing discussion on a strategic collaboration with Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) to develop and launch Indian Natural Gas Futures This collaboration brings together NSE’s expertise in the derivatives market and IGX’s leadership in spot natural gas trading, price discovery and physical market development. IGX is a subsidiary of Indian Energy Exchange. In separate news, the Electricity Appellate Tribunal (APTEL) is scheduled to hear IEX’s Market Coupling case on January 9 at 10:30 am.

The board of Bartronics India has approved an investment of up to ₹3 crore for acquiring up to 51 per cent equity share capital of Shree Naga Narasimha. The proposed investment is aimed at strategic investment, business expansion, and deriving operational and financial synergies. This transaction is to be completed in one or more tranches, subject to completion of due diligence and execution of definitive agreements.

Prestige Group, through Canopy Living LLP, a joint venture between Prestige Estates Projects and Arihant Foundations & Housing, has signed an agreement for the purchase of a land parcel measuring 16.381 acres located at Padi, Chennai ,from Sundaram Clayton.

PM Green, subsidiary of Power Mech Projects, has secured a substantial ₹3,126 crore order from West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (WBSEDCL). The deal involves setting up a 1,000 MWh battery storage system under a build-own-operate model,  with a 100% off-take guarantee from WBSEDCL. Additionally, a greenshoe option of 250 MW/1,000 MWh is included for the Durgapur Project Ltd (DPL) campus in Durgapur, West Bengal. The combined order value, including the greenshoe option, is ₹3,126 crore, excluding GST.

UPL Ltd’s Hong Kong step-down subsidiary, UPL Ltd, has acquired the remaining 25 per cent stake in UPL Agro Ltd for $17.86 million, making UPL Agro a wholly-owned subsidiary. The transaction, completed on January 8, 2026 and not classified as a related-party deal, consolidates UPL’s control over Yoloo (Laoting) Biotechnology Ltd in China, strengthening its direct ownership of a business that generated consolidated revenue of $91.55 million in March 2025 and reinforcing its strategic position in the Chinese crop protection and agri-chemicals market.

Brainbees Solutions (Groww) has announced that its subsidiary, Swara Baby Products Private Ltd, has completed the acquisition of 100% equity in Solis Hygiene Private Ltd from existing shareholders, including Brainbees, through a share-swap transaction. As part of this deal, Brainbees has received an additional 56,26,738 equity shares in Swara Baby in exchange for its 52,890 Series A1 equity shares in Solis Hygiene, increasing Brainbees’ shareholding in Swara Baby from 75.92 per cent to 76.59 per cent.

Eureka Forbes Ltd has informed the stock exchanges about an ongoing tax dispute involving an assessment order from the Joint Commissioner, CGST & Central Excise, Bhopal. The order demands ₹16.22 crore (plus applicable penalty) on grounds of alleged excess availment of input tax credit and short payment of tax for FY 2018–19 to 2022–23. The company has contested the order by filing a writ petition in the High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Jabalpur. The court has granted interim relief, directing authorities to refrain from any coercive recovery measures against the company, subject to Eureka Forbes depositing 10% of the disputed tax amount — a condition the company is in the process of fulfilling.

Published on January 9, 2026