Current Affairs - Business

BHEL partnered with Norway-based Hystar AS on August 17, 2026, to promote the phased indigenisation and local manufacturing of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyser systems in India. The collaboration aims to support the country’s growing green hydrogen market and strengthen project execution capabilities under the National Green Hydrogen Mission and Make in India initiative. With this partnership, BHEL becomes one of the few Indian companies capable of offering both alkaline and PEM electrolyser solutions. BHEL, established in 1964 and headquartered in New Delhi, is India’s largest engineering and manufacturing enterprise in the energy and infrastructure sector.

Larsen and Toubro secured an order worth up to ₹15,000 crore from U.S.-based cloud platform Together AI to host an AI data centre using NVIDIA’s high-performance chips. The order was secured by L&T’s AI infrastructure subsidiary, LTN Compute, and is valued between ₹10,000 crore and ₹15,000 crore. The data centre is being hosted at the Vyoma.AI unit on its Chennai campus and will feature 10,000 NVIDIA B300 chips, making it the largest such deployment in India. The facility will support AI inference, fine-tuning, and training for Together AI’s cloud platform.

Bank of America agreed to acquire a 49.9% stake in Jio Credit, the lending arm of Jio Financial Services, for ₹18,268 crore. Under the transaction structure, the American banking major will initially acquire a 26.5% equity interest through preferential allotment. Its stake is expected to eventually increase to 49.9% through the exercise of warrants, subject to regulatory and statutory approvals. The transaction reflects growing foreign investment in India’s financial sector. Jio Financial Services was established as a separate entity in 2023 following its demerger from Reliance Industries and operates across digital lending, insurance broking, and payments.

Airtel Business partnered with ITI Limited on August 12, 2026, to accelerate digital transformation and modernisation of legacy systems for Indian enterprises. The collaboration aims to provide future-ready digital solutions focused on operational efficiency, security, and business resilience. Its service portfolio includes LEO satellite services, IoT connectivity, sovereign cloud services, AI-powered solutions, cybersecurity frameworks, and data centre services. The partnership combines the communication infrastructure of Airtel Business with the engineering capabilities of ITI Limited. ITI Limited, established in 1948, is headquartered in Bengaluru and functions under the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications.

Jupiter Wagons Ltd entered into a strategic partnership with Italy’s Lucchini RS Holding on August 4, 2026, to develop an integrated railwheel manufacturing platform in India. Under the agreement, Lucchini RS will acquire a 15% stake in Jupiter Tatravagonka Railwheel Factory (JTRWF), while SIMEST SpA will acquire a 10% stake. The combined 25% stake is valued at €28 million, approximately ₹307 crore. The partnership covers the production of railway wheels, axles, and wheelsets across the complete value chain. It also includes integrating the existing facility at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and developing a new greenfield manufacturing complex in Odisha.