Page 10 - Banking Finance October 2025

ROUNDUP

is exploring collaboration with Indian
shipyards to support the government's
Make in India vision.

India gets its first tem-
pered glass plant for mo-
Ò»©­ bile screens

India's first tempered glass factory, set
up by Optiemus Infracom in partner-
ship with US-based Corning, was inau-
gurated in Noida by Union Minister
Ashwini Vaishnaw. The plant will pro-
duce screen glass for mobile phones.
FASTag annual pass crosses 5 lakh users in four days The initial investment of Rs. 70 crore
will allow the unit to produce 2.5 crore
The newly launched FASTag Annual Pass has seen over five lakh registra-
units annually and create over 600
tions within just four days, the NHAI has confirmed. Tamil Nadu led in us-
jobs. In the second phase, the capac-
age, followed by Karnataka and Haryana.
ity will be scaled up to 20 crore units
On the first day alone, over 1.4 lakh users activated the pass, leading to with an additional Rs. 800 crore invest-
nearly 1.39 lakh toll transactions. The pass allows 200 toll crossings or 1- ment.
year validity, whichever comes first, at a cost of Rs. 3,000.
Vaishnaw noted the rapid expansion of
The Rajmargyatra App, used to purchase and activate the pass, quickly India's electronics manufacturing sec-
became the top-ranked government app, with over 15 lakh downloads and tor, which has grown sixfold in 11 years
4.5-star rating. It now ranks second in the Travel category on the Google to Rs. 11.5 lakh crore, with exports
Play Store. crossing Rs. 3 lakh crore. This factory
The app also enables users to recharge the pass, track toll usage, and re- marks a significant milestone in India's
ceive alerts while crossing toll plazas. Any private vehicle with a valid FASTag ambition to become a global tech
can opt in, with activation completed within two hours of payment. manufacturing hub.
NHAI said the scheme improves toll efficiency and user convenience nation- Corning's cover glass production is ex-
wide. pected to start later this year. The ini-
tiative is expected to boost domestic
manufacturing and reduce dependence
Mitsui OSK Lines eyes In- largest shipowner in the country. The on imports for mobile components.
firm will soon place orders for medium-
dian shipbuilding and lo- range tankers from Cochin Shipyard
gistics expansion and sees shipbuilding in India as part Manufacturing PMI hits

Japanese shipping giant Mitsui OSK of its green shipping leadership. 17.5-year high in August
Lines (MOL), the world's second-larg- Additionally, MOL India plans to enter India's manufacturing activity reached
est by fleet size, is in talks with the railway logistics by next year, further a 17-and-a-half-year high in August
Indian government to build ships lo- diversifying its operations. With 935 2025, with the HSBC Manufacturing
cally. MOL (India) Executive Officer vessels globally, the 141-year-old com- PMI rising to 59.3 from 59.1 in July. The
Capt Anand Jayaraman said the com- pany is also eyeing India's new shipping rise reflects strong new orders and the
pany wants to align with India's mari- subsidy scheme as a strategic opportu- fastest production increase since late
time growth. nity to deepen its local footprint. 2020.
MOL has re-registered 13 vessels in Jayaraman emphasised that shipbuild- The PMI survey, based on feedback
India and aims to become the second- ing is a high-capex business, and MOL from 400 manufacturers, signals im-

BANKING FINANCE | OCTOBER | 2025 | 9