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Adani Group

Indian multinational conglomerate

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Through Multinational corporation, Ahmedabad and Port

Noted for its close association with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, Adani was the largest Indian conglomerate as of 2022 with a US$206 billion market capitalisation, surpassing Tata Group. It lost more than $104 billion in value after fraud and market manipulation allegations by short-seller firm Hindenburg Research. In May 2024, the Adani Group's market capitalisation returned to over $200 billion after the Supreme Court directed the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to expedite its investigation.

The Adani Group has also attracted other controversies due to reports suggesting stock manipulation, accounting irregularities, exporting military drones to Israel during the Gaza genocide, political corruption, cronyism, tax evasion, environmental damage, suing journalists and money laundering.

History

Adani Exports Limited started as a commodity trading company in 1988 and expanded into importing and exporting multiple commodities. With a capital of ₹5 lakhs, the company was established as a partnership firm with the flagship company Adani Enterprises, previously Adani Exports. In 1990, the Adani Group developed its own port in Mundra to provide a base for its trading operations. It began construction at Mundra in 1995. In 1998, it became the top net foreign exchange earner for India Inc. The company began coal trading in 1999, followed by a joint venture in edible oil refining in 2000 with the formation of Adani Wilmar.

Adani handled 4 Mt of cargo at Mundra in 2002, becoming the largest private port in India. Later in 2006, the company became the largest coal importer in India with 11 Mt of coal handling. The company expanded its business in 2008, purchasing Bunyu Mine in Indonesia which has 180 Mt of coal reserves. In 2009 the firm began generating 330 MW of thermal power. It also built an edible oil refining capacity in India of 2.2 Mt per annum.

In 2010, Adani group with help of Petronet LNG will set up a solid cargo port through a Joint Venture company namely Adani Petronet (Dahej) Port Private Ltd., has already commenced its Phase 1 operations from August 2010 at Dahej Port. solid cargo port terminal would have facilities to import/export bulk products like coal, steel and fertiliser. PLL has 26% equity in this JV.

The Adani group became India's largest private coal mining company after Adani Enterprises won the Orissa mine rights in 2010. Operations at the Port of Dahej commenced in 2011 and its capacity subsequently grew to 20 Mt. The company also bought Galilee Basin mine in Australia with 10.4 gigatonnes (Gt) of coal reserves. More than 60 per cent of the Adani Group's revenue is derived from coal-related businesses.

In 2011, the Adani group also bought Abbot Point port in Australia with 50 Mt of handling capacity. It commissioned India's largest solar power plant with a capacity 40 MW. As the firm achieved 3,960 MW capacity, it became the largest private sector thermal power producer in India. In 2012 The company shifted its focus on three business clusters – resources, logistics and energy.

Adani Power emerged as India's largest private power producer in 2014. Adani Power's total installed capacity then stood at 9,280 MW. On 16 May of the same year, Adani Ports acquired Dhamra Port on East coast of India for ₹5,500 crore (equivalent to ₹96 billion or US$1.0 billion in 2026). Dhamra Port was a 50:50 joint venture between Tata Steel and L&T Infrastructure Development Projects, which has been acquired by Adani Ports. The port began operations in May 2011 and handled a total cargo of 14.3 Mt in 2013–14. With the acquisition of Dhamra Port, the group is planning to increase its capacity to over 200 Mt by 2020.

In 2015, the Adani Group's Adani Renewable Energy Park signed a pact with the Rajasthan Government for a 50:50 joint venture to set up India's largest solar park with a capacity of 10,000 MW. In November 2015, the Adani group began construction at the port in Vizhinjam, Kerala.

Adani Aero Defence signed a pact with the Israeli arms manufacturer, Elbit-ISTAR, and Alpha Design Technologies to work in the field of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in India in 2016. In April, Adani Enterprises secured approval from the Government of Gujarat to begin work on building a solar power equipment plant. In September, Adani Green Energy (Tamil Nadu), the renewable wing of the Adani Group, began operations in Kamuthi in Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu with a capacity of 648 MW at an estimated cost of ₹4,550 crore (equivalent to ₹71 billion or US$740 million in 2026). In the same month, the Adani Group inaugurated a 648 MW single-location solar power plant. It was the world's largest solar power plant at the time it was set up.

On 22 December 2017, the Adani Group acquired the power arm of Reliance Infrastructure for ₹18,800 crore (US$2.89 billion).

In October 2019, French oil and gas company TotalEnergies bought a 37.4% stake in Adani Gas for ₹6,155 crore (US$874.04 million) and obtained joint control of the company. Total also invested US$510 million in a subsidiary of Adani Green Energy in February 2020.

In August 2020, Adani Group obtained a majority stake in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai airports after entering a debt acquisition agreement with GVK Group. Through a concession agreement with the Airports Authority of India, Adani Group also obtained a 50-year lease on Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Jaipur, Lucknow, Mangalore and Thiruvananthapuram airports.

In May 2021, Adani Green Energy acquired SB Energy, a joint venture of SoftBank Group and Bharti Enterprises, for US$3.5 billion.

In May 2022, the Adani Group acquired Ambuja Cements and ACC for $10.5 billion. The deal will make the Adani Group the second largest cement maker in India.

In May 2022, UAE-based conglomerate International Holding Company (IHC), headed by Syed Basar Shueb, invested US$2 billion in three Adani Group companies, namely Adani Green Energy, Adani Transmission and Adani Enterprises. In June 2022, TotalEnergies acquired a 25% stake in Adani New Industries, the newly formed green hydrogen subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, for US$12.5 billion.

In May 2025, Adani Group abruptly ended its partnership with China-based lounge provider DragonPass, days after announcing it, stating DragonPass users would no longer access Adani airport lounges, with no impact on other customers.

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