TCS leads surge in industrial AI investments amid defence, renewable energy and agritech deals

Tata Consultancy Services drives a wave of strategic partnerships and projects in AI, defence, renewable energy and agritech, signalling accelerated corporate investment in emerging sectors and infrastructure.

Tata Consultancy Services’ expanding push into industrial AI and systems modernisation is a common thread running through a raft of corporate developments this week, as companies across sectors announced strategic deals, leadership moves and large project awards...

that together point to accelerating investment in defence, renewable energy, agritech and AI-ready infrastructure.

TCS is central to two separate partnership narratives. According to a company announcement, TCS has teamed up with Redzone to help mid-market manufacturers accelerate digital modernisation and extract value from artificial intelligence without the disruption and heavy lifting usually associated with traditional enterprise resource planning rollouts. This ties into a broader pattern at TCS: the firm has also disclosed a strategic collaboration with AMD to scale AI from pilot projects into production, modernise hybrid cloud and edge estates, and co-develop industry-specific GenAI solutions by combining TCS’s domain expertise with AMD’s high-performance computing stack. TCS’s recent contract renewals and digital transformation mandates with large industrial clients underscore how the consultancy is positioning itself as a one-stop partner for enterprises seeking to embed AI across operations and workplaces. According to TCS statements, these alliances are intended to reduce time-to-outcome while strengthening security and performance for cloud-to-edge workloads.

Banking leadership changes were confirmed at City Union Bank after the Reserve Bank of India cleared the elevation of R Vijay Anandh to Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. Company profiles and corporate filings show Anandh brings more than 28 years’ experience across retail assets, credit appraisal, risk management and recoveries, having previously led retail asset business and collections at RBL Bank. The central bank’s approval formalises a management succession that industry observers say brings continuity to the private-sector lender’s retail strategy.

Marico’s South East Asia arm has moved to bolster its regional portfolio through an agreement to acquire 75% of Vietnam-based skincare company Skinetiq for about ₹261.6 crore, according to an exchange filing. The two-tranche purchase gives Marico a local brand foothold in a fast-growing market for personal-care products and aligns with multinational FMCG players’ cautious expansion into Southeast Asia.

Defence and shipbuilding also dominated headlines. Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers and Hindustan Shipyard Limited have signed a memorandum of understanding to form a consortium aimed at a major national shipbuilding programme, a move described by the companies as intended to advance indigenous maritime capabilities and long-term operational readiness. In related defence supply activity, Shree Refrigerations reported new orders totalling more than ₹40 crore over the past two months from the Indian Navy, primarily for retrofitting and spare-parts replenishment; the company says its closing order book now exceeds ₹320 crore (excluding GST), providing a clearer medium-term revenue outlook. Separately, Mistral Solutions, a subsidiary of Axiscades Technologies, has secured an order worth about ₹80 crore under Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd’s Tejas LCA Mk1A programme, reflecting continued procurement for domestic aerospace platforms.

Renewable energy and energy storage gained scale with Ceigall India winning a Letter of Award of roughly ₹1,700 crore from Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Ltd to build a 220 MW solar plant paired with battery energy storage at Morena Solar Park in Madhya Pradesh. The project, awarded at a tariff of ₹2.70 per kWh, strengthens the developer pipeline for large-scale solar-plus-storage in central India.

Agritech product development continued apace. Godrej Agrovet has launched TAKAI, an insecticide for rice utilising Cyclapryn technology licensed from ISK Japan, which the company expects to deploy at two stages of crop growth to protect against stem borer and leaf folder. Godrej Agrovet is also pursuing label approvals to add maize, chilli, cabbage, soybean, chickpea and sugarcane to TAKAI’s registration.

Infrastructure for sovereign and enterprise AI workloads moved forward through a cross-border industrial tie-up. Submer, the EU-based liquid-cooling and AI infrastructure specialist, said it will partner with Anant Raj Cloud to roll out AI-ready data centres across India, combining Submer’s liquid-cooling hardware and software platforms with local design, build and operational services. The collaboration is presented by the partners as an example of industrial cooperation following the EU-India trade framework, with an emphasis on energy-efficient, high-density compute and a single accountable supplier model for end-to-end AI data-centre delivery.

Capital markets and corporate strategy moves rounded out the updates. UVS Hospitality and Services, which recently rebranded from Thirdwave Financial Intermediaries, has scheduled a board meeting for 14 February to consider a capital-raising plan and the proposed share-swap acquisition of Calcio Restaurants Private Ltd, following the execution of a term sheet in late 2025. The transaction, if approved, would extend UVS’s footprint into restaurant assets.

Taken together, these announcements illustrate several converging trends: consultancies such as TCS are leveraging partnerships to lower the barriers firms face when adopting AI and modernising IT; defence and renewable-energy programmes continue to generate substantial procurement and contract awards; and corporates in consumer goods and agritech are using targeted acquisitions and new product rollouts to expand market reach. For investors and industry watchers, the near-term implication is heightened activity across technology-enabled services, defence suppliers, renewables and agribusiness, with execution and regulatory approvals likely to determine which stories deliver the most visible results.

Source: Noah Wire Services