Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to Vedanta Limited Q2 FY 2024 earnings conference call. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during this conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star then zero on your touchtone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Ms. Prerna, Deputy Head, Investor Relations and Company Secretary, Vedanta Limited. Thank you, and over to you, ma'am. Thank you, Neerav. Hello everyone, and welcome to our second quarter of the fiscal 2023-2024 earnings conference call. I'm Prerna, and on behalf of the entire team of Vedanta Limited, would like to thank you for joining us today to discuss our financial results and business performance. The transcript and audio of this call will be made available on our website. The financial statements, press release, and presentation are already available on the website. Today, from our leadership team, we have Mr. Arun Misra, the Executive Director, Vedanta Limited; Mr. Ajay Goel, our Chief Financial Officer; and Ajay Agarwal, President Finance. Today, we are also joined by our leaders from our key businesses, Mr. John Slaven, CEO, Vedanta Aluminium; Mr. Sunil Gupta, who's the CEO for Jharsuguda, and along with him we have Mr. Hitesh Vaid, who's our CFO for the Cairn Oil & Gas business. Please note that today's entire discussion will be covered by the cautionary statement on slide number two of the presentation. We will start with the update on our operational and financial performance, and then we will open the floor for the Q&A. Now, I would like to hand over the call to Mr. Misra. Thank you all for joining the call today. The second quarter was defining in terms of strategic direction for Vedanta and its subsidiaries. Vedanta's board approved a proposal to demerge the business into six independent listed entities, each one capable of executing its individual business strategies. The decision is a significant step forward in its journey of sustainable growth and greater shareholder value. The demerger would create six incredibly competitive, nimble, and focused enterprises. We have filed the scheme of demerger with the stock exchange in October 2023, and are working on next steps as we speak. We exited the second quarter with strong financial results. We delivered the highest ever second quarter consolidated revenue of INR 38,546 crore, up 16% quarter-on-quarter. We have also delivered highest ever second quarter EBITDA of INR 11,834 crore, up 70% quarter-on-quarter, and a strong margin of 35% and PAT before exceptional items of INR 4,403 crore, up approximately three times quarter-on-quarter. I'm very pleased to share that in this year's S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment Index, formerly known as Dow Jones Sustainability Index, Vedanta has achieved 5-point improvement year-on-year, taking Vedanta to 100th percentile of index as on October end. Moving to operational performance, each of our business is working to become more competitive globally, and this quarter has been excellent in terms of operational performance, with healthy production and good control of costs visible across the businesses. Starting with aluminum sector, the business delivered one of the best quarters in terms of production and operational efficiency. Production was up consecutively for the third quarter in a row. Cost of production has been trending lower with each quarter, with a 6% reduction quarter-on-quarter and 25% reduction year-on-year. With respect to alumina, Lanjigarh production was up 17% quarter-on-quarter, with significant reduction in costs. Lanjigarh is on track to deliver the first 1.5 million tonne per annum train in quarter four, followed by train two of another 1.5 million tonne per annum in second quarter of FY 2025. This is a significant lever in the journey to structurally place aluminum in the first quartile of cost curve. Turning to Hindustan Zinc, the business produced the highest ever first half mined metal and continued to remain in the first decile of cost curve globally, with a further 5% reduction in costs quarter-on-quarter and 10% reduction year-on-year. Progressing on its growth project, it commissioned India's first fumer plant, commissioned 30,000 tons per annum alloy facility, and a new concentrator in Rajpura Dariba mine, increasing the production of zinc and lead metal in concentrate. Zinc International also exited the quarter with a cost reduction of 1% quarter-on-quarter and 6% year-on-year. Oil & Gas business delivered stable production sequentially, supported by production from infill well campaign in MBA and RD fields and enhanced recovery projects. OpEx declined significantly by 6% quarter-on-quarter and 4% year-on-year through optimization of polymer consumption. Moving to iron ore business, we are pleased to share that Karnataka Mines have received an enhanced mine environmental clearance of 7.2 million ton per annum, further strengthening our mining portfolio. The business delivered nearly double the EBITDA sequentially, driven by higher sales, 44% up quarter-on-quarter, and 14% up year-on-year from Karnataka Mines and margin expansion at Pig Iron business unit. In VAB, pig iron production has shown 80% increase year-on-year. As a result of higher operational efficiency, we have seen an improvement of 36% in quarterly margin. In Electrosteel, saleable production at 378 kt was up 17% quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year, both on margins, improving sequentially on account of operational efficiency and favorable input commodity prices despite a subdued pricing environment. Our quarterly margin increased from 36% quarter-on-quarter, driven by significant reduction in cost of sales. The business continues to operate at an enhanced capacity of 1.7 million tonnes per annum, post-debottlenecking, carried out in FY 2023 and progressing steadily on the 3 million tonnes per annum expansion project. In FACOR, our 33 MVA furnace has been commissioned, and we are ramping up production. The ferrochrome production stands at 22,000 tonnes, which is 130% up quarter-on-quarter and 97% up year-on-year. The quarterly margin improved to $195 per tonne, driven by higher production and operational efficiencies. Coming to copper, the cathode production stands at 35,000 tonnes, which is 14% up quarter-on-quarter. To sum it up, we are encouraged by the positive performance in the second quarter and intend to build on that momentum. Moving on to our growth story, we have a strong pipeline of growth projects at various stages of completion across the portfolio. Additionally, we are incorporating future-enabling businesses in our portfolio, making Vedanta's future exciting. We are at an exciting inflection point where we are accelerating on our volume growth across the portfolio. The delivery of our growth and vertical integration projects over the coming quarters, combined with acceleration in commodity prices, will drive profitability across our businesses. In aluminum sector, we are expecting first metal out of our 435,000 tons per annum BALCO smelter by FY 2025. Sijimali mine to start by FY 2025, taking up bauxite capacity to 9 million tons per annum and expanding coal mines from 3.6 million tons per annum to 34 million tons per annum. Lanjigarh is also geared up to take the captive alumina from 2 million tons per annum to 5 million tons per annum. Coming to zinc sector, in Hindustan Zinc, we are focused towards setting up our 150,000 tons per annum roaster project and 5.1 lakh tons per annum fertilizer project. Also, talking about Zinc International, we are progressing well in terms of Gamsberg Phase 2 expansion. In iron ore, we want to increase our mine volume by expanding our Karnataka mines from current 6 million tons to 7.2 million tons, and then on to 10 million tons. Liberia to expand from 1.5 million tons to 5 million tons. Strong focus on operationalization of Goa mines and Orissa mines. Ferro growth is extremely important for us to have competitive advantage, hence we want to augment our ferrochrome production from 150,000 tons per annum to 450,000 tons per annum. On this strategic priority, the board has already approved sufficient CapEx towards about INR 2,650 crore for the ferrochrome project. This should further strengthen FACOR's position as one of India's leading ferrochrome producer and exporter of ferro alloys. In copper front, our first priority is to restart Tuticorin operations. In our old businesses under VGCB, we want to take our volume to about 10 million tons. Coming to communities and their wellbeing, Vedanta continues to work towards uplifting the quality of life of communities through various initiatives around drinking water, sanitation, healthcare, community infrastructure, children wellbeing, and education. The company spent more than INR 226 crore in first half of the year on CSR, reaching a milestone of 16 million beneficiaries and 5,700 Nand Ghar, the flagship program of, to modernize anganwadis. Progressing towards a greener business model, the group achieved a water positive ratio of 0.7 and utilized 84% of its HVLT waste, recycled 30% water, and increased biomass firing by 40%. Hindustan Zinc becomes India's first company in metals and mining sector to have validated its near-term and long-term GHG emission reduction targets from the Science Based Targets initiative. In a first, BALCO achieved environmental norm compliance of less than 10 kg per ton of fluoride consumption for the first time in quarter two. This is a significant milestone that will result in reduced costs and resource conservation. Before I hand over to Ajay for financial update, let me emphasize our strategic priorities for delivering lasting value for our stakeholders. First, we are committed to our Transforming for Good strategy, which emphasizes environmental responsibility, strong governance, and our social partnerships. Second, we are dedicated to expanding our reserves and resource base. Third, we are committed to continued value-added growth in all our businesses. Fourth, we maintain a disciplined approach to capital allocation and a strong focus on our balance sheet. And fifth, we are dedicated to achieve the best results through our exceptional team and valuable assets. With those remarks, over to you, Ajay. Thank you, Arun, and good evening, everyone. I'm very happy to come back to Vedanta, such a critical time as we embark on our journey of demerger and unlock significant value for shareholders. At the same time, we also reorient ourselves towards next phase of organic growth. During second quarter, the commodity prices remains under pressure, mainly due to outstripping of supply as compared to demand growth. The global economy has slowed down compared to last year, with growing regional divergences. However, Indian economy remains resilient, driven by healthy momentum in manufacturing and services. Inflation is easing gradually, but remains well above target in major economies. Strong government spending on infrastructure has led to robust demand for metals and minerals domestically. Leveraging strong domestic demand in a subdued pricing environment, our teams have delivered robust operational performance and a very good set of financial results. I want to share some of the financial highlights for the current quarter. In second quarter, we delivered highest ever second quarter consolidated revenue of INR 38,546 crore, which is up 16% quarter-on-quarter. Highest ever second quarter EBITDA of INR 11,834 crore, up 70% quarter-on-quarter, with a strong margin of 35%. Free cash flow, pre-CapEx of INR 5,694 crore, up 84% quarter-on-quarter. Very strong double-digit ROCE, about 31%, which is up 460 basis points quarter-on-quarter. PAT before exceptional items of INR 4,403 crore, which is almost 3x, three times quarter-on-quarter. Finally, the net debt reduced by INR 1,421 crore quarter-on-quarter. I now move to EBITDA bridge. EBITDA is 70% higher quarter-on-quarter, as softening of input commodities, cost reduction initiatives, higher volumes and premia has positive impact on maintaining the margins. We also received favorable arbitration award in August 2023, in our Oil & Gas business, upholding our contention that we are not liable to pay additional profit petroleum in relation to allocation of common development costs across development areas, and that we are also entitled to cost recovery of exploration costs for the purpose of computing profit oil. Moving on to next page, on balance sheet and debt. Net debt as of September 30th stand at INR 57,771 crore, as against INR 59,190 crore as on last quarter. The net debt decreased overall, majorly due to strong cash from operations and partly offset by working capital build-up and allocation of funds towards CapEx and returning money to our shareholders. Our leverage ratio, which is net debt to EBITDA, stood at 1.64x, compared to 1.88 in the previous quarter. We finished the quarter with healthy cash and cash equivalents of INR 15,702 crore. Our average maturity of debt is maintained at about three years, with average cost of borrowings at about 9%. This quarter, we also transitioned to new tax regime for Vedanta Limited, a simpler tax structure starting FY 2023, which is the last year. Adoption of new tax regime has resulted in one-time net MAT write-off of INR 6,128 crore, but we had a net cash tax savings of INR 2,040 crore for fiscal year 2022 and 2023 from the same. The cash tax in future years will also be lower under new regime. The scheme allows companies to lower tax outflow and redeploy the same on operations, growth and shareholder value creation. A quick word on demerger: We have filed the scheme of demerger with the stock exchanges in October 2023, and we are progressing well on our plan. Finally, in conclusion, the risks to the outlook are now far more balanced than they were six months ago, with the operating environment stabilizing. We remain committed to the cost and production guidance at the beginning of fiscal year 2024, and we are making good progress towards our long-term goals of vertical integration, operational excellence and deleveraging. With this, I now hand over to operator for Q&A. Thank you. Thank you very much. We'll now begin the question-and-answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touchtone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. Participants, you may press star and one to ask a question. The first question is from the line of Amit Dixit from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead. Yeah, hi, good evening, everyone, and thanks for the opportunity. I have two questions. The first one relates to aluminum division, wherein mining, the commencement of mining at captive block has been pushed back by a couple of quarters. Even VAP expansion has been pushed back. So just wanted to understand the reasons for that while coal block might not be fully in our control, but VAP expansion definitely is. So just wanted to understand the reasons behind the same. That is the first question. So maybe, John, we have John Slaven, former Aluminium CEO with us. John, would you like to answer? Yes, certainly. Thanks for the question. So I'll, I'll answer the first question on the mining projects. We are working across all of the, the mining projects that we have through, a process of approvals. As you, as you probably would imagine, is a, is a pretty complex process, and I am very pleased with the progress that our team is making in terms of securing those approvals. So, while we may not have kept up to the initial timelines that, had been shared, I think we are making very, very good progress now. And the, the timelines that we have shared in, in this presentation, we are confident that we can achieve as we move forward. The second question I will defer to, Sunil. Sunil Gupta, can you please answer that question? The second question, the mining, mining project you are talking, I think. No, no. Second, second is the value-added product project. Yeah, value-added product, I just, just wanted to share that we have all 100% capacity of our value-added project in Jharsuguda and BALCO, both put together. Jharsuguda, we are putting up 480 kt value-added project, and similarly, 450 kt in Balco. Both the projects are on, and they are coming in time, is what I can say. Then by this, we are going to have around 85% of VAP. So if I may, Sunil, if I may add, while two coal mine projects are maybe slightly delayed because of various clearances, the Jamkhani project, which was originally designed for 2.5 million tons, has actually when we speak, it is currently operating at 4.5 million ton capacity on the monthly numbers, if we add up. So we have doubled the production from the one mine, which is already in clearance. Other two mines, so we have made up for that. Whereas the evaluated product is actually the strict timelines that we've taken for ourselves. That is for various reasons, maybe slightly delayed, but the numbers, the production that will come up now will suffice for whatever delays that are caused by it. Got it. And secondly, sir, for both the coal blocks also, there we have done a substantially good progress on the public hearing. We have already started the land acquisition also. So we will complete in that timeline. Yeah, just wanted to- Thanks, Sunil. Yeah. Sorry, just wanted to understand where we are stuck there. I mean, is it related to land acquisition? Is it related to the- No, no, no. It's the, it's the various stages of the forest clearances, which is stage one, stage two clearance, and, you know, they are always coupled with some clarificatory questions, then they go, go back and they keep settling. So nothing undue delay there. Yeah. Okay. Right. Okay. Right. The second question is on ferrochrome. Now, here, our capacity expansion plans are quite, I would say, aggressive, by 300 ktpa. And ferrochrome, as we all know, is the power guzzler. And our larger goal is to reduce the emissions. So how do we tie the power, our, our, you know, goal of reducing emissions with enhancing ferrochrome capacity? That is one. And secondly, what, where do we expect to ship this ferrochrome? Because, I mean, as far as I understand, ferrochrome capacity is, I mean, there is like, the market is quite balanced today. So why this sudden plan of expanding in this ferrochrome, or whether we want to expand in stainless steel at a later stage as well? So as is nature, the way our group operates, we have always been in business where we are the number one, number two, or number three. We would not like to become a small player in a big market and continue in that status. So our ambitions are always to be in the number one, number two, and ferrochrome expansion plan is no exception. That is to begin with our intention on a visionary level. Second, when we talk of ferrochrome, it's a key ingredient for stainless steel making, and in Indian steel production growth, if you see last 10 years, which have mostly been in the auto sectors or on the building sector, within long products that people have expanded. We firmly believe as the GDP per capita grows or as the country grows, you will see expansion in consumption of aluminum, expansion in consumption of stainless steel. And it's not only India, entire Southeast Asia, this is going to be the situation in next 5 to 10 years. And to keeping that strong growth in mind, we feel that, you know, Vedanta will play a key role in the development part of India, and hence the nature of this expansion. As far as your question on, ferrochrome production being power guzzler and it being dependent on thermal coal, we need to appreciate that our own group company, Serentica, is already putting up thousands and thousands of megawatts of, few gigawatt capacity of hybrid power of solar, wind, followed up or backed up by pump hydro storage. Almost all Vedanta units are signing up with them for power supply. Some, most of the power supply currently signed up would land anywhere between 2024-2026, and I'm sure ferrochrome, these projects will take another three years to come up, and by that time we will have, round-the-clock renewable power agreements and the lines being drawn or the capacities being put up. So there would be time that we stick to our emission reduction targets that we've set for ourselves by 2050 net zero, and as well as looking at the numbers of 2040, 2030 internal targets are there. We have got our actions, completely lined up as far as emissions are concerned. So what you are confirming is that ferrochrome plant would be fed from round-the-clock renewable power capacity? As, as in future, obviously, yes. Okay. Okay, sir. Thank you, and all the best. Thank you. Next question is from the line of Pallav Agarwal, from Antique Stock Broking. Please go ahead. Yeah, good evening, sir. So just firstly, just want a clarification on the arbitration award. So, you know, part of the impairment, I'm guessing that would be under exceptional item. Is that understanding right? So that would not affect our revenue and EBITDA portion. That's, that's the correct, Pallav. If I take a bigger background, as you know, in the whole arbitration, there are two dimensions. The first remains allocation of the common developmental cost across developmental areas, which is DA 1 and DA 2. The second aspect remains recovery of exploration costs in many areas. On both the areas, the arbitration awards is positive for Vedanta Limited. That lead to that one significant gain in terms of revenue and EBITDA in the current quarter, almost INR 4,600 crore. Secondly, that also lead us to reevaluate our CIHL investment, the carrying value towards DCF. That lead to impairment reversal made in the past years, almost INR 1,200 crore. That will not impact EBITDA, you're right. Sure. So then also, you know, for the, we have been, you know, showing the initial sales on all of it also as a separate item. So, I think this quarter, maybe it's not mentioned separately. Was that a significant amount in Q2? So it is, it is now part of our team results, Pallav, and amount again is insignificant. It will not show. On the point of the award, one more clarification: This is not only a notional gain, the entire INR 4,600 crore will be recovered in cash. As in future, we'll pay our PP to the government. Also, on a continuing basis, we'll have a gain on the profit and loss account, both profit and the cash, almost INR 20 million on an every quarter basis. The quantum is large in current quarter, given it pertain to last seven quarters. So it is a real gain impacting both profit and the cash in future. Okay, thank you for the clarification. Just also, but on the deferred tax write-off, so that is a non-cash item, so that will not affect, impact any cash flow as such. Is that correct, sir? That's right. You know, the new tax regime, the discussion is on for quite some time. In the current quarter, looking at multiple scenarios, be it the pricing or, for example, our allocation of capital policy, we believe transitioning to new tax regime is beneficial. It will lead to one-time non-cash, you're right, non-cash impact of INR 6,130 crore. But it also gave us tax benefit, which is a cash benefit in the last fiscal, almost INR 2,340-odd crore. The quantum will be almost similar in the current year as well. Net, net, the cash tax benefit is real over the next two years' time. The one-time write-down is non-cash. Sure, sir. So finally, if I can, you know, just, on the aluminium, you know, CoP, we have been seeing reduction. So can we expect a further reduction in 3Q, a significant reduction in, apart from coal and, and other input costs? No, they have been quarter on quarter, they have a steady, steady decrease in, in, you know, CoP, and that trend will continue, as long as their own Jamkhani productions, own coal productions have gone up, and new coal mines, which is Radhikapur and Kuraloi, as they come into operation, we can only expect and Lanjigarh capacity expanding, bauxite mine coming into play. I think we, we have a clear roadmap to reducing to, immediate, terms, about $1,800 per ton to, and future, maybe another, another $200 or so we should be able to reduce. Sure, sir. Yeah, thank you so much, sir. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you. The next question is from the line of Vikash Singh from Phillip Capital. Please go ahead. Good evening, sir. Good evening. Yeah. So my first question pertains to Oil & Gas segment. Just wanted to understand, since we are just failing to ramp up the production to a desired level in the quarter after quarter, what is the CapEx which we need just to spend to maintain the volume only, if not the extra volume? So the volume of 130-140 kboepd, what is the CapEx which we need to continue to spend just to maintain the volume there? As we look at the last four, five quarters, we have been steadily maintaining the same volume, between 135 to 138 or 140 kboepd barrels. This is something we'll continue. As far as expanding the volume beyond this, or how to counter the natural decline, I will ask if Hitesh is there. Hitesh, would you like to comment how to prevent the natural decline? Yeah. Good evening. I think it's for the Oil & Gas business, as you rightly said, to manage decline, we continue to drill, you know, additional wells in our fields, in all our traditional fields, to call it as infill wells. And generally, every year we end up drilling around, say, 25, 30 new wells, which cost us, say, around $150 million-$200 million of additional CapEx on a gross basis. So from our viewpoint of view, roughly between $100 million-$150 million is the cost which we incur on additional new infill wells, which help us to manage the decline. Understood. Understood. My second question pertains to Zinc International business. That segment is also seems that we are not actually increasing the volume to desired level. Last two quarter has been kind of stuck, hands were kind of stuck in some 50 kt. So is it because the market is weak and that's why we are not ramping up, or there are some other issues which is forcing us not to ramp up to desired level? In Zinc International now is in a transition stage, while they are to maintain between 60 kt-70 kt of production per quarter on the MIC front, but they are also have launched expansion of the open pit mine to augment the productions to 600 ktpa and put up a concentrator, and all that projects are also on. So it's in the transition, maybe another two quarters of very aggressive overburden removal, and then aggressive stripping work will happen for maybe couple of more months or maybe a quarter more, and then their productions will come back to even 70 kt-75 kt per quarter kind of a number we'll see being generated by them. Understood, sir. And so just one clarification, since you said this INR 4,600 crore, so this is not a incremental immediate cash inflow, but we will pay less in the subsequent quarters, and that's why the cash generation in the subsequent quarter would be higher. This is not a one bullet payment which we get. Is that understanding correct? Correct. The impact of INR 4,600 crore is, in fact, we will have a positive cash impact over the next few quarters. So it will be have impact on the cash as well going forward. So cash outflow would be basically less in the subsequent quarter, adjusting for this money? That's correct. Yeah. That's all from my side. Thank you for answering my question, and all the best for the future. Thank you, Vikash. Thank you. Next question is from the line of Ashish Kejriwal from Nuvama Wealth Management. Please go ahead. Yeah, hi, good evening, everyone. Thanks for the opportunity. So I have three questions. One is, you mentioned about the captive coal. Definitely we know that this is not under our control, but, is it possible to share where are we in that stage, whether we have received Stage 1 or Stage 2 forest clearance and environmental clearance? Because this is a sequence which we normally follow: forest clearance, environmental clearance, then mining lease, and then only we can open the mine. So if it's possible, that will be great. And, if we are, very confident about the second quarter of FY 2025, it will be great if you can, guide us, what kind of captive coal we can do in FY 2025. That's my first question. So, if you look at the three coal mines, Radhikapur, Kuraloi, and Jamkhani. Jamkhani has already started operating, and we are operating at double the design capacity that we started with, to make up for the shortage in supply because of the delay in other places. Radhikapur is already environment clearance is obtained, but some of the forest land clearances are in the Stage 1 or Stage 2 stage. Kuraloi is forest clearance is on, and then we will be able to move it. So I think it's another... Sunil, any comment on the timeline? Maybe another couple of quarters when we can set it through. I think, I think the Kuraloi will be the first we are going to start the quarter one, 2025, which we are talking. And what you have said rightly, that we have done the public hearing, we got the EC also, and the forest clearance is under progress. So this is the problem. Jamkhani, already we are running at the double of the capacity. And Radhikapur, already we are in the stage of the forest clearance first. So, sir, you want to give any guidance of volume guidance for FY 2025 from these mines? And, in Jamkhani also, when we are operating at double the capacity, have we received the EC on that, or it will be just on a monthly basis we have, you know, the capacity? On a monthly rate basis, and overall, as you know, we being operating, whatever we produce has to be under the EC. So on that account, there is no issues on that. As far as giving guidance is concerned, we don't give specific guidance on every items of the production, so to say. Our aluminum guidance remains same. If you are interested in knowing current Jamkhani production, what percentage is of the total, coal input, it may somewhere around 9%-10% only. Okay. So that means, if I understand correctly, next year also, we can produce 4.5 million ton from Jamkhani itself. Oh, oh, sure. Oh, sure. Okay. Sir, second is, obviously, about Vedanta Resources that, you know, is it possible to give us a status of what we are, where we are in terms of repayment, restructuring, and how we are going to deal with it? And along with that, can we also indicate that the debt which we have at, Vedanta Limited level, this could be the peak debt for this year? Sure. So let me start, Ashish, and my colleagues also may help. I'll start with our, our lofty vision, what we committed almost 2.5 years ago, and there we committed we'll be de-leveraging VRL $4 billion over three years. If you look at FY 2022, 2023, and the current fiscal, in 2.5 years, we have de-leveraged VRL by $3.5 billion. So both in terms of value and the timescale, we are on plan, in fact, ahead of plan. Now, looking at the near term at Vedanta Resources, in Q3, ending in December, we barely have any maturities, and the next port of calling remains in the fourth quarter, which is ending in March, sometime in January, almost $1 billion of bonds. So net, net, we need almost $1 billion at VRL in next six months' time, for which we have multiple options. We're engaging with many bankers. And, I think looking at Vedanta's ability of raising resources, our deep engagement with the capital markets, I think that will be addressed pretty soon. Hopefully, by December end, we'll have, a billion, which is required in the fourth quarter, fully, fully addressed. Coming to Vedanta Limited, our debt is about, $8.5 billion. Again, if I give you a picture in the near term, in the third quarter in December, the, the refinancing need is almost INR 4,000 crore, and the fourth quarter, almost INR 5,000 crore. So give and take, over the next six months, almost, $1.1 billion. Which again, I would think, looking at our operating assets and the free cash flows and our ability of refinancing, which is par for the course. Overall, Ashish, or I will say both for Vedanta Limited and Vedanta Resources, for upcoming maturities in the current fiscal, we feel absolutely comfortable. Sure. And sir, just to elaborate on that, definitely we can get it, but will it be much higher cost as compared to the maturity which we have to analyze? No, not really, but I would say, I mean, say, the cost of the funding, I would say right now, is more a reflection of the current macro environment, not necessarily in terms of Vedanta, Vedanta Resources. Our recent refinancings are in the same ballpark, not very high. But of course, as we go along, we'll have more information, and we'll know more. Sure, sure. And sir, lastly, on the dividend payment, where we are in that state, status of conversion of general reserve into retained earnings? The status has not changed, I would say, over the last couple of months. Still, we need the NCLT approval, which again, requires approval by the creditors. We're engaging with them, for sure, but nothing substantive that we can share with you right now. Sure, sure. Thank you. All the best. Thank you, Ashish. Thank you. Next question is from the line of Vikash Agarwal from Bank of America. Please go ahead. Hi, good evening. Can you hear me? Yes. Yes, hi. Good evening, everyone. Just a couple of follow-up questions on some of the discussion points before. One is on the application award. So I'm seeing the amount mentioned as INR 9,545 crore as the government demand. Whereas what you have written back as part of revenue and EBITDA for this quarter is INR 4,761 crores, and asset impairment write back of INR 1,179 crore. Can you help us, you know, reconcile these numbers? And if you can also, you know, just share some insights on how the cash flow discussion that you mentioned, you know, will be benefiting from lower cash outflow in the coming quarters. So how would you distribute this cash flow in the coming quarters, the INR 4,761 crore, which you have written back? That's my first question. And second question is if you can share also the retained earnings level for Vedanta Limited standalone at the end of September. Yeah, sure. So let me cover all the areas, Vikas. First starting with the INR 9,500 crore, about the $1.1 billion-$1.2 billion. It was a demand raised by DGA as part of their in-their audit processes. In terms of the arbitration award that we received, on almost all the points, be it the allocation of common cost on the development areas or in terms of equivalent cost recovery, it is positive for us. So against $1.1 billion demand, what we write back now is almost INR 4,600 crore, give and take $500 million in the current quarter, which goes to both revenue and EBITDA. Additionally, almost INR 1,200 crore rupees is a reversal of impairment taken in the past. So INR 4,600 crore will be cash as well in future. How this INR 4,600 crore will metamorphose into cash? When we pay profit petroleum to the government in the coming quarters, we'll be withholding or adjusting that amount in future. Hence, INR 4,600 crore also will be cash impact in future. Let me also add that this is not a one-time gain, you know, as I initially mentioned. Going forward, on a quarterly basis, almost 20-odd million will impact both on positive, on cash, given the PP becomes lower from 60% to almost 50% right now. Finally, third part, you mentioned about what is the RE position for Vedanta Limited. So as in September 30th, the quarter just passed by, it is INR 2,400 crores as of now, crores. Got it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Next question is from Abhiram Iyer from Deutsche Bank. Please go ahead. Yeah, hi. Just a quick follow on the previous question. You mentioned your, the, the, your PP is now gonna reduce to 50%, which is why there'll be a, a ca- a cash... You will basically withhold payments to the government of around INR 20 million per quarter. That is over and above the INR 4,600 that you are gonna that you had from the arbitration award this the this specific quarter. And also, what, what's the timeframe for the INR 4,600 to come in if this is not the INR 20 million, if this is over and above the INR 20 million? So, so both are, in fact, separate and additive, I must say, Abhiram. So the INR 4,600 crore is gained in the current quarter, which will get liquidified over next, I guess, few quarters. And that will be the lower PP that we pay to the government in future. Now, in terms of timelines, it all depends in terms of the pricing environment and how much PP is payable. It will take some time for sure, but the entire INR 4,600 crore will be cash realization. $20 million will be additional impact for the future revenues with the government. It will be $20 million every quarter, EBITDA and free cash flows. So both are separate and both one can add. Got it. Just for my understanding here, if what does... You withhold the entire amount until this INR 4,600 is clear. Is that right? And what would be the corresponding amount for this quarter? Just to get a sense. I mean, obviously, it depends on pricing, as you mentioned. So we also got our Oil & Gas CFO, Hitesh Vaid on the call. I'll request him to share some more information. Yeah. So I think, you know, out of this INR 4,700 crore, in this quarter, we have adjusted INR 1,000 crore. So roughly it will take around, say, five quarters to adjust the full amount. And of course, we will adjust fully and then start paying again. Got it. Got it. So, but from a margin perspective, from my understanding, the higher margin will be in this quarter, but you go back to the margin improving by that INR 20 million that you talked about from the next quarter onwards. However, from a cash flow perspective, give or take INR 1,000 crore, as you mentioned, would be getting reversed. Correct. Correct. So that 20 million, you know, will be, will be an EBITDA benefit, but of course, that, you know, 20 million gets added to this receivable, so that's why, you know, INR 1,000 crore we record in one quarter. So roughly about five quarters, we'll recover the full, you know, INR 5,000 crore roughly. Understood. Understood. Another clarification is with respect to your annual report. You already had about INR 1,500 crore as you know, a potential asset, other financial assets in your books as of March. And so shouldn't the amount that would be reversed be INR 6,200 crore? Because that's INR 1,500 crore plus the INR 4,700 crore. No. So in the books, you know, because PP is payable on the first day of the next quarter, so, so that is not a correlated or same number, and some of the provisions are for different matters as well. For example, our, you know, issues related to special excise duty, as well as, you know, other, other matters. So this is not 1:1 comparison with that. Okay. And just one last question. Sorry, just clarifying this matter. You mentioned, in the recent financial that, you know, the GOI had sought additional interpretation and clarification from the tribunal and that's still pending. The company does expect a positive order result here, but is there any timeframe for this final response? And is there any recourse for the government to, you know, withhold this payment or withhold this award or withhold this cash award to you by, you know, challenging this order in the court or something? See, from the award point of view, you know, the government has sought for some clarification, but these are, you know, from, as far as the merit is concerned, the matter has been closed and awarded, right? So it would take the minimum say around a month or so to get back. But then, you know, this amount, as we said, you know, government cannot adjust assets because we have to deposit, and we have started adjusting based on the financials which we have submitted to the government as an outcome of the award. Perfect. Perfect. Thanks for the clarification. No, thank you. Thank you. Next question is from the line of Imtiaz from Barclays Bank. Please go ahead. Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity, and congrats on the second quarter performance. Mr. Goel, great to have you back. I have two, I have two questions. The first one, can you just let us know where you are now in your attempts to sell your steel and iron ore mines? Look, so we had let the world know that we have a strategic interest in looking for strategic investors in our steel and iron ore mine business. But we are at the same time investing in growing the business. We are investing in debottlenecking the operations. We are investing in getting the best people to run the shops there. So these two are two independent activities. As of now, I won't be able to put a finger on when and to whom the final decision will go to. As and when it happens, we will let it be known. Okay. The second question is with regards to your dividends. You received a dividend from Hindustan Zinc back in July. Any plans to pay that dividend out? So if you look at our allocation of capital policy in the website, which is sometime in April 2022, the timeframe that we have committed for pass on is six months. In that case, July, we have time till January. Okay. Now, we also appreciate that any dividend declaration is a board matter, and it'll be, I think, tad. Mm. I think, early in terms of commenting, what is the plan now. Overall, if you see Vedanta's current year dividend, which is about INR 39 per share, is far higher than what Vedanta got from the Zinc as well. So from taxation viewpoint- Mm-hmm. -which is 80M deduction, we are anyways fully covered. Okay, great. And my last one is just a clarification of something you just said earlier with regards to maturities at Vedanta Limited. Could you just repeat what you said? Did I hear correctly, you have about $1 billion at Vedanta Limited, maturing over the next couple of quarters? That's correct. So, so, between Q3 and the Q4, the year's second half, almost $1.2 billion are the maturities. And what I also said, if you look at our cash flow plan for the second half, it'll be more than $1.2 billion, and also our deep engagement with the capital markets, be it the PSU bankers, multinational bankers, FIIs, we feel in fact quite comfortable in terms of refinancing or repaying. Both are the options. Okay, so this is at the limited level, yeah? That's correct. Great. Okay, thank you. That's all I had. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Next question is from the line of Shreyans Daga from Barclays Bank. Please go ahead. I think my question has already been answered on the tax of, tax regime. I'd like to skip. Thanks. Thank you. Next question is from the line of Ritesh Shah from Investec. Please go ahead. Yeah. Hi, sir. Thanks for the opportunity. So a couple of questions, sir. First, can you please repeat the status on GR to RE for both Hindustan Zinc as well as Vedanta? I did hear that there's NCLT approval, and we are waiting for creditors approvals. If you could please clarify for Hindustan Zinc and Vedanta separately, please. Yeah. So for Vedanta Limited, I clarified that we are awaiting NCLT order, and there the critical step remains getting creditors' approval. We are engaged with them, and we don't have right now a timeline that I can commit to right now. For Zinc is concerned, the next hearing is happening on eighth of November, and we are hoping that will get closed in the current quarter. Sure. That is helpful. So second question is pertaining to the debt maturity at Vedanta Resources. I think you indicated around $1 billion. This pertains to, I presume, the Jan bonds. But, if I remember it right, I think we had intercompany loans, which was due for Jan, Feb, March. I don't see it in the presentation this time around. So just wanted to know the status for that besides the bond. In addition to that, are there any loans which are there? So if, if I had to look at it on a cumulative basis beyond the bonds, including ICL, how should we look at it? So, you're right. The $1 billion bond I mentioned is in fact due sometime in January, which is our fourth quarter. There is no ICL due in the current fiscal. You might remember the ICL has been deferred till 2024. So, barring this $1 billion bond in Q4, nothing more is due for refinancing at Vedanta Resources in the current fiscal. Can you help me with the number? I think it was $450 million. It was due January, February, March. Has it been pushed out? I'm not aware of it. If you could help me with the number, a particular month or a quarter would be helpful, sir. Yeah, so the exact amount is $415 million, that is due on December 31st, 2024. 2024. This is helpful. How should we look at the maturity for FY 2025? To my understanding, I think, there is something which is outstanding from Oaktree, and there are two bonds, $1 billion each, and I'm not sure if there are any loans outstanding. But based on the prior commentary, I think the number was around $3 billion. Can you help us with the timeline over here and a broader breakdown also helps us. Sure. Sure, so the numbers are right, on a ballpark basis. If you look at FY 2025, next fiscal, the term loans is almost $1 billion, in fact, a tad lower than $1 billion, and we've got almost, $2 billion worth of bonds, $1 billion each. It's about, $3.1 billion overall in next fiscal. The breakup is, practically $500 million in the first quarter, $1 billion in second quarter, and almost the same breakup, between Q3 and the Q4. So $500 million, $1 billion, $500 million, $1 billion. Where does Oaktree stand over here? Is it included in $3 billion? Correct. So the $3.1 billion for next fiscal includes everything, be it term loans or bonds, including Oaktree. So should one presume around $2 billion is bonds, around $0.5 billion is Oaktree, and the balance is outstanding loans? That's correct. Okay, that helps. So, I think you did clarify on the steel assets. I understand you are not giving any timelines over here. Just trying to have your thoughts, has the company thought of securitizing the brand fee, given that's captive? And secondly, has the company even exercised advance pay and supply agreements for any of the commodities that we operate in? Advance, I didn't get you, the last one. So advance pay and supply agreement. So this is a trade finance agreement, typically if you want to bolster your cash flows at this point in time, so. So that's also a strategic initiative that we have launched on our marketing front, maybe with few of the customers, as in when we are able to secure such agreement with an advance payment. Not so much in steel, it happens mostly on our base metal side. We do have advance payment agreement with long-term commitments with key international buyers. Not so much to do with steel, but as it happens, we will let you know. Okay. But also my question is, do we have anything of that sort, right now, on the balance sheet where we are already seeing the benefits? No, no, I don't think on the steel side we have. Sir, nonferrous, s pecifically for base metals. For nonferrous, see t here are various stages in aluminum, zinc. There are advance payment and long-term commitment to key buyers. We have that, and, they're on, on the supply side, maybe for seven months, eight months, nine months, kind of a duration we have. So, possible to quantify the number? And, how much of leeway do we have to increase this? Because this is a big variable that can actually help our cash flows. No, no. So we have... I won't be able to put, because these are all specific agreements with specific customers, won't be able to lay out that number exactly. Sure. And sir brand fee, have you thought of securitizing the stream of brand fees? Is there a possibility over there? Multiple options are being discussed, all I can say right now. But at this point in time, sharing information will not be possible. Once we take one different decision, maybe you'll be the first one to know, I can commit that. Sure. And just last question, sir, if you can help us with the status on KCM, how much is the debt over there? Are there any timelines? How should we look at that particular asset? Thank you. No. So, I think right now, KCM is, we are, we're talking of VEDL only, no? So KCM, you know, is part of Vedanta Resources. And you would know, we'll be also having an IR call for Vedanta Resources as part of H1 results reporting. Maybe that will be, I think, opportune timing to ask more specific questions around Vedanta Resources. Sure. This is helpful. Thank you so much, and all the very best. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Next question is from the line of Vikash Agarwal from Bank of America. Please go ahead. Hi. Thank you. Thanks again. Just a quick follow-up to the earlier comment on Vedanta Limited maturity. You mentioned about $1.2 billion in second half of FY 2024. Can you provide a breakup of what these maturities are and what's the refinancing plan? The Q3 is about INR 4,200 crore, and the Q4 is about INR 5,500 crore. About INR 9,500 crore-INR 9,600 crore, that's the number we have for second half. As I mentioned, if you look at our H2 cash plan, and typically our Q3 and Q4 specifically is far bigger than H1. Our cash flow, I think, even post-CapEx will be more than $1.2 billion, which can take up the whole maturities. At the same time, we're dealing with multiple bankers, be it PSU bankers or multinationals. Both in terms of refinancing and repayment, we have multiple options. And as I mentioned, we feel reasonably comfortable in managing refinancing or repayment or both. Got it. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, we will take that as the last question, and now I hand the conference over to Ms. Prerna for closing comments. Yeah, thank you, Neerav, and thank you all for taking the time to join us. I hope we were able to answer most of your questions. In case you have any further questions, please feel free to reach me or my colleague through the IR team. This concludes today's call. We look forward to reconnecting you for next quarter's earnings call. Thank you, everyone. Thank you very much. On behalf of Vedanta Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us. You may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.