Ajmer, Kota at work to realise ‘smart’ dream
Ajmer and Kota districts which couldn’t make it to the list of first 20 cities for smart city project will be vying for a spot in the second list. After these two districts were rejected in the first round, the state government is upgrading its smart city proposal and working on the shortcomings highlighted by the Centre. The reworked proposal will be submitted before June, the final deadline. In this regard, the state government has appointed a consultant firm, ICRA, for preparing action plans for these two cities. A local self-governance (LSG) official said, “The state government has appointed a new consultant to prepare the detailed project report (DPR). We are hopeful that these cities will be selected in the second list. The DPR will be submitted in June.” For Ajmer, the state government has also joined hands with US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) which will assist administration and municipal officials in preparing a roadmap for the smart city proposal. After these cities failed to secure a position in first list, the Union ministry of urban development had announced a provision of ‘fast-track round’. In all, 23 cities will compete in the ‘fast-track round’ to qualify for the second list. As per the proposal, Ajmer will be developed on retrofitting model, while Kota will be developed on green-field model. An official explained that there will be three approaches – retrofitting, redevelopment and green-field development. Under the retrofitting scheme, a city can undertake an area of minimum 500 acres and implement the scheme in three years. Similarly, in the case of green-field development, the project area can be a vacant land spread over at least 250 acres and the project can be completed in 10 years. For Ajmer, the state had earlier proposed to develop 1,334-acre area, out of which Rs 925 crore was proposed for area-based development and Rs 341 crore for pan-city development. The major development was proposed in the north side of Anna Sagar Lake in Ajmer. Similarly, for Kota which is to be developed as a green city, the state had proposed 395 acre area adjoined to Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) near Ranpur Village. It was proposed that Rs 1,045 crore will be spent to develop the area, and Rs 437 crore for the pan city development.
IL&FS keen to invest in infra projects in Hyderabad
Prominent infrastructure firm IL&FS today evinced interest in investing in different infra projects in Hyderabad, including housing and roads, the Telangana government said. IL&FS representatives met Telangana Municipal Administration Minister K T Rama Rao and held talks with him, a state government release said. IL&FS expressed its readiness in taking part in the revival of Musi river here, the release added.
Swamy demands cancellation of AirAsia India permit
A media report on Tuesday said AirAsia India is controlled by its Malaysian share holder (AirAsia Malaysia), in alleged contravention of foreign direct investment norms. While the civil aviation ministry has not responded, Tata Sons (which, along with its executives, owns 51 per cent in the airline) denied any violation of norms. However, the revelations have come as ammunition for Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy, who has been fighting a legal battle against the airline since 2013. “I will write to the ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office, demanding scrapping of the permit granted to AirAsia India,” Swamy stated. On Tuesday, Mint pointed out that a brand licensing agreement allows AirAsia Malaysia to exercise control on virtually all aspects of operations of AirAsia India. The agreement, the report said, was signed between the two entities in 2013 and gives the Malaysian partner the influence and control over key functions such as ancillary revenue, branding, revenue management engineering, finance, among others. At the heart of the controversy is a government rule which states “substantial ownership and effective control” of an airline should vest with Indian nationals.
All the Rituals Couldn’t Save Air India’s ‘Baby’ from ‘Evil’
All that Air India wanted to do was save its 20-year-old ‘baby’ from turning into a useless scrap. To ‘protect’ the baby from evil eyes, priests were called in who broke hundreds of coconuts, lengthy religious rituals (one and a half hours to be precise) were conducted before the ‘baby’ finally took its first step. But despite all the efforts, the ‘baby’, Air India’s Airbus A-320 aircraft, is now reduced to scrap which will now fetch Air India about Rs 3 lakh! Express spoke to an Air India official who, on condition of anonymity, explained in detail as to what went behind the scenes in transporting the defunct aircraft by road from the Begumpet airport to the Central Training Establishment at Ferozguda in Balanagar and how the plane flopped on the Airport Authority of India’s club house compound wall after the crane broke on Sunday. On the D-day, priests were brought in, hours of religious rituals were conducted, hundreds of coconuts were broken to protect the aircraft from evil eyes, and finally the craft took its first step at about 9:00 pm on Saturday night. “Proper trials were conducted and permissions had been taken and everything was set in motion to move the aircraft,” the official added. The plane, which was to be transported for a distance of 7.5 km to its destination, faced its first hurdle when the belt of the crane was broken inside the airport premises after travelling for a couple of kilometres. “Contrary to the reports in several newspapers, the plane was supposed to cover a distance of seven and a half kilometres. During the trials, more concentration was paid on bringing the plane till the club house as we thought it would be easier to move it on a well-laid road. Inside, it was full of ups and downs and no major problem was faced expect for the breaking of the belt,” the official said. After replacing the belt with a new one, the journey resumed and by 4 am, the aircraft was taken to the club house on the Old Bowenpally Road. It had to wait for an hour for the electricity employee to reach the place and disconnect the power supply so that the crane could move forward. “Once power was disconnected, the crane operator struggled for hours to balance the plane in the air. The wind was heavy and with every passing minute, it became even more difficult to get control over the plane. Had something like this happened inside the airport premises, we would have aborted the mission. It would also have been easy for us to halt the aircraft. Here, there was no chance of bringing the aircraft on ground as there was a wall on both sides.” At around 7 am, the crane gave in and dropped the aircraft hull on the compound wall of Air Authority of India’s club house.
MoCA moves aviation policy for inter-ministerial consultations
After months of discussions with various stakeholders, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has put up the revised draft aviation policy for inter-ministerial consultations. The development is a step forward in finalising the new civil aviation policy, whose draft was unveiled by the Ministry back in October 2015. To tap the high growth potential of the countrys aviation space, the proposed policy has suggested a slew of measures including strengthening regional connectivity and tax incentives for airlines. A senior official said the Ministry moved the draft Cabinet note on new civil aviation policy for inter-ministerial consultations last Friday. Without providing any specific details, the official said comments on the policy are expected from various ministries, including Defence and Home, in a couple of weeks. After receiving the responses, the Ministry would move the Cabinet for final approval, he said.
New Civil Aviation Policy to address issues of e-visas, regional connectivity
The new civil aviation policy of the union government, which is quite on the cards, will address both the issues of opening up the skies and regional connectivity in a very aggressive and fulfilling manner, a top Tourism Ministry official said at an ASSOCHAM event held in New Delhi. “The new tourism policy, which is just a matter of time, is going to highlight and emphasise a lot on the possibility of increasing Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events (MICE) into India,” said Vinod Zutshi, secretary, Ministry of Tourism while inaugurating a “Thought Leadership Meet on MICE Tourism in India,” organised by ASSOCHAM. Talking about the e-visa for MICE, Zutshi, “We had a meeting with the Ministry of Home Affairs a few days ago, we insisted on MICE e-visa as well, we have been trying very hard for e-visa for MICE and medical and we are hopeful to have this e-visa to see the light of the day, particularly for business tourists to begin with but we are insisting that ultimately the conference visa should also be done, which we have been assured that it will be, step-by-step.”
20 years of growth: Why India’s aviation industry is taking off
“Indians want to spend money. They’re one of the world’s biggest spenders today.” That’s the explanation Neerja Bhatia, vice president of India Etihad, offers for why India is now the world’s fastest-growing aviation sector. “If you look at the past, an average middle-class family would take one domestic holiday a year,” she tells CNN. “Today the trend has changed.” International carriers want in on the action. In 2013, India’s Jet Airways partnered with the UAE’s Etihad Airways. With Jet having the widest domestic network in India, there were suddenly dozens more routes, and tens of thousands of seats, connecting India to the Abu Dhabi hub. Together, the partnership holds 21% of India’s aviation market, meaning about one in five fliers in India board either Jet or Etihad. India’s airspace hasn’t always been so lively or attractive. The government had a monopoly on national air carriers and strict aviation policies blocked foreign ventures. That all changed with de-regulation in 1994. Air India, the country’s national carrier, has been carrying the India flag around the world for decades.
Will not allow GAIL’s pipeline project in Tamil Nadu, says Jayalalithaa
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today said that she will not allow GAIL’s pipeline project to come in the state and will keep putting pressure on the Centre not to implement in the project in Tamil Nadu. During her campaign, for the upcoming Assembly Elections, at Dharmapuri today, Jayalalithaa said around 120,000 trees will be lost because of the project. Around 1.2 million trees need to be planted, which is not possible. “I will not allow the GAIL pipeline project and will keep putting pressure the Centre not to implement the project in the state,” said Jayalalithaa. Thousands of farmers in these seven districts are opposing the project stating that it will impact their livelihood, as it will be difficult to do agriculture in the land once the pipeline is laid. GAIL (India) Limited was instructed by the Government of Tamil Nadu in 2013, for laying pipeline alongside the National Highways without affecting the agricultural lands of the farmers of Tamil Nadu. GAIL had challenged the above order of Government of Tamil Nadu in the Madras High Court which quashed the state government’s order in November 2013. Government of Tamil Nadu challenged the Order in the Supreme Court and the same was dismissed two months back. The Supreme Court ordered the State Government of Tamil Nadu to fix market value of land as on January 1, 2016 for the Right of Use (RoU) compensation purpose. The ownership of the land remains with the land owner and RoU of land is acquired for laying of gas pipeline and after laying the pipeline, the land is restored back in original condition to the land owner. Compensation is paid to the land owner as per Petroleum & Minerals Pipelines Act and the Supreme Court have ordered that the RoU compensation against land will be 10 per cent of market value as on January 2016 plus 30 per cent Solatium. Farmers can continue agricultural activities after the restoration of land and only construction of permanent structure, plantation of deep rooted trees are not allowed in the acquired RoU and as such there will be no adverse effect to the interest of the farmers, said the Minister. However, farmers fear that any kind of digging of land above the pipeline could be considered by the company as an offense and even if the pipeline is damaged due to some other reason, the land owners has to face serious legal action. They are also alleging that if the pipeline cuts across a farmland splitting the land into two parts, the farmer cannot take water from one side to the other side by establishing a pipeline, as any possible damage to the gas pipeline would result in serious legal action. The 925 kms Kochi-Kottanad-Bangalore-Mangalore pipeline passes through Kerala (505 kms), Tamil Nadu (310 kms) and Karnataka (60 kms). The pipeline has already been laid for 200 kms at a cost of Rs 6.85 billion. The project was originally started in 2012, of the total project only 50 kms has been completed in Ernakulam (Kerala). Not only in Tamil Nadu, farmers have been protesting in Kerala fearing that they will loose their livelihood. They also want the Government to withdraw the Petroleum & Mineral Pipelines Act, 1962 (PMP Act). State Government also supports the farmers in this mater. Gail India Gets Two Bids to Ship U.S. Shale Gas; Shares Gain Gail India Ltd., the South Asian country’s biggest gas transporter, said it got bids from two groups to transport shale gas from the U.S. Shares jumped the most in more than a month. The state-run company’s spokeswoman Vandana Chanana declined to name the bidders, saying Gail India won’t elaborate on commercial matters that aren’t public yet. Gail had originally floated a tender two years ago, calling for nine LNG vessels to help ship the gas starting 2017-18. Gail shares advanced 4.1 percent to 366.35 rupees on Tuesday in Mumbai, the biggest gain since March 3. The shipping tender, which closed on March 31 after several extensions since last year, seeks tankers that can carry 150,000-180,000 cubic meters of LNG, three of which must be built locally to help advance Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship ‘Make in India’ initiative aimed at creating jobs. The New Delhi-based firm bought one of the first shipments of LNG from Cheniere Energy Inc.’s Sabine Pass project in Louisiana on spot basis, making it the first Asian importer of U.S. shale gas. Gail will import about 6 million metric tons of gas from the U.S. beginning 2018, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in an interview in New Delhi on March 28. It has agreed to buy 3.5 million metric tons of LNG a year for two decades from Sabine Pass, which is expected to start supplies in March 2018. It has also booked 2.3 million tons a year capacity at the Cove Point LNG liquefaction terminal in Maryland, which is set to commence deliveries in December 2017.
Reliance, BG to hand over some drilling assets to ONGC
A joint venture led by Reliance Industries and BG Group has agreed to hand drilling infrastructure from an abandoned gas field to ONGC, their junior partner, helping the state-run group develop a large gas reserve nearby, two company sources said. Executives from Reliance, BG and ONGC signed an agreement in New Delhi on Tuesday night — providing respite in a months-long battle between the partners over the cost of closing the Tapti field off India’s west coast. The sources, with direct knowledge of the matter, declined to be named as they are not authorised to talk to the press. ONGC plans to invest around 100 billion rupees ($1.50 billion) to develop its key Daman field, which is next to Tapti. This deal will help the group keep a lid on costs. Reliance, ONGC and BG, now owned by Royal Dutch Shell, could not immediately be reached for comment.
India’s Fuel Demand Rises to Record on Gasoline, Diesel Growth
India’s fuel demand grew 11 percent in the year ended March 31, the fastest pace in records going back to fiscal 2001. Fuel use rose to 183.5 million metric tons from 165.5 million tons in the previous period, according to preliminary data on the websiteof the Oil Ministry’s Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell. Diesel consumption rose 7.5 percent to 74.6 million tons, while gasoline usage rose 14.5 percent to 21.8 million tons. “Gasoline growth has been unprecedented and has even surpassed our own expectations,” Arun Kumar Sharma, finance director at Indian Oil Corp., India’s biggest fuel retailer, said in New Delhi. “People are preferring gasoline more than diesel as the price difference between the two has narrowed.” Gasoline is taxed higher than diesel in India, resulting in the former costing more at retail pumps. The differential narrowed to about 25 percent in April from 34 percent in January. India is replacing China as the world’s oil-demand growth driver as its economy expands faster than any other major country and a growing middle class has more money to spend. The International Energy Agency estimates India to account for a quarter of global energy demand growth by 2040 as booming manufacturing and a bigger, richer and more-urbanized population will drive fuel growth. It expects the country’s oil demand to reach 10 million barrels a day in the next quarter of a century, marking the fastest growth in the world. “In addition to the boost from low oil prices, structural and policy-driven changes are underway that have resulted in India’s oil demand ‘taking off’ in a similar way to China’s during the late 1990s,” analysts including Amrita Sen at Energy Aspects Ltd. said in a note. “These changes include a rise in per capita oil consumption, a massive programme of road construction and a push towards increasing the share of manufacturing in GDP.” Indian Oil, which controls more than half of fuel sales in the country, expects gasoline sales this fiscal to climb 11 percent and diesel by about 3 percent, Sharma said.