Seaplane awaiting airworthiness certificate
seaplane flown in from USA to the State six months ago for operating services within and outside the State is awaiting a key clearance from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The 10-seater amphibian aircraft, brought by a State-based aviation group, is parked in Kochi. It has received Indian registration and is awaiting airworthiness certification from the DGCA. The certification is part of the mandatory procedures for the operators in the aviation sector and it was expected within a month or so, an official of the aviation group told The Hindu . The commercial operations might begin soon after receiving the certification. The operator will meet the Ministers concerned in the Left Democratic Front government to discuss matters pertaining to flight operations. The previous government had issued guidelines for receiving early bird incentives and the operator will be eligible for them, being the first carrier in the category. The government had guaranteed a certain share of seats on regular flights, subject to certain conditions. The setting up of waterdromes and other infrastructure would also have to be ensured before commencement of operations. The original plan of the government was to enable operation of flights in the Kollam-Alappuzha sector. The Alappuzha waterdrome spot was changed from Punnamada to Vattekayal by an official committee set up by government after objections were raised by fishermen on the original landing spot. The seaplane operator is planning to operate flights from Kochi to Lakshadweep initially. Kenny Vaccaro Womens Jersey
Duty-free shops at airports now out of FSSAI purview
As per Hindustan Times, food, drinks and other edibles sold at duty-free shops at all airports will no longer need an approval stamp from India’s top food regulatory body. In a decision taken last month, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has exempt these retail outlets at airports from following country’s food import regulations. A notice in this regard was uploaded on the FSSAI website. “We heard their side carefully and after a thorough consultation with our experts came to this decision that those outlets being customs-bound and are not technically importing any items directly on the Indian soil, will not be subject to FSSAI inspection and licensing processes,” said Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI. “… it was decided that duty free shops would be outside the ambit of food safety standards Act 2006 and regulations made there under till the time import regulations are finally notified,” read the FSSAI notice. Ali Marpet Jersey
CIAL sets target of Rs.3,000-cr. turnover
Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) will diversify its services and expand its electricity generation business, among other activities, to achieve the target of Rs.3,000 crore turnover by 2023. The airport operator’s business target has been made public in its ‘vision mission document’ presented before the State government recently. The company has said that the business of operating other airports too is within its vision. Sources said that CIAL would leverage its subsidiaries to achieve the business target. Twenty per cent of the targeted revenue would come from aero-related business; 30 per cent from non-aero areas of activities and 50 per cent from non-aviation business over the next seven years. CIAL is the first company in the country in public-private partnership to build and operate a greenfield airport and the presentation made before the State government by the CIAL management said it had the competence to take on any challenge. CIAL, which generates 15.2 MW of solar energy now to make its current operations power-neutral, will achieve its target of generating 30 MW of solar power by the end of the current year. Together with solar power, work is in progress on building eight small hydro-electric power generation facilities across Kerala. Wayne Gretzky Jersey
DGCA orders Indigo not to train pilots in one stimulator in overseas training centre
Aviation regulator DGCA has ordered budget carrier IndiGo not to train its pilots on one of the two simulators at an overseas training centre following an inspection of the facility and the subsequent detection of the malfunctioning in one of the two such machines last month. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has, however, not withdrawn approval granted to the training organisation for imparting training to the Indian pilots, a senior DGCA official said. “There are two simulators at UK based training organisation. One was found erratic. DGCA has asked Indigo not to train pilots on erratic simulator,” the official said. The approval granted to the organisation, however, continues, the official said. Besides IndiGo, other domestic carrier Jet airways and a some British airlines also use the facility to impart simulator training to their pilots. When contacted, IndiGo said the regulators decree will not have any impact on its training programme as a major portion of training to its pilots is conducted at the Dubai facility of the same organisation. “This restriction will not impact IndiGo as we primarily conduct a major portion of our training at CAE-Dubai. The simulators used by IndiGo at CAE Dubai have been evaluated and cleared by DGCA vide OC (Office Circular) 1 of 2016,” IndiGo said in a statement. Filip Chlapik Jersey
SpiceJet’s Red Hot Spicy Low fare Deal, a lie?
A passenger consumer rights body in a first of its kind has registered a complaint at the ministry of civil aviation questioning fares availability as was advertised by low-cost carrier, SpiceJet. The “Red Hot Spicy” Airlines had announced five-day sale one-way, base fare of Rs 444 for its Jammu-Srinagar, Ahmedabad-Mumbai, Mumbai-Goa, Delhi-Dehradun and Delhi-Amritsar routes as reported by The Times of India. “Fares would vary from sector to sector, depending on the travel distance and flight schedules, and timings are subject to regulatory approvals and changes,” SpiceJet said, maintaining that the seats would be only available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Complaints were registered soon on the same offer, as many visited the airline’s website. “We started getting complaints from 10.20am, stating that no such fare was available even for a short distance of less than 500km,” said Sudhakara Reddy, president, Air Passengers’ Association of India (APAI). Joe Young Jersey
Reliance oil imports for May down 13.2% year-on-year
Reliance Industries Ltd, owner of the world’s biggest refining complex, imported 13.2 percent less oil in May compared with a year earlier, as it shut a crude unit at its 580,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery for three weeks, according to tanker arrival data from trade sources and ship-tracking services on the Thomson Reuters terminal. Reliance, which has a diversified crude slate and shifts purchases to maximise revenue, bought 1.15 million bpd last month, a decline of 4.5 percent from April. Last month, Reliance received about 98,700 bpd oil and condensate from Iran after skipping purchases from Tehran in the previous month. The Indian conglomerate in March resumed purchases from Tehran after a six-year gap. Reliance is looking for long-term supplies from Iran. The share of Latin American and African oil in Reliance’s overall imports declined in the first five months of 2016, as the company shifted away from dated-Brent linked oil to Middle Eastern grades, the data showed. The share of Middle Eastern crude in Reliance’s overall imports rose to 59 percent in January-May 2016 from about 43 percent a year ago, the data showed. During the same period, African grades accounted for about 5 percent of the crude purchased, compared with about 13 percent a year earlier, while the share of Latin American oil slipped to about 33 percent from 43 percent. Mike Smith Womens Jersey
Sri Lanka may approve two blocks for exploration and drilling: PRDS
Sri Lanka could shortly approve petroleum exploration and drilling for two blocks in the Cauvery basin, as bidders in the 2013 licensing round have recommitted to their bids, a government official said. “The government has already gone through the approval process for these bids, and bidders have recommitted to their bids,” Saliya Wickramasuriya, director general of the Petroleum Resources Development Secretariat, told Lanka Business Online. Although the award of exploration blocks will require fresh cabinet approval, both the Petroleum Development Resources Committee and Minister of Petroleum Resources Development have given their approval to this step, he said. He added that while the current industry slump and lack of new data does not support a full-blown Licensing Round just yet, the Government had decided to make these awards based on work programmes committed during the international licensing round of 2013 with the intention of expediently re-commencing petroleum activity in Sri Lanka. Last year, Cairn India announced its withdrawal from Mannar Basin natural gas exploration following the global petroleum price slump. Cairn made this decision even though the economics within Sri Lanka could justify the investment in exploration. Sri Lanka is now preparing a national energy policy that brings together both petroleum resources development and power generation, Wickramasuriya added. “The planned award is for two blocks out of twenty. The parties have committed to maintain or accelerate their work programme, partly assisted by the prevailing lower prices of goods and services in the industry. This means it’s possible that we might see drilling commence within this year.” Extensive data has been collected from seismic surveys and previously drilled wells in the Cauvery basin, he said. This data explains the reasons for why those earlier wells missed their targets. This means that today drillers can be more confident about their prospects. “We have a good potential mix of oil, gas and condensate. The discoveries made recently in the Mannar basin were not of crude oil, but of gas and condensate, however large potentially crude-filled structures indicated on seismic are amongst our priority targets for the future.” Torry Holt Jersey
NOC plans to import additional 10,000 tons of LPG in July
The country will import an additional 10,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in July as Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has pledged to conclude all the procedural stipulations within this week to provide the additional quantity from Paradeep refinery of Odisha state. IOC has promised additional supply to Nepal to make up for the shortfall caused during the disruptions in supply lines from India that has caused a prolonged crisis. The country is entirely reliant on the southern neighbour for fuel import. Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has said that additional quantity will be imported through regular process by LPG bottlers. Mukunda Prasad Ghimire, spokesman of NOC, informed that product delivery order (PDO) to gas bottlers will be issued from this week after it receives a letter to that effect from IOC. “Most probably we will able to send gas bullets to receive load from Paradeep from next week,” said Ghimire. The additional quantity from India is expected to end the erratic distribution of the cooking fuel because consumers are still compelled to keep their cylinders in queue to get LPG. Demand for cooking gas always increases during the festive season and peaks during winter season, as per Ghimire. “That is why NOC needs to increase the supply in the domestic market before the onset of the festive season.” However, LPG bottlers have been reluctant to import cooking gas from Paradeep, which is 1,039 km from Birgunj. They have sought compensation from NOC because transport fare would rise while importing LPG from Paradeep. They claim that the existing price of cooking gas will not cover the cost incurred while importing the commodity from Paradeep. “NOC should either compensate gas bottlers or increase the market price of cooking gas slightly for a certain period,” said Shiva Prasad Ghimire, president of Nepal LP Gas Industry Association (NLPGIA). “Without any concrete decision from NOC, we will refuse to accept the PDO.” Currently, bottlers have been importing cooking gas from Barauni, Haldia and Mathura. Ghimire, who heads the NLPGIA, said a bullet can transport LPG only two times in a month from Paradeep. “We will need to lease more bullets to transport cooking fuel from Paradeep,” he said. NOC Spokesman Ghimire has said that NLPGIA’s claim is false because the price of LPG is slightly lower in Paradeep than the price of LPG that bottlers have been receiving from Haldia. “The difference in the price of cooking gas in Paradeep and Haldia will cover the transportation cost,” according to him. The distance to Paradeep from Birgunj is 200 km more than to Haldia. NOC has said that it has not yet spoken to bottlers regarding importing cooking gas from Paradeep because IOC has yet to clear some procedures including route permit, among others. “Once we receive a letter from IOC to dispatch our gas bullets, we will invite bottlers and hold discussions on it,” said Ghimire. Currently, the country consumes around 27,000 tons of cooking gas every month but it goes up to 30,000 tons during the festive season and in winter. As per NOC, IOC’s refineries, which are allowed to dispatch load to Nepal are not able to increase supply of above 30,000 tons in a month. “We have to talk to IOC for regular supply from other refineries as well because demand of cooking gas has been surging by 13 per cent every year,” according to NOC. Rashaad Penny Womens Jersey
AP Govt inks deal for Rs 10k-cr gas-based fertilizer project
The Andhra Pradesh government today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a three-nation consortium of China Huanqin Contracting and Engineering Corporation, LEPL Ventures Private Limited and Isomeric Holdingsto set-up a gas-based fertilizer project atKrishnapatanamwith an investment of Rs 101.83 billion. The MoU was signed during Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s ongoing visit to China, wherein he was participating in the World Economic Forum’s 10th annual meeting of New Champions in Tianjin. This proposed year of commencement for the project is 2017-18, a release from the CMO here said. This project will help generate 5,000 thousand jobs, the release said. China Huanqiu, headquartered in Beijing, is an affiliate of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). Isomeric Holdingsis a Malaysian company with expertise in gas-based manufacturing projects while LEPL is a Vijayawada-based infrastructure company that also runs an airline. The Chief Minister, on the second day of his trip, also met the president of Japan External Trade Organisation Yasushi Akahoshi and discussed investment promotion in the state, the CMO release said. Later, the Chief Minister met Jan Willem Breen, president of Corporate Strategy, United Parcel Services. Jan Willem Breen noted that India is now an important destination and the company is willing to sign Business to Business and Business to Consumer agreements. Chandrababu presented him a brief on the emerging business opportunities in the state as the government intended to make it a logistics hub. Sean Rodriguez Womens Jersey