Plan to monetise National Highways to fund road construction projects on Cabinet table today
With Nitin Gadkari setting a huge target of building 100 km of roads per day, his Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has proposed that a bulk of the money required for construction, especially the Bharatmala project, be raised through monetisation of public funded national highways projects. In a proposal to be taken up by the Cabinet on Wednesday, it has suggested that toll collection from 75 operational national highways be put on auction for bidding by private firms. These projects have been in operation for at least two years and currently generate toll of Rs 2,700 crore per year. Successful concessionaires would be given toll collection rights for next 30 years in exchange for an upfront payment of a lump sum amount to the government. “We are looking at a revenue mop up of about Rs 80,000 crore,” said sources. The proposed Toll-Operate-Transfer (TOT) bidding would be for 75 projects that were completed under the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) route where the government provided the money and a developer executed the project. The idea is to generate immediate resources while ensuring that operation and maintenance of constructed highways is more efficient. “The private sector is also better in terms of toll collection,” they said. Operation and maintenance has been a concern area because of staff limitations of the National Highways Authority of India. Moreover, it’s a global practice to hand out O&M, including tolling rights, to private sector after completion and stabilisation of projects. “The existing operation-maintenance-transfer model works only for the short term, say 6-9 years, and the proposed transfer would ensure that O&M obligation of these roads would lie with the concessionaire until the end of the term,” sources added. India plans to develop road projects spanning 50,000 kms and entailing investments of about $250 billion over the next five to six years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put infrastructure development, mainly road construction, on top of his agenda. Sheldon Richardson Jersey
Spot market power trade highest ever in July
Spot market power trade in India rose 14 per cent in July to 3,581 million units, the highest ever in a month. Around 3,140 million units (MUs) were traded in June. On a daily average basis, close to 116 MUs were traded in July, a 10 per cent increase over 105 MUs traded in June, a statement from the India Energy Exchange said. The market saw average daily purchase bids of 5,360 MW and average daily sell bids of 9,061 MW. The average price in July was Rs 2.16 per unit, 7 per cent less from Rs 2.31 per unit in June. Increased hydel generation due to good monsoon and easing of inter-state transmission congestion were the key factors that led to price reduction, the statement said. Due to higher transmission and generation availability in southern states, the market price remained same for eight days. In the first half of July, there was very little transmission congestion across corridors. However, in the second half of the month, transmission congestion was witnessed in southern and northern regions. Brandon Marshall Womens Jersey
Himachal Pradesh to start battery-operated electric buses
Himachal Pradesh is set to start plying battery-operated electric buses on the Manali-Rohtang route. “We have conducted successful trials and negotiations are on with some companies for acquiring 50 big and 25 small buses. The bigger buses would be funded to the tune of 90 per cent by the central government while small buses would entail 75 per cent central subsidy,” Transport minister G S Bali said. The state government has urged the Centre to provide subsidy for purchasing 90 buses, he added. Bali, who is also chairman of group of ministers (GOM) for road safety in Hill areas constituted by the Union government, said the GOM would submit its report in next nine-ten months. The transport ministers of Hill states, including the Chief Ministers of Uttarakhand and Goa, who also hold the charge of transport, are members of the committee. Bali said the state government is going to be tough with operators plying Volvo buses in Himachal on regular basis and said stringent action, including impounding of the buses, would be taken against those plying illegally in the state. The Volvo buses are allowed in the state with special permission to bring tourist groups, marriage parties and other tours but they are not permitted to ply regular bus services and issue tickets online to passengers, he added. Bali informed about a Rs 16 crore hike in the revenue of Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) with the amount increasing to Rs 216 crore from Rs 210 crore during the last six months. Thomas Morstead Jersey
MSEDCL taken to task over inflated bills, power cuts
The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has recently been facing the residents’ anger over inflated bills and erratic supply. Consumers have been undertaking protest marches to MSEDCL offices, to demand uninterrupted supply and accurate billing. Over a hundred angry Airoli residents, led by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) functionaries, barged into the local office on Tuesday to demand withdrawal of inflated bills and even locked the office’s entry gate. Consumers were heard complaining about inappropriate bills, no photo of meter on bills and illegal collection of meter testing charges. “We have been assured that the faulty meters will be tested and excess amount, refunded. We demanded that the contractor be blacklisted,” said Nilesh Bankhale, vice president, MNS Navi Mumbai. Additional executive engineer of MSEDCL, Sarang Mahajan told TOI that the contractor’s man skipped some consumers while recording meter readings which reflected in the average billing. ” The contractor will be replaced too. The excess billing happened due to high consumption,” he added. A few days back, Kharghar residents submitted 250 bills having exorbitant charges and forced officials to test their meters in a lab, citing faults. Uran residents have planned a day-long dharna on Friday. Gothivli residents met MSEDCL MD with their demands. Ghansoli and Koparkhairane residents staged a protest under the leadership of Airoli MLA Sandeep Naik. David Backes Womens Jersey
BHEL commissions 500MW Marwa Thermal Power station in Chhattisgarh
State-run BHEL has commissioned the second 500 MW thermal unit at Marwa Thermal Power Station in Chhattisgarh. “Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has successfully commissioned the second 500 MW (megawatt) thermal unit at Marwa Thermal Power Station in Chhattisgarh,” the power equipment manufacturer said in a regulatory filing. Located in Janjgir-Champa district of Chhattisgarh, Marwa TPS has been set up by Chhattisgarh State Power Generation Company (CSPGCL). The first unit of Marwa TPS was also commissioned earlier by BHEL, it said. BHEL has been associated with power projects of CSPGCL, (the erstwhile Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board), from the time when the 120 MW Korba TPS extention-1 was commissioned in March 1976. “Significantly, BHEL has a share of 94 per cent in the installed capacity of CSPGCL and has so far commissioned 11 thermal sets and three hydro sets for the state utility. “In Chhattisgarh, BHEL has contributed a total of 12,500 MW to the state’s installed power generation, including central and private sector utilities,” it said. BHEL further said its scope of work in the contract envisaged design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection and commissioning of steam turbines, generators and boilers, along with associated auxiliaries and electricals, besides, state of the art controls & instrumentation and electrostatic precipitators. Aaron Holiday Authentic Jersey
Regulatory hurdles trip open access market for energy consumers: ICRA
Regulatory hurdles like high cross subsidy charges and resistance from utilities are affecting the growth of open access market for energy consumers, domestic ratings agency Icra said. “…regulatory challenges, especially levy of high cross-subsidy surcharge (CSS) and other charges, and resistance from utilities is adversely impacting power generating companies (gencos) and high tension (HT) customers and thus affecting the growth of the open access market,” Icra said in a release. “ICRA notes that the high level of open access charges to avail energy supply by HT consumers, primarily owing to the increase in CSS coupled with the levy of additional surcharge by regulators in a few states like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan, has constrained procurement from the open market for such consumers. “This apart, the open access market has also faced discouragement from utilities and state governments in some states, which has restricted growth,” Icra Ratings Senior Vice President Sabyasachi Majumdar said. Under the provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003, open access is permitted and involves the non-discriminatory use of transmission and distribution infrastructure of the licencees by any consumer with demand greater than or equal to 1 MW to procure electricity from the source of their choice. This is subject to the regulations and charges as approved by the respective State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs), which are to be paid by the consumers for using the transmission and distribution infrastructure. Among the states studied by Icra, namely Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, the CSS level remains high in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, while there has been a significant y-o-y increase in other states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat. In the absence of the phase out/reduction of cross-subsidisation of domestic and agriculture tariffs by industrial and commercial tariffs, the upward pressure on open access charges is likely to continue, Icra said. In addition to CSS, SERCs in states like Rajasthan, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have approved an additional surcharge in the last two-year period. The additional surcharge is levied to meet the fixed cost obligation of the distribution utilities arising out of their obligation to supply. The open access charges, therefore, remain high across the states under study, varying between Rs 2.8 – 4.5 per unit, except in Karnataka, where the open access charges are relatively lower i.e. at Rs 1.9 per unit, it said. With this, procurement under open access remains viable for industrial consumers if the power is available at a tariff ranging between Rs 4-5 per unit across a majority of the states, except in Andhra Pradesh, it said. Brandon Dubinsky Jersey
Three TTPS units kept in standby mode
A technical snag in the fourth unit of Tuticorin Thermal Power Station (TTPS) was set right and the unit had been kept ready for production, sources said here on Tuesday. This unit, with a production capacity of 210 MW, suffered a breakdown at 11.30 a.m. on Monday after it developed a problem of chloride ingress. However, the load dispatch centre at Chennai had instructed TTPS authorities to keep this unit in standby mode. Besides, the first and third unit have also been kept in standby mode since Saturday. Wind energy With three of the five units at the TTPS not being allowed to generate power, only the second and the fifth units were functional as usual. Since the wind energy had contributed to the production of electricity, the coal-fired thermal power units were suspended from production, sources said. The suspended second unit of NLC Tamil Nadu Power Limited (NTPL) would resume production either by August 3 of 4. The coal-based thermal power unit with a capacity of 500 MW was suspended on July 19 to carry out annual maintenance work, sources said. By way of wind energy, 1,756 MW of power was generated on Monday and 1,700 MW on Tuesday, sources from Non-Conventional Energy Source, Tirunelveli Circle of Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation, told The Hindu . On July 24, power generation touched 2,500 MW through wind energy and it might go beyond in the coming days, sources said. Caleb Joseph Authentic Jersey
DGCA makes online fee payment compulsory for more than 14 services
Application process for seeking permission to start airlines, operate airports and pilot licenses, among others, will now be less cumbersome with aviation watchdog DGCA deciding to collect fees only through online. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has made online fee payment compulsory for more than 14 services effective from August 1. The move is part of larger efforts to further improve the ease of doing business for the stakeholders. Online fee payment would be applicable for other services such as issue and renewal of aerodrome license, air operator permit, regular certificate of registration, license for aircraft maintenance engineers and certificate of airworthiness. In a circular, the regulator said online fee payment requirement is being introduced for certain services on a pilot basis as part of the eGCA project. E-Governance for Civil Aviation (eGCA) envisages online service delivery, automation of the systems and processes at the back-end and implementation of required IT infrastructure and service delivery framework. All 162 items identified for this purpose are expected to go online by December at an investment of over Rs 80 crore. Technology solutions provider Hewlett Packard has been mandated to execute the project. The eGCA project is aimed at completely automating the processes and functions of DGCA and its constituent directorates as well as provide a strong base for IT infrastructure and service delivery framework. Chris Johnson Jersey
All states to be equally connected under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana: Centre
Centre said todat that there will be no discrimination against any state in allocation of funds for construction of rural roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). Rural Development Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar said today in Lok Sabha that so far 65% of the rural habitations have been connected with all-weather roads and remaining 35% will be completed by March, 2019. Tomar said that in the 2nd Phase of PMGSY upgradation 50,000 kilometers road will be done at a cost of Rs 33,000 crore. “After the 14th Finance Commission, the States are now getting 42% funds, while earlier they used to get only 32%. So, there is no dearth of funds for this project,” Tomar said. The budgetary provision for the PMGSY was around Rs 9,000 crore in 2012-13, it had been enhanced to Rs 19,000 crore in 2015-16. Government has recently announced the formation of District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DDCMC) called “Disha” for effective development coordination and monitoring of 28 Central Schemes for monitoring of the PMGSY. The Minister said that from 2011 to 2014, 73 kilometers road was built per day, while at present 100 kilometers of roads is being built each day. government has set a target of taking per day road construction to 133 kms. Bobby Smith Womens Jersey
India’s poor infrastructure biggest roadblock to ‘Make in India’: S&P
: The country’s poor infrastructure is the “biggest hurdle” to government’s flagship Make in India programme, S&P Global Ratings said today. “Infrastructure is the biggest hurdle to the ambitious Make in India programme of the government,” S&P Global Ratings Credit Analyst Abhishek Dangra told reporters on a conference call. The infrastructure deficit is costing up to 5 per cent of the GDP and an improvement will boost export competitiveness, according to some estimates. However, he was quick to add that the export powerhouse of China also faces problems on the infrastructure front. Every rupee invested in infrastructure development has a ripple effect and helps the GDP by Rs 2, he added. The passage of the Goods and Services Tax, billed as the country’s biggest indirect taxation reform, will give a fillip to the logistics and manufacturing sectors, he said. Dangra said there are problems in the country’s transportation sector with capacity constraints and underlined the need for better regulation. “India’s transportation infrastructure sector could significantly benefit from a stable regulatory environment that has an independent regulator, appropriate dispute- resolution mechanisms and supportive, comprehensive policies,” he said. Citing the case of the power sector, Dangra said better regulation has helped in a turnaround and we are looking to have a power surplus in 2016-17. Even if the government leads with transportation spends, execution will be a key challenge, he said. The government’s limited finances will make it essential for the private sector to pitch in, the agency said in a note. “The government is scaling up spending, but its heavy debt burden could derail its ambitions to improve public infrastructure,” it said. The global ratings agency said India Inc will see a turnaround in performance soon. “The performance of Indian corporates is bottoming out. It will be a slow, U-shaped recovery for them,” S&P Global Ratings Credit Analyst Geeta Chugh told reporters on a call. Revenue growth is expected to move up in the next 2-3 years, the agency said, adding that this will be possible largely on increased government spending and the consequent increase in domestic economy. Gio Gonzalez Jersey