LNG price slump sends Indian Oil Corporation on buying binge
Indian Oil Corp., the nation’s biggest refiner that’s also boosting its liquefied natural gas business, is lifting purchases of the fuel to take advantage of a price plunge amid a glut. The state-run company plans to buy two LNG shipments per month in the spot market for six months from October, according to Debasis Sen, director of planning and business development. That compares with a total of nine spot cargoes for the previous year, when it started importing the commodity directly. India is among buyers seeking more cargoes of the cleaner fuel as spot prices have fallen about 60 per cent since October 2014 amid a supply glut. While demand growth prospects are limited in more mature markets like Japan and South Korea, consumption in India, China and emerging Asian nations will increase, the US Energy Information Administration forecasts. India’s consumption may rise 11 per cent a year over the next decade, BMI Research predicts. “Low prices have made LNG more affordable,” Sen said in a telephone interview on Aug. 25. “We are witnessing strong demand from customers such as fertilizer, power plants and glass industries.” Indian Oil sold 1.93 million metric tons of natural gas during the year through March 31, up 6.9 per cent from a year ago, according to a statement. The refiner holds rights to market 30 per cent of the fuel imported by Petronet LNG Ltd., the country’s top purchaser. While IOC gets supplies sourced from Petronet, it is seeking to increase direct procurement through spot deals. Cleaner Fuel Higher imports will help New Delhi-based Indian Oil diversify further into natural gas. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration is seeking greater use of the cleaner fuel in the country’s energy mix to curtail carbon emissions by the world’s second-most populous nation. The nation has more than doubled its imports in the past seven years as domestic supplies dried up. Purchases rose 15 per cent from a year earlier to 16.08 million tons during financial year ended March 31, 2016, according to provisional data from the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell. The country plans to increase its LNG import capacity to 55 million tons per year within five years, from about 21 million now, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in New Delhi on Aug. 1. Petronet has expanded the capacity of the Dahej terminal in western India, the nation’s largest LNG import and re-gasification terminal, by 50 per cent to 15 million tons per year. Indian Oil, which owns 12.5 per cent of the importer, has booked a portion of the increased capacity to bring in more shipments directly. “We were facing capacity constraints at Dahej in importing LNG on our own and could purchase only one shipment so far since April,” Sen said. “But now with the expansion, we can accommodate two cargoes a month.” Mark Andrews Jersey
Government plans two funds to charge up power sector
The power ministry plans to set up two funds of $1billion each to enable alternative financing options for stressed power assets and renewable energy projects.The two funds have been proposed under the ambit of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). “NIIF is the fund of funds within which we will set up a sub-fund which will focus on renewable energy projects and give investment support for faster ramp up of renewable energy. It is under our active consideration and we may launch it in the near future,” power minister Piyush Goyal told ET in an interview. “We are also in dialogue with certain bankers to see if we could look at a stressed power asset fund. It may take us some more months to put its framework in place.” Asked about the size of the funds, Goyal said, “Each of these funds could easily be of the size of $1billion.” The government set up the Rs 40,000 crore NIIF in as an investment vehicle to fund commercially viable greenfield, brownfield and stalled projects. The power ministry’s renewable energy fund will be seeded with initial capital from a few state-run companies and will be driven largely by the private sector. “It will be run and managed by an investment manager who will be chosen through international bidding. We would like to keep the entire fund professionally managed – something like a Temasek or a GIC model. We have the entire framework in place. We have also got investment commitments of REC, PFC and NTPC already lined up. This fund can be launched quickly ,” Goyal said. Temasek and GIC are Singapore government-owned investment firms. Finance minister Arun Jaitley had sought investment from Singapore in NIIF at a meeting on Friday with visiting Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam. Goyal said the Centre is working on a mega investment plan for the power sector that includes extending investment support to the tune of Rs 1.1 lakh crore to states under the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana and the Integrated Power Development Scheme. Additional investments worth over Rs 1 lakh crore will materialise through the implementation of four planned ultra mega power projects of 4,000 MW capacity each. Whitey Herzog Womens Jersey
Indefinite protest begins for toll-free DND flyway
Hundreds of people from more than 35 organisations in Noida and Greater Noida started an indefinite protest against the toll-tax on Delhi-Noida-Direct flyway on Sunday. Led by former minister Nawab Singh Nagar under the banner of Janhit Morcha, the protesters removed the barricades at the toll plaza to allow vehicles a free-of-charge passage and continued to do so throughout the day. While commuters had a free run on the flyway without paying the toll, the protesters said they will not allow toll to be levied till their indefinite sit-in is over. However, being a Sunday, there were no traffic snarls or inconvenience to the commuters as the protest continued on the side of the DND bridge while allowing a free flow of traffic. “It’s a rare opportunity to get a free-of-charge ride on DND. It’s high time the toll-tax was removed from here,” said a commuter on way to Delhi. Nagar told TOI that the protest will last till a final settlement on the matter is arrived at. While a large contingent of police presence on the flyway ensured that the protest was a peaceful one, numerous attempts to reach Anwar Abbasi, spokesperson for Noida Toll Bridge Company Limited (NTBCL) failed as his cellphone was not reachable. The protest, result of a month-long preparation by the morcha including a series of meetings and plannings at the residence of Nagar in Sector 33, was a peaceful one and was held in the presence of SP, crime, Vishwajeet Shrivastava, city magistrate Bachchu Singh and ADM Vineet Kumar. “We are here to ensure that no one takes law and order in their hands,” said a police officer. The protestors also handed over a petition to ADM Vineet Kumar and addressed to chief minister Akhilesh Yadav for a CAG inquiry into the toll-tax. Jordy Nelson Jersey
‘Govt. committed to improving condition of roads’
Roads and Buildings Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao said that the State government was committed towards improving the condition of all the roads in the State by spending Rs. 15,000 crore in the next two years. Addressing a public meeting after launching road works in Jukkal Assembly constituency on Saturday, he said the Chief Minister, K. Chandrasekhar Rao, has taken several measures to lay new roads and improve the condition of bad roads. Before the bifurcation, the united Andhra Pradesh had a total length of national highway was 2,600 km, but after the formation of the Telangana State, in just one year, another 2,600 km was added, the credit of which goes to the Chief Minister, he said. He said with the improvement of roads and road network, farmers can take their produce to any place in the country while even tourism gets a fillip. Riley Sheahan Womens Jersey
Highways widening: BJP accuses government of giving farmers less compensation
Ahead of 2017 assembly elections, the opposition BJP has started cornering chief minister Virbhadra Singh-led Congress government in the state on the issue of poor compensation being paid to the farmers to acquire their land for the four-laning of national highways. BJP leaders are claiming that the Centre is ready to pay more compensation but the state government is not taking the required initiative to do so, leading to losses for farmers. In Himachal Pradesh, a large chunk of land is being acquired for the four-laning of Kiratpur-Manali stretch of NH-21 and Parwanoo-Shimla stretch of National Higway -22. Ricky Jean Francois Womens Jersey
Why did banks ‘over-finance’ road projects, asks Parliamentary panel
Observing that loan disbursed by banks in excess of an estimated project cost is “strange”, a parliamentary panel has expressed concern over a large chunk of about Rs 75,000 crore of loans extended to the road sector turning bad. In particular, the panel has raised questions about huge loans advanced to Jaypee Infratech turning into NPAs. “Some of the banks have given information on total loan (Rs 74,088 crore) given to the road sector… for IDBI, the NPA percentage is as high as 52 per cent of loan disbursed for the road sector. The committee wants to know the reason why this huge amount has become NPA, that too to a single concessionaire, Jaypee Infratech Ltd,” the panel chaired by Kanwar Deep Singh said in its latest report. Seeking full details of the project awarded to Jaypee, the 33-member standing committee on transport further observed that State Bank of India has lent Rs 19,502 crore out of which Rs 1,986 crore has slipped into NPAs. SBI submitted before the committee that the projects may be approved only after ensuring 90 per cent of land acquisition is completed. The panel said, “The committee finds it strange as to how the concessionaire who has got a project for Rs 1,000 crore gets Rs 1,400 crore for the same project.” It also asked: “Why the concessionaire has been given a free hand to get the bank’s loan as per their wish?” It instructed NHAI to keep a watch on the excess loan amount obtained by the developer. Incidentally, former road transport and highways secretary Vijay Chhibber has remarked that aggressive lending by banks which were “happily over-financing even non-serious highway players without assessing risks has virtually killed the sector”. He told media, “The concessionaires and bankers are not realising that we are reaching a stage of impatience, and people who are users of these roads are not going to be waiting any more.” Projecting that total NPAs of Rs 2.6 lakh crore may go up to Rs 4 lakh crore because of defaults, the panel recommended that banks be empowered more to make recovery of bad debt. Asking the government to consider empowering the banks adequately to make recovery of bad debt easier, it said, “For example, in the case of a default, the banks may be allowed to take over the entire company.” It also noted SBI’s contention that all approvals from statutory authorities and clearances from government agencies should be obtained before a particular project is sent for bidding. “Another area of discord is the project cost estimated by NHAI and the concessionaires, which results in lending delay by financial institutions,” the committee said. William Perry Authentic Jersey
Draft vehicle scrapping policy to be ready in a fortnight: Nitin Gadkari
Aiming to scrap nearly 15 lakh heavy vehicles that are more than 15 years old in the first phase, Union minister Nitin Gadkari has said the draft policy will be ready in a fortnight. “We intend to scrap 15-year-old about 12-15 lakh heavy vehicles, mostly trucks and buses, in the first phase of our proposed Voluntary Vehicle Fleet Modernisation Programme (V-VMP). The draft policy would be ready in a fortnight,” road transport and highways minister Gadkari told PTI. The minister said 65% of the vehicular pollution is caused by heavy vehicles and scrapping of these will be done at industrial clusters like Kandla to be set up under the government’s ambitious Sagarmala project. Gadkari had called on finance minister Arun Jaitley last week in this regard, who had suggested making the policy mandatory, not voluntary. The finance minister had also said that instead of excise tax exemptions, funds will be provided for this in the Budget. According to Gadkari, the policy may provide benefits of Rs.2-3 lakh for every heavy vehicle to be scrapped. The draft V-VMP policy had earlier proposed to bring vehicles bought on or before 31 March, 2005, numbering about 28 million, under its purview. The government is also expected to take permission from the GST Council as “the tax structure is likely to change”. He said the benefits of the policy include additional net revenue of over Rs.21,000 crore on account of additional automobile sales, besides crude oil savings of Rs.7,700 crore due to improved fuel efficiency. Once the policy is finalised, it is estimated to result in domestic steel scrap generation worth Rs.5,500 crore to substitute imported scrap. The other positive, Gadkari said, is employment generation as there will be huge demand for workforce for scrapping/recycling operations and automobile manufacturing. The automobile industry’s turnover in the country is Rs.4.5 lakh crore, he said, adding that making these industrial clusters will boost job creation. He termed the policy as a “win-win” for government, stakeholders and common masses. According to the ministry, the proposed policy has the potential to reduce vehicular emission by 25-30% and save oil consumption by 3.2 billion litres a year. Jermaine Kearse Jersey
Modi wants power tariff hike in Delhi: Kejriwal
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung had sought files related to power subsidy on prime minister Narendra Modi’s instructions and warned of a hike in power tariff in the Capital. Speaking at the foundation-laying ceremony of a road in Kirari , Kejriwal said the AAP government’s proposal to increase minimum wages by up to 50 per cent could be shot down by Jung and the PM. In a series of tweets, Kejriwal said plans were afoot to remove Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal. He said she could be “arrested” soon for her “good work”. “In elections, we had promised to cut power tariff by half and provide free water. We fulfilled our promises. Sadly, Modiji has summoned the files related to power and water from LG. He is threatening to increase power tariff in Delhi,” said Kejriwal. The chief minister accused the Centre of not clearing the Delhi government’s proposal to regularise hundreds of unathorised colonies in the capital. “We cannot wait for Modiji’s nod. I have directed my ministers to carry out development works in all unauthorised colonies, including construction of roads, laying of water pipelines, etc,” he said. The CM said the lieutenant-governor was transferring officials involved in successful projects of the AAP government such as mohalla clinics and construction of school buildings. Maliwal targets Barkha DCW chief Maliwal alleged that her predecessor Barkha Shukla recruited wives of IAS and IPS officials for 49 contractual posts that were never advertised. Maliwal’s allegations were in response to the Anti-Corruption Bureau’s raid at her office last week on Shukla’s complaint. “Barkha Shukla Singh made 49 contractual appointments and appointed wives of IAS and IPS officers without giving advertisements and over 2,500 cases were pending when I assumed charge,” Maliwal claimed. “DCW handled 12000 complaint dis year compared to 3500 during Barkha’s tenure. She did 1 case in 9 years. We r questioned why work so much?(sic),” Maliwal tweeted “In 1 year, we hv changed DCW from a defunct body to one srsly workin on women issues. That’s troubling them. They want me to stop working,” she said in a series of tweets. Matt Beleskey Authentic Jersey
GMR wins bid for Mopa Greenfield airport
GMR Airports Limited (GAL), a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure Ltd, has won the bid for development and operation of Mopa Greenfield Airport in North Goa. The concession period for the Greenfield project will be 40 years with a possible extension of another 20 years through a bid process. The airport will be built under the BOT (Build Operate Transfer) model. Th regulatory regime for the concession will be hybrid till with 30 per cent cross subsidy. The concession offers 232 acres of land for commercial city side development for a period of 60 years. “We will deliver an airport worthy of the state of Goa well within the project timelines,’’ Srinivas Bommidala, Chairman Airports, GMR Group, said in a release issued here on Saturday. The Airports Authority had ended up as the second highest bidder followed by the consortium of Essel Infra-Incheon. Jordin Tootoo Authentic Jersey
MSEDCL alert against power thefts during festival
What are Ganesh pandals if not for the glittering lights and attractive Ganpati idols? Keeping up with its annual Ganeshotsav policy, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has, this year too, asked all Ganesh mandals to register themselves for temporary power connections, failing which, it will take strict action against those tapping electricity illegally in any form during the 10-day festivities. “The MSEDCL has asked the Ganesh mandals to register for their temporary connections based on their demand of load. We also have plans to present them connections on their demand, provided they follow instructions in totality for the safety and security of the users. Besides, we are also sending our squads to look out for unauthorized tapping of power and shall deal with the defaulters with an iron hand,” a senior officer from the MSEDCL said. The women’s flying squad – Damini – comprising engineers and officers of the MSEDCL, has been assigned the task to be on the lookout of violators of the norms. They will be visiting every mandal on the records to find out if they have taken up authorized connections. “Since the connections are released on the same day as the application with the given security and safety measures, it is not difficult for the teams to be in the dark about who have sought connections,” the officer added. Eelctricity will be charged at special festivity tariff rate, which is very close to the residential tariff, and hence it is not going to burn a hole in the pockets of the Ganesh mandals. The officer also reminded that taking power source from even a registered customer – be it a house or a commercial establishment, was illegal and this would land both – the Ganesh mandal and the one who has given power supply – in trouble. The company has so far received only three applications in the Nashik Urban division – 1 but expects more than 80 more applications just as the festivities begin. The Nashik Urban Division – 2 has received just one application so far. “Last year, the Urban Division – 1 had received 74 applications and released the same numbers of connections, while division – 2 had released 83 connection,” the officer said. Calvin Pickard Womens Jersey