Efforts to bring new airport to Khed take off with renewed vigour
WITH protests taking place in Purandar against the Maharashtra government’s plan to set up an airport there, industrialists and political leaders from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Khed and Maval taluka have decided to renew their demands for setting up the airport in Rajgurunagar area, in Khed. Local industrialists, MPs and MLAs have sought a meeting with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on the issue. They want to “convince” the Chief Minister to set up the airport in Rajgurunagar as, according to them, it is the most ideal and convenient location for Puneites from different sections of society. The Chief Minister’s Office has said it is looking into the objections against the move to set up the airport at Purandar. The Pimpri-Chinchwad Small Scale Industrial Association has decided to hold agitations, carry out signature campaigns and set up a Kruti Samiti (action committee) to press for their demand. Meanwhile, Shirur MP Shivajirao Adhalrao-Patil has decided to present “full facts and information” before the CM about how setting up an airport in Purandar will result in “tremendous loss” to the government. According to Adhalrao-Patil, almost 20,000 industrialists in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Talegaon, Chakan and Rajgurunagar will be affected by the move. John Johnson Womens Jersey
Guwahati airport to be developed soon
The Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati will soon get a facelift as part of the new civil aviation policy of the NDA government. In a letter to MP Wansuk Syiem, Civil Aviation Minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju said on Wednesday the airport in Guwahati will be expanded and modernised to improve air connectivity to the North East. “The Airport Authority of India will soon develop the Guwahati airport as an inter-regional hub and Dibrugarh, Imphal and Agartala airports as intra-regional hubs,” he said. Syiem, in a special mention during the last session of the Rajya Sabha, had criticised the Centre for ignoring the landlocked northeastern region and not improving the international airport in Guwahati. She had also stressed on the need for expanding and improving the only operational airport in Shillong. “The airport in Guwahati has been declared as an international one and there is tremendous increase in traffic. But the facilities remain the same as when it was a domestic one,” Syiem had said and added that the Guwahati airport was a hub for domestic flights to the North East. Giovanni Fiore Womens Jersey
Air India mulls leasing ten Dornier aircraft to boost regional services
Flag carrier Air India is mulling leasing ten Dornier aircraft from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd to boost its regional operations as the government looks to make flying more affordable under the ambitious UDAN scheme. State-owned HAL is already making the Dornier 228 planes under licence from Swiss technology company RUAG for the defence forces and European markets. To evaluate the feasibility of inducting a new type of jetliner into its fleet, Air India has set up three committees and a final decision on the matter would be taken after receiving reports from the panels, the airline’s Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani said. Currently, the government-owned carrier operates aircraft manufactured by Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier and ATR. “We have set up three committees, one each from finance, operations and engineering. These committees will study all aspects of the proposal and any decision (whether to lease or not to lease) will be based on the outcome of their reports,” Lohani said. However, he did not divulge further details. Air India, which has turned operationally profitable last fiscal after nearly a decade, would operate more regional flights through Alliance Air. Alliance Air, which mostly connects Tier II and III cities to metro hubs, currently flies to 34 destinations and has 39 daily departures. Eric Tangradi Womens Jersey
‘Make in India’ Fighter Choice May Be Limited To Single-engine Jets
After confirming the acquisition of 36 Dassault Rafale fighters off-the-shelf from France, India has invited proposals from the U.S., Sweden and Russia to transfer technology and produce a single-engine fighter in-country. The latest move seems to preclude any “Make in India” offers from Dassault for the twin-engine Rafale, as well as Eurofighter (for the Typhoon) or Boeing (for the F/A-18). India has a requirement for approximately 100 more fighters. The invitation was in the form of letters handed to the ambassadors of the three countries. Lockheed Martin has already responded, offering an upgraded “F-16 Block 70.” It is believed that Saab will follow, with an offer for the Gripen E. It is unclear what Russia might offer, since both the MiG-29/35 and Sukhoi Su-30/35 series are twin-engine designs. “What we have offered, we believe is unprecedented,” said Randy Howard, head of F-16 business development for Lockheed Martin. The company has committed to transfer F-16 production from Fort Worth to India in phases. The proposal would make India the world’s largest supply base for F-16s. Lockheed Martin has sold 4,588 F-16s to 29 customers, and many of those aircraft have a 30-year life that requires the continuing supply of spares and support. “Bringing the production to India will have a positive impact on affordability for India and the global fleet,” said Howard. Tony Dorsett Jersey
Slot allocation process fair, independent: Dubai Airports
Amid Indian airlines raising concerns over slots, Dubai Airports today said allocation of slots to airlines is an independent and fair process that also depends on availability. The operator of one of the world’s busiest aerodromes, Dubai Airports also emphasised the slot allocation process applies to all airlines. Dubai International (DXB) airport, which has around 1,100 flights daily, saw around 8.5 million passengers from India during the January-September period this year. In 2015, the number of such passengers stood at 10 million. While most of the established Indian carriers have flights to Dubai, which is also a lucrative market considering the Indian expat population, there have been concerns about these airlines not getting adequate and proper slots at the airport there. In this regard, the Civil Aviation Ministry had written to the Dubai authorities. Besides, negotiations are expected between India and Dubai over bilaterals — the number of seats allotted to carriers from both countries. Against this backdrop, Dubai Airports Director of Corporate Communications Lorne Riley emphasised that slot allocation is done in an independent manner. “We are not party to the negotiations on bilaterals but what I have explained is that slot allocation process is based on international standards and is independently adjudicated according to those guidelines. It applies to all airlines…,” he told reporters here. Slot allocation process is applied fairly to all airlines and it also depends on what is available, he added. Between India and the Gulf, around 4.2 lakh seats are available every week, with Dubai leading the chart with 66,504 seats each per week. Earlier this year, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju had said the government is ready to open negotiations with the Gulf nations in general and Dubai in particular to enhance the bilateral air traffic rights between the two markets. “For the past two years, there has been a tremendous improvement in the utilisation levels of the bilaterals by our airlines with the Gulf nations. While it is 80 per cent for the region as a whole, with Dubai it is over 90 per cent now. “And with the limits being reached, we are ready to open negotiations with them again,” he had said. Apart from DXB, Dubai Airports also operates Dubai World Central (DWC). DXB saw little over 78 million passengers in 2015 and the number is expected to touch 83 million this year. In 2017, the airport is anticipated to see around 90 million passengers. Meanwhile, the annual capacity of DWC — which is the second airport in Dubai — would increase to 26 million passengers by 2017 from the current level of 5 million. Riley said expansion works worth over USD 32 billion would be done at DWC in the coming decades to increase the total annual capacity to more than 240 million passengers. Donald Penn Jersey
Civil aviation ministry joins Smart India Hackathon 2017
Ministry of Human Resource Development is set to organize the Smart India Hackathon 2017 where the Ministry of Civil Aviation will also actively participate. The aim of the initiative to harness the creativity and technical expertise of young minds studying in technology institutes to think out of the box and come up with innovative and disruptive tech solutions for some of the daunting problems faced by the country. R.N, Choubey, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation told ANI that the ministry of human resource development in Government of India has taken an excellent initiative called Hackathon 2017. The civil aviation industry is on a high growth trajectory. India is poised to become the third-largest aviation market by 2030. “The Hackathon 2017 is to engage the young and vibrant minds for problem solving and for various parts of the government functioning. In the case of minister of civil aviation we have identified 43 issues that we call it problem statements and these 43 problem statements will be made available to group of young people who will be constituted into 50 teams,” he said. “We expect each problem statement will be given to about two teams so that there is some competition between the teams for giving the best possible solutions,” Choubey added. Harrison Butker Authentic Jersey
PowerGrid to electrify 761-km rail track at Rs 889 cr
Power Grid Corporation will electrify 761 km of rail lines in the country at a cost of Rs 888.96 crore as part of Indian Railways’ plan to energise 24,000 km track in the next five years. “The Ministry of Railways has allotted 761 kms of railway route electrification work at cost of Rs 888.96 crore to Power Grid Corp (PGCIL),” a senior official told PTI. The letter of allotment was handed over to the power ministry Joint Secretary (transmission) Jyoti Arora and PGCIL Director Ravi P Singh by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu during the international conference on Decarbonization of India Railways Mission Electrification held in the capital, the official said. Among the four stretches to be electrified by PGCIL are Pune-Miraj-Kolhapur 326 km at a cost of Rs 513.07 crore, Chhindwara-Nainpur-Mandla Fort 183 km at Rs 90.71 crore, Londa-Miraj 189 km at Rs 208.15 crore and Mansi-Sahrsa-Dauram Madhepura 63 km at Rs 77.03 crore. The electrification project will help the government cut down crude import and also ensure faster movement of trains on these tracks. At present, around 35,000 km of rail track remains unelectrified. The electrification of tracks is expected to help the Railways save around Rs 10,000 crore annually. Indian Railways consumes around 2.8 billion litres of diesel annually, at a cost of around Rs 18,000 crore — nearly 18 per cent of its working expenses. Earlier this year, Power Minister Piyush Goyal had talked about the government’s plans to rope in PGCIL for meeting the tall order of electrifying 35,000 km of tracks. Goyal had also said PGCIL would do a pilot of 1,000 km to assess its capability. Indian Railways has planned to electrify 24,000 km of rail track in the next five years to reduce dependence of fossil fuel. According to the minister, the electrification of entire rail tracks in the country will lead to power consumption going up by 7 billion units. Trevor Daley Womens Jersey
WBERC allows marginal power tariff hike to CESC
West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission (WBERC) has allowed only four paisa increase in average tariff per unit of power for financial year 2016-17 against 38 paisa rise allowed in the multi-year tariff order, a decision which would hit power utility CESC Ltd. The West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission has fixed average tariff of Rs 7.02 paisa per unit in 2016-17 over last year’s Rs 6.98 paisa, up four paisa. “In the multi-year tariff order issued earlier we had given an average tariff of Rs 7.36 per unit. But, given the latest developments, we have revised it lower to Rs 7.02 paisa,” WBERC Chairman R N Sen told PTI. Sources at the RP Sanjiv Goenka group firm CESC said the order is part of the fine tuning of tariff for 2016-17 as part of multi year tariff order by the regulator. An analyst predicts a negative revenue impact of Rs 30-40 crore a year. Conor Timmins Womens Jersey
Peak power supply shortage below 1,000 MW for four days
For the last four days in consecution, peak power supply shortage in India has been consistently below 1,000 MW for the first time ever. This, however, has been a result of falling demand over the same period which also resulted in half the power offered for sale at power exchanges remaining unsold. Recently, there have been instances of power deficit being less than 1000 MW but those have been one off instances. Between October 29 and November 1, the peak demand deficit hovered between 649 MW and 830 MW. In fact, this year peak demand shortages hovered below 2000 MW even when demand had touched 150,000 MW. In contrast, the defcit used to be at least 5000 mw last year. “In papers we are close to attaining zero power deficit and large number of states record zero deficit for days on, however, distribution companies are still to buy the adequate volume of power for everyone. Financial crunch with discoms have been a stumbling block in attaining a real zero deficit. The centre’s scheme UDAY is a step to solve the issue,” said an analyst on condition on anonymity. According to data released by the National Load Despatch Centre – the pan India body that takes care of power flow in the country, demand declined from about 130,000 mw to 1,30,000 during the four days in which power deficit fell below 1000 mw. In fact, during these four days, only about 50% of the power offered for sale at the power exchanges found buyers even at prices as low as Rs 2 per unit or less. Marshall Newhouse Jersey
BSES gears up to meet Delhi’s winter power demand
New Delhi, Peak power demand in Delhi this winter is expected to be around 4,500 MW-4,600 MW and the two BSES discoms in the national capital are gearing up to ensure adequate electricity is available during this period, the company said on Thursday. “Last year, power demand had peaked at around 4,125 MW. Besides long-term arrangements, we are also using advanced techniques like Banking and Backdown to dispose off surplus power and making arrangements to get power during summer months,” a statement here said. “In case of any unforeseeable contingency, BSES discoms will buy short-term power from the exchange which is available at economical rates,” it added. South and central Delhi areas, which come under BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd. (BRPL), had seen the peak power demand of 1,829 MW last winter, that is expected to cross 1,900 MW this winter. “To reduce night surplus power, BRPL will bank surplus of around 200 MW with states like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Meghalaya,” a BSES official said. In east Delhi, the area under BSES Yamuna Power Ltd. (BYPL), peak demand had reached 890 MW during last winter and is expected to touch 950 MW mark during the coming winter months, according to the company. ” BYPL has arranged for an additional 150 MW from Punjab for December and January. To reduce the night surplus, BYPL will supply around 175 MW to Bihar between December and March,” the statement added. Phil Simms Womens Jersey