NHAI may compensate concessionaires for loss in toll money
With government’s decision to stop toll collection till November 18 hitting concessionaires, NHAI has proposed to compensate up to 75 per cent of the losses due to the move resulting from demonetisation. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the scrapping of Rs 500/1000 notes last week, Union Minister for Roads and Highways Nitin Gadkari asked all the toll operators to stop collection at all toll plazas to enable smooth movement of traffic. “On an average daily toll collection is around Rs 60-75 crore across the country so the loss they are facing is to that extent. We have proposed that we will make interim relief to these concessionaires by paying nearly 75 per cent of the losses to ease their cash flow,” NHAI Chairman Raghav Chandra told reporters on the sidelines of an Infrastructure Finance summit organised by industry body Assocham. He said some of the tolls are publicly funded while others are private tolls. “There are around 100 tolls which are publicly funded and around 265 private tolls. But these 100 have also been given on contract to private operators. So to ensure that these also don’t face cash flow problem because of the decision, we have decided to provide the relief even to these tolls,” he said. Chandra further said NHAI has put forward the proposal to the government for its approval. “We have insisted that this move is necessary for the concessionaires so that they don’t face huge licenses and they will be able to support the government’s demonetisation plans,” he added. The government has set a target of awarding nearly one lakh crore worth of projects this fiscal. Yesterday the government had decided that no toll would be charged on National Highways till the midnight of November 18. CM Punk Authentic Jersey
80% of transporters go off-roads following demonetization of Rs 500 and 1000
Demonetization of 500 and 1000 rupee notes has adversely hit the transporters of the city as around 80% of them have not been able to travel outside Delhi-NCR region due to lack of fresh currency. Transporters said that most of them owning trucks, canters and other medium commercial vehicles are sitting at home as they don’t have enough cash to use during a long-route journey. While the central government has already suspended toll collections on the National Highways a day after the ban on Rs. 500 and 1000, problems are being faced by transporters at the state highways and expressways. “We are getting complaints from some transporters who are already out of state, that old notes are not being accepted at petrol pumps in states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, etc. A transporter needs between Rs. 30,000-40,000 for a long-route trip. It has become extremely difficult for our people to plan long-route journey. Almost 80% of our transporters are sitting at home,” Chaudhary Vedpal Singh, president of Noida Transporters Association, told TOI. Videos of toll tax being collected from vehicles at the Yamuna Expressway have been doing the rounds, showing arguments between toll company officials and the commuters. It suggests how people are confused if the order to stop toll collection is meant only for National Highways or also includes state highways or expressways. However, according to the district administration, the order is only for the National Highways and not state highways or expressways. “The order stands only for the National Highways and expressways like the Yamuna Expressway don’t come under the purview of the central government. However, I have written to the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) asking them to consider putting off toll collection for some time on the lines of the central government,” DM NP Singh, told TOI. A day after Prime Minister announced ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes to tackle corruption and black money, the central government had on November 9 said that no toll fee would be collected on National Highways till November 11 midnight. The deadline was again extended till November 14 midnight. Carter Rowney Authentic Jersey
India may have ‘electric highway’ with Swedish help: Gadkari
India may also have an ‘electric highway’ stretch, similar to the one inaugurated in Sweden recently, with help from the Scandinavian country, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said. “We have sought a proposal from Sweden to build electric highway here, where we can run trucks and such vehicles in open traffic,” Gadkari told PTI. The world´s first two-kilometre strip on road has been built near Gavle in Sweden for fossil-free transportation in which electrified trucks with pantographs connect to overhead electrified lines and are driven in open traffic, using technology developed by Siemens. Gadkari said he had held talks in this connection with a Swedish delegation, led by Minister for Enterprise & Innovation, Mikael Damberg, which called on him after participating in the first meeting of the India-Sweden Business Leaders’ Roundtable. Sweden has developed the new electric highway technology, a result of several years of cooperation between the Swedish Government and the private sector, which permits the trucks to operate as electric vehicles when on the electrified road and as regular hybrid vehicles at other times. The Minister was apprised that all the trucks running on electric stretch have been produced by Scania and are hybrid and Euro 6-certified, running on biofuel. The Swedish delegation explained that the trucks on such electric stretch receives electrical power from a pantograph power collector, mounted on the frame behind its cab and in turn connected to overhead power lines. On going outside the electric stretch, the pantograph is disconnected and the truck is powered by the combustion engine or the battery-operated electric motor. Gadkari said the present government’s emphasis is to promote bio-fuel and electric cars to prevent pollution as well as develop cheaper mode of transportation. The Minister also said that he has sought Sweden’s cooperation in forming joint ventures for Indian companies for testing of vehicles which is being given high priority. The Minister said that the BJP government was emphasising on generation of bio-fuel and reducing oil imports as this would minimise pollution and make the country self-reliant. He also said that the vehicle scrapping policy would contribute significantly in curbing pollution as heavy commercial vehicles more than 15 years old, contributed to 65 per cent of the pollution. Ryan Ramczyk Womens Jersey
India and US launch $95 million clean energy projects
The US today announced two financial projects worth USD 95 million in India to bring more energy-efficient appliances to rural sector, as part of its efforts to continue the global transition to zero-and-low carbon energy sources. The US has committed USD 70 million in Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) financing for renewable energy projects in India; and announced to launch a USD 20 million partnership this week with the philanthropic sector to bring more efficient appliances to rural Indian villages. The USD 75 million OPIC financing is for a utility-scale PV project in Telangana. It is sponsored by ReNew Power Ventures. This commitment represents the rapid mobilisation of financing under a USD 250 million facility to support up to 400 MW of new solar power projects in India across multiple states, the White House said. Further the OPIC and Indian Government will this week formally launch a USD 20 million distributed solar facility in partnership with leading philanthropies, it said. Known as US-India Clean Energy Finance program (USICEF), it will address a key financing gap in the Indian distributed solar market by funding early-stage project preparatory work, it said. USICEF is anticipated to unlock up to USD 400 million in long-term debt financing from OPIC and private sector investors, the White House said. According to the White House fact sheet, the Rockefeller Foundation’s Smart Power for Rural Development Initiative is also announcing a new partnership with the Clean Energy Ministerial’s (CEM) Global Lighting and Energy Access Partnership (Global LEAP) to accelerate the deployment and use of energy efficient off-grid devices in rural India. The US Department of State will, subject to Congressional notification, provide funding for Global LEAP to support the development and roll out of a programme to deploy energy- efficient devices such as televisions, fans, and refrigerators at selected Smart Power supported mini-grid sites, the White House said. It will also develop a strategy for a programme-wide scale-up targeted to reduce energy costs for some of the poorest people in India. “When deployed it is expected to reduce energy consumption by over 50 per cent for rural households, increase revenue for mini-grid operators by over 300 per cent per household, and generate rural employment for people involved in distribution and supply chain management of the devices,” it said. Noting that the US President Barack Obama’s leadership has catalyzed a global transition towards a clean energy economy, the White House said from 2010-2015 alone, the US has invested in more than USD 11 billion in international clean energy finance. At the same time, the US has made research and development a top priority. Key achievements include establishing Mission Innovation (MI), with the leaders of 19 countries, to accelerate innovation by doubling public investment in clean energy research and development to USD 30 billion over five years. Tom Glavine Jersey
J&K rejects Central formula, seeks Rs 8000 cr compensation from Punjab
Acting tough after Supreme Court’s verdict against Punjab on water sharing with neighbouring States, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has finally staked claim of Rs 8,000 crores worth losses from Punjab Government for not sharing water of river Ravi with it as agreed upon before construction of Ranjit Sagar dam upstream of Madhopur barrage in Shahpur Kandi town of Pathankot, bordering Lakhanpur in Kathua district of J&K. Official sources told the Excelsior that notwithstanding the Central Government’s recent intervention to strike truce between Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab by calling a meeting of representatives of the two States, the J&K Government has decided to stick to its old position and written to the Punjab Government seeking compensation of Rs 8000 crores on account of losses suffered by it for irrigation and electricity as Punjab didn’t stick to the agreement with the State on release of water from Ranjit Sagar dam. “We have written to the Punjab Government claiming losses, which is our legal position as several previous Governments had decided. There were Cabinet notes since long that Jammu and Kashmir would seek compensation for losses from the Punjab Government. We have worked out the losses and finally staked claim from the neighbouring State,” they said. According to sources, the Government has worked out Rs 6000 crores worth losses on account of irrigation and Rs 2000 crores for power generation and submitted claims to the Punjab Government. The claims have been worked out by the State Government taking into account the water, which Punjab had to release for Jammu and Kashmir from river Ravi for irrigation purposes in Kathua and Samba districts and the power, which was to be given to the State. Ranjit Sagar dam has 600 mw power generation capacity. At the time of agreement reached between Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir which the neighbouring State had terminated in 2004 after adopting bill in the Legislature on water sharing, Punjab had to provide 300 cusecs water to J&K from river Ravi. Asserting that case of Jammu and Kashmir has been upheld as very genuine at various forums including Central Government and other neighbouring States of Punjab, sources said the Supreme Court decision nullifying Punjab’s 2004 legislation that had scrapped water sharing agreements with neighbouring States including Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and New Delhi, has justified the position of J&K. Sources said Jammu and Kashmir Government would wait for some days before Punjab officially communicates its decision to the State Government and then go for legal action if Punjab repeated its old position of refusing to compensate the losses. Though a reply from Punjab is awaited, unofficially the neighbouring State has conveyed to the State leaders and officials that the demand was not acceptable to it. At a recently convened meeting between Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab held at New Delhi at the behest of Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti, Punjab was not averse to releasing water to the State from now onwards for irrigational purposes to feed Kandi areas of Kathua and Samba districts. Sources said Punjab had agreed to bear full cost of construction of project, giving entire electricity generated from the project to Jammu and Kashmir and some other conditions laid down by J&K Government. However, it wanted Jammu and Kashmir to shelve the demand for compensation of past 30 years, which, otherwise, also Punjab was not going to concede. But, the Jammu and Kashmir has decided to stick to its oft-repeated demand, albeit, without any positive response from the neighbour. The Kandi belt of Kathua and Samba would have been major beneficiary of construction of canal from Shahpur Kandi, which could have irrigated the land of Pathankot, Kathua and Samba districts and changed fortunes of the people of rural belt, who were waiting for this to happen for the past 30 years but continued to suffer. There can be so much irrigation from the project that it would no longer be called the Kandi belt. However, with Punjab Government facing heat from the Apex Court decision that too on the eve of Assembly elections in the State, the dreams of Kandi belt were likely to take much more time to be realized than anticipated. The new project of canal would have also delivered a blow to Pakistan which was getting excess water from river Ravi in Punjab. The flow of excess water to Pakistan would stop once Shahpur Kandi canal project is constructed. Punjab was reported to have kept budgetary provision for the canal project and was ready with tendering work once Jammu and Kashmir conveyed its formal nod for shelving demand for compensation of losses, which Punjab was not ready to consider on the ground that there were procedural wrangles involved in it. Sources said the Union Water Resources Ministry officials too were of the view that Jammu and Kashmir should give up its demand for 30 years compensation in lieu of Punjab bearing construction cost of the canal project and giving entire electricity generated from it from the date the fresh agreement is signed to Jammu and Kashmir. However, Jammu and Kashmir has decided not to accept these conditions and remained stick to its old position that Punjab should first compensate the State for losses before next course of action like construction of canal etc is worked out. Under the Indus Water Treaty water of Ravi, Beas and Sutlej rivers of Punjab had come in the share of India while that of Chenab, Jhelum and Indus (Sindhu), all in Jammu and Kashmir, was to be shared with Pakistan. Colin Wilson Authentic Jersey
PowerGrid to set up energy highways to meet demand growth
Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) is planning to build energy highways across the country to meet a projected growth in demand and ease the load on the national grid. The highways include 11 high-capacity corridors, each with a capacity of about 4,000 Mw, and three high-capacity HVDC (high-voltage, direct current) systems (6,000 Mw each). The central transmission utility will also develop eight inter-state transmission systems (ISTS) or green energy corridors to help the renewable energy sector. The ones to come up first would be to connect the solar power parks in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. PGCIL is constructing the first phase of green corridors connecting renewable-rich states. The investment planned for these projects is Rs 1.12 lakh crore, with the energy highways costing Rs 58,000 crore and the HVDC systems Rs 12,000 crore each. The cost of the ongoing green corridors is Rs 18,000 crore. The ISTS for solar parks is about Rs 9,000 crore each. The costs are for the lifetime of the projects and would be invested according to commissioning time lines. I S Jha, chairman and managing director of PGCIL, told Business Standard: “Transmission planning now is on basis of load growth and not just power generation. The government of India has projected per capita power consumption to grow four times to 4,000 Mw by 2030. Along with central programmes, this will give a momentum to household demand. The country’s transmission needs to be prepared for the phenomenal growth of power demand.” The central government has accelerated the development of power transmission networks to match the projected electricity demand in several regions. Along with states, which would offer transmission projects, the Centre is looking to unleash an investment opportunity of close to Rs 1 lakh crore for the sector. However, the award of projects under the bidding route has been growing slowly. Eight projects costing Rs 9,635 crore have been announced to be offered through tariff based competitive bidding this financial year. The power ministry has said transmission corridors would be set up before generation started. “Transmission work for evacuation of renewable energy is in mission mode. Transmission has typically stayed behind generation and led to years of mismatch. But we are doing long-term planning to avoid such a situation. For instance, transmission systems for solar parks would come by the time these generation units come — around 18 months,” said a senior power ministry official. Of the ongoing projects, totalling Rs 1.16 lakh crore, PGCIL is building Rs 16,000 crore worth of projects won through this route; the rest was nominated. Officials said such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana would offer power transmission projects through the bidding route, which forms a part of their 24X7 Power for All plan. Amari Cooper Authentic Jersey
Level flight: Charting India’s airline course
Last month, Jet Airways introduced wide-body services on two of its busiest domestic routes — Mumbai-Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Kolkata-Delhi — in a move that significantly enhanced connectivity, besides boosting capacity on these key sectors. The double-aisle Airbus A330 that was deployed, puts the airline in a niche club of Indian carriers that boast of such large aircraft (Jet Airways has Boeing 777s too), enabling them to fly long routes, non-stop. Only in this case, the airline found huge demand in the domestic market itself, compelling it to ply one of its big boys. According to Jet Airways Chief Commercial Officer Jayaraj Shanmugam, “The Indian domestic sector is witnessing breakneck growth in demand. Our fleet mix comprising both wide-body and narrow-body aircraft is our strength, and helps us respond to market conditions and provide enhanced travel options to our guests.” Joining Jet Airways in the wide-body boat is flag carrier Air India, which boasts of wide connectivity to Europe and the US, thanks to its fleet of Boeing 747s, 777s, and 787s. Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani says, “Our profitability mantra is ‘fill more, fly more!’ We are bullish on increasing occupancy and flying to more destinations.” Indeed, India has taken off to a flying start with a burgeoning airline industry. The sector has opened to a big blue sky of opportunities, owing to a series of measures taken by the government, along with the economy itself welcoming several trends that have propelled it further. Amar Abrol, the CEO of young budget carrier AirAsia India, explains that India’s civil aviation industry is on a high-growth trajectory. “India aims to become the third-largest aviation market by 2020, and the largest by 2030. Factors such as low-cost carriers, FDI in domestic airlines, advanced IT interventions and growing emphasis on regional connectivity have given a new lease of life to the growth of the Indian aviation sector,” he opines. Despite such high scope for growth, the airline industry throws many questions that require some deep thought and analysis. It is imperative to understand the uniqueness of this market, as well as introspect its challenges, and find solutions.
Airport at Dabolim won’t be shut: Parrikar
Defence minister Manohar Parrikar said the international airport at Dabolim will not be shut down even after Mopa international airport starts operations. Also, four-lanning or six-lanning of NH 4-A and 17-A will be done simultaneously along with Mopa airport, Parrikar said after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday unveiled a plaque to lay foundation stone for the proposed greenfield airport at Mopa, at a function held at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee stadium, Taleigao. Parrikar said, “There is no scope for further expansion of the Dabolim airport.” The annual traffic at Dabolim airport is 5 million while its capacity is 2.7 million. “The traffic flow at Dabolim is double of its capacity,” Parrikar said highlighting the inevitability of the airport at Mopa. Two other projects, that were also launched on Sunday, include infrastructure for building mine counter measure vessels and commencement of construction of Coast Guard offshore patrol vessels. Roberto Alomar Jersey
Still lacks connectivity to smaller cities, abroad
The Coimbatore airport is still lagging behind some other airports in the two-tier cities in terms of passenger traffic, largely due to the lack of connectivity to smaller cities in the country and abroad. While the city has recorded a 22% rise in passenger traffic, higher than the 15% increase recorded by Trichy airport and 19.4% rise by Calicut airport, it has fallen way below Madurai airport which recorded an increase of 37.9% passenger traffic and Trivandrum, where passengers rose by 41.2%. In Coimbatore, travel agents said, its base of flyers has reached a saturation point over the past few years, while there was more room for passenger traffic growth among Madurai’s youngsters, businessmen and travellers. “Unlike Coimbatore, which is a more of a cosmopolitan city and enjoys better awareness levels, awareness regarding cheap fares offered by flights has caught up in Madurai only recently and hence the sudden rise in air traffic from the temple city,” said a former office-bearer of Travel Club, Madurai. Bobby Orr Jersey
‘Nashik needs air connectivity with major cities’
Industries and Manufacturers’ Association (NIMA), an apex body of industries have engaged in promoting industrial development across the district. In an interview with TOI’s Tushar Pawar, chairman of infrastructure committee of NIMA, Manish Rawal talks about various activities the association has initiated and their efforts in promoting industrial development across the city. What is the current industrial scenario here? The industrial sector is passing through a phase of recession which has seen a slowdown across industries for the past few years now. The growth of these industries is adversely affected because of recession. In the meanwhile, we are expecting some improvement in sales and growth in the next few months. The Centre’s decision to bring in Goods and Services Tax (GST) is definitely a boost for the industries to fetch foreign investments in the long run. The profitable outcome of GST will take some time. What are the infrastructural issues? There have been several infrastructural issues we deal with on a daily basis. The civic administration has just developed roads for Rs 70crore at Satpur and Ambad industrial estates of Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC). But, almost 20% of the streetlights in these industrial estates do not function. The lack of drainage lines is another major issue. Though industries have soak pits but most of the time, the effluent comes on the road causing inconvenience for the common public. We have been demanding construction of drainage lines in MIDC areas for the past 15-20 years, but we have still not heard from the municipal corporations. But, Nashik still lacks air connectivity. We have an international airport at Ozar which was constructed jointly by the state government and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). But, the air services are yet to commence here. is a good potential growth for the aviation industry here. We want to start the air connectivity with major cities of the country. There As per a survey which was recently conducted, around 30,000 industrialist and business people from Nashik travels by air to other destinations across the country. Maximum people fly to Bangalore followed by Delhi and Chennai cities. Hence, we want flights from Nashik to Bangalore and Delhi. C.J. Anderson Womens Jersey