BCAS has conducted 91 security audits of airports: Government
The country’s top aviation security body Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has carried out 91 security audits and 53 security inspections of operational airports in the country, the Lok Sabha was informed today. “BCAS has conducted 91 security audits and 53 security inspections of operational airports within the country,” Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said in written reply to a question whether the government had ordered a security audit of 98 civil airports in the country. At present, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel are deployed at 59 airports and at remaining airports, policemen of the state concerned are deployed for security arrangements, he said in reply to another question. “The requirement of security at airports is reviewed by BCAS, the regulatory authority for civil aviation security in the country, in consultation with other security agencies, and based on this, security cover is provided,” Sinha said in reply to a question whether the government proposes to undertake a thorough overhaul of airport security and extend CISF security cover to all airports in the country. In his reply to a question on the expenditure incurred on the security personnel, he said, “The expenditure on deployment of CISF and State Police personnel at airports for security arrangements is met out of Passenger Service Fees (Security Component), which includes the recommendation to Ministry of Finance regarding deposition of such fee collections into the Consolidated Fund of India on a monthly basis.” John Johnson Jersey
DIAL, BIAL sees Rs 580 crore total profit in six months
Operators of international airports in Bengaluru and the national capital raked in profits totalling Rs 580 crore in the first six months of the current financial year, as per government data. The national capital’s aerodrome is operated by Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) while that of Bengaluru is run by Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL). While DIAL has recorded a profit of Rs 297.48 crore till September of the current fiscal, BIAL has registered a profit of Rs 282.66 crore, as per details provided by Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju in a written reply to the Lok Sabha today. The airports in the national capital and Mumbai are among those run through public-private partnerships. DIAL is a three-way venture between GMR group, Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Fraport. The stakeholders in BIAL are Fairfax, GVK group, AAI, Karnataka State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corp, and Siemens Project Ventures GmbH. About airports in general, the Minister said some of them have incurred losses due to low revenue generation which was not adequate to meet the total expenditure pertaining to the respective airports. “AAI has drawn up a master plan for development and increase in non-aeronautical revenues at airports across India … Based on recommendations of consultants as against earlier system of individual contracts/licenses, Master Concessionaire approach is being adopted in 14 select airports in the first phase,” Raju said. Further, he said consultants have been appointed for assisting in re-designing the layout of existing general retail and food & beverage outlets for optimum utilisation of the airport space. Marvin Harrison Jersey
SpiceJet proposes up to Rs 15 crore annual pay for Ajay Singh
In the black for seven straight quarters, SpiceJet plans to pay up to Rs 15 crore annual remuneration, including a fixed monthly salary of Rs 50 lakh, to its Managing Director Ajay Singh. Singh, who has been instrumental in reviving the fortunes of SpiceJet after taking back the reins in January 2015, had decided not to take salary till the airline turned profitable. The no-frills carrier has now sought shareholders’ nod for giving a remuneration of up to Rs 15 crore every year to Singh subject to various conditions. Apart from a fixed monthly salary of Rs 50 lakh, he would also be eligible to a variable pay of up to two per cent of the annual profit and the latter component would be a maximum of Rs 9 crore per annum, according to the notice of company’s annual general meeting. This is among the proposals that would be taken up at the annual general meeting scheduled to be held on December 26. The airline will seek shareholders’ approval for paying Singh a “remuneration of Rs 50,00,000 per month as fixed pay (with such component as may be agreed and decided by the board)”. Besides, he would be eligible for “up to two per cent of annual net profit of the company payable upon completion of relevant financial year (subject to a maximum of Rs 9,00,00,000 per annum) as variable pay”. As per the notice, these payments would be effective April 1, 2016 for the remainder period of his appointment — up to May 20, 2018. The remuneration for Singh has been recommended by the company’s nomination and remuneration committee. Apart from this package, Singh would be eligible for other benefits such as “company-maintained car with driver, mobile expense reimbursement, provident fund, gratuity, personal accident insurance, medical insurance for self and dependents”. The notice also said the airline’s board of directors can modify the remuneration payable to Singh. Among others, SpiceJet will move resolutions for appointment of independent directors. Staying profitable for the seventh straight quarter, SpiceJet last month reported its highest-ever quarterly profit of Rs 59 crore in July-September. It had a net profit of Rs 29 crore in the year-ago period. Jake Gardiner Jersey
All 11 RInfra toll plazas to go cashless from midnight
All 11 toll plazas of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, across India, will go “cashless” from midnight Friday, accepting toll payments through cards and or mobile wallets, an official said here. RInfra is the concessionaire in 11 road projects, totalling 1,000 km and all in high-density traffic corridors, across India and has enabled all its 225 toll lanes to accept payments through debit, credit cards and mobile wallet Paytm from Friday night when toll collection resumes. It becomes the first NHAI concessionaire to introduce cashless toll payments at all its toll plazas. Vehicle owners can breeze through without having to worry about availability of cash as all the 11 centres have points of sale machines enabled by Paytm and hand-held card swipe machines to enable cashless payments. For this, 146 PoS machines, or roughly 10 at each toll plaza, and 285 card swipe machines or roughly 15 at each toll post, have been deployed. Besides, RInfra has dedicated one lane at each toll plaza for the tag users, fast tag users or the ETC tag users. One lane in each direction is also enabled for ETC-mode with a process underway to increase this number at each plaza. Over the next few weeks, RInfra will also enable online payments, other digital wallet payments like MobiKwik and deploy micro-ATMs at the toll plazas for the comfort of drivers and vehicle owners. Lance Alworth Womens Jersey
Oil prices fall on concerns over OPEC-Russia production deal and profit taking
Oil prices fell on Friday on concerns whether major producers would implement an OPEC-Russia deal to cut production and as investors took profits after Brent touched a 16-month high a day earlier on news of the deal. “It looks achievable on the face of it, provided the parties to the latest production cut deal stick to their pledges, which has historically been somewhat of a sticking point,” ANZ bank said on Friday. But the cartel ability to overcome their differences and come to a last minute agreement was seen as a positive sign. “While OPEC’s adherence to the new allocations will be critical, the group demonstrated more cohesiveness than at any point since at least the 1.5 million barrels per day cut in 2008,” said Jason Gammel of U.S. investment bank Jefferies in a report on Friday. International Brent crude oil futures were trading at $53.52 per barrel at 0704 GMT, down 42 cents, or 0.78 per cent, from their last close. Read More: OPEC output cut could force government to slash excise duty on fuel, bring relief for upstream firms U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were at $50.91, down 15 cents, or 0.29 per cent. “I see it as profit-taking price-action after oil prices have rallied by almost 15 per cent in 2 days as the markets reassess this historical output deal,” said Phillip Futures analyst, Jonathan Chan. Analysts are now focusing their attention on the implementation of the OPEC deal which was joined by non-OPEC Russia for the first time in 15 years to coordinate production cuts by a combined 1.5 million barrels per day. “Compliance issues and a stronger than forecast revival from the U.S. shale sector represents the largest downside risk,” said BMI Research on Friday. It maintained its forecast for Brent crude at $55 a barrel in 2017 due to “ample stock levels and spare capacity within OPEC”. Still, the market remained broadly optimistic in the longer term about an accord designed to help bring the oil market back into balance. “This deal is significant. It sends a very strong message to the market and it should help the market find a balance,” said Simon Flowers, chief analyst at Wood Mackenzie. Flowers forecasts Brent to average $55-$60 a barrel in 2017, but cautioned this would “depend on OPEC being very careful to meet the terms of the agreement”. Price developments in crude futures over the coming days should provide evidence of the extent of the market’s optimism for the deal. “WTI has arrived at the peaks from the middle of last year and again in October,” said Ric Spooner, chief market strategist at CMC Markets, adding the next movements in the futures should provide insight into exactly how positively traders view this week’s agreement. In the days prior to Wednesday’s deal, the market assigned a low probability that OPEC would come to a meaningful agreement because of arguments between de facto leader Saudi Arabia and third-largest producer Iran. But that changed after Russian President Vladmir Putin played a crucial role in helping the OPEC set aside differences to forge the cartel’s first deal with non-OPEC Russia in 15 years. Jimmy Hayes Womens Jersey
Govt oil subsidy burden to be within budgetary allocation in FY2017 despite crude price rise; positive for upstream cos: ICRA
With crude oil prices of $50-60 for the balanced months in FY2017, government oil subsidy burden to be around Rs 170-190 billion for FY2017, which would be well within budget allocation of around Rs 270 billion for the current fiscal, ICRA today said.“Thus, the fiscal position of the government of India is unlikely to be affected for FY2017,” K Ravichandran, Senior Vice President, Head Corporate Sector Ratings said. The gross under-recoveries on subsidised domestic liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and public distribution system (PDS) kerosene are expected to increase by around Rs 12-15 billion for FY2017 with every $5/bbl sustained increase in crude oil prices for the rest of FY2017. The impact of higher crude oil prices on the government fiscal may be limited in FY2018 as well because gross under recoveries would not increase significantly up to crude oil prices of $60-65/bbl due to ongoing regular small hike in prices of subsidised LPG and kerosene on a fortnightly/monthly basis. In terms of impact on foreign exchange outgo, the rise in crude oil prices along with recent depreciation in rupee against US dollar are expected to increase net crude oil and petroleum products import bill of the country by around $4 billion for crude oil prices of $55/bbl for the rest four months in FY2017. Read more: OPEC output cut could force government to slash excise duty on fuel, bring relief for upstream firms Assuming a rise in the average crude oil price to $55/barrel in the remainder of the year from the average of $45/barrel in April-November 2016, would have a first round impact of raising average WPI inflation by around 50 bps and CPI inflation by around 20 bps in December 2016-March 2017. As per existing under-recovery sharing formula, the government bears domestic LPG subsidy upto Rs 18/kg (around Rs 255 per cylinder) under the Direct Benefit Transfer for domestic LPG (DBTL) and kerosene subsidy up to Rs 12/litre. “Post ongoing small increase in LPG and kerosene prices, the threshold crude oil prices for these subsidy levels would be around $55-60/bbl for kerosene and nearly $65/bbl for LPG. Hence, PSU upstream companies (ONGC and OIL) are likely to benefit from rise in crude oil prices as their net realisations would increase with nil or minimal under-recovery burden upto the level of US$60/bbl, as per the current subsidy sharing formula,” said Ravichandran. Private crude oil producers would directly gain from higher crude oil prices. Nonetheless, at crude oil prices beyond $55/bbl, upstream companies may feel the pinch of higher cess burden levied at domestic crude production as the same was revised to 20% ad-valorem (16.67% on net sales realisation) from fixed Rs 4500 /MT (US9/bbl) in the Union Budget 2016-17, he added. The downstream crude oil companies are expected to report inventory gains in Q3 FY2017 resulting from spike in crude oil and petroleum product prices. However, higher crude oil prices would also lead to higher working capital borrowings and interest burden, negatively impacting the net profitability in the ensuing quarters. Besides, marketing margins of oil marketing companies may moderate with sustained increase in crude oil prices and increasing competition from private retailers. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), on November 30, 2016, has agreed to cut total crude oil production of its member countries by 1.2 million barrels per day (mbpd) from January 2017. The decision by the OPEC has led to spike in global crude oil prices by around 15% with Benchmark Brent Crude futures touching $54/bbl. The deal by OPEC also includes coordination with Russia, a large crude oil producer but not an OPEC member. Any further rise in crude oil prices and sustainability at higher levels would depend upon actual cut in production by different OPEC members and Russia up to their commitment levels. Notwithstanding that, oversupply in global crude oil market may persist in the medium term with higher crude oil prices giving pricing power to US shale oil producers to raise production levels. Thus, with rebalancing of the market, global crude oil prices may not increase significantly over the medium term. Lane Johnson Authentic Jersey
Eight-fold path to decongest Bengaluru roads
We can approach a solution to the vexed problem of road traffic if we pay attention to one simple concept: flow. While there are degrees of truth in all the arguments put forth by different groups, what’s lost is that conceptually , the problem of traffic is a problem of flow. If we focus on improving flows, we can enjoy some respite from the tyranny of traffic. Here’s an eight-fold path to improve traffic without spending massive amounts of money. 1. Focus on the flow. Don’t get mesmerised by road-widening projects that are not only messy but might not improve the situation. Unless a road is of uniform width throughout its length, flow is unlikely to improve much by widening.Uneven road width causes congestion and can actually worsen the situation. 2. Remove road cholesterol.In many places almost 40% of the road is unusable because, like clogged arteries, circulation of traffic is choked by various blockages. Potholes, construction material, parked cars, autorickshaw stands and street vendors interrupt traffic flow and not only cause congestion points but also endanger safety of motorists and pedestrians.Make it compulsory for construction material and debris to be placed in bins, with a fee charged for occupying road space. Make parallel parking compulsory , draw parking lots and assign a serial number to each of them. Move autorickshaw stands away from street intersections. Ensure street vendors occupy designated lots. 3. Get cows and other animals off the road. It’s astounding that a city that connects India to the global economy tolerates herds of cows on major roads.Cows might be holy but that does not prevent them from causing congestion and endangering their own lives and the lives of motorists. 4. Make all lanes of uniform width. Today , lanes are mostly not marked, and where marked, they bisect the available road width. The lack of lane markings and lanes of varying widths create no behavioural triggers for people to drive in a disciplined manner. 5. Enforce queuing for right turns. A major reason for congestion on major roads is that when vehicles wait to turn right, they don’t queue up but line up side by side in an rightturning arc. All vehicles that intend to go straight ahead or turn left are blocked. 6. There have to be more directional signs. Overhead gantries identifying lanes for left, right and straight ahead are necessary. These must be placed well ahead of intersections so that vehicles can change lanes much before the intersection. 7. The stop line at intersections must be prominent. It must be a lakshman rekha crossing which should attract severe penalties. Cameras already exist that can enforce this easily. 8.Although pedestrians ought to have the first right on the road, they are constantly robbed of their safety and dignity . Traffic lights for pedestrian crossings seem to have been designed for Olympic sprinters, as it is almost impossible to cross even a midsized road in the ten seconds allocated for it. Skybridges and underpasses are impractical if they have steep staircases or are at unnatural crossing points. At times where traffic lights are sought to be synchronised to create “green channels” and smooth traffic flows, the pedestrian’s rights must not be sacrificed. Michael Gallup Jersey
Either abolish toll on highways or charge us one time annual fee, say truckers
Toll tax on highways is a cancer and needs to be removed, one major truckers’ body demanded on Wednesday, as it claimed that truckers are ready to pay one time annual toll amount rather than paying it each time. Though All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) is pushing this demand for the past few years, this time they revived it as government struggles to resume toll collection from Friday night. The truckers’ body also said that one of the ministers of state they recently met had agreed that “the disease of toll has to be eradicated”. However, the government has maintained that there is no question of scrapping toll on highways since it needs funds to expand the existing highways and build new ones. It also argues that users have to pay for better service, something that many of the commuters don’t agree as the service is often not up to the mark. During an interaction with officials from highways ministry and NHAI on Wednesday, representatives of AIMTC said that resumption of toll collection may not work even for 2-3 days and many of the trucks would stop operating. “Government must find alternate ways to get the toll amount rather than making everyone stop at toll plazas. We want to pay annual fee and operate throughout the year without any hurdle,” one of them said. Truck operators claimed that since government announced demonetisation, corruption on roads and highways has increased. If earlier enforcement officials negotiated at Rs 200 or Rs 300, now it’s not less than Rs 500 and in several cases taking new Rs 2,000 notes has become a trend. “What can you do when you have to run a business? Many a times even drivers short change owners since all these transactions are not in record,” said a truck operator. The truckers’ body has demanded that government should allow the operators to withdraw Rs 15,000 from their accounts per truck per trip. Meanwhile, the ministry has asked truckers to use RFID tags and give debit cards to their drivers so that more transaction can happen through electronic mode. “But they told us that they are getting one lakh fresh tags. Will that be enough when we have crores of vehicles?” asked a trucker. Government is considering if it can come out with some secured pre-paid coupons that can be issued to truckers which they can deposit to pass through toll plazas quickly. Quincy Wilson Authentic Jersey
Construction of 69 Bridges for Better Road Connectivity Between India and South East Asia
Construction of 69 Bridges for Better Road Connectivity Between India and South East Asia India is funding construction of 69 Bridges on the Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa Road (149.70 kms) Section” and construction of 120.74 kms road between Kalewa and Yargi section” of the India-Myanmar-Thailand (IMT) Trilateral Highway, in Myanmar to improve connectivity with South East Asia by road. The Trilateral Highway starts from Moreh (Manipur) in India up to Mae Sot in Thailand through Myanmar. Construction of 130 km length stretch of road connecting Moreh (India) / Tamu (Myanmar) to Kalewa in Myanmar has already been completed by Border Roads Organization of India. For construction of 69 bridges including approach roads in the Tamu-Kyigone-Kalewa road section (149.70 kms) and construction/upgradation of the Kalewa-Yargi road section (120.74 kms) of the IMT Trilateral Highway in Myanmar, appointment of Consultants to finalise tender documents and award of contracts has already been completed. This information was given by the Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Shri Pon. Radhakrishnan in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha. Jordan Matthews Jersey
Maha inks MoU with NHAI to plant trees along National Highways
To expand its afforestation drive and increase tree cover in the state, Maharashtra government’s Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra Ltd (FDCM) has inked a MoU with National Highway Authority of India to plant trees along the national highways passing through the state. The project involves planting trees in the next two years along 10,000 km national highways that pass through the state beginning from March 2017. While the state FDCM will plant the trees, the NHAI will bear the cost of the project, states the MoU. Maharashtra Forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said afforestation is the government’s mission and it is taking it very seriously. “We are planting trees on both sides of the National Highways taken for upgradation. There is only one planet in the universe where life exists. And life exists because of trees. Thousands of crores have been spent in trying to search for life on Mars but we have not found anything as yet in spite of so much spending. Humans cannot exist without trees,” Mungantiwar told PTI. As per the agreement, the demarcation and fixing of boundary pillars of the said lands (under national highways) will be done by the NHAI. The FDCM will carryout the plantation on the said lands falling within the boundaries of the state. The Ministry of Surface Transport has in its Green Highways Policy 2015 has provided for creating Green Corridors along the national highways. The policy document lays down the criteria for plantation of trees and shrubs, taking into account the traffic visibility, planting trees along the curves and minimum distances of planting line from the toe or berm of the highway. Josh Reynolds Authentic Jersey