Chhattisgarh:170 ROADS COSTING RS 25,000 CR BEING DEVELOPED: RAMAN
Chief Minister Raman Singh on Monday said that work on 170 new roads in Chhattisgarh is currently underway at a project outlay of Rs 25,000 crore. “While reviewing the status of road construction projects, I have told the Public Works Department that there should not be any dearth of quality raw material required for construction of roads”, he said. He was addressing a press conference here after chairing a Collectors’ conference in the Mantralaya. Singh said that timelines had been set for completion of all the 170 roads. The Chief Minister said that he had personally reviewed the construction status of 100 roads at the meeting while the Chief Secretary had been reviewing the road construction status of all works constantly. “Our aim is also to provide internet connectivity in 10,000 panchayat-level Lok Seva Kendras as soon as possible. These Lok Seva Kendras will also have a ‘Mini Bank”, Singh said. The Government is emphasizing on better governance practices and cashless transactions, he said. On skill development, the Chief Minister said that the Collectors had been asked to identify more trades where people can be trained in their respective districts for getting them suitable employment. Terrance West Jersey
Govt spending to continue driving infra; budgetary support needed
Public sector spending is expected to remain the prime driver for infrastructure next year too, especially with programmes like Inland Water Transport and Sagarmala requiring initial funding from the Budget, said Manish Agarwal, PwC Capital Projects & Infrastructure leader, on Budget expectations for the infrastructure sector. Responding to questions from the public in Business Standard’s live chat, Agarwal asserted that private sector investment was still to make a comeback in the area of infrastructure spending. He claimed that the road sector would remain the largest recipient of budgetary support in the coming Budget. However, there could be an increase in the share for the Sagarmala and Inland Waterways projects. Excerpts of his views: On impact of Budget merger on Railways It would be interesting to see if the merger of the Railway and General Budgets leads to budgetary allocations for an integrated approach to transport and logistics. The merger of the two Budgets would not by itself change the fortunes of the loss-making Indian Railways or have an impact on its performance. It would, however, help to bring more focus on the key issues relevant to the Budget, that is, sources of funds and what they will be used for. “Over the last few years, using it (Budget) for making populist announcements had reduced. Pricing of railways has also largely moved out of the Budget speech, into a regular commercial decision taken from time to time. Of course, this change alone will not have any impact on performance; but I do see progress against the five year plan set out by the Railways,” he said. On budgetary salve for note ban impact Agarwal said that he was not sure whether the government’s surprise demonetisation measure had had an impact on investments in the infrastructure sector. However, there would be disruption in construction activity due to the note ban — an issue which he expects would be resolved over time. Instead, he pointed to stress in the banking sector as having a greater impact on bringing private investments back into infrastructure. Toll roads would certainly have faced an impact and some compensation for toll road operators could be part of the Budget. On impact of tax sops and subsidies on infra spend While, PM Narendra Modi’s speech on New Year’s eve suggested Budget 2017 might allot major funds to subsidies and tax sops to offset the demonetisation pain, Agarwal did not expect it to cut into the allocations for the infrastructure sector. “I would expect the fiscal space for additional subsidies to be created through higher tax revenues. So, I wouldn’t expect it to hit infra spend. On the contrary, increased infra spend would be in line with the messaging in the New Year’s eve speech,” he said. On govt’s new credit rating system Adopting a wait-and-watch approach on any impact from the government’s proposed new credit rating system for infrastructure, Agrawal said, “I expect there could be a more nuanced evaluation of construction period risks (for example, extent of land acquisition completed could be a differentiator). This could help banks and other institutional financiers. I wouldn’t expect bond financing of greenfield risk, initially.” On tax incentives for infra financing Tax incentive to attract long-term retail capital into infrastructure could help, Agarwal said, particularly with volume of operating assets now being large. However, he explained that the overall approach seems to be of reducing tax concessions. “In line with that, I would be more keen to see steps for creating a market for long-term bonds,” he said. Joe Theismann Jersey
Gautam Adani promises to invest Rs 49,000 crore in Gujarat over 5 years
Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani announced investment of Rs 49,000 crore in Gujarat for expansion of port capacity as well as foraying into water and cement businesses over the next five years. Adani Group will set up a 10 million tonnes cement clinker plant at an investment of Rs 5,500 crore and another Rs 2,000 crore in a desalination plant in Gujarat, he said at the 8th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit here. Adani Enterprises has already incorporate a new company, Adani Cementation (ACL), which will carry on the cement business. “In the past 5 years, we have invested Rs 48,000 crore in Gujarat,” Adani said. Adani Ports, India’s largest private port and logistics company, in the next five years will invest Rs 16,700 crore to expand capacity of all its Gujarat ports at Mundra, Dahej, Hazira and Ajira and Tuna, he said. Adani said the group is also accelerating its investment in renewable space in Gujarat. “In the year 2021, our new investments in solar as well as wind development will exceed Rs 23,000 crore,” he added. In addition to infrastructure business, the Adani Group is also making significant investment in expanding its agri footprint. “Adani Wilmar is India’s largest edible oil business and recognised as undisputed market leader that sells under brand name Fortune,” he said, adding the group will invest Rs 1,200 crore in expanding edible oil manufacturing capacity at Mundra and Ajira. The group currently operates the world’s single largest edible oil refinery of 3400 tonnes per day capacity at Mundra. “We are now doubling our manufacturing capacity in Gujarat. This expansion will see us making combined investment of Rs 1,200 crore across Mundra and Ajira,” he said. Adani said as part of its integrated infrastructure business model, two new businesses – water and cement – will see new investment. “We will be investing Rs 2,000 crore in setting up series of desalination plant across the state. Also, we are building a 10 million tonnes grassroot cement clinker plant at an investment of Rs 5,500 crore at Mundra,” he said. “All this will further make Mundra most integrated infrastructure complex of the world.” The Summit, he said, has strategically positioned India as a key destination for international investments. He said that as a proud Indian and a proud Gujarati, he assures full support to the state from the Adani Group. “Let me summarise by saying that over the next 5 years we will invest Rs 49,000 crore in the state of Gujarat and will create direct and indirect job opportunity for 25,000 people,” he said. Jayon Brown Jersey
Northeast could feed India up to 1,100 MW of power by year end
The northeastern region, with its huge energy potential — 50,000 MW, by some estimates — could soon become the “power house of India”. And taking a small first step in this direction, it is expected to feed the rest of the country up to 1,100 MW by the end of this year, energy experts say. Seven northeastern states, excluding Sikkim, currently have an installed capacity of 2,690 MW, but as some of the plants are very old, the output is some 100 MW short of the peak-hour demand of 2,200-2,300 MW. However, there is a surplus of 300 MW during off-peak hours, while another 767 MW of capacity will be added by year-end. Sikkim is self-sufficient at 95.70 MW. State-run North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO), a mini-ratna company under the Union Ministry of Power, alone generates 1,290 MW from its seven power plants — a mix of hydro-electric, gas- and solar-based units. “NEEPCO’s generation capacity would rise to 2,060 MW by this end-2017 as commissioning of three more power projects would be completed much before the end of this year,” NEEPCO Chairman and Managing Director A.G. West Kharkongor told IANS. “The company is now commissioning three power projects — 600 MW and 110 MW capacity plants in Arunachal Pradesh and another of 60 MW capacity in Mizoram,” he added. “If the government allows NEEPCO, it would supply surplus power to other states of the country,” Kharkongor said. And, to feed the surplus power from the northeast to other parts of India, the state-run Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) has erected 800-kv capacity and 1,728-km-long High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission line from Biswanath Chariyalli in Guwahati to Agra in Uttar Pradesh at an investment of Rs 12,000 crore ($1.8 billion). The power ministry has estimated the hydro-power potential of the northeastern region at 58,971 MW, almost 40 percent of the country’s total potential, but only less than two per cent (1,200 MW) has been exploited till last year. Energy expert Sudhindra Kumar Dube said that the power generation potential of the northeastern region must be utilised with proper planning. “The region has not only potential to generate a huge amount of hydro-power but also has scope to set up more gas- and coal-based plants in the region,” Dube told IANS. NEEPCO also plans to generate at least 1,500 MW from non-conventional sources of energy such as solar and wind power in the next five years. With a population of 45.58 million in the northeastern region, the eight states including Sikkim, have a per capita electricity consumption of 257.98 kilowatt hour (kWh) against the national average of 778.71 kWh. State Power and Transport Minister Manik Dey said that Tripura has agreed to supply an additional 100 MW of electricity to Bangladesh over and above the 100 MW being supplied since March 23, 2016. “The Bangladesh government has sought more electricity from India to tackle its power crisis in the eastern part of the country. India’s power ministry recently wanted to know whether the Tripura government is ready to provide additional 100 MW of power to Bangladesh. We have accordingly agreed,” Dey told IANS. Cris Carter Womens Jersey
All states except Uttar Pradesh ink pact to achieve 24X7 power
All states barring Uttar Pradesh have inked agreements with the Centre to achieve the milestone of providing ’24×7 Power For All (PFA)’. “With the signing of the ’24×7 Power For All (PFA)’ roadmap document with the state (Tamil Nadu yesterday), the roadmap for all the 28 states, except one, and all the 7 Union Territories in the country have now been finalised and is under implementation,” Power Ministry said in a statement today. A source said, “Uttar Pradesh has not inked 24×7 PFA roadmap document with Power Ministry.” The ministry said it is the most significant milestone in this initiative founded on the principles of cooperative federalism. This milestone was achieved yesterday when the Power Ministry also signed the MoU for Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) with Tamil Nadu here. UDAY scheme is meant for revival of debt stressed discoms. The ministry said that providing access to reliable and quality power supply to all citizens/establishments by 2019 is at the core of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for the nation. The Power Ministry’s 24×7 program is aimed at delivering on it. The Program has been instrumental in mainstreaming the Ministry’s focus on energy efficiency and demand side management interventions and has resulted in increased participation with speedy rollout of the UJALA/ DELP and other EESL led schemes. UJALA has emerged as the world’s largest and most successful LED bulbs program, it said. Increased role of central sector agencies such as NTPC in addressing sector’s operational viability in the case of proposed acquisition of state owned generation assets in Rajasthan and in fast-tracking capacity addition in the case of Patratu project in Jharkhand are outcomes of the comprehensive approach adopted under 24×7 PFA Program to resolve state specific problems, the ministry said. Besides, development of segment wise coordinated physical rollout plans and rigorous analysis on financial viability of state utilities under the 24×7 PFA program in Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, the plans for which were made in first 100 days of coming of this government, led to the formulation of the UDAY, it said. Looking at the balance sheets of these states, it was found that unless the states are taken out of the debt trap which they were in and made financially sustainable, all plans of 24×7 power would remain unfulfilled, it said. The PFA Program has also benefited several states in addressing funding gap for the investments required to ensure 24×7 power access to all. Jake McCabe Womens Jersey
Few airlines, fewer flyers make hit air connectivity of Bhopal
In 2011, when the new terminal building of Raja Bhoj airport was inaugurated it was billed as the best airport among tier-II cities in the country. With its extended new runway, it was claimed Bhopal will be connected to all prominent cities in the country and even international services would begin. In 2017, Bhopal is not even among top 30 airports of the country. The airport has limited operations connecting few cities while the footfall dropped to less than half. Surprisingly, none of the private airlines are interested to operate from here. This, at a time when several private carriers have expanded their operations in Indore and Raipur. Bhopal currently is connected only to Delhi, Mumbai, Raipur, Pune and Hyderabad with limited number of flights. It has practically no flight service to East and South India. In past two years, Bhopal has lost connectivity with important destinations like Ahmedabad and Lucknow. Marcus Peters Jersey
45% flights delayed at Mumbai airport in December
If you boarded a flight or landed at the Mumbai airport in December, then you may have been among those flyers whose flight was delayed. The flight schedule punctuality was at its worst last month with nearly 45% arrivals and departures being delayed by over 15 minutes. Last year, the best on-time performance was recorded in February with only 25% departures/arrivals being delayed. On average, about 25-30% flights get delayed every month at the airport. But since September, the number of delayed arrivals and departures at Mumbai airport has been on a steady rise. Sean Davis Authentic Jersey
9.5 million fliers travelled across India in Dec, the highest for 2016
According to a travel portal’s traffic analysis report, India’s domestic carriers ferried 9.5 million fliers — the highest recorded in a month last year. The report by Ixigo.com also stated that traffic between October and December accounted for one-third the total fliers’ volumes in the year. “On the whole, 2016 was a great year for the Indian aviation industry with most of the year seeing a high traffic of both domestic and international bookings. As per our projection the number of domestic fliers in the month were about 9.5 million, 23% higher than the same period last year,” said Aloke Bajpai, chief executive officer and co-founder, Ixigo. He added that holidays and bulk discounts were the primary baits. Tracy McGrady Womens Jersey
Vistara goes all out to cut costs, enhance revenue
Almost three decades ago, an American airlines saved $40,000 annually by removing just one olive from each salad plate. Giving the same attention to cost reduction, Vistara, the full service JV airline of Tata-Singapore Airlines, will now increasingly source catering for passengers from the city it is flying out of. The logic: Taking catering trays, say on a Delhi-Kochi-Delhi flight, for the return flight from Delhi adds to the weight of the plane on the Delhi-Kochi sector and increases fuel burn. “It is not just about savings. When we uplift food from other destinations, our passengers will get to savour the local flavours. We are now uplifting catering from Kochi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru. We will do so in whichever city we can uplift catering from without compromising on our high standards of passenger service,” Vistara CEO Phee Teik Yeoh told TOI, just ahead of the airline turning two. Vistara, which is yet to break even, is looking at several areas of cost reduction and revenue augmentation. However, Phee Teik emphasies all this will be done without compromising the onboard passenger service which the airline prides itself on. “We are open to course correction and did that in the first year itself by deciding to alter the number of seats in business, premium economy and economy cabins of our planes. In many of our cities we fly to, the check-in process was outsourced. Now to reduce expense on that front, we have made that an in-house function in seven of the 18 cities we currently fly to,” he said. Cooper Kupp Authentic Jersey
Disagree with FlightStats report, says Air India after being ranked third worst in punctuality
National passenger carrier Air India on Monday said that it disagrees with a report published by data services company FlightStats which has ranked the airline as the third worst global performer in terms of on-time operations in 2016. “We totally disagree with the report published by FlightStats about AI,” Air India’s spokesperson Dhananjay Kumar was quoted as saying in a statement. “Initially it seems that the report is fabricated, so AI management will investigate the report till the end.” The development comes after an international media report cited that the data services company has ranked Air India as the third worst performer airline in terms of its on-time performance (OTP) in 2016. “As a leader in flight data services FlightStats, part of FlightGlobal, is in a unique position to be able to provide an in-depth view into how airlines are performing globally,” the data services company’s website said. “For the past eight years we have been recognizing airlines with our On-time Performance Services (OPS) Awards acknowledging the ‘Best of the Best’.” According to the website, the FlightStats OPS Awards recognises airlines around the world that deliver the highest percentage of flights to their arrival gates within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival time. John Kelly Womens Jersey