Centre committed on a full-fledged airport in Arunachal Pradesh : Ashok Gajapathi Raju
The Centre is committed for bringing a full-fledged airport in Arunachal Pradesh, Union Minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju said on Thursday. Minister Raju said a central team had recently surveyed both sites at Karsingsa and Hollongi, which were proposed for the airport and the Ministry was waiting for the report. This report he said will be forwarded to the state government for a final call and expressed optimism that work on the airport would begin soon. Mr Raju interacted with officials of the state civil aviation department in presence of Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Deputy chief minister Chowna Mein, Chief Secretary Shakuntala D Gamlin and Principal Secretary Satya Gopal at Itanagar on Thursday. Going through a presentation made by the department seeking operationalisation of a civil terminus, Raju assured he would have a meeting with the agencies concerned like DGCA and resolve all pending issues. The state government has been requesting the Centre to allow use of civilian terminus at various ALGs coming up in the state, which were under the control of the Air Force. The state government, which was planning to run commercial ATR flights for about three months on experiment basis, also requested the Minister to give one time relaxation to some stringent rules. Raju suggested the state government to look for possibilities in bringing cargo flights as the state has immense potential in horticulture, floriculture and medicinal plants, the release said. Malcolm Jenkins Authentic Jersey
Union Budget 2017-18: Key budget expectations for the energy sector
India’s energy sector has witnessed rapid growth over the last one year fueled by interventional policies, reforms and investments. Various policy initiatives such as introduction of UDAY, amendments in National Electricity Act, new solar RPO target for states, bio fuel policy, small hydro policy, offshore wind policy, and new hydrocarbon policy have all contributed to creating an environment conducive to investments while, attracting many new investors and global power players to India. But, despite all these developments, there are still some long standing issues which need to be addressed and resolved at the earliest. There is a need for the government to come up with some more interventional policies to accelerate the growth momentum in the sector. Hence, the upcoming budget would be very crucial to the energy sector. Section 80 IA of the Income tax Act 1961 provides 10-year tax holidays to the infrastructure projects. Domestic energy sector has been availing tax holidays under this section in 2016-17. However, to ensure a sustained growth in the sector, extension of 80 IA tax holidays for at least two year period would be highly desirable. It is high time Government of India (GoI) makes efforts to resolve the stressed asset situation. A stressed asset revival fund empowered to perform capital as well as operational restructuring of stressed power plants is expected to be carved out from National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). Hydro power plants which are best suited for meeting peaking power demand would require policy push from the government. This is important to ensure smooth integration of large amount of renewables to the grid. India has about 145 GW of hydropower potential, 70 per cent of this potential is yet to be tapped. Clean energy cess is levied at the rate of Rs 400 per tonne on production of coal. The government needs to make consistent efforts to utilize the funds earned from clean energy cess to create a viability gap funding mechanism which could be used to support new hydro installations. Hydro sector may also need a separate RPO obligation, some interest subventions; and may be some FIT support to get the sector revived. The basic objective of imposing “The Clean Energy Cess” was to support the development of renewable energy sector in the country. The cess was doubled to Rs 400 per tonne in the budget announcements in Feb 2016. But, now that there has been a drop in price of solar panels and other equipment which has led to a reduction in solar energy tariff to a level which is close to achieving grid parity. Hence, there is anticipation that with solar tariff being very close to achieving grid parity, this cess should now be rolled back to the pre-2016 budget levels, Rs 200 per tonne. With the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), the tax benefits availed by the renewable energy sector are bound to disappear. This will raise cost of production of renewable based energy. To have as less of an impact as possible, Renewables (especially solar and wind) should be kept in the lowest tax bracket of GST. At present, Accelerated Depreciation (AD) available to the wind sector stands at 80 per cent. AD is one of the crucial financial incentives which has contributed to the renewable energy sector being recognized as a very attractive and lucrative sector in India. However, it would now be reduced from 80 per cent to 40 per cent starting April 2017. The government should take suitable measures to restrict or eliminate the rise of cost for developers. This is also critical to ensure envisaged wind capacity addition targets are met. Generation based incentive (GBI) for the past few years has been responsible for ensuring that the wind power projects remain attractive to the investors. However, GBI is supposed to lapse on 31 March 2017. Since, we are far from achieving our 2022 wind energy target, extending GBI by at least another 2 years is expected to maintain the growth momentum in the sector and to achieve 60 GW target by 2022. Government is yet to finalize the solar manufacturing policy. The said policy will accelerate growth of the sector by reducing cost of solar panels, other equipment, and overall solar tariff, and by developing a solar ecosystem in the country. This policy is also critical from the perspective of achieving 100 GW of installed solar energy target. There is a need to encourage storage solutions, off-grid solutions, mini grid financing through some guarantee funds and interest subventions. In the coal sector, so far it was only Coal India and its subsidiaries which were responsible for commercial mining and distribution of coal in India. However, in the current evolving business landscape, it is now becoming imperative for the government to open up commercial coal mining to the private players. Private sector participation will ensure that it brings with it not only new and advanced mining technology but also lead to increased operational efficiency and market driven coal pricing. However, mere opening of the sector will not be sufficient, it will call for the government to draw a clear cut roadmap to ensure the creation of a free coal market in the country. Realizing the importance of natural gas as fuel of the future, the Government should ensure that there is a significant increase in the consumption of natural gas in transport, industrial use, and in domestic households. In the absence of sufficient domestic production, the gas has to be imported in form of LNG. To promote consumption of LNG, import duty of LNG should be made at par with the import duty of crude petroleum, which is presently zero. Finally, exploration of oil and gas is a risky business and at times explorers find no oil or gas. Companies invest huge amount on exploration and on setting up exploration and production facilities. No production results in sunk cost for the companies and thus companies involved in this business require support from the government. Infrastructure status for
Inland Waterways Authority of India starts work on converting 106 rivers into national waterways
Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has begun the preparatory works on converting 106 rivers into National Waterways (NWs) by making them navigable. 106 rivers across the country were declared national waterways by the government in April 2016. These rivers would be used to move freight cargo. In phase I, 8 waterways are being considered for development. Some of the states that the eight NWs would cover, include Bihar (NW-37, Gandak & NW-58 , Kosi), Uttar Pradesh (NW-40 Ghaghra), Goa (NW-68, Mandovi, NW-111, Zuari and NW-27, Cumberjua Canal), West Bengal (NW-97, Sunderban), and Assam (NW-16, Barak). “While the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for these waterways are ready, the tender process for fairway development of two NWs namely river Barak in Assam and Ghaghra in Uttar Pradesh respectively have been initiated. For Goa waterways, the tenders for construction of jetties would be taken up shortly,” a statement from IWAI said. For another 46 waterways, which are in coastal & tidal regions, two stage DPR studies have been initiated. These reports are in the final stage of preparation. Based on the recommendations, further development works would be under taken. Of the remaining 52 waterways which are in remote, inaccessible and hilly regions, only feasibility studies have been ordered. Field surveys in 44 NWs have been completed and are in progress in another 4. Draft feasibility report of 36 NWs have been received and are under evaluation. With just 0.6% of India’s freight transported through the inland waterway route despite vast network of rivers across its geographical corner that form about 20,000 Km of navigable waterways, the need for developing additional National Waterway is essential. Transportation through inland waterways comes with inherent advantage of being cost effective and environment friendly. To tap the possibilities of this mode of transportation Government of India declared 106 new waterways in April 2016. Mike Reilly Jersey
Govt to take steps to boost private investment in roads, shipping
The government will take tangible steps to boost corporate investment in roads and shipping with business-friendly strategies that balance profitability with effective project execution, Mansukh L Mandaviya, minister of state for road, transport and shipping, has said. “We are creating an investor-friendly model for private sector. Who will invest in roads if there’s no profit?” the minister told corporate leaders at the ET Roundtable on highways, ports and shipping on Thursday. He said his ministry would sympathetically consider their suggestions that the PPP model needs to focus on strengthening the element of partnership between the investor and the government. “We must modify the public-private partnership model as per the need of the day and there’s a constant need to change the mindset at all levels. We’ll be coming up with a lot of policy interventions in coming days to revive the interest of private sector,” Mandaviya said. He also said cashless payments and toll and upcoming GST law would transform the transportation and logistics sector by cutting down the cost through simplified payment and tax structure. Business leaders were concerned about the PPP model, but also said it can help infrastructure take a giant leap. “PPPs can bring the same revolution as telecom in infrastructure. The government has taken a lot of important measures but there’s still a need to walk that extra mile,” said Puneet Dalmia, managing director at Dalmia Bharat Group. Essar Ports managing director Rajiv Agarwal emphasised the need for “real partnership” between stakeholders, along with access to low-cost funds and flexibility in contracts, in the wake of uncertainties. “This will help revive confidence and investment climate enabling achievement of the national objective of national development on the back of strong infrastructure,” he said. Feedback Infra chairman Vinayak Chatterjee said some solutions were already available with the government. “The Kelkar report has called for a rational allocation of risks among various stakeholders in a project, and moving away from the onesize-fits-all approach to PPP model concession agreements,” he said. Kaushik Pal, CEO-roads business, at Reliance Infrastructure, said his company had gone all out to encourage cashless tolling. However, the company had to bear the cost of 1% that was charged on cards and wallets. Industry leaders also emphasised the need to focus on optimisation of different modes of transport — road, rail and costal shipping. Anil Radhakrishnan, chief executive officer at Adani Logistics Ltd, said the government should incentivise coastal shipping to make it attractive. Participants also raised concerns about the reluctance of banks to fund projects. Malvika Pillai, portfolio manager, infrastructure and natural resources, International Finance Corporation, Asia-Pacific, said funds were readily available for the sector but there were several obstacles such as badly structured projects and issues of land acquisition. Anand Kumar, MD, National Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation, said all projects should be made public from the stage of planning itself so prospective bidders know what is coming up in two years and they can plan their resources accordingly. Dispute resolution mechanism is another area that needs to be addressed, industry believes. “The capacity of decision makers has gone down; most disputes are caused because of this. The government must empower officers to make decisions independently,” Chatterjee of Feedback Infra said. Nomar Mazara Womens Jersey
Investment Corp. of Dubai eyes India renewable energy investments
Dubai’s sovereign wealth fund, Investment Corp. of Dubai (ICD) through its subsidiary Dubal Holding Llc is scouting for investments in an Indian renewable energy platform. The sovereign wealth fund’s interest in the Indian renewable energy space comes in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pitch for investment in August last year during his visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), three people aware of the development said, requesting anonymity. “Dubal Holding is interested in investing in a renewable energy platform,” said one of the three people. India is the UAE’s second largest trading partner, with the two countries sharing a “comprehensive strategic partnership”. India, which requires large infrastructure investment has been trying to persuade the UAE’s $800 billion sovereign wealth fund to invest in the country. “The Indian clean energy space is where Dubal Holding’s interest is. It has been enthused by the success of Government of Singapore Investment Corp. (GIC) and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) in the sector,” said the second person among the three people cited above. Hyderabad-based Greenko Group, backed by Singapore’s GIC and ADIA, acquired SunEdison Inc.’s Indian assets for $392 million last year. Some of the other sovereign funds and government owned investment firms investing in India include Singapore’s Temasek Holdings (Pvt.) Ltd and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Co. Experts say an investment by ICD will be a ratification of India’s strategy on renewable energy sources. “If a foreign investment fund decides to invest in a country, it is a measure of confidence in the investment. This implies that it recognizes that India has resources to make renewable sources of energy viable, credible and sustainable,” said former power secretary Anil Razdan. India, the world’s third largest energy consuming economy after the US and China, has been seeking investments from West Asian economies which are its largest energy suppliers. UAE is India’s sixth largest supplier, accounting for around 8% of India’s crude oil imports. Queries sent to the ICD last week remained unanswered. “India’s energy security is going to define our energy mix. It is in India’s interest to enhance renewable energy not just for combating climate change but also for its own energy security. Getting out of feed-in tariff and into competitive bidding has strengthened the system. This is great for investors looking for transparent systems,” Piyush Goyal, minister for power, coal, mines and new and renewable energy, said in a statement issued by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) on Tuesday. India plans to achieve 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022 as part of its climate commitments. The country is the biggest greenhouse gas emitter after the US and China. Renewable energy currently accounts for 15%, or 45,917 MW, of the total installed capacity of 3,10,005 MW in India. “For new investments, the environment is a lot more exciting and attractive,” added Goyal in the Ficci statement. Goyal is leading an Indian delegation to the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. According to a report last year by investment bank Ambit Corp. Finance and the UK’s City of London, global pension funds and sovereign wealth funds may invest up to $50 billion in India’s infrastructure sector over the next five years. Justin Pugh Womens Jersey
Global Oil, Gas Discoveries Drop to 70-year Low
Oil and gas discoveries around the world dropped last year to their lowest since the 1940s after companies sharply cut back in their search for new resources amid falling oil prices. The decline in discoveries means companies such as Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell will struggle to offset the natural depletion of existing fields, reinforcing forecasts of a supply shortage by the end of the decade. Total oil and gas resources found in 2016 reached just more than 6 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe), said Sona Mlada, senior analyst at Oslo-based consultancy Rystad Energy. The numbers do not include North American shale resources which have been a key driver in supply growth in recent years. Offshore liquid discoveries, where most major new fields have been found in recent decades, reached 2.3 billion boe last year, 90 percent below 2010 levels. As a result, companies were able on average to replace only 10 percent of their oil and liquid gas reserves last year, compared with a reserve replacement ratio of 30 percent in 2013. “The lack of discovered volumes in 2016 will not have an immediate impact on the global oil supply in the short-term, given the lead time it takes from the discovery to start-up of a field’s production,” Mlada said. “However, these ‘missing’ discovered volumes in the current years could have an impact on the global supply some 10 years down the line – depending on the investment decisions of the exploration companies.” Several significant discoveries were announced in recent weeks including Exxon’s find of 100-150 million boe offshore Guyana and Statoil’s 80 million boe discovery off Norway. Global exploration spending dropped in 2016 to $40 billion and could drop further this year, consultancy WoodMackenzie said last month. As a result, the number of exploration wells drilled dropped last year by 40 percent from levels seen in 2014 when oil prices began the sharp decline, according to Mlada. Around 60 percent of resources discoveries made last year were gas, she added. Mirco Mueller Authentic Jersey
U.S. Shale Oil Output Set to Grow in February as Prices Rise
U.S. shale production is set to snap a three-month decline in February, the U.S. government said on Tuesday, as energy firms boost drilling activity with crude prices hovering near 18-month highs. The month-on-month increase in production would be the first since October and the third rise in a year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s drilling productivity report. February production will edge up 40,750 barrels per day (bpd) to 4.748 million bpd, the EIA said. In January, it was expected to drop by 5,900 bpd. In the Permian Basin in West Texas and eastern New Mexico, output is set to rise by 53,000 bpd to 2.180 million bpd, the data showed. North Dakota’s Bakken oil production was set to drop by 20,000 bpd to 978,000 bpd. Eagle Ford oil output from Texas was set to drop by 3,000 bpd to 1.042 million bpd. U.S. crude futures were trading around $53 a barrel on Tuesday, not far below 18-month highs set earlier in January, as members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC countries followed through on plans to cut output at the start of the year in an effort to boost prices and cut the global oversupply. [O/R] Total U.S. natural gas production was forecast to increase in February for a third month in four to 48.0 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd), the EIA said. That would be up over 0.3 bcfd from January. The biggest regional decline was expected to be in the Eagle Ford, down almost 0.1 bcfd to 5.5 bcfd in February, the lowest level of output in the basin since November 2013, the EIA said. Output in the Marcellus Formation in Pennsylvania and West Virginia was set to rise by almost 0.2 bcfd to 18.6 bcfd in February, a fourth consecutive increase. EIA also said producers drilled 712 wells and completed 545 in the biggest shale basins in December, leaving total drilled but uncompleted wells (DUCs) up 167 at 5,379, the most since April. Herman Edwards Womens Jersey
Air India puts 57 ‘overweight’ crew on ground duty
Cracking the whip on its over-weight cabin staff, the government-owned Air India has temporarily taken off 57 crew members from flying and put them on ground duty. These cabin crew members, including air hostesses, have been told to “shape up” within a stipulated time frame, failing which they would be grounded permanently, Air India sources said. Air India has over 3,800 cabin crew members, of whom more than 2,500 are women. Out of the total cabin crew strength, around 2,200 members are on permanent rolls. As per norms of aviation regulator DGCA, the cabin crew has to be declared as ‘fit’, ‘temporary unfit’ and ‘permanent unfit’ by designated doctors through their periodic medical examination. “These cabin crew members were found over-weight during the periodic review and told to get fit for flying in a particular time frame. However, as they failed to do so in the stipulated time, they have been taken off from flying duties last month and given ground jobs,” a source said. This is the second time in last over a year-and-half that the national carrier has taken such an action against its bulky cabin crew members as in September 2015 also, it had taken off 125 such employees from flying duty after they failed to maintain weight as per the mandatory norms. As per the DGCA’s regulations, a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 18-25 is normal for a male cabin crew, while for a female it is 18-22. A BMI of 25-29.9 for male crew is considered overweight and 30 and above is obese, while for females BMI of 22-27 is overweight and 27 and above obese. The BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to adult men and women. As per the norms, a cabin crew member found overweight is deemed temporarily unfit and given three months to reduce weight. A cabin crew can continue with flying duty for up to 19 months with the temporarily unfit tag, but if he or she fails to reduce weight to meet the required BMI during this period, he or she will be deemed permanently unfit. Teemu Selanne Authentic Jersey
Ashok Gajapathi Raju urges Arunachal Pradesh government to explore possibilities for cargo flights
Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju today asked Arunachal Pradesh government to explore possibilities of bringing in more cargo flights as the state has immense potential in horticulture crops, floriculture and medicinal plants. Addressing the ‘Digi Dhan Mela’ at Indira Gandhi Park here, the Union minister also expressed optimism that the state government would settle the issue of finding sites for the Green Field Airport in the state capital. “We have gone around a ‘ding-dong’ battle for selection of the site for the proposed green field airport in the state capital,” Raju said in a lighter vein. He said a central team recently surveyed both the proposed airport sites at Karsingsa and Hollongi and his ministry is waiting for the report. Raju said the detailed report and its submissions would be then forwarded to the state government for a final call and hoped that work on the airport would begin soon. “Please exploit the forward looking policies of the state as well as central government for your own benefits,” he said. Referring to cashless transactions being promoted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union minister said, “Dishonesty which is pulling down the country could be eliminated through digital economy.” He said it was necessary that the country moved along with the government and they should work together for a better future. Claiming that over Rs 40,000 crore was deposited in ‘Jan Dhan’ accounts across the country post-demonetisation, Raju said no rich man contributes to the nation but only the poor through their hard earned money. “Quality of life needs to be improved and for this we need to contribute as well,” he said. He said unlike the previous regime, now Indian citizens with Aadhaar card could open a bank account without any hassle. “Digital transaction has made life easy for the people. Your pocket can be picked, phones can be lost but not your thumb through which you can easily make cashless transactions,” he added. Referring to cashless transactions being promoted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union minister said, “Dishonesty which is pulling down the country could be eliminated through digital economy.” He said it was necessary that the country moved along with the government and they should work together for a better future. Claiming that over Rs 40,000 crore was deposited in ‘Jan Dhan’ accounts across the country post-demonetisation, Raju said no rich man contributes to the nation but only the poor through their hard earned money. “Quality of life needs to be improved and for this we need to contribute as well,” he said. He said unlike the previous regime, now Indian citizens with Aadhaar card could open a bank account without any hassle. “Digital transaction has made life easy for the people. Your pocket can be picked, phones can be lost but not your thumb through which you can easily make cashless transactions,” he added. Sami Vatanen Authentic Jersey
Cashless discounts: Fuel retailers may ask govt for compensation
State-owned fuel retailers are planning to approach the government to compensate them for their losses while giving a 0.75% discount for cashless payments, two people aware of the matter said. In the wake of demonetisation, the government on 8 December announced a discount of 0.75% for purchase of auto fuel using credit and debit cards and e-wallets at fuel stations run by Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. The discount came into effect on 13 December 2016. “We may reach out to the government seeking compensation on the revenue losses arising out of the 0.75% discount we are currently providing. We plan to approach the government in a few months,” said the first of the two officials cited above, an executive from one of the oil marketing companies, on condition of anonymity. A Mint report last month quoted OMCs as saying that the discounts could dent the revenue by around Rs1,100 crore till March. If the discount period is extended by another quarter, it would double. The OMCs said they do not want the discount period extended. While marketing business (which includes fuel retailing) forms 18% of volumes for IOCL, at BPCL and HPCL, it forms 40-50%. Religare Institutional Research in a report dated 9 December said, “Assuming 70% of transactions at OMC outlets go digital, IOCL, BPCL and HPCL could see a worst-case earnings hit of 8-14% in FY18 if they are unable to pass on these costs (which is unlikely). There are additional benefits of improved transparency and efficiency.” The OMCs did not reply to an email sent on Thursday morning. “I think the discount helps our marketing strategy. It will bring more customers to us who can experience our services, if they already have not. We will have to see if the government agrees to compensate us for the losses,” said the second official, another OMC executive, on condition of anonymity. For OMCs, diesel forms 70% of sales. “Assuming 70% of all transactions at fuel outlets move to the digital medium, the net discount for petrol/diesel works out to Rs0.3/litre. This can be comfortably passed on, as OMCs have been able to raise gross marketing margins in these products from Rs1 per litre to Rs2.6 per litre over the last three years,” added Religare Institutional Research in its report. The OMCs operate (owned and co-owned with dealers) a network of 52,000 retail outlets, with annual sales of 92 billion litres of diesel and 31 billion litres of petrol (FY17E). OMCs said on Thursday that post-demonetisation, they have seen e-transactions go up by 50% in cities and around 30% in semi-rural areas. However, many rural areas are yet to start with digital payments. OMCs said many rural outlets do not have the means to accept digital payments. Once that is facilitated, the number of transactions would go up. Kotak Securities in a report dated 27 December said, “IOCL management indicated that it has not received any clarification from the government on compensation for discounts on fuel sales through digital means. However, the company will be able to recover the incidental loss through reduction in transaction costs and modestly higher marketing margins on overall sales, if not compensated adequately.” OMCs expect that once people get used to the e-transactions, the discounts would cease. Terence Newman Womens Jersey