Solar power to ease cash woes
Solar power expert and scientist S P Gon Chaudhuri is developing a prototype of a biometric solar-powered ATM, which would enable users to withdraw cash just by getting their fingerprints scanned. The ATM, if successfully designed and implemented, would be of great help to unlettered users, as it would do away with the practice of having to provide a PIN, which is challenging for many, especially in rural areas. The model would just require the linking of Aadhar numbers with a user’s bank account, said Gon Chaudhuri, adding he especially had the rural populace in mind. “This is the major part of the country’s population, of which many are unlettered and have to withdraw money from banks and post offices using thumb prints. They are unable to use ATMs, which work by using a card and inputting a four-digit PIN, and are in desperate need of an ATM that would be compatible with their level of understanding,“ said the scientist who has come up with several innovations that have been recognized by the ministry of new and renewable energy . He felt the device would be equally effective in urban areas. “The biometric touch interface-based ATM that I am developing will also be user-friendly and, at the same time, avoid the use of cards, PIN and paper. The ATM will also be energy-efficient and environment-friendly , as it requires only solar energy to operate. Various security measures are being implemented. This ATM could be used by anyone having an Aadhar-linked bank account,“ Gon Chaudhuri said. The procedure to withdraw money using this device would be very simple, the scientist said. “One would only have to press his or her finger on the scanner installed in the machine, following which the person’s bank account would automatically be linked through Aadhar linking. Pictures of various currency notes would then come up on screen, and the user would have to touch the onscreen picture one or multiple times, depending on how much heshe wants to withdraw. After the notes come out, the balance would be read out,“ Gon Chaudhuri said. The device will have a solar panel on the top. Gon Chaudhuri plans to complete setting up the first prototype by March, following which he plans to show the device to the Government of India. “ As of now, each unit costs Rs 4 lakh. But the price will come down once mass-production starts,“ he said. Mark Bavaro Jersey
India’s solar power capacity crosses 9,000 Megawatt with TN leading the pack
Country’s solar power generation capacity stood at over 9 GW as on December 31, 2016 with Tamil Nadu having the largest output capability followed by Rajasthan and Gujarat, Parliament was informed today. Total power generation capacity was 9,012 MW as on December 31, 2016. Tamil Nadu led the chart followed by Rajasthan and Gujarat, Power Minister Piyush Goyal informed the Rajya Sabha. “As on December 31, 2016, Gujarat (1.16 GW), Rajasthan (1.32 GW), and Tamil Nadu (1.6 GW) have crossed 1 GW solar installations…, while Andhra Pradesh (0.98 GW), Telangana (0.97 GW) and Madhya Pradesh (0.84 GW) are close to these states,” he said in written statement. The minister said solar power development varies from state to state depending on solar irradiance, availability of conducive state policy for the sector, availability of land, cost of financing and business environment such as willingness of DISCOMS to purchase the solar power, power evacuation infrastructure, etc. On falling solar tariff, the minster stated in another statement to the Rajya Sabha that the tariff determined by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) in case of solar photovoltaic projects is Rs 5.68 per kWh and Rs 5.09 per kWh without and with accelerated depreciation benefit, respectively. He further said that in Rajasthan, the tariff after bidding came to Rs 4.34 per kWh. The government is promoting solar energy through fiscal and promotional incentives such as capital and/or interest subsidy, tax holiday on the earnings for 10 years, generation- based incentive, accelerated depreciation, viability gap funding (VGF), financing solar rooftop systems as part of home loan, concessional excise and custom duties, preferential tariff for power generation from renewables, and foreign investment up to 100 per cent under the automatic route, etc. This apart, the government has been supporting solar manufacturing by way of various mechanisms such as Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS) of the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), the minister said. Andre Johnson Authentic Jersey
More power for Gurgaon but that is no guarantee against outages
If there are power cuts in summer when consumption peaks, shortage cannot be used as an excuse. The Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited (HVPNL) is rolling out a raft of measures, including setting up new power houses and more sub-stations to increase power supply to Gurgaon, senior power officials told TOI on Monday. As HVPNL works towards steadily increasing the transmission capacity across the city, its officials claimed the transmission company cannot be blamed for frequent power cuts in Gurgaon. After reaching close to its target of increasing the transmission capacity of the 15 existing power houses across the city by 206 MVA (mega volt ampere) in the current financial year (2016-2017), HVPNL now aims to increase the transmission capacity by 229 MVA in the next financial year (2017-2018), Anil Yadav, executive engineer, HVPNL, said. The series of measures will ensure efficient power supply in the city, he asserted. The power transmission company will also set up new power houses to increase the transmission capacity by an additional 1,120 MVA across the Gurgaon circle. “The existing transmission capacity is 1,400 MVA. We are setting up powerhouses in Sector 33, Panchgaon, Sector 57 and Sector 20 that will add another, 320, 300, 200 and 300 MVA respectively,” Yadav added. Referring to power cuts in many localities of the city in the past few weeks, a senior official said HVPNL has ensured constant power supply throughout. “It’s not that Gurgaon is not able to meet the power requirement (1400 MVA in summers and 600 MVA in winters). The supply has remained steady from our end, however, the end user suffers due to infrastructural issues. The city faces disruptions. Terming it as outage hints at power shortage,” the official said, throwing the ball in power discom DHBVN’s court. The HVPNL official added, “We only need to lay all power lines underground so that we are spared of disruptions due to rainfall and tripping. By doing that, we won’t even require the zero-outage grid project to ensure 24-hour supply.” Saying DHVBN is trying to ensure minimum power disruptions, RK Batra, director (operations), DHBVN, said, “Disruptions are usually due to the maintenance work. We scale up the maintenance work in winters to minimise power cuts in summers.” HVPNL has divided the power transmission across new sectors in six zones where six new substations would be set up. “In the new sectors (sectors 58 to 115), the demand is nearly 1,200 MVA, close to the supply across Gurgaon (1,400 MVA). It is estimated that power demand across Gurgaon, including in the new sectors, will reach 5,000 MVA by 2031,” Yadav explained. In a bid to address these concerns, HVPNL announced two years ago that it will set up 42 new substations in the emerging sectors by 2050. At present, contract for only two out of six substations, which will be set up in the next one year, has been awarded to Kalpatru Power Transmission Limited. “The contract has already been awarded for sectors 65 and 95,” Yadav said. “For sectors 77 and 85, we are finalising the tenders and it will take us up to 15 days. For sectors 107 and 69, we will award the contract in the next two months,” he added. Aaron Burbridge Womens Jersey
With oil ministry’s clean energy focus, PMUY may cross 20-mn mark by FY17 end
Clean energy seems to be the buzzword for the Dharmendra Pradhan-led ministry of petroleum now. Its flagship social sector programme, the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), has not only surpassed the current financial year’s target of 15 million connections, it is likely to touch the 20-million mark by the end of March. In a sign of the success of the project, the spending on PMUY, under which LPG connections are given to poor households, in the current financial year has shot up by Rs 5 billion in the revised estimates, over the budgeted Rs 20 billion. The subsidy outgo on this account is expected to be Rs 25 billion in 2017-18. The scheme was launched on May 1, 2016, at Ballia in Uttar Pradesh with a target of providing connections to 50 million below-poverty-line families in three years, with a government support of Rs 1,600 per connection. For three years, the government has allocated Rs 80 billion for the scheme, in which connections are issued in the name of the women in those families. On February 6 this year, the scheme crossed the 16-million mark by touching 1,66,86,876 connections. The target set for PMUY this financial year was 15 million. The scheme is headed by a team of ministry officials led by Joint Secretary Ashutosh Jindal and Deputy Secretary K M Mahesh. PMUY is one of the major initiatives by the ministry for fuel conservation and shifting towards clean energy. Under the policy of shifting towards clean fuel, India will be introducing BS-IV fuels in the entire country by April this year and will be shifting to BS-VI quality norms by April 2020. Moreover, the ministry is giving special incentives to states which undertake cuts in kerosene allocation. According to sources, direct benefit transfer (DBT) has also helped in considerable reduction of kerosene consumption. Under DBT, states will be given a cash incentive of 75 per cent of subsidy savings during the first two years, 50 per cent in the third year and 25 per cent in the fourth year. States like Haryana and Karnataka are likely to be eligible for these incentives during the next financial year. During the financial year 2015-16, India consumed 86,85,384 kilo litres of kerosene distributed through the public distribution system. As far as ethanol blending is concerned, oil marketing companies (OMCs) have procured 1.11 billion litres of ethanol till November 2016. OMCs are planning to sell ethanol blended petrol with percentage of ethanol up to 10 per cent. In order to meet this target, oil PSUs are set to establish 12 second-generation ethanol plants in 11 states. Meanwhile, the first biofuel refinery is being set up by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd at Bathinda, in Punjab. Similarly, bio diesel blended diesel is being sold by OMCs in six states through 3,621 retail outlets. State-run Indian Oil Corporation Ltd has also set up a 5 tonne per day waste-to-energy plant in Varanasi. Out of India’s total petroleum consumption of 184.7 million metric tonnes (MT), 74.6 MT is diesel, followed by petrol at 21.8 MT and LPG at 19.6 MT. DeShone Kizer Jersey
India becomes second-largest LPG consumer
India has become the second-largest domestic LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) consumer in the world due to the Narendra Modi government’s rapid rollout of clean fuel plan for poor households and fuel subsidy reforms. LPG consumption by households has reached 19 million tonne, registering an annual growth rate of 10%. Consumption is expected to rise 20 million tonne, backed by expanding consumer base in urban areas and rapid rollout of the ‘Ujjwala’ scheme for providing LPG connections free of cost to five crore poor households by 2019. The Ujjwala scheme has turned India into an example for energy experts from other emerging economies still struggling to provide clean fuel to their rural folks. No wonder the World LPG Association (WLPGA) — so far focused on developed economies — has chosen to hold its Asia summit in Delhi, bringing together 600 experts from 35 countries who want to learn from Ujjwala. Barely nine months after being launched by the PM in May 2016, the scheme has covered 1.6 crore poor households, topping the target set for the entire 2016-17 financial year on the back of a massive rural outreach push. “It simply beats me how they achieved this,” WLPGA Yagiz Eyuboglu told a curtain-raiser session on Monday in a compliment to oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan. “When we assumed office, we had a system of misdirected subsidies, rich and upper-middle class were entitled to LPG subsidies. There were many duplicate connections and the subsidized LPG was diverted to commercial and industrial segments. As a result poorest of the poor never had access to LPG. In 2014, almost half of Indian households didn’t have LPG connections. We took it as a challenge and decide to change the LPG landscape in India,” Pradhan told the session, giving an insight into the government’s thinking behind the reforms. Pradhan said reforms in the subsidy mechanism — elimination of ghost consumers and direct subsidy transfer into bank accounts — saved an estimated Rs 21,000 crore, or $3.2 billion, in the two years of the Modi government. During this time, he said, Rs 40,000 crore, or $6.5 billion, in subsidy has been transferred directly to bank accounts of consumers. Ujjwala has raised the number of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe households with LPG connection to 35% of the total LPG coverage in the country. It has raised national the LPG coverage from 61% as of January this year to 70% as of December 1. India is home to more than 24 crore households, of which about 10 crore still do not have access to LPG as cooking fuel and have to rely on firewood, coal, dung cakes as primary fuel for cooking. Ujjwala also aims at improving health of women folk in rural households, who still depend on firewood, coal, dung cakes as cooking fuel. According to a World Health Organisation report, smoke from such fuels inhaled by women is equivalent to burning 400 cigarettes in an hour and causes several respitory and other diseases. In addition, women and children have to go through the drudgery of collecting firewood. The idea is that after getting a LPG connection, there would be no need for the women to collect firewood or dung and they can spend that time more productively. Nelson Agholor Authentic Jersey
India becomes second-largest LPG consumer
India has become the second-largest domestic LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) consumer in the world due to the Narendra Modi government’s rapid rollout of clean fuel plan for poor households and fuel subsidy reforms. LPG consumption by households has reached 19 million tonne, registering an annual growth rate of 10%. Consumption is expected to rise 20 million tonne, backed by expanding consumer base in urban areas and rapid rollout of the ‘Ujjwala’ scheme for providing LPG connections free of cost to five crore poor households by 2019. The Ujjwala scheme has turned India into an example for energy experts from other emerging economies still struggling to provide clean fuel to their rural folks. No wonder the World LPG Association (WLPGA) — so far focused on developed economies — has chosen to hold its Asia summit in Delhi, bringing together 600 experts from 35 countries who want to learn from Ujjwala. Barely nine months after being launched by the PM in May 2016, the scheme has covered 1.6 crore poor households, topping the target set for the entire 2016-17 financial year on the back of a massive rural outreach push. “It simply beats me how they achieved this,” WLPGA Yagiz Eyuboglu told a curtain-raiser session on Monday in a compliment to oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan. “When we assumed office, we had a system of misdirected subsidies, rich and upper-middle class were entitled to LPG subsidies. There were many duplicate connections and the subsidized LPG was diverted to commercial and industrial segments. As a result poorest of the poor never had access to LPG. In 2014, almost half of Indian households didn’t have LPG connections. We took it as a challenge and decide to change the LPG landscape in India,” Pradhan told the session, giving an insight into the government’s thinking behind the reforms. Pradhan said reforms in the subsidy mechanism — elimination of ghost consumers and direct subsidy transfer into bank accounts — saved an estimated Rs 21,000 crore, or $3.2 billion, in the two years of the Modi government. During this time, he said, Rs 40,000 crore, or $6.5 billion, in subsidy has been transferred directly to bank accounts of consumers. Ujjwala has raised the number of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe households with LPG connection to 35% of the total LPG coverage in the country. It has raised national the LPG coverage from 61% as of January this year to 70% as of December 1. India is home to more than 24 crore households, of which about 10 crore still do not have access to LPG as cooking fuel and have to rely on firewood, coal, dung cakes as primary fuel for cooking. Ujjwala also aims at improving health of women folk in rural households, who still depend on firewood, coal, dung cakes as cooking fuel. According to a World Health Organisation report, smoke from such fuels inhaled by women is equivalent to burning 400 cigarettes in an hour and causes several respitory and other diseases. In addition, women and children have to go through the drudgery of collecting firewood. The idea is that after getting a LPG connection, there would be no need for the women to collect firewood or dung and they can spend that time more productively. Danielle Hunter Jersey
Oil PSUs merger: New entity would face significant challenges, says Fitch
The proposed merger of India’s state-owned oil companies would face significant execution challenges related to managing integration of employees, addressing overcapacity in the merged entity and winning the backing for the merger from private shareholders, according to Fitch Ratings. The US-based credit rating agency, however, said the merger could reduce inefficiencies across the sector. “It would also create an entity that is better placed to compete globally for resources, and less vulnerable to shifts in oil prices,” the firm said in a statement. The merger is likely to give the new entity much stronger bargaining power with suppliers, and greater financial clout to secure oil resources. Most Asian countries have only one national oil company integrated across the value chain. In contrast, there are 18 state-controlled oil companies in India, with at least six that can be considered key players – Oil India, Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum, GAIL (India) and ONGC. Proposals to consolidate India’s oil & gas sector have been floated before but the idea was presented in a budget speech last week for the first time. The government has not provided details on which companies would be involved but the aim is to create an integrated public sector “oil major”. The merged entity would have opportunities to save on costs and improve operational efficiency. “For example, there would be less need for multiple retail outlets in a single area. Transport costs could be reduced by retailers sourcing from the nearest refinery, rather than the ones they own – as is currently the common practice. A merged entity would also be able to share expertise for exploration and acquisition of resources,” Fitch said. The integration of upstream, refining and retail companies would have the additional benefit of spreading the impact of oil prices movements across the various parts of the value chain, which would reduce volatility in cash generation. However, Fitch pointed out there will be considerable difficulties involved in merging a number of entities with differing structures, operational systems, and cultures. “Political sensitivities are likely to limit job cuts, and personnel-related issues are likely to arise from the need to manage hierarchies and potential overcapacity in the integrated entity. Moreover, all these are listed companies with public shareholding ranging from 51 per cent to 70 per cent. That could cause some problems in obtaining approval from the 75 per cent of shareholders that is typically required to approve a merger, particularly if there are concerns over valuation,” the agency said. Finally, there is a question of how the government will handle the likely decline in competition after a merger. Consumers have benefited from competition among the state-controlled retail companies, which has supported improvements in service standards. Private companies are increasing their market share from a low base, but could find it even harder to compete with a single large state-controlled company. Derek Dorsett Jersey
Iraq’s Basra oil export terminal to stop loading for 24 hours
Iraq’s main oil export terminal, off the southern city of Basra, will stop loading operations for 24 hours, starting midnight Tuesday, because of work to install a new pipeline feeding the facility, two sources at state-run South Oil Company said. The terminal’s loading capacity is estimated at around 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd). Loading offshore at three single-point moorings (SPMs) connected with the Basra terminal will not be affected, they said. OPEC’s second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia, Iraq exported a record 3.51 million barrels per day in December from the southern ports. Grant Fuhr Womens Jersey
ONGC’s Rs 780 billion investment seen as credit negative: Moody’s
Ratings agency Moody’s sees Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) planned Rs 780 billion investment in Andhra Pradesh as credit negative in the backdrop of falling gas prices, long gestation period of such investments and expected increase in leverage. On January 27, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said ONGC, amongst other oil public sector utilities, will invest Rs 780 billion in Andhra Pradesh in the development of oil and gas discoveries. “Of the total investment, around Rs 100 billion ($1.5 billion) will be spent on on-shore blocks with the balance Rs 680 billion ($10 billion) spent on off-shore assets in the Krishna-Godavari (K-G) basin. The company expects to commence investment in financial year 2017-18 and finish by financial year 2020-21,” the Moody’s report noted. The decision to invest further in on-shore and off-shore assets comes at a time when gas prices in India are falling due to government’s intervention. Moody’s sees this as a detrimental to ONGC’s future investments in these blocks. “Prices of domestically produced natural gas were revised down on October 1, 2016 to $2.5 per million British thermal unit (mmbtu) from $3.06/mmbtu (on gross calorific value basis). The revised prices remain effective until March 31, 2017. For natural gas produced from deep water and ultradeep water areas, prices are capped at $5.3/mmbtu, which is among the lowest in Asia. Even if ONGC’s entire incremental production from the Andhra Pradesh investment were eligible for the higher gas price, that price would still be materially lower than prices in Asia,” Moody’s said in its note. In addition to falling gas prices, Moody’s said these investments will be credit negative for ONGC and lead to an upfront increase in leverage and typically involve long gestation period. “The development of oil and gas assets has a long gestation period before contributing meaningfully to earnings and cash flows. During the initial development period, ONGC’s borrowings will remain elevated for its Baa1 rating category,” it said. Moody’s expects ONGC’s retained cash flow (RCF)/debt to decline to 40 per cent by March 2018 and 33 per cent by March 2019 if the proposed investment is equally spread over FY18 and FY19. “Although RCF/debt would remain marginally above our quantitative downward rating guidance of 30 per cent for its rating, ONGC will have no room to take on more debt. Any increase in shareholder payments or weak operating performance would exert downward pressure on its ratings,” the report further said. The company’s cash balance, however, could help support its credit assessment. “The company’s sizeable cash balances of Rs 25.80 billion or $3.8 billion as of March 31, 2016 supports its baseline credit assessment, which reflects its fundamental Baa1 credit strength,” Moody’s report added. Marcus Murphy Authentic Jersey