Kerala, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh join UDAY scheme
The state governments of Kerala, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh today joined the Union Government’s discom debt relief scheme, Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojna. With the addition of these states, the total number of states under the UDAY scheme has reached 26. The scheme mandates that 75 per cent of the discom debt be taken over by the State Government and bonds be issued against them. The lowering of discom debt has been accentuated by the growing power generation. According to a press statement from the Ministry of Power, India became net exporter of electricity for the first time. According to the statement, “During the current year 2016-17 (April to February 2017), India has exported around 5,798 million units to Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar which is 213 million units more than the import of around 5,585 million units from Bhutan. Exports to Nepal and Bangladesh increased 2.5 and 2.8 times, respectively in the last three years.” Ever since the cross-border trade of electricity started in mid-eighties, India has been importing power from Bhutan and marginally exporting to Nepal in radial mode at 33 kV and 132 kV from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. On an average, Bhutan has been supplying around 5,000-5,500 million units to India. The government also said that India has also been exporting around 190 MW power to Nepal over 12 cross-border interconnections at 11kV, 33kV and 132 kV level. Export of power to Nepal further increased by around 145 MW with the commissioning of Muzaffarpur (India)-Dhalkhebar(Nepal) 400kV line (being operated at 132 kV) in 2016. Export of power to Bangladesh from India got further boost with the commissioning of 1st cross-border interconnection between Baharampur in India and Bheramara in Bangladesh at 400kV in September 2013. It was further augmented by the commissioning of 2nd cross-border interconnection between Surjyamaninagar (Tripura) in India and South Comilla in Bangladesh. At present, around 600 MW power is being exported to Bangladesh. Export of power to Nepal is expected to increase by around 145 MW shortly over 132 kV Katiya (Bihar)-Kusaha (Nepal) and 132 kV Raxaul (Bihar)-Parwanipur (Nepal). Austin Czarnik Authentic Jersey
Govt mulls second airports at cities where primary airports are saturating
The Modi government will start work on a plan to build second airports at all airports, where the primary airports have saturated or reaching saturation, a government official announced at an ET event. “That is a very valid suggestion. We are thinking about it, as Airports Authority of India (AAI) has its hands full. The management of Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports are being awarded under public-private partnership (PPP). The line of thinking is there but nothing is concrete as of now,” Anil Srivastava, joint secretary, civil aviation ministry told at a panel discussion at Economic Times Global Business Summit. Srivastava’s response was to a question by panel moderator Amber Dubey, head of aviation and aerospace at KPMG. Apart from Srivastava and Dubey, the panel constituted Ashwani Lohani, CMD, Air India, Rajiv Jain, CEO, Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), Kapil Kaul, CEO and Director at Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, Palash Roychowdhury, Managing Director, Pratt & Whitney (P&W), Ajay Mehra, Managing Director, Airbus and K S Kunwar, Director General, Air Cargo Forum India. The panel discussed ‘Regional connectivity and affordable airline solutions’ and suggestions ranged on making the regional connectivity scheme simplified and developing secondary airports to make the scheme successful. “If we plan to go to take regional connectivity to the hinterland of this country, we will have to reduce costs,” said Air India CMD Lohani. P&W’s Roychowdhury also says that the focus should be on keeping ‘lower cost, cost and cost.’ “Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) will be a game changer but needs to be simplified. The payment of subsidy should be on per flying hour basis rather than per seat basis,” Lohani added. The government had, in June last year, announced a new aviation policy that aimed at providing regional connectivity in the country. The programme, Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN), offers carriers cash subsidies for selling up to 40 seats at Rs 2,500 for each hour of flight. About eleven airlines, including AI, have bid to connect 43 regional airports in the country in the first phase. The winners will be announced on Thursday. MIAL CEO Jain also feels that developing airport infrastructure is a minimum requirement for this scheme to turn successful. “There are five regional routes out of Maharashtra – 5 into Mumbai and one each into Pune and Hyderabad – all three are congested airports. Secondary airports, away from larger airports, should be created and treated as hubs for regional flights,” said Jain. However, aviation industry insiders like Kaul and Mehra expect a lot of hurdles in the scheme becoming a success. “The government has both opportunity and challenge at hand. Bids have to be careful or we may see bid failure. The government also needs to expedite the regulatory approval process from the aviation safety regulator like DGCA and security regulator like BCAS. We may have an army of airline failures over 6 to 12 months (post the start of regional connectivity scheme),” said Kapil Kaul, CEO at CAPA. Airbus’ Mehra also says it will be difficult for regional airlines to lease planes. “Leasing companies may not look at leasing to commuter or regional airlines,” said Mehra. Sammie Coates Authentic Jersey
Qatar Air chief bets on PM Modi, accelerates India push with 100 jets order
Qatar Airways Ltd. may order 100 new jetliners before the end of this year to power its push into India and also plans to announce two new routes to the U.K. even as the country prepares to exit the European Union, Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said. The Persian Gulf carrier is confident that a new aviation policy mapped out by “futuristic” Prime Minister Narendra Modi will permit 100% foreign ownership of a domestic airline, Al Baker said Monday in London. Qatar Airways is briefing lawyers in India and will seek formally to establish the new airline soon, with a tender for aircraft to follow. “It could be this year,” the CEO told journalists after addressing the Qatar-U.K. Business and Investment Forum. “It depends how fast we can arrange our application.” Al Baker revealed last month that he planned to set up an Indian carrier with a fleet of 100 narrow-body jets, breaking into a fast-growing market where local rules previously prevented full ownership by foreign airlines. He said at the time that the Qatar Investment Authority could fund the venture, leaving Qatar Air to run it, though it’s not clear whether such an arrangement would avoid the curb. Qatar Air is targeting an Indian foothold after Etihad Airways of Abu Dhabi took a 24 percent stake in Jet Airways India Ltd. Leading Asian carriers Singapore Airlines Ltd. and AirAsia Bhd. also have 49 percent holdings in affiliates in the subcontinent, though no foreign operator has been able to acquire full control. UK growth Al Baker sought to use QIA to secure a position in discount specialist Indigo during its initial public offering, but the fund failed to gain the required approvals in time. Qatar Air’s expansion plans elsewhere include the addition of two new routes to Britain, the CEO said at the investment event. The carrier already offers 72 weekly services to the U.K., where it serves London’s Heathrow hub as well as Manchester and Birmingham in England and Edinburgh in Scotland. Al Baker said his company accepts that a ban on passengers carrying large electronic devices aboard U.S.-bound flights from a clutch of Mideast and African nations including Qatar is a “security decision,” adding that it’s too early to say if the measures will hurt business. “I don’t think it is targeted at Gulf airlines,” he said. “It is a decision made by the United States that we as an operator have to follow. We have to comply and make sure that we don’t cause any inconvenience to our passengers.” Qatar Air customers bound for the U.S. are required to surrender their laptops and other equipment when passing through security screening, unlike those at Dubai-based Emirates, who can hang on to them until the gate. Qatar Air doesn’t plan to hand out loaner devices in the cabin, something Emirates President Tim Clark has said may be an option. “We don’t want to do anything that will violate the directions we have received,” Al Baker said. Ozzie Smith Jersey
Government, airlines discuss UDAN, Delhi airport terminal issues
Airlines today held detailed discussions with Civil Aviation Ministers and senior ministry officials about the regional connectivity scheme and issues pertaining to terminals for carriers at the Delhi airport. Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju and his junior Jayant Sinha as well as Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey and other officials were part of the meeting. Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani, SpiceJet CMD Ajay Singh, GoAir Managing Director and CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, IndiGo President and Whole Time Director Aditya Ghosh as well as representative from Jet Airways were among those in attendance. Choubey said RCS (regional connectivity scheme) and issues related to terminal 2 of the Delhi airport were discussed during the meeting with the airline officials. Earlier this year, Delhi airport operator had asked no- frills carriers — IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir — were asked to shift some of their operations to terminal 2 from terminal 1D. However, differences have been persisting over the matter between the airlines and the airport operator. About the issues pertaining to terminal 2, Choubey said several rounds of discussions have happened. “We are taking the process forward… Today, there was one more round of discussions,” he said without providing specific details. Before taking a decision, the requirements of the airlines, airport and the passengers have to be kept in mind and those requirements have to be matched, Choubey noted. After the meeting, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said, “we have to find a way to use the two terminals at the Delhi airport…. We are trying our best on how to find a pathway taking into account the Delhi airport’s master plan”. Meanwhile, to provide connectivity to unserved and under-served airports as well as make flying more affordable, the government has unveiled the ambitious regional connectivity scheme (UDAN) — Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik. n order to provide viability gap funding under the scheme, a levy of up to Rs 8,500 is being levied for every flight on major routes. However, airlines had raised concerns about the levy and have also challenged it. The government is expected to soon announce the routes and the operators selected under UDAN scheme. Prior to the meeting with the ministers, Choubey had little over an hour-long meeting with officials of airlines and airport operators. Grady Jarrett Womens Jersey
‘CCEA may amend Mega Power Policy to push 31 GW projects’
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) is likely to approve tomorrow the amendments in the Mega Power Policy to push 31 GW stuck projects entailing an investment of Rs 1.5 lakh crore. Besides, the initiative is aimed at bringing down the power tariff for making electricity more affordable for domestic as well as industrial and commercial consumers. “The proposal to amend the Mega Power Policy for giving a boost to stuck coal and gas based power projects totalling 31GW capacities is listed for consideration and approval on the CCEA agenda for the meeting scheduled on March 29, 2017,” a source said. The source said that out of these stuck project which have not imported or not inked power purchase agreement would get extra time to seek various benefits under the policy. The source further said that all those plant which have already imported the equipment would get additional 60 months for inking power purchase agreements with discoms/states. The source also said that that an additional time period of 120 months would be provided to those project for which equipment has not been imported, under the policy for seeking various benefits. This relaxation in time frame would help all of these 31GW capacities to unlock total various benefit of over Rs 10,000 crore under the policy as they would get incentives ranging from Rs 30-40 lakh per MW. These 31GW include around 3,300 MW of gas based thermal power generation capacities and the remaining projects are coal based. The Mega Power Policy was unveiled in 2009 with an objective to increase power availability, to boost overall growth of the country and also to ensure that consumers are reasonably charged for electricity supplied. The policy was later amended in 2014 mandating developers to tie up at least 65 percent of installed capacity/net capacity through competitive bidding and 35 per cent under regulated tariff of host state under long term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with discoms/State designated agency to avail benefits under the policy. The amendment had provided this dispensation would be one time and limited to 15 projects which are located in the states having mandatory host state power tie up policy of PPAs under regulated tariff. The other amendment was for extension of the maximum time period to 60 months instead of 36 months from the date of import for provisional mega projects, for furnishing final mega certificates to tax authorities. The benefits under the policy include zero customs duty, deemed export benefits and income tax benefits. The mega power projects include an inter-state thermal power plant of a capacity of 700 MW or more, located in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. It also include projects with a capacity of 1,000 MW or more, located in states other than specified the policy. These projects also include an inter-state hydel power plant of a capacity of 350 MW or more, located in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. Besides, it also include an inter-state hydel power plant of a capacity of 500 MW or more, located in states other than specified in the policy. Tennessee Titans Authentic Jersey
‘Pak extracting gas from Indian fields
Minister of State Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan in reply to a question by Barmer MP Col Sona Ram Choudhary Monday agreed that Pakistan is producing gas from the fields located near border areas. “The exploration work was suspended since last 25 years. Now, our government has encouraged exploration activities. This will lead to hydrocarbon production not only from Jaisalmer and Barmer but also from Kuchchh region of Gujarat,” the minister claimed. Col Sona Ram, while putting his question in Parliament, said Pakistan is producing gas on a large scale and its gas fields are quite close to Indo-Pak border adjoining Jaisalmer. “Jaisalmer got the first gas exploration work 40-50 years ago. Gas fields were discovered and supply was started to nearby gas based power plants. Currently, a number of gas wells, situated at border are not functioning. Meanwhile, many Chinese companies are exploring for hydrocarbon on the other side of the border. As we are not exploring and producing gas, our gas is migrating to Pakistan side,” he added. The MP asked the minister which are the steps government is considering so that the other side can’t extract gas from Indian reserves. The minister indicated that his ministry may very soon clear pending approvals for Thar oil fields. “Crude oil production is at Barmer. Recently, gas reserves have been discovered and gas production is taking place on pilot basis. There are certain approvals pending for these fields. Government will accord permission within few days clearing path for gas production,” said Pradhan. It may be mentioned that OMV Pakistan company started exploration activities in Sindh in 1991 and is producing gas from the Sawan, Miano, Latif, Tajjal, and Mehar gas fields. Mari and Miano gas fields are situated closest to Indo-Pak border. Bhit, Kadanwari, Kandkot, Qudirpur and Sui are other fields at Pakistan side of border producing gas. Meanwhile, at Indian side of border, Cairn India-operated Barmer basin is part of the initial Pre-New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) blocks that are due for renewal. The Production Sharing Contract extension request is pending with MoPNG. Once approved, it will provide clarity to the company board to approve a capex plan for further exploration and development. ONGC-Cairn Joint Venture is currently working to monetize natural gas potential in Rajasthan block. It had put forward a $700-million plan to develop and produce gas reserves at Raageshwari fields in Barmer block. “Raaseshwari in-place resource estimate stands at 1-3 trillion cubic feet (TCF), with recovery factor estimated at about 50%,” said a report from brokerage firm Motilal Oswal. The Barmer block is the biggest onshore crude oil field contributing nearly 27% of country’s production. Similarly, focus energy is doing oil exploring gas in Shahgarh Bulj area of Jaisalmer, in which many dozens of well is stopped. In Ghotki dist of pak, 7-8kms from the Indian border opposite the international border adjoining tanot-longewala area in Jaisalmer, huge reserves of oil have been found. Pak oil company with the help of Chinese company have started producing oil in huge quantity. In this area 2500 pakistani and Chinese experts are working in the work of oil exploration and oil production. In this regard, senior official sources confirmed it and said in pak area opposite tanot-longewala area, pak oil company with the help of Chinese oil company have found huge oil reserves in area of 8-10kms. In pak’s ghotki dist, for last one month, oil production is going on and aviation lights on rings used in exploration works can be seen from long distance and movement of vehicles can be heard. More than 250 experts and other personnel are working here. Sources said that pak in this area had started oil exploration in 2005-06, but in January 2017 started new oil and gas works and discovered huge oil and gas reserves and production was started on large scale. It is told that pak oil companies have found huge reserves against their expectation. Looking to this, oil and gas exploration works have been started in nearby areas tool. On the other hand, in Indian area of ghotaru, longewala the ONGC are doing the exploration works, but till now there has not been any big success and ongc is producing only 50000 cubic metre gas in this area. Taylor Decker Womens Jersey
India becomes Net Exporter of electricity for the 1st time; 5,798 million units supplied to Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar
India, for the first time, has turned for a net importer to a net exporter of electricity. According to the Central Electricity Authority, which happens to be the government approved authority for the Cross Border Trade of Electricity, India has exported about 5,798 million units to Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar during the current year 2016-17(April to February 2017), an amount which is 213 million units more than the 5,585 million units from Bhutan. The PIB report also suggests that Indian exports to Nepal and Bangladesh has increased 2.5-2.8 times in the last 3 years respectively. Following the announcement of cross-border trade of electricity in the mid-Eighties, India is reported to have been importing electricity from Bhutan. It has also been marginally exporting power to Nepal in a radial mode at 33 kV and 132 kV from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. If an average is to be considered, Bhutan has been supplying India with 5000-5500 million units to India every year. Although, it must also be noted that India is reported to be exporting about 190 MW of electricity to Nepal in ver 12 cross-border interconnections at 11kV, 33kV and 132 kV level. By commissioning it through the Muzaffarnagar(Uttar Pradesh, India)- Dhalkhebar(Nepal) 400 kV line, which is being operated at 132 kV in 2016, India’s power exports to Nepal has further increased by around 145 MW. In September 2013, India’s export of power to Bangladesh received a major boost after the commission of the first cross-border interconnection between Baharampur in India and Bheramara in Bangladesh at 400 kV, which was further increased by the commission of the 2nd cross-border connection between Surjyamaninagar of Tripura, India and South Comilla of Bangladesh. Meanwhile, according to the reports, power exports to Nepal is speculated to be increasing by about 145 kV after the Katiya (Bihar)– Kusaha (Nepal) and 132 kV Raxaul (Bihar)– Parwanipur (Nepal) cross-border interconnections. Beau Allen Womens Jersey