Government sets up inter-ministerial panel to monitor UDAN
The government has set up an inter-ministerial committee to monitor the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN which seeks to make flying affordable by connecting unserved and under-served airports. Besides, the panel would be responsible for coordination among stakeholders, including state governments, for “time-bound” implementation of the scheme. The Civil Aviation Ministry has already awarded 128 routes connecting 70 airports to five airlines, including SpiceJet and an Air India subsidiary, under the scheme UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik). Chaired by Civil Aviation Secretary, the ‘Inter- Ministerial Monitoring-cum-Coordination Committee’ would have representations from the ministries of finance, defence, home as well as petroleum and natural gas, as per a notification. Airports Authority of India (AAI) Chairman, representatives from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), BCAS (Bureau of Civil Aviation Security) apart from officials of airlines and states concerned would also be part of the panel. If required, the panel’s chairperson can co-opt any officer or expert, according to the notification issued by the Civil Aviation Ministry. The committee would be responsible for “overall monitoring of the schemes of promotion of regional connectivity by way of revival of unserved and under-served airports/airstrips and RCS-UDAN”, it added. In the flights operated under RCS, around 50 per cent of the seats would have a fare cap Rs 2,500 per seat/hour. Apart from various incentives, the operators of such flights would be extended viability gap funding — for which money is partly raised through a levy of up to Rs 8,500 on flights operating in major routes like Delhi and Mumbai. The viability gap funding would be in place for three years for the airlines concerned from the date of starting operations in a particular UDAN route. Other benefits include zero airport charges for the operators and three-year exclusivity on the routes. Yanni Gourde Womens Jersey
NTPC arm ties up USD 1.6 billion for Maitree plant in Bangladesh
State-owned power giant NTPCBSE 0.33 %’s joint venture BIFPCL has tied up funds to the tune of USD 1.6 billion to set up 1,320-mw Maitree Super Thermal Power Project in Bangladesh. “We wish to inform that Bangladesh India Friendship Power Company (Pvt) (BIFPCL) achieved financial closure on April 10, 2017, to set up 1,320 mw (2×660 mw) coal based Maitree Super Thermal Power Project at Rampal in Bagerhat district of Khulna division, Bangladesh,” NTPC said in a BSE filing today. BIFPCL is a 50:50 joint venture company between NTPC and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) for setting up this coal-fired thermal power plant. The company further stated that an agreement was signed with Indian Exim Bank to provide loan up to USD 1.6 billion for financing this project. BIFPCL is a private company duly incorporated in Bangladesh under the Companies Act 1994 and was registered with the Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC), Dhaka, Bangladesh on October 31, 2012. During an earlier visit by Bangladesh Prime Minister to India, an MoU was signed on January 11, 2010, in New Delhi to bolster traditional ties between the two through co-operation. Josh Bailey Womens Jersey
Parliament panel for reservation in Petronet LNG
A Parliamentary panel has asked the government to examine providing reservation to SC/STs in companies like Petronet LNG Ltd where state-controlled firms hold up to 50 per cent stake but are registered as private firms. No reservation in employment is provided in Petronet, India’s largest liquefied natural gas importer, as it is not a government company due to the structure of its shareholding. Petronet was formed in pursuance of the Cabinet decision in 1997 with state-owned GAIL, ONGC, BPCL and IOC holding 12.5 per cent stake each. A government company is one where 51 per cent of paid up share capital is held by the government or a state-owned company or companies. The Committee on Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in a report tabled in Parliament said it was “unable to understand as to how it has been contended that the Government of India has no equity share in Petronet when four of its biggest oil companies have 50 per cent equity share.” “The Committee are of the view that Petronet is neither a private entity nor a government company but a joint venture,” the report said. Since Petronet was conceptualised by the government and the four state oil firms hold 50 per cent equity, it is a fit case for in-depth examination for the applicability of reservation policy in the company, it said. “In the first instance the Committee are constrained to note that the provision of reservation as enshrined under Article 16(4) of the Constitution of India was not implemented while setting up Petronet,” the report said. It further observed that there are 66 companies having 50 per cent government equity and where reservation for SC/STs is not being given. “The Committee, therefore, desire that as a first step the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas may in consultation with the Ministry of Law examine the feasibility of applicability of reservation policy in all the joint ventures where the Government oil companies have shares/equity of less than or equity to 50 per cent,” the report said. The panel also wanted the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Ministry of Corporate Affairs to examine insertion of the reservation clause in shareholding agreement in all the existing and future joint ventures. “The Committee expect that the issue be examined with an open mind in the light of the provision enshrined under Article 16(4) of the Constitution of India and an Action Taken Report submitted to it within four months,” the report said. Eli Harold Authentic Jersey
Shirdi airport set to take off in May
Devotees of Saibaba can hope to fly to Shirdi from next month. Shirdi airport in Ahmednagar district will be the first airfield developed and managed by the Maharashtra Airport Development Company Limited (MADC). Officials said the airport is almost ready and should witness flight movement from the month of May. With the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) coming down heavily on MADC for failing to develop even a single airport in the state since its formation in 2002, Vishwas M. Patil, the chairman and managing director, MADC, told TOI that the greenfield airport in Shirdi will be the first on their list. “The airport at Shirdi is almost ready and will be operated by MADC. Flight operations will start from next month,” Patil said. He added that the airport will initially cater to the domestic flights and will eventually have international flights too. The project costs about Rs 320.54 crore. “In the domestic circuit, we expect four to five flights operating from the airport initially from major cities such as Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad. More routes will be added in the near future,” Patil said. According to the official, the 2,500-meter runway stretch along with a terminal building measuring 3,000 m is ready. “We got an additional Rs 40 crore from the civil aviation ministry last month to extend the runway by 700m, work for which has been initiated. The ATC (air traffic control) tower and systems are in place. All efforts are being made to give the airport an international look,” the official added. The Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust is set to celebrate the centenary year of Shirdi Saibaba from October 1, the preparations for which are in full swing. Jordan Lasley Authentic Jersey
8% power tariff hike for all categories of consumers in Karnataka
The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) has allowed an average tariff increase of 53 paise per unit (ranging from 20 paise to 55 paise per unit, including fuel adjustment charges of 5 paise per unit) for all categories of consumers. The commission has also allowed a marginal increase in fixed cost in the range of Rs. 5 per KW/HP/KVA to Rs. 20 per KW/HP/KVA on all LT & HT consumers. The overall increase in tariff is 8 per cent against 25 per cent increase sought by ESCOMs – Bescom, Mescom, Cesc, Hescom, Gescom and Hukeri RECS. M K Shankaralinge Gowda, Chairman, Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission, said: “The tariff increase is necessitated due to recovery of gap in revenue of Rs. 2,296 crore of FY16, which accounts for about 42 paise per unit.” He added “This is on account of increase in power purchase cost due to reduced availability of cheaper hydel power owing to poor monsoon and consequent procurement of costlier short-term power. Increase in power purchase cost for FY18 is about 6 paise per unit, which is mainly due to increase in fuel cost of thermal power plants.” Cameron Heyward Authentic Jersey
U.S. scuppers G7 bid to find joint stance on energy and climate
The U.S. administration of Donald Trump on Monday scuppered efforts by the Group of Seven industrialised countries to reach a common stance on energy when it asked for more time to work out its policies on climate change. Trump signed an order in March to undo climate change regulations drawn up under his predecessor Barack Obama, calling into question U.S. support for an international deal to fight global warming. The order’s main target was Obama’s Clean Power Plan, requiring states to slash carbon emissions from power plants – a key factor in U.S. ability to meet commitments under a climate change accord reached by nearly 200 countries in Paris in 2015. At a news conference wrapping up the G7 Energy meeting in Rome, Italian industry and energy minister Carlo Calenda said the United States was reviewing its strategy on climate change and the Paris Agreement. “While this is under way, the United States reserves its position on these key priorities,” he said. “It was not possible to sign a joint declaration since it would not cover the whole range of topics in the agenda.” Calenda, who chaired the G7 meeting, said all other European Union countries remained strongly committed to the Paris accord to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Speaking from Madrid later on Monday, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Europe would “respect everyone’s opinion on the matter but it would not accept making any steps backward with respect to the strategic choices made on climate change”. Gentiloni is due to meet Trump at a G7 summit Italy will host in Sicily next month, with Italy anxious to get public backing from all leaders on the Paris accords. A source close to the G7 talks said the inability of U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry to commit showed the isolation of the United States at the ministerial meeting. “The U.S. also wanted to include references to coal and fossil fuels,” the source said. During his election campaign, Trump pledged to pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord, arguing it would hurt U.S. business. Environmental groups have criticised the administration’s order, arguing it runs dangerously counter to the global trend toward cleaner energy technologies. But Washington has still not spelt out its stance on the Paris agreement and some officials hope there is room for manoeuvre. “The talks were constructive and there was no friction,” Calenda said. The Italian minister is due to hold bilateral talks with Perry on Tuesday. C. J. Prosise Womens Jersey
Oil consumption falls for third month in a row
India’s oil consumption fell for the third straight month in March as the demand growth in diesel, petrol and other products came to a crawl. The oil demand fell by 0.65% in March to 17,358 thousand metric tonnes (TMT). The country consumed 6,805 TMT of diesel in March, compared with 6,783 TMT in the year-ago period. Demand for petrol was 2,106 TMT as against 2,047 TMT in March 2016. The oil consumption rose sharply in the first nine months of 2016-17 but decelerated in the last quarter. The annual rise in oil demand in 2016-17 was 5%. Oil consumption had fallen 3% in February and 4% in January. In 2016-17, demand for diesel rose 1.8% and petrol 8.6%. Consumption of jet fuel rose 12% in the year. Travis Wood Jersey
Government builds 22 km national highways per day last fiscal
The country saw construction of 22 km of national highways (NHs) per day last fiscal against the target of 41 km a day, Parliament was informed today. “The rate of construction of NHs during the last two financial year 2015-16 and 2016-17 was 16 km a day and 22 km per day, respectively,” Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Mansukh Lal Mandavia told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply. The ministry had set an ambitious target of 15,000 km which comes out to be 41 km per day for construction of NHs during 2016-17, he said. He said 16,036 km of road construction, including 4,335 km by NHAI, has been awarded during the last fiscal. “Seventy-eight works in a length of 4,344 km amounting to about Rs 51,737 crore and 76 works in a length of 4,335 km amounting to about Rs 70,000 crore have been awarded in 2015-16 and 2016-17, respectively,” he said. Lorenzo Cain Jersey
Convenient classification, collateral damage
The Supreme Court ban on alcohol sales near highways has people going to great lengths. Literally. One bar in Kerala built a maze to push the travel distance between the highway and the bar beyond the prescribed 500m dry zone. The more common response, however, is simply to relabel the roads to make highways disappear and local roads emerge overnight. A 9 April Hindu BusinessLine article reported that “hundreds of kilometres” of highways in Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Punjab and West Bengal have recently become local, municipal or district roads. More states seem poised to follow the lead: the Aam Aadmi Party explicitly asked the Goa government to denotify state highways wherever legally possible in order to protect the tourist industry. This is all well and good—more jugaad at work—but what happens when the next hapless researcher wants to investigate, say, “The dynamics of road development under competitive federalism”? The proportion of highway kilometres among roads is a (crude) summary statistic for the state of the road network. It will immediately look worse for FY 2017-18. The strange bulge in the share of local roads in 2017 will probably also be concentrated in areas with rapid economic change—the kinds of areas along the edges of cities and corridors where entrepreneurs are setting up brewpubs, hotels and restaurants. Who will be the first to spin a story about the links between regional growth or urbanization and the rise of local control as proxied by jurisdiction over infrastructure? Someday, somewhere, perhaps buried in comparative analysis, it will happen. Closer home, it’s a matter of time before a state or local politician claims credit for an amazing increase in the share of local roads under his or her watch. The quality of India’s economic, environmental and social data has come under increasing scrutiny as researchers compare it to a wider array of alternative unofficial sources. Long-standing claims about methodological and process shortcomings are gaining more “oomph” as anomalies in the statistical picture of the country have emerged. How much water does India have? The answers from its scientists and its ministries vary. Weather? Skymet and the India Meteorological Department offer different pictures. Consumption? Take your pick—the National Sample Survey Office or Central Statistics Office or private market research. Growth? There is more variation between estimates than can be explained by different calculation methods alone. And luminosity data offer yet another picture. The ongoing critique of data focuses on collection techniques and technical concerns rather than accusations of blatant politicization (I am going to leave controversies over definitions, such as those around urbanization or poverty, aside for now). People may argue that the government is picking its headline numbers politically, but few would contend that it is systematically manipulating the deeper collection processes behind them. It doesn’t have to directly manipulate; policy frameworks that create incentives for convenient classification can have the same effect. Classifying for convenience is not conventionally “political” in the sense of manipulation of the big picture to gain points with voters or investors; but it is purposeful, and for purposes other than accurate descriptions of the state of the economy, polity and environment. Collateral damage is still damage. Convenient classification is common. Forests, for example, are notified by the state without a uniform definition. And a designation as “forest” has implications for terms of industrial use as well as tribal rights. It is not surprising that some forests, especially those with mining and industrial development potential, don’t show up in the data. It’s not clear what effect this has on the overall forest area count, since there are other incentives to promote forests embedded in fiscal transfer rules. But it would be surprising if these pushes and pulls did not affect official data. Similarly, every tax exemption—for research and development, for agricultural income, for service exports—not only encourages differences in real behaviour, but also incentivizes reclassification that distorts the statistical picture. It’s the same with tariff variations, differential regulation, or any other kind of targeted treatment for activities or entities that cannot be readily, cheaply, unambiguously audited. Ray Fisman and Shang-Jin Wei, for example, have a series of papers that show a correlation between the differences in tariff treatment for similar goods and mismatches between reported exports from one country and imports to a partner country. Misreporting of trade in certain kinds of cars, cultural artefacts, or frozen poultry may not seem to matter much on the scale of things, but consider how the fiction might affect reports on an industry outlook or the analysis of sectoral transitions. A forensic accounting of the impact of industrial policy on data and our understanding of economic history could be fascinating, if uncomfortable. Coming back, the pressures for more convenient classification are likely to build. Rules-based policy places more weight on metrics as gateways for valuable rights and concessions. The tightening of the tax net increases the impact of classification decisions, and thus the incentives to push them one way or another. Balancing the pressures for convenient classification, or at least recognizing that they exist when designing policy or allocating resources for enforcement, is an essential addition to the to-do list on data quality. Tennessee Titans Jersey
Gadkari expressed concern over a large number of road
Accidents due to drunk driving and said that the government was thinking of strict action against such people. Asserting that life was of paramount importance, he said the ministry was planning to come up with crash barriers on the roadside. The government, he said, has already 786 black spots across the country, which are most accident-prone. “There is a provision in the bill under which if holes were found on the roads DPR designer and contractor would be held accountable,” Gadkari said adding that the ministry would blacklist the contractors. The minister said that the proposal on strengthening the network of the trauma centres has also been received. Euro VI emission norms, Gadkari added, would be made mandatory from April 1, 2020. Josh Bellamy Jersey