Late-night flights in limbo over MIA security shortage
Airlines and passengers from the coastal region seem to be big losers as Mangaluru International Airport is struggling to find security personnel for late-night flights. Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel has sent in a complaint to Union minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju, saying non-availability of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel was affecting flight operations in the night. CISF director general OP Sharma has rejected the MP’s charge, and said the question of “non-cooperation from the CISF” did not arise. He was responding to this story which appeared on TOI online first on Tuesday. He said: “Our personnel are performing their job despite heavy odds. This situation will ease once the ongoing recruitments to this force are completed.” The MP has said the CISF has shifted some personnel and gadgets from MIA to other airports, without informing the Airports Authority of India. Currently, the CISF mans the airport in two shifts: From 5am to 1pm, and 1pm to 9pm. This has put flights operating beyond this schedule in a limbo. Jet Airways introduced a 10.50pm flight on November 1 last year, and there were no hitches until the CISF informed AAI that it cannot provide security for this schedule citing shortage of personnel. The CISF has 203 personnel at MIA against the sanctioned 226. Quoting a Bureau of Civil Aviation Security circular, the MP said the CISF must work two extra hours to handle flights operating immediately outside of their eight-hour shift. The manpower the CISF has sanctioned as an interim measure on November 30 has also not been adhered to, the MP has said in the letter. This has led to discontinuation of the Jet flight from April 15. IndiGo’s plan to operate a 9.40pm flight could also come unstuck, Nalin has said, urging the minister to sanction manpower for additional hours to keep the airport alive until the last flight. CISF’s additional director general (airport sector) Dharmendra Kumar told TOI over phone from New Delhi the AAI’s request for the sanction of a third shift is pending with the civil aviation ministry for the past six months. “We’ve already curtailed leave, training, weekly-offs of our personnel. A third shift will add to their stress,” he said. The officer said the move to utilize the international terminal to accommodate domestic passengers was stopped following objections from customs officials. He promised a solution in two months. Kumar said no government employee should work beyond eight hours. In reality, he said, CISF personnel sometimes put in 11 hours as they report to the armoury at 4am before getting deployed at MIA by 5am — which is two hours before the first flight departs at 7am. The officer said he would apprise the MP and minister Rijiju of the ground reality. Joe Klecko Womens Jersey
Air India asks lenders to cut interest rates on loans
Saddled with total debt of around Rs 46,000 crore, Air India has written to 16 of its lenders to cut interest rate on its loans by up to 2 percentage points, in line with the reduction in rates in the market. The airline is also in talks with state-owned infrastructure company NBCC and Ministry of External Affairs to sell around 98 of its properties spread across India and some overseas. While reduction in interest rates reduce its costs, monetisation of assets would help pare it short-term borrowings. If bankers accept its request, it would bring down its interest cost to around 8.5 per cent from over 10 per cent at present, a senior Air India official said. “This would result in annual savings in interest costs of about Rs 200 crore on loans of around Rs 15,000 crore. We have written to around 16-17 banks and to the consortium leader State Bank of India. The banks have so far not responded and they usually take their time,” the official said. The airline has asked the banks to align the rates on loans to the marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) plus a reasonable spread not exceeding 50 basis points. This is expected to lower interest rate which is presently linked to the base rate. Base rate, which is based on average cost of funds, for banks is typically higher than the MCLR. SBI’s one-year MCLR for instance is 8 per cent, compared with a base rate is of 9.10 per cent. The airline earned an operating profit of Rs 105 crore in 2015-16. “We expect to post similar level of operating profit in 2016-17,” the official said. Reduction in prices of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) helped the airline boosts its operating performance as total costs incurred on ATF reduced to Rs 5,845 crore in 2015-16, as compared to Rs 8,449 crore in 2014-15. But the burden of servicing the debt, which totalled Rs 46,000 crore at the end of March 2016, led to the airline incurring net losses. Its net loss narrowed to Rs 3,836 crore in 2015-16 as compared to Rs 5,859 crore in 2014-15. The airline’s total revenue was Rs 20,524 crore in 2015-16, while total expenses were Rs 24,361 crore in 2015-16. Despite high losses accumulated over the years, the carrier has survived under a financial restructuring and turnaround plan funded by the Centre. Under the plan, Air India will get equity infusion of Rs 42,182 crore over the period from 2011-12 to 2031-32, which is linked to a number of performance parameters. Till 2015-16, the Centre had infused equity worth Rs 22,280 crore. To raise resources through monetisation, the carrier has submitted a list of 38 properties to NBCC for direct sale. The airline is also in talks with Ministry of External Affairs to sell properties in Hong Kong and state capitals of India. Air India has forwarded a list of 60 properties that it wants to sell to MEA. Against the annual assets sale target of Rs 500 crore, Air India has so far been able to sell only four flats at Sterling Apartments, Mumbai and land at Coimbatore at value of Rs 88 crore and Rs 19.81 crore respectively. It expects to get another Rs 91 crore annually in rental income through leasing of office space at the Air India building in Nariman Point in Mumbai. Kevin Faulk Authentic Jersey
Reliance Industries to start coal-bed gas sales in May as prices freed
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries Ltd will start selling coal-bed methane from its central India block next month after the government allowed producers freedom to set prices, people with knowledge of the matter said. The company will begin with daily sales volumes of 400,000 cubic meters of gas from coal seams in Sohagpur block in Madhya Pradesh state and gradually increase the volumes, said the people, who asked not to be identified citing company rules. Reliance has sought bids from potential buyers to be submitted by April 24, they said. With this, Reliance becomes the third supplier of gas produced from coal seams after Great Eastern Energy Corp. and Essar Oil Ltd India’s federal government last month gave marketing and pricing freedom to producers of coal-bed methane to sell the fuel within the country as it seeks to attract investments to boost production. The country seeks to increase the share of natural gas in its energy mix to 15 percent by 2020 from 6.5 percent now. Joe Montana Authentic Jersey
Cabinet approves Policy to provide Purchase Preference (linked with Local Content (PP-LC) in all Public Sector Undertakings under Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for Policy to provide Purchase Preference (linked with Local Content (PP-LC) in all Public Sector Undertakings under Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas. The Policy will be applicable for five years. A steering committee will be constituted to oversee implementation of the Policy and carry out annual review and recommend continuation of the policy from year to year basis. Under the Policy, the targets of Local Content (LC) will be stipulated for certain oil and gas business activities. The manufacturers/ service providers who meet the local content targets and whose quoted price is within 10% of the lowest valid price bid would be eligible for purchase preference for a stipulated portion of the purchase order on matching such price. The Policy is expected to encourage suppliers and service providers to progressively adopt ‘Make in India’ practices and add value to their goods and services within the country. The Policy will apply to all the Public Sector Enterprises and their wholly owned subsidiaries, Joint Ventures that have 51% or more equity by one or more Public Sector Enterprises, attached and subordinate offices of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Background The ‘Make in India’ initiative was launched by Prime Minister in September, 2014 as part of a wider set of nation-building initiatives devised to transform India into a global design and manufacturing hub. In tune with this campaign, the Government has decided to incentivize the growth in local content in goods and services while implementing oil and gas projects in India through a policy for providing Purchase Preference to the manufacturers/ service providers who meet the local content targets in oil and gas business Anze Kopitar Authentic Jersey
Delhi: Government plans elevated parallel highway to Indira Gandhi International Airport
The Centre is considering a proposal to construct an elevated parallel highway and a tunnel from Haryana side connecting with the Indira Gandhi International Airport to ease traffic woes, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said today. If materialised, this will be in addition to Dwarka Express Highway, the work on which will start soon, Road Transport and Highways Minister Gadkari, who had a high-level meeting with Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajpathi Raju in this connection, told PTI. “We are examining a proposal to build an elevated parallel road to the airport and traffic from Haryana side can be diverted to it. The main obstacle is there are two radars on the sides of the proposed elevated road. I have discussed with the Civil Aviation Minister and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) if there is any possibility for changing the position of the radars,” the minister said. The minister said the government will also construct a tunnel from Haryana side and connect it with the T3 international airport to reduce the frequent traffic jams. “We have given these two proposals to him (Raju),” Gadkari said. The minister said both the proposals are in addition to the proposed Dwarka Express way for which he “took a review meeting with Union Civil Aviation Minister Raju and Airport authority to resolve issues”. Sam Hubbard Jersey
Solar tariff fixed at Rs 4.36 per unit for Megawatt scale plants
The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) has fixed Rs 4.36 per unit as the new tariff for new grid-connected megawatt (MW)-scale solar photovoltaic plants. This is the tariff solar developers selling power to the grid will get from the distribution utilities. The new tariff is applicable to solar projects that will sign power purchase agreements (PPAs) with distribution utilities during the financial year (2017-18). The tariff is also applicable to all those grid-connected MW-scale solar PV plants for which PPAs were signed earlier, but will go on stream only during this financial year. The regulator has allowed a capital cost of Rs 4.40 crore per MW, and a return on equity (RoE) at 16% for developers. The developers can raise debt up to 70% of project cost and the regulator has allowed debt repayment over a period of 12 years. Zach Laskey Jersey
Mega merger: A state oil conglomerate in the works to compete with global biggies
The government plans to merge state oil companies to create an integrated oil major that could top $100 billion in market value and compete with global oil biggies. The Budget 2017 proposed such a merger though the government had been planning it for long. After the Cabinet Secretariat suggested the idea to the oil ministry last year, it begun the process of evaluating the prospects of creating the conglomerate. State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), the top oil producer and one of the largest companies in the country, leads the pack of 13 state oil companies that are being considered for the merger. Other companies include Indian Oil Corporation, the nation’s largest refiner and fuel retailer, Bharat Petroleum CorporationBSE 0.41 %, Hindustan Petroleum, GAIL, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL), Chennai Petroleum and Numaligarh Refinery and Oil India. The scale The top eight listed state oil firms have a market value of $108 billion, which dwarfs the $71 billion of Reliance Industries, $70 billion of Russia’s Rosneft and is closer to BP’s $115 billion. The merger would give these companies capacity to bear higher risks, benefit economies of scale and take higher investment decisions, giving much stronger bargaining power with suppliers, and greater financial clout to secure oil resources. It would also create more value for their shareholders and bring much-needed transparency. These conglomerates, post-merger, would be able to compete with domestic private sector oil and gas companies as well as with international players. Leaner and meaner 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 the common practice now. It would also be able to share expertise for exploration and acquisition. The challenges Since the state-run oil companies are large, diverse, vertically integrated into operations and have overseas presence as well, the merger may face significant execution challenges. The timeline The Oil Ministry asked state-run oil companies to produce a road map for merger. As part of the plan, ONGC might purchase the government’s stake in either Hindustan Petroleum Corp., worth $4 billion, or Bharat Petroleum Corp., worth $7.7 billion. The planning and setting up of a merged entity will take two-three years and the results will begin to appear a few years later. Tyler Glasnow Authentic Jersey
Oil PSUs to give preference to domestic cos in procurement
In a big boost to ‘Make-in-India’, the Union Cabinet today approved a policy to provide purchase preference to domestic manufacturers in procurements done by state-owned oil and gas companies. Under the policy, the targets of Local Content (LC) will be stipulated for certain oil and gas business activities. “The manufacturers/ service providers who meet the local content targets and whose quoted price is within 10 per cent of the lowest valid price bid would be eligible for purchase preference for a stipulated portion of the purchase order on matching such price,” an official statement said here. The policy, approved by the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be applicable for five years. A steering committee will be constituted to oversee implementation of the policy and carry out annual review and recommend continuation of the policy from year to year basis. The new policy is expected to encourage suppliers and service providers to progressively adopt ‘Make in India’ practices and add value to their goods and services within the country. “The policy will apply to all the public sector enterprises and their wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures that have 51 per cent or more equity by one or more public sector enterprises, attached and subordinate offices of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas,” the statement said. Modi had in September 2014 launched the ‘Make in India’ initiative to make the country a global design and manufacturing hub. In tune with this campaign, the government has decided to incentivise the growth in local content in goods and services while implementing oil and gas projects in India through a policy for providing purchase preference to the manufacturers/ service providers who meet the local content targets in oil and gas business activities. Jadeveon Clowney Authentic Jersey
IOC to invest 2.7kcr in Gujarat refinery
The Gujarat Refinery (GR) will set up four more plants in Koyali to meet the BS VI fuel supply standards in the coming years. GR executive director Sudhir Kumar, who recently assumed the post, said that GR will meet the deadline of supplying BS VI fuel much in advance. “The government has set a deadline of April 2020 for BS VI fuel but GR will start supplying it by December 2019. We have already begun process for it,” Kumar said. “We will be investing Rs 2,771 crore for this project. Meeting BS VI standards will be tougher as we will have to be very accurate about the quality of the fuel,” Kumar added. The refinery has already begun supply of BS IV fuel from January this year and the process to increase the production capacity is on. GR invested Rs 1,315 crore for BS IV project in two phases. “The government will be going directly from BS IV to BS VI norms and the challenge is to improve the fuel quality,” he said. The BS IV norms require to keep the Sulphur content below 50 ppm and in BS VI norms, the Sulphur content has to be below 10 ppm, thereby lowering the air pollution significantly, GR officials said. The refinery has also begun process to acquire another 65 acres of land near its current complex in Koyali as a part of its expansion plans. The refinery is eyeing to increase its capacity from the current 13.99 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTA) to 18 MMTA by 2021. GR officials also said that the goods and services tax (GST) will hit the refinery as five of its products are outside the ambit of that tax. “The government is trying to formula to ensure that the impact of GST on our products is less,” a GR official added. Sam Vigneault Authentic Jersey
India may add 6,000 MW wind power capacity in FY’18: IWTMA
India may add around 6,000 megawatts (MW) of wind power capacity in the ongoing fiscal, an industry body has said. “The government’s target (for the 2017-18) I think is 4,500 MW. We know that we have number of challenges in front of us, but we will try our best to give around 6,000 (MW) in the current financial year,” Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturing Association (IWTMA) Chairman Sarvesh Kumar said here. “Like last year, the target was 4,000 MW, but we did 5,500 MW,” Kumar told reporters here. Elaborating on the challenges, he said that “you know that competitive bidding took place for only 1,000 MW. We have requested the Centre to go for at least 4,000 to 5,000 MW of competitive bidding so that we have an absolute clear vision in front of us,” Kumar added. The leading states in wind power capacity addition during 2016-17 were Andhra Pradesh (2,190 MW), Gujarat (1,275 MW) and Karnataka (882 MW). Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Telangana and Kerala reported 357 MW, 288 MW, 262 MW, 118 MW, 23 MW and 8 MW wind power capacity addition respectively during 2016-17. These figures are tentative, the government had earlier said in a statement. During 2016-17, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) took various policy initiatives in the wind energy sector, including introduction of bidding, re-powering policy, draft wind-solar hybrid policy and new guidelines for development of wind power projects. Al MacInnis Jersey