Beijing keen on Delhi’s participation in infra meet
Though PM Narendra Modi is not expected to attend the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing next month, India will send his representative to the summit, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi claimed on Tuesday . “India will have a representative. We welcome the Indian representative as well as members of the business and finance community to take part in the summit,“ he said. China is keen to see India participating in the event because it will add to the credibility of the Belt and Road programme. New Delhi, however, has not confirmed it participation in the May 14-15 event. Attending the summit would mean that India is softening its stance on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is part of the One Belt, One Road programme. India has objected to the fact that passes the corridor through a disputed area in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. India wants a clear statement from China that the corridor would not affect Indian claim over the Kashmir areas under Pakistan’s control, but Wang indicated that Beijing will not budge from its stance on the CPEC. “ As for disputes in Kashmir, China’s position has remained unchanged. The CPEC has no relationship with the dispute in certain regions. I want to reaffirm this to our Indian friends,“ he said at a press conference in Beijing. “I want to mention that the CPEC is economic, and for the purpose of serving economic cooperation and development.It has no direct link with political or border disputes,“ Wang Yi said. India, which is weighing the pros and cons of participating in the Forum, is expected to announce a formal decision soon. He also claimed that it is China which is planning the Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor though many believe that the initiative came from New Delhi. “India is taking part in this initiative in its own way .For example, we have the Bangladesh China India Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor which is one of the major economic corridors China is planning with neighbouring countries. India is part of that with Bangladesh and Myanmar.“ Denis Savard Authentic Jersey
Long waits at toll gates defeat purpose of express ways
Almost all toll plazas in and around Bengaluru make motorists wait in long queues defeating their very objective of easing traffic and saving time for motorists. The Navayuga Devanahalli toll plaza, on the way to the Kempe Gowda International Airport, has reached the saturation point. The 14 toll-collection booths are just not enough, especially during peak hours. Those maintaining the roads say there is no more space to add more toll-collection booths.Navayuga Devanahalli Tollway’s VV Raman said, “We even separated highway vehicles from those going to the airport but things have not changed.“ The price of land on either side of the toll plaza has skyrocketed, he pointed out. According to National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), a sixlane highway should have 36 toll booths while a four-lane highway should have 26 toll booths. None of the toll plazas which are run by the road builders are following the rule. The situation in Nelamangala, Hosur Road, Hoskote and various toll plazas on NICE road are no different. Anchi Chowdappa, the man in charge of the BangaloreNelamangala Toll Plaza (also run by Navayuga), admits that 15 minutes are wasted in the pileup. “We wrote to the state government four times to give us land to add toll booths. But, it is still under consideration.“ He pointed out that one of the eight booths was under maintenance while one was equipped with radio frequency identification (RFID).Only six booths were functioning. The NHAI introduced RFID last year but only one toll booth in each plaza is equipped with an RFID reader. In these booths, motorists need not stop. The RFID system tag works like a prepaid card and the toll is automatically deducted. Officials point out that the lack of awareness regarding RFID is the problem. Apparently , only 5% motorists -mainly interstate trucks -use it. There will be more RFIDreading booths if awareness goes up, they say . NS Rama, CEO, the Electronic City Industrial Township Authority (Elcita), pointed out that given the high traffic into the technology hub, there were only two toll booths. NICE’s MD Ashok Kheny said technology upgradation and increase in the number of booths at all toll plazas on the NICE corridor will be carried out in the next two months. New York Islanders Authentic Jersey
Jet Airways local pilots allege ‘step-motherly’ treatment
Jet Airways is treating Indian pilots in a “step-motherly” manner compared to their expat counterparts on the rolls, pilots’ body NAG on Wednesday claimed. Demanding swift action against alleged racist approach of the expat pilots at the airline, the National Aviators Guild (NAG) called for disallowing such pilots in the cockpit. The grouping’s statement follows its direction on April 15 asking its members not to fly with the expats in the cockpit after one of the foreign pilots allegedly assaulted a trainer in Bengaluru recently. Jet Airways has some 60 expat commanders, who mainly operate its Boeing 737 and ATR fleet. In a strongly-worded statement, NAG said disparaging, inappropriate and racist comments allegedly made by certain expat pilots cannot be taken lightly. “This is in addition to the verbal and physical abuse of a senior trainer by an expat pilot employed by the airline,” NAG claimed. “The management has for a very long time treated the Indian employees, including the pilots, in a step—motherly manner and has disregarded the legitimate expectations of its employees to be treated fairly, reasonably and in a just manner.” A Jet Airways spokesperson did not offer any immediate comment on the NAG allegations when PTI sought a response. The guild claims representation of nearly 1,000 pilots of the total around 1,500 pilots in Jet Airways. The Naresh Goyal-promoted airline had witnessed a 5-day long strike by NAG in September 2009 over the issue of forming the union. According to the statement, Jet Airways management needs to respond swiftly and ought to issue a diktat to said expat pilots to apologise or else leave forthwith. Stressing on the need for collective action, NAG said the airlines reputation cannot be “tarnished by racist and hateful comments made by certain misguided foreign nationals“. On April 15, NAG has issued a directive to all its members not to fly with the foreign pilots in the airline from May 1. Ken Crawley Authentic Jersey
Kerala To Convene Meeting Of Airlines For Kannur Airport
The Kerala government will convene a meeting of various airlines to discuss the launch of their services to and from the upcoming Kannur International Airport, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Mr Vijayan met Union minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju and apprised him on the progress of the work of the airport, which is expected to be operational from September this year. “DGCA clearance for the new airport, arranging CISF security, setting up of emigration facilities etc will have to be arranged at the Kannur airport. For this purpose, the Civil Aviation Secretary will convene a meeting of the Central agencies concerned,” the Chief Minister said in his Facebook post. He also requested the Union Minister to allot more international flights to the upcoming airport in the state. The Rs. 1,892 crore-airport is built in 2,000 acres in northern Kerala. The Kerala Chief Minister also said that the state will speed up the process of acquisition of land for the Calicut International Airport, which was partially shut down in May 2015 for strengthening and resurfacing runway work. “DGCA team will visit the Calicut Airport to inspect the feasibility to operate wide-bodied aircraft from there,” he said. Mr Vijayan also informed the Centre that the state will acquire 18 acres of land for the development of Trivandrum International Airport. Zach Miller Authentic Jersey
Flying high on shorter routes
Though the jury is still out on how many airlines will benefit from the Government’s Regional Air Connectivity Scheme (RCS), Alliance Air, the regional arm of Air India, is hoping to turnaround its fortunes through the program. Alliance, one of the five carriers who were awarded routes under the RCS, is most likely to be the first to start operating flights under the scheme. Part of the Government’s UDAN initiative to link smaller cities, the Scheme aims to breathe life into unserved airports. Alliance has some inherent advantages when compared to Air Odisha and Deccan, which too were awarded routes. It already has a flight to Delhi to Bhatinda, which will now get subsidy under the RCS; and on the cards are flights linking Shimla and Ludhiana to Delhi. Under UDAN, services should begin within six months of being awarded the route. The loss-making company at present has a fleet of 72-seater and 48-seater ATR aircraft that fly to 34 destinations. Under the RCS, Alliance has been awarded 15 routes. CS Subbiah, Chief Executive Officer, Alliance Air, admits there are risks involved in flying into markets few want to go, but is quick to add that the RCS plan will help. “Viability Gap Funding (VGF) fits into our business plan as we are allowed to go to a place where the Government is willing to subsidise part of the risk.” Under the RCS, the Government will provide VGF for fixed-wing aircraft covering 200-500km, provided at least 50 per cent of the seats are priced at an all-inclusive fare of ?2,500. It’s most likely that 18-20 seater aircraft will operate in many of these routes. The Government will provide the operator a viability gap funding of ?3,750 per seat sold under the RCS, up to a maximum of 40 seats per flight. The VGF has been capped at ?4,170 for routes that span 776-800km. To be eligible for the VGF, an airline will have to operate regular services to at least one airport, which at present does not have regular flights. “VGF will cover about 30 per cent of our costs. The costs associated with the risk of entry into a nascent market are partly covered by VGF ,” Subbiah says. The CEO says that the funding will help Alliance keep the fares low to woo customers who would otherwise travel by Shatabdi and Rajdhani trains. For instance, the flight from Bhatinda, home to one of the biggest Army cantonments, will allow a soldier to reach his family in Chennai in six to seven hours. A train journey would take more than 50 hours. Challenges At the same time, challenges remain. Says Subbiah, “The first four months are going to be crucial till we establish the product in the market and people start flying. First of all we need to create awareness.” In the past, non-availability of funding had forced the airline to withdraw from Chennai-Puducherry and Delhi-Durgapur-Kolkata routes. Then there are logistical issues too. Alliance’s Shimla flight, for instance, could run into some financial trouble. Given the height at which Shimla is located the airline will not be able to take more than 30 passengers from Delhi, while fewer than that number will be able to fly back (with a baggage allowance of 10kg per passenger). To make the Shimla flight financially viable the airline has also approached the Himachal Pradesh Government for financial assistance. While Subbiah declined to get into specifics, the airline is rumoured to have asked for over ?50 crore annually. However, Subbiah is keen to start the Shimla flight at the earliest as during the summer, people from Delhi will prefer to fly rather than spending hours by train or road to reach the hill station. He is hoping that the timing of the flight — in peak summer months — will save time on marketing the service. “We are keen to capture the traffic in the summer months so that by the time winter comes the traffic becomes regulated. Besides a lot of Government employees come down to Chandigarh, and taking the flight will save them a lot of time,” he points out. Depending on the success of the flight, Alliance could also look at increasing its frequency. This will also serve another purpose; as the aircraft flies more, the fixed costs get spread out. “Which means that the cost of operations is likely to come down. Affordability will increase so you can take more risks,” says Subbiah. He is also betting on success for another reason — Air India has a wide network locally and internationally, and passengers travelling from the interiors will be able to connect to the Air India network. “We feel that ultimately the regional networks have to converge into the national networks. We expect that in six months, transfer passengers (from Alliance to Air India and vice-versa) should be contributing about 20 per cent to our revenues. That will be very good traffic if we get it. This is slightly on an optimistic note. A pessimistic note will be about 10 per cent,” Subbiah concedes. Tiger Williams Womens Jersey
Dedicated import cargo processing area established
A dedicated import cargo processing area has been established at the Tiruchi international airport. The facility catering exclusively to import cargo dispatched in foreign airlines has been created adjoining the existing export freight terminal. The need for a dedicated import cargo processing area was felt as the one which existed earlier was converted into a full-fledged international courier terminal which is awaiting commissioning for several months now. The new area created to exclusively handle import cargo has been set up on over 150 square metres. It has been split into three segments – storage area, examination point and delivery area. A ramp has been provided to connect the import cargo processing area with the export freight terminal for easier movement of men and materials. The import processing area has access to the city side of the airport which has witnessed steady rise only in export cargo movements over the years. Brian Poole Authentic Jersey
Varanasi airport gets ‘major’ tag after handling more than 1.5 million flyers in 2016-17
Varanasi may have to wait a few more years for the ongoing redevelopment to show results but its airport already appears to have gained from its exalted status as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency. It was recognised as a major airport in January by the central government after it handled more than 1.5 million passengers in 2016-17, completing three years of above-average growth. The airport, which saw passenger growth of about 8% and 2% during FY13 and FY14, respectively, flew much higher than the national average of over 20% during the past three fiscal years starting fiscal 2014-15. The change will help Varanasi attract a larger share of the government’s airport investment plan. The airport’s financial plans and performance would also now be reviewed by Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), which would mean a professional assessment of its finances and charges. Charges at minor airports are calculated by the aviation ministry. “Varanasi has been one of the best-performing airports in the country and is growing further. Its growth can only be termed phenomenal,” said a senior aviation ministry official, who did not want to be identified. Industry analysts say that the passenger growth during the period at the airport is much higher than comparable airports such as Lucknow and Patna. “Overall, the growth in Varanasi does not seem to be driven by connectivity to more cities but the increased frequency of flights from existing cities,” said Sharat Dhall, chief operating officer at Yatra-.com, an online travel portal. “Major routes have been roughly the same during the last 4 years which leads to the prima facie conclusion that PM Modi representing Varanasi is drawing significant attention to this city,” Dhall said. “It does seem that Varanasi is enjoying the Modi effect with a clear surge in passengers to the city over the past 3 years, well ahead of other comparable cities such as Lucknow and Patna,” he said. Dhall said the growth will be sustainable “if the business and tourism projects initiated are executed upon and lead to Varanasi becoming a real hub for both business and tourism”. A tourism ministry official added that there are big plans to tap the city’s tourism potential which will further help the growth of the city. “There are plans to start a helicopter service with base in Varanasi that will connect Buddhist pilgrimage centres around the city. This will further give a boost to tourism and air travel in the city,” said the official who did not want to be identified. Mike Komisarek Authentic Jersey
Reliance commissions world’s largest and most complex Ethane Project in record time
India’s largest private company, Reliance Industries Ltd on Wednesday announced the completion of its Ethane Project. This includes commissioning of Reliance ethane receipt & handling facilities and ethane cracking, at its Dahej Manufacturing Facility in Gujarat in a world record time of less than three years. Reliance is the first company to globally conceptualize large-scale imports of ethane from North America as feedstock for its cracker portfolio in India. The project involved seamless integration of several elements across a complex infrastructure value chain. This includes securing ethane refrigeration capacity in the US Gulf coast; delivery of dedicated Very Large Ethane Carriers (VLECs) to carry ethane from the US Gulf Coast to the West Coast of India; construction of ethane receipt and handling facilities; laying pipelines and upgrading crackers (to receive ethane) at Dahej, Hazira and Nagothane Manufacturing Facilities. “This successful start-up underlines ours ability to build world-scale capacities and infrastructure using complex technologies, such as marine transportation of cryogenic ethane, handling of ethane at (-) 90 deg.C, supply of ethane to the crackers in an energy efficient way and pump ethane from Dahej to other locations. The execution of this project at this scale and magnitude is a first in the world,” the company said It added that the Shale Gas industry in North America has grown exponentially in the past 5 years. Consequently ethane has become one of the most competitively priced feedstock for US crackers. The supply of Ethane to our crackers at Dahej, Hazira and Nagothane will provide feedstock security and flexibility, enabling us to select the most optimal feed mix based on market conditions. This will improve the cost competitiveness of our existing crackers and enable us to optimize the portfolio in a volatile market environment. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is India’s largest private sector company, with a consolidated turnover of INR 2,96,091 crore ($44.7 billion), cash profit of INR 40,737 crore ($6.1 billion), and net profit of INR 27,630 crore ($4.2 billion) for the year ended March 31, 2016. RIL is the first private sector company from India to feature in Fortune’s Global 500 list of ‘World’s Largest Corporations’ – currently ranking 215th in terms of revenues, and 126th in terms of profits. RIL ranks 238th in the Financial Times’ FT Global 500 list (2015) of world’s largest companies. RIL ranks 121st on the Forbes Global 2000 list (2016), continuing to be the top-ranked Indian company. RIL’s activities span hydrocarbon exploration and production, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals, retail and 4G digital services. Edinson Volquez Jersey
Gehlot hits out at Pradhan, Raje over ‘half truths’ on refinery, says 4-yr-delay led to massive loss
By delaying the Barmer refinery project by four years, the state has suffered revenue loss, job loss and business loss, which together combined is much more than ?40,000 crore that the BJP government in Rajasthan claims to have saved by inking a fresh deal with HPCL, former chief minister Ashok Gehlot said Wednesday. The Congress leader also accused Union Minister for Petroleum Dharmendra Pradhan of speaking half truths and asked him to get the two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) – one signed during Gehlot’s tenure and the other by Vasundhara Raje government — probed. “The Union minister was here to announce the revised MoU, but he did not explain how ?40,000 crore was saved. He did not mention when the project will start making profits. The Union minister should have made the contents of the MoU public. What was stated Tuesday by Pradhan and CM Raje had no facts,” Gehlot said during a press conference at his residence. Rajasthan government and HPCL Tuesday inked a revised MoU of Rs 43,129 crore for setting up the refinery in Barmer district, which will produce BS-VI-compliant fuel. Under the new terms and conditions, the refinery cost has come down to Rs 16,845 crore, which was Rs 56,040 crore in the previous MoU done by the Congress government in 2013, Pradhan had said. “The project was delayed by four years resulting in revenue loss for state and delay in employment generation. It also delayed setting up of ancillary units and related businesses. Gujarat earned ?1,500 crore in VAT every year due to this delay. This loss combined together is much more than ?40,000 crore that state claims to have saved,” Gehlot said. He said the BJP government was “forced” to start the refinery project keeping in mind the state polls in 2018 and added “people will not forgive them for the crime”. He said Raje had questioned why state had only 26% equity share in the original MoU. Even the revised MoU has fixed state’s equity at 26%, he said. “The state share has not increased, rather refinery cost has escalated by ?6,000 crore. From the revised MoU it is unclear what the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) will be. When we inked the MoU, RRI was 15%. If the RRI is less in the revised MoU, then the state will earn less profit,” he said. He further said that “instead of misleading people by presenting partial facts, the union minister should direct the HPCL to get the both MoUs investigated to let the truth come out”. Gehlot said, the original MoU had put a condition that to avail ?3,736 crore interest free loan every year for 15 years, the joint venture company — HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Limited — would have to maintain the commercial production of at least 9 million metric tonne (MMT) per annum. In case of less production, the quantum of loan was to be reduced proportionately, he added. Hitting out Raje, the former chief minister said, “She was never interested in the refinery project. We had asked Cairn India in 2003 to set up the refinery and even initiated talks with the ONGC. However, Raje didn’t take it up after coming to power in 2004.” Magnus Paajarvi Womens Jersey
Government halves the size and financial aid for its largest-ever rooftop solar project
The renewable energy ministry has halved the size of its largest-ever rooftop solar tender and also cut the financial assistance offered for it. Ashvini Kumar, managing director of state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), which had released documents related to a tender for installation of 1GW of rooftop solar plants across buildings of 12 central ministries, told ET the tender size has been reduced to 500 MW. He did not provide any more details. The 1 GW project would have doubled India’s rooftop solar capacity from 1020 MW as of end October 2016. The tender also incentivised speedy completion of projects by linking the government’s financial assistance to it. For instance, in all states, apart from the special category ones, developers would get Rs 18,750 per KW as assistance if they completed at least 80% of the project within 15 months. Projects in special category states —mostly the hill states —would get Rs 45,000 per KW under the same terms. The figure was progressively lowered, depending on the extent of completion, while those who failed to get at least 40% of their project done in 15 months would get no assistance at all. An official who did not wish to be named, said, the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) has now earmarked Rs 1,040 crore as the total amount that will be available as financial assistance for the project. It has also slashed the assistance offered across the board — for instance, those completing 80% of their project in 15 months will now get Rs 16,250 per KW in the general category states and Rs 39,000 per KW in the special category ones. The actual assistance may be even less as the ministry has ruled that it should be no more than 25% of the benchmark cost of the project in general-category states and 60% in the special-category ones. The benchmark cost will be the lowest cost quoted during the bidding process. “It is true that developers are unhappy with the changes,” the official said. “Calculation of the roof area has been done aggressively,” said Sunil Bansal, general secretary, Rajasthan Solar Association. A developer who did not want to be named, said, “There is nobody at SECI at present to take ownership of rooftop development.” SECI’s Kumar refuted both allegations. Of the 500 MW, 150 MW will be set up under the capex model (where the building owner also owns the solar project) and 350 MW under the resco model (where the building owner leases the roof to the developer). According to SECI calculations, there is space available to set up 1,105.31MW of solar plants across 12 ministry building rooftops. Some ministries own staggeringly large rooftops —the SD Agricultural University in Palanpur, Gujarat, for instance, has enough rooftop space to install 375.67 MW of solar modules. Nolan Cromwell Jersey