Strict action for not refunding taxes, levies on cancelled flight tickets: Aviation minister Gajapathi Raju
Aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju today warned airlines and travel portals of “strict action” if they did not refund taxes and levies to passengers for the cancelled tickets. Civil Aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, in a series of tweets, said the practice of not refunding taxes and levies to passengers for a cancelled ticket was “against” the existing DGCA regulations and that he had received several complaints in this regard. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had last year put in place new passenger-friendly air ticket cancellation rules. The rules make it mandatory for airlines to provide an unambiguous detail of the refund to a passenger. “I’ve received complaints that no refunds are being given by airlines/travel portals against cancellation for several ticket categories,” Raju said in a tweet. “This is against existing DGCA regulations. All Govt. (sic) taxes and levies have to be refunded under all circumstances,” he said in another tweet. “Instances of such violations should be brought to the notice of DGCA and it will take strict action,” the minister tweeted. Donte Jackson Jersey
Will Modi keep his Paris pledge or dump it like Trump did? These 3 factors will decide:View
As soon as Donald Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement on climate change, eyes turned eastward. Even as the US reneges on its promises, the argument now goes, China and India will show leadership instead; they at least are committed to low-carbon growth. I wouldn’t be so sure, at least where India is concerned. It is true that the Indian government has reiterated its Paris pledges. But Trump’s decision has nevertheless opened a door for India to revise its own very stringent commitments as and when they become problematic. While they haven’t yet reached that point, they may well do so, and soon. The positive story about India and climate change rests on the idea that, although the country remains heavily dependent on coal-based power plants, it may add to its stock of such plants much more slowly than was earlier anticipated. In fact, given that coal plants that will produce more than 50,000 megawatts of electricity are already being constructed, the government’s most recent energy plan estimates that no additional coal-burning capacity will be needed between now and 2027. Questions are rightly being raised about whether it’s profitable any longer to invest in new coal plants in India. But here’s the problem. All such studies make a couple of very big assumptions about the future — assumptions which, given Indian history, are dangerous. Here’s the first assumption: that India will meet its targets for generating renewable power. The government wants to build 100 gigawatts of solar capacity by 2022. At best, this year, it will install around 10 gigawatts — and this has been a very good year. In fact, so many companies have been bidding furiously for solar power plants recently that auctions have produced unsustainably low per-unit prices for renewable energy. What happens if the bubble bursts over the next few years, and some of these companies start going bankrupt? Won’t investors be turned off then? And, if so, where will the remaining thousands of megawatts of solar power capacity come from? The second worrying assumption is that new coal power plants won’t produce electricity at a lower cost than new renewable energy projects. To ensure that happens, the government would have to enforce onerous environmental regulations and, of course, plant owners would have to believe they can’t quietly ignore those regulations once their facilities are up and running. This is, effectively, circular reasoning. One can’t assume that India will meet its Paris targets because of the price of coal, since ensuring that coal will be expensive assumes that India’s government is committed to its Paris targets! And, finally, there’s a third, even more problematic assumption underlying the headlines about India turning away from coal: that India’s economy is a monolith. In fact, even if the central government wants to promote green energy, even if, overall, new coal projects might not make sense, individual new coal projects might. Perhaps only a few such projects can be profitable. But many companies and investors, especially those that have political connections, are sure to be convinced that their project will somehow wind up being the profitable one, if they can only get the right concessions from one or another government authority. In other words, zero new coal capacity might be needed till 2027. But there’s no reason to feel confident that zero new coal capacity will be added. India isn’t like China, or the US, or Australia or Germany when it comes to meeting its Paris pledges. In India, hundreds of millions of people still live without electricity — a big part of what keeps them desperately poor. India also has a shrunken manufacturing sector, partly because electricity is so expensive (relatively) and its supply so variable. No democratically accountable Indian government can ever favor an international agreement over fixing these two problems. Remember this: Coal looks bad in India at the moment because its economy is struggling and because it is so services-intensive. Over the past few years, coal plants have used less and less of their capacity as growth has slowed. In other words, nobody in India has had to make a real choice between growing manufacturing and sticking to the country’s climate commitments. But, if India’s economy does take off, Prime Minister Narendra Modi might indeed be faced with such a choice. Modi — who as a chief minister decried climate deals as infringing on Indian sovereignty — has already gone out on a limb and reversed decades of Indian climate policy in signing the Paris agreement. If he’s ever actually confronted with that choice — one that’s much more real than the one Donald Trump faced — I wouldn’t be as sure as all the headline-writers that he won’t follow Trump’s lead. Cameron Jordan Jersey
Private power transmission cos seek more projects via competitive bids
Private power transmission companies have written to the government seeking greater participation in project execution via tariff based competitive bidding route (TBCB) and have said most projects still are awarded through nomination basis. In separate letters written to the Ministry of Power by the Electric Power Transmission Association (EPTA) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), it has been said that still most projects are awarded on nomination basis which is hurting the private sector. FICCI, in the letter addressed to power secretary PK Pujari, said that that private sector participation in the transmission sector will be key to the growth of this infrastructure segment and added that while generation has increased at 11 per cent over last six years, transmission has grown at only 6 per cent. Since 2009, only 50 transmission projects have been awarded via TBCB route. The industry body further said as of now, around 6.7 per cent of power transmission network in the country is operated by private players while in generation private sector contributes for around 44 per cent capacity. Both the letters have also urged for regular meetings of both empowered and standing committees that decide the awarding of these transmission projects. “Lately, we have seen very infrequent EC meetings and number of projects being cleared for implementation through TBCB route are also limited… This essentially reduces the availability of projects for private sector besides discouraging growth in transmission sector,” FICCI said. It said in the 36th meeting of the Empowered Committee last year, nine projects were awarded each via TBCB and nomination basis while a year before that, 23 of 29 projects were given on nomination. EPTA has also stressed on inclusion on transmission licensees in regional power committees as per norms laid down by the ministry of power. It said that inputs from transmission licensees would “certainly add value to the decision making for planning future projects”. According to (EPTA), since April 2011, around 50 transmission projects have been awarded through TBCB route with an approximate investment of Rs 64,000 crore, which is around 19 per cent of the total investment made in the transmission sector during that time. As per a power sector expert, while a lot of investments were promised in the sector by the government, not many projects have come up so far. In 2015-16, power minister Piyush Goyal had said that investments to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore was expected in the power transmission sector. But as per report, only 13 projects with around Rs 18,000 crore worth were awarded through the TBCB route, of which Power Grid won four. Separately, the company later said, it has commissioned Rs 30,000 crore worth projects in 2015-16. Last year, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission had issued a statutory advice to the ministry to facilitate development of transmission capacity manner under TBCB route. Akeem Spence Authentic Jersey
India’s power plants stranded as 50 million homes left in the dark
India is scaling back expectations for power demand growth as it struggles to electrify millions of homes despite a glut in generation capacity. The world’s second-most populous nation is building more power plants than it can utilize as state-level distributors struggle to connect 50 million households, according to Ravindra Kumar Verma, head of the Central Electricity Authority, the power ministry’s planning arm. As a result, about 25 gigawatts of coal-fired power-generating capacity is “stranded” and unused, he said. That’s equivalent to the entire installed capacity of neighbouring Pakistan. Demand growth for power is slowing as state distribution companies, known as discoms, struggle to purchase enough electricity for the populations they serve. Most discoms lose money selling below cost to poor and agricultural customers and through power theft. The CEA defines demand as the amount of electricity that distributors buy, not necessarily how much would be needed for the whole country, helping explain why millions still lack power and several cities face regular blackouts despite the under-utilized capacity. “We were thinking that the entire demand will come on the system, but it has not happened that way,” Verma said in an interview in New Delhi on Tuesday. “When discoms turn around is the point when we will get close to 24/7 power. That’s where all the constraint lies.” Electricity use is estimated to grow 6.2 per cent a year over the six years ending March 2022. Consumption over the previous six years expanded 5.3 per cent, missing a 7.6 per cent forecast, the CEA said in its latest power survey report published this year. The lower-than-expected growth rate led the agency to temper its outlook, Verma said. “Projections are estimated growth rates worked out on the basis of certain assumptions. If the assumptions slip, then projections are hit,” he said. India is on track to add 102 gigawatts of conventional power projects in the five years ended March 2017, compared with a target of 88.5 gigawatts, according to country’s Draft Electricity Plan published in December. At the same time, the country’s gas-fired plants, which can generate nearly 25 gigawatts of power, are running at less than a quarter of their capacity, according to the plan. The country’s capacity totaled 329 gigawatts, with more than half of that coming from coal-fired plants, according to CEA data. David Desharnais Jersey
Indizel, India s first non-petroleum diesel, launched
My Eco Energy, a private company, has launched the first ever non-petroleum based diesel fuel in India. Called Indizel, it is claimed to be Euro 6 compliant and is made from renewable vegetable oils amongst other raw materials. The company has about five outlets in India as of now with more than 500 outlets in the pipeline before its public launch in September. Indizel, is a substitute to the regular diesel offered by the state-run petroleum enterprises and private players like Reliance and Shell. It will require absolutely no modifications to the existing diesel engines. Since the sulphur content is less than 10ppm as against 550ppm of petroleum diesel, the exhaust gases are claimed to be significantly less harmful. In terms of the standards, it adheres to the EN590 EURO6 norms or the BIS IS 1460 BS-VI norms and is certified for retail usage in the Indian market. Santosh Verma, co-founder, My Eco Energy, says “Indizel is a preferred fuel as it is made from biodegradable products and should contribute towards solving some of today’s most pressing environmental concerns. It offers better fuel efficiency, a smoother ride and lower engine maintenance thanks to its cleaner roots.” The company plans to expand to 4,000 outlets in the next two to three years and expects to gain 5 to 10 per cent market share in diesel. To start with, Indizel will be shipped from Malaysia. But setting up a manufacturing unit in India is on the cards as well. Harold Landry Womens Jersey
IOC sets extensive maintenance shutdown plans for units
Indian Oil Corp has lined up an extensive maintenance turnaround plan for its refineries in 2017, sources with knowledge of the plan said, which could force the country’s top refiner to tap overseas markets for gasoline and diesel to meet rising local demand. IOC plans to shut a 150,000 barrel per day (bpd) crude unit at its 300,000 bpd Panipat refinery in northern India and an associated naphtha cracker plant for about a month in July, the sources said, freeing up some naphtha for exports. IOC also plans to shut a 160,000 bpd Mathura refinery for 15 days from Aug 25; its 120,000 bpd Barauni refinery in Bihar for about five weeks in July-August; and a 150,000 bpd Haldia plant in West Bengal of the country for about three weeks in November-December for a flare job. IOC plans to shut the only crude unit at its 300,000 bpd coastal Paradip refinery in Odisha for about three weeks for repairs in October to enhance its capability to process tough grades, the sources added. The refiner has already shut some units at its 274,000 bpd Koyali refinery in Gujarat for revamp and maintenance from June 1. There is not likely to be any planned shutdowns in the first quarter of 2018, because state refiners normally do not plan maintenance in the last quarter of their fiscal year, when they ramp up runs to meet annual production targets. The company may change dates for the planned shutdowns depending on local fuel demand and the turnaround plans of other refiners, the sources said. No comment was available from IOC. Russell Martin Authentic Jersey