Air India privatisation is unpatriotic and illogical, says former employees assoication
The employees union of Air India representing retired its personnel on Wednesday termed the government’s move to privatise the airline “unpatriotic” and “illogical” in a letter to civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju. The letter also says that the the government’s priority should be to restructure the airline’s huge debt. The All India Airlines Retired Personnel Association (AIARPA), which has written the letter, represents nearly 11,000 former employees of Air India. “Why has the government announced the decision to privatise AI — a decision taken in great haste — just at a time when the airline is on the verge of becoming profitable. “The move is unpatriotic as well as not logical at this point of time,” the union said in the letter. For the first time in a decade, the airline posted an operational profit of Rs 105 crore in 2015-2016. It rose to Rs 300 crore in 2016-2017. Nick Vigil Authentic Jersey
Low-cost flying in for the long haul
Barely hours after the Union Cabinet gave an in-principle approval to national carrier Air India’s strategic disinvestment late last month, India’s biggest low-cost airline IndiGo jumped into the fray showing interest in taking over the debt-laden, loss-making airline. However, at the heart of IndiGo’s interest lies its strategy to start long-haul international operations replicating a successful low-cost model which the airline follows on domestic routes. The airline’s promoters made it clear — the plan is to start long-haul international operations, with or without Air India. In May, another interesting development in the aviation space unfolded when low-cost airline SpiceJet’s chairman and managing director Ajay Singh said he planned to introduce a direct Delhi-London flight at ?30,000 for a round trip. The fare quoted by Mr. Singh was much lower than ?40,000-?45,000 a ticket being offered by other airlines on this popular route. He said the airline woud look at unbundling services such as food, beverage and Wi-Fi from the fare component, essentially sticking to a low-cost model on a longer duration international flight. The difference between a low-cost and a full-service carrier is simple. Low-cost airlines sell only the core product i.e. a seat to travel from one point to another to the passenger as a part of the airfare and passengers need to pay separately for the frills. Full-service airlines offer passengers a host of value added services, including in-flight meals, free beverages, and lounge for frequent fliers, among others but generally at a higher fare as these elements are packaged together. In India, the market share of low-cost airlines such as IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir has expanded from about 24% in 2006-07 to 65% in 2015-16 compared with full-service airlines such as Jet Airways and Air India. The compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.7% of low-cost airlines in the nine-year period compared with an 8% dip for full-service airlines shows that the former now occupied the imagination of the Indian flyer. But can the magic of a low-cost model in flightsof between one and three hours duration be replicated on a 10-12 hour journey on international flights? T.J. Green Authentic Jersey
How safe is our RGIA?
Hyderabad: Despite being billed as one of the busiest airports in the country, the vicinities of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Shamshabad continue to remain exposed and vulnerable. The Cyberabad police are literally losing their sleep over several sections of the airport that lack proper CCTV surveillance coverage, which were very recently identified as vulnerable points. According to the Cyberabad police, despite regular collaboration meetings with the security personnel and top officials from GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) on the issue, a fool-proof plan to install the best available CCTV surveillance technology has not been installed at RGIA. Security chinks call for care at Hyderabad airport In the recent meetings with the GHIAL, police department had apparently stressed on the need to have CCTV surveillance cameras at the identified vulnerable spots. “As many as 21 places were identified as vulnerable spots in RGIA. Essentially, these places cover the areas like runway, parking, ticket booking counters and arrival and departure points. The spots were identified based on earlier reported cases,” says Deputy Commissioner of Police, Shamshabad, PV Padmaja. The top police officials also rue lack of support from GHIAL in taking measures to secure the vicinities of the busy airport. “The proposal to strengthen security and CCTV surveillance had come up several times for discussions during the coordination meetings but action is yet to be initiated on this issue,” says DCP, Shamshabad said. Jarome Iginla Authentic Jersey
With Jet Airways’ new cost cutting policies, is it time for pilots to move on to greener pastures?
After Jet Airways asked its junior pilots, who joined the brand in 2016, to take a 30 percent pay cut or leave, the full-service airline has now reportedly asked its pilots to furnish surety bonds of up to Rs 1 crore. This is said to be the airline’s way of making sure that the pilots stay with the company for at least five to seven years. The National Aviators Guild (NAG), which is Jet Airways’ union, has said that the information has been passed on to the junior pilots. “They (junior pilots) have to give a seven year bond of Rs 1 crore, non-depreciating,” the Times of India quoted a source as saying. However, Jet Airways’ spokesperson told the Press Trust of India that the carrier has not asked for any kind of bond. “No new bonds (have been) asked for. It is just a pattern that has been introduced,” the Jet Airways spokesperson said. The NAG now plans to meet the airline’s management to discuss the bond as well as the pay cut notice that was sent to the junior employees last week. In a bid to trim costs, Jet Airways had made a few changes to the pilots’ contracts and it will now be mandatory for them to take 10 days of leave in a month apart from their weekly offs, which in turn will result in a 30 percent reduction in their salaries. The pilots have been given until the end of the month to take a decision. Matt Benning Jersey
Mjunction appointed to build a platform for e-bidding, e-evaluation of bids and e-allocation of oil & gas fields
Mjunction services limited, one of the country’s largest e-commerce companies and a 50:50 joint venture between Steel Authority of India Ltd and Tata Steel, has been appointed by the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) to build a platform for e-bidding, e-evaluation of bids, and e-allocation of oil and gas fields. This will enable transparent allocation of natural resources, and help reduce. the country’s oil import bill by $8 billion annually, a statement issued by mjunction on Monday said. Commenting on the development, mjunction CEO Vinaya Varma said: “I am happy we have been entrusted with the responsibility of building this platform, in addition to managing e-auction of spectrum for the Government of India. We have built up strong competencies in design and conduct of large value e-auctions, and I want to thank DGH for this nationally important contract.” DGH is the nodal agency under the ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for allocation of oil and gas fields to interested bidders for exploration and production activities. Varma said that mjunction will customise its e-bidding software to provide facilities to electronically receive and evaluate bids and to automatically allocate oil and gas fields under the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) framework, which was introduced in 2015. HELP replaced the 18-year-old New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP), and is expected to remove its various limitations which led to inefficiencies in exploiting natural resources. Justin Falk Authentic Jersey
Bangladesh Energy Division to seek approval on importing diesel from India
The Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD) will seek cabinet approval on the Sale Purchase Agreement (SPA) between India and Bangladesh for importing of High Speed Diesel (HSD) through the proposed 131 kilometres Indo-Bangla friendship pipeline. “We will send a proposal to the cabinet committee very soon in this regard,” an official of Energy and Mineral Resources Division told the Dhaka Tribune Sunday. On April 10 this year, India’s state-owned Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) signed an initial for SPA, which includes construction of a 131 km long pipeline from Siliguri to Parbatipur, with a capacity of one million Metric Ton per annum (MMTPA). The pipeline is supposed to connect NRL terminal of West Bengal’s Siliguri and BPC depot in Parbatipur of Dinajpur. The agreement will be effective for 15 years. The estimated cost is Rs 3.63 billion and it will take two years for the commissioning of the pipeline after signing the SPA. India will finance the pipeline as grant-in-aid. “Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation will pay Numaligarh Refinery Limited a premium of $5.50 per barrel,” BPC Director (operations and Planning) Sayed Mohammad Mozammel Haque told the Dhaka Tribune. He added: “The price of oil imported from India will be fixed according to international market rate.” The route survey for the pipeline has been completed and the detailed feasibility report has been prepared by Engineers India Limited. On the other hand, the government is set to build a diesel-fired 150 megawatt power plant in Saidpur of Nilphamari. The fuel for the plant will be imported from Numaligarh. On July 19, the cabinet committee on economic affairs approved the proposal for setting up the power plant through financing under an export credit agency. On January 12, 2017, a Railway rake containing 2,281 MT of high speed diesel was dispatched from NRL’s marketing terminal in Siliguri to Parbitipur BPC depot. The consignment containing 42 wagons travelled over 516km (253km in India and 263km in Bangladesh), on the existing railway line via Rangapani, Singabad, Rohanpur, to reach Parbatipur. Earlier, India and Bangladesh entered into a new era of petroleum trade with a goodwill train flagged off by the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas (Independent Charge) Dharmendra Pradhan on March 17 2016 from NRL’s Siliguri marketing terminal to Bangladesh. Andrus Peat Jersey
ONGC, OIL push crude oil output up by 0.24%, natural gas by 4%
The country’s crude oil output rose 0.24 per cent and natural gas production was up 4.04 per cent in the June quarter of 2017 due to a push from state-run companies like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India (OIL). Cumulative crude oil production by ONGC in Q1 was 5,640.77 Thousand Metric Ton (TMT), which is 0.22 per cent lower than the period’s target but 2.71 per cent higher than production during the year-ago period. OIL produced 839.86 TMT, about 5.22 per cent higher than the last year’s corresponding period. However, the production from private and joint venture (JV) fields dropped 6.23 per cent to 2,541.74 TMT y-o-y. The overall crude oil output in June 2017 was 0.6 per cent higher than June 2016, owing to a better performance by public sector undertakings. On the other hand, cumulative natural gas production during the April-June period rose 4.04 per cent to 8,057.72 million metric standard cubic meters (mmscm) y-o-y. During the quarter, ONGC produced 10.76 per cent higher than the year-ago period’s production, while OIL’s output fell 0.98 per cent compared to last year. Cumulative natural gas production by private and JV players in Q1 was 1,605.39 mmscm, 12.82 per cent lower than the production during the corresponding period of the last year. In June, the country’s natural gas production zoomed 6.05 per cent y-o-y. Closure of some wells in Rajasthan and Panna-Mukta majorly contributed to the drop in private sector’s crude oil production. Meanwhile, under performance of coal bed methane wells at Sohagpur West by Reliance Industries (RIL), closure of few wells in Raniganj East by Essar, delay in grant for petroleum mining lease in Hindustan Oil Exploration Company (HOEC) and closure of two wells in D1D3 field and one well in MA field in KG-DWN-98/3 by RIL are the major reasons behind the drop in natural gas production by private sector compared to the year-ago period. Refinery production in June 2017 was 20,057.80 TMT, 0.11 per cent higher than the target but 0.54 per cent lower y-o-y. Cumulative production in Q1 was 60,898.38 TMT, 1.04% higher than the output during the year-ago period. Chris Scott Jersey
Buy abroad diktat doesn’t worry India’s solar sector
India has to make suitable policy changes by December this year to remove measures it had undertaken to protect its fledgling solar manufacturing sector from foreign competition, according to a recent notice issued by the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). DSB adjudicates on trade disputes between national governments. “The United States and India have agreed that the reasonable period of time for India to implement the recommendations and rulings of the DSB in the dispute ‘India – Certain Measures Relating to Solar Cells and Solar Modules (WT/DS456)’ shall be 14 months from the October 14, 2016, date of adoption of the DSB recommendations and rulings. Accordingly, the reasonable period of time expires on December 14, 2017,” DSB said in a communication on June 16. “We have been given time till December and have been asked to complete all on-going projects. We will not be able to keep the provision of a secure market for Indian suppliers. Even Indian projects, which are owned by the private sector, cannot have Domestic Content Requirement (DCR),” said an official in India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). “However, WTO permits us to do projects by the government. So, if the government or its public sector units are undertaking a project, they have the provision of DCR.” On February 6, 2013, the United States had requested consultations with India concerning certain measures of the country relating to domestic content requirements for solar cells and solar modules. The matter reached the level of a dispute, was taken to the WTO, and was settled in October 2016 in the favour of the US. The June statement comes after India accepted the ruling. The December deadline is not a surprise, according to Raj Prabhu, CEO and co-founder of Mercom Capital Group, a clean energy consultancy. “Public sector units were already reluctant to tender DCR projects due to cost issues. The government has finally realised that it has to pay from its own pockets to pursue protectionist policies,” he told indiaclimatedialogue.net . “Some manufacturers will lose out, but most have not invested in R&D, so the result is not unexpected.” According to Bridge to India, a renewables consulting firm, India provided some breathing room to local manufacturers through DCR and toyed briefly with anti-dumping duties. However, such protectionist measures have not helped local manufacturing anywhere in the world and the share of imports in India has continued to go up from 74 per cent in 2014-15 to 89 per cent in 2016, it said. There are no real threats to the Indian solar industry in the short-term, Prabhu said. “The government is all for lowest power prices and it is doubtful they will disrupt the markets when they are getting solar power at cheaper prices than coal. With DCR tenders disappearing, some manufacturers will fail, but most of the jobs in solar are in project development and not manufacturing.” The Indian solar sector had brushed aside any worries earlier as well. However, there had been some concern just after the WTO ruling came out. Madhavan Nampoothiri, founder-director of RESolve Energy Consultants, also believes there will be no major impact due to this ruling. However, the capacity utilisation of domestic manufacturers, which is already low at an industry level, could go down further, Nampoothiri said. The MNRE official said private developers who own a project, and install and develop it on their own and then sell power to the discoms will not have the DCR component. But projects owned and undertaken by government-owned National Thermal Power Corporation, Coal India or Solar Energy Corporation of India will continue to have the local content policy. “We have a scheme called Central Public Sector Units (CPSU) and, under this, there was a target of 1,000 MW. Now, we are in the process of bringing the second phase of this scheme, which will have a target of 7,500 MW,” he said. “Once that comes, the Indian industry supplier will have an adequate market.” Prabhu explains that even when the DCR category was in place, Indian manufacturers were way behind the Chinese. “As of now, there is no competition between the two as Indian solar manufacturers form a negligible part of the global solar manufacturing industry. Solar tariffs have been going down largely due to cheaper Chinese modules, for example, in Rewa, Kadapa and the Bhadla solar parks. The Indian solar market is completely dependent on Chinese modules now and the Chinese are subsidising Indian solar installations.” “It is a fact that our suppliers are not competitive enough. Their prices are higher than the imported ones and that is precisely the reason why for the developer mode projects, they would always opt for the cheaper Chinese modules, since they have to compete,” said the MNRE official. “When it comes to bidding for a tariff, the cheapest one will give benefits, so they opt for it. This is unfortunate but is the case now.” Bridge to India suggests that instead of considering a short-term response to this issue, “the Indian government should consider long-term implications for the sector and send a clear policy signal to reduce uncertainty for all stakeholders.” India’s National Solar Mission talks of creating a domestic manufacturing supply chain. However, market dynamics have not supported that vision, says Prabhu. “Currently, the Indian module manufacturing business model is built on importing Chinese cells and assembling them in India.” The MNRE official said that the Indian government doesn’t want to remain dependent on imported solar cells modules and is committed to supporting the industry. “We will ensure that some kind of policy is always in place to support the solar industry,” he said. Tyler Myers Authentic Jersey
In two years solar energy for residential sector would be cheaper than electricity grid: Solar players
In the next two years, solar power will be cheaper than the electricity grid in the residential sector, says solar energy provider SunSource Energy which on Monday successfully implemented the first two phases of a 100 MW solar project in South East Asia. Stating that while the solar energy in India has already reached ‘grid parity’ in commercial, industrial and utility sectors, soon this would be achieved in residential sector as well. The grid parity happens when the cost of the electricity produced by an alternative source — solar in this case — becomes lesser or almost equal to that being supplied from the conventional source e.g coal. At present, India has installed capacity of 327 GW (One GW is equal to 1000 MW), of which about 40 GW is Solar (12 GW) and Wind energy (27 GW) combined. About 70 per cent of power comes from coal-based power plants and the remaining from hydro and other sources like biogas. “Solar energy in India has already reached grid parity in the commercial, industrial and utility sectors. In most scenarios, in the next two years solar power would be cheaper than the electricity grid in the residential sector as well,” said Adarsh Das, Co-Founder and CEO SunSource Energy. The solar company has designed and built over 100 solar projects across 18 states in India, with a focus on decentralised power projects. It is currently involved in nearly over 150 MW of solar projects in India and overseas. Its rooftop projects include the India Habitat Centre. “Aligning with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s target of 100 GW by 2022, including 40 GW from rooftop and decentralised projects, we are focused on developing, designing and building 400 MW of decentralised solar projects by 2022,” said Kushagra Nandan, Co-Founder of SunSource Energy. Chase Roullier Jersey
Distribution companies want to rework pacts as solar tariffs hit new low
Solar tariffs have fallen so dramatically that tariffs which were at record lows just three months ago no longer appeal to distribution companies, creating a big challenge for renewable energy companies. In April, French solar developer SolaireDirect won 250 MW in an NTPC conducted auction at Kadapah Solar Park in Andhra Pradesh, quoting a tariff of Rs 3.15 per kwH. At the time, this was a record low, beating the previous record of an average tariff of Rs 3.30 per kwH set in the auction conducted at Rewa Solar Park in Madhya Pradesh in February. But with tariffs having dropped even further, reaching an all-time low of Rs 2.44 per kwH at an auction conducted in May by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) at a solar park in Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh has made it clear to NTPC that it does not want solar power at Rs 3.15 per kwH, a tariff it now believes is too high. NTPC is left with the unenviable task of finding a new buyer. “We have given NTPC permission to find another off-taker,” said Ajay Jain, chairman, New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (NREDCAP). “We have said we will waive the transmission charges. There is no immediate requirement for us to take on this power.” NTPC officials refused to discuss the matter. French power giant Engie, which acquired SolaireDirect in 2015, was also unwilling to comment. Ever since solar tariffs began tumbling in the last few months, thanks to a steep global fall in the price of solar equipment, a number of state discoms have been regretting the relatively higher tariffs at which they agreed to buy solar power during earlier auctions. Uttar Pradesh has renegotiated the tariff for an auction it conducted in September 2015, despite having already signed the necessary PPAs. Jharkhand has been delaying signing PPAs with the winners of an auction conducted 16 months ago. But Andhra Pradesh does not even want to renegotiate – it is simply not interested any more. Andhra Pradesh added maximum amount of solar installed capacity among states in 2016-17, a sizeable 1,294.26 MW, achieving a cumulative installation of 1,867 MW by end March. Joe Vitale Authentic Jersey