Prepared for CNG stir: Mahanagar Gas Limited
With some private CNG private pump owners planning a strike to demand higher commission among other issues, Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) on Sunday issued a notice saying it was prepared with ‘alternatives’ . MGL has seven lakh consumers in Mumbai region. A private CNG pump owner told TOI that 36 pumps could shut down in protest if MGL reduced commission rates and insisted on taking private pumps on “long-term lease”. If there is a shutdown, it could inconvenience scores of vehicle owners. MGL said its board recently approved new business models which will govern conditions of dealing with dealers, while laying stress on optimised remunerations and improved customer service standards.
ONGC lists $300 million MTN issue on India INX
BSE-owned India International Exchange (India INX) on Friday said it has listed state-owned ONGC’s USD 300 million medium-term note issue on its debt listing platform. The maiden issue is part of ONGC’s medium term note (MTN) programme to raise up to USD 2 billion in overseas borrowings through debt-instrument. The notes under the programme have been issued at a coupon rate of 3.375 per cent due in 2029, the release said. India INX is the country’s first debt listing platform that allows raising funds in any currency of choice by both foreign and Indian issuers from investors across the globe. “We are happy to be part of India INX at IFSC, GIFT City to list ONGC’s maiden issue of USD 300 million … which offers opportunity to reach out to international investors to raise funds in a similar manner in other international markets in addition to providing single window facility for compliance reporting, ” ONGC Chairman and managing director Shashi Shanker said in a statement. Since the launch of global securities market, medium-term notes worth USD 47 billion and bonds worth USD 17.9 billion have been listed on the platform so far, India INX said. India INX is India’s first International Exchange set up at Gujarat International Finance Tech-City (GIFT City).
RUCO Express launched in Dehradun, to collect used cooking oil & convert it into biofuel
With an aim to collect used cooking oil and convert it into biofuel, a Repurposed Used Cooking Oil (RUCO) van was flagged off in the city on Friday. The RUCO Express is a joint initiative of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP), Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and GATI Foundation. The RUCO van will collect used cooking oil from residents, bakers, restaurants, and sweet shop owners of the city. The collected oil will be sent to IIP where scientists will convert the same into bio-fuel. IIP has announced to purchase the used cooking oil at Rs 20 per kilogram. Notably, IIP is the only organisation in the world that converts cooking oil into biofuel at room temperature. Dr Pankaj Pandey, FDA secretary and the chief guest of the event, said that re-using used cooking oil harms human health and hence there is a need for mass awareness. With greater public participation, we can ensure that more and more used cooking oil is converted into bio-fuels. Besides FDA official Ganesh Kandwal and GATI Foundation member Anoop Nautiyal, more than 12 hotel/restaurant owners, including Kumar Sweets, Anandam Sweets, Aerodine Restaurant, and Ellora’s Bakery, also attended the event. In his address, Kandwal pointed out that FSSAI has also framed guidelines regarding use of cooking oil in restaurants and the owners of eateries should adhere to them. “No cooking oil should be used more than three times. Also, if oil’s Total Polar Compound (TPC) level crosses 25%, then too it should be avoided. After each use, the cooks should filter the oil to segregate the food particles that are left in the oil,” he said. Anjan Ray, director of CSIR-IIP, stressed how important used cooking oil can be for making biofuel. He explained how the bio diesel prepared from used cooking oil can be a great alternative of conventional diesel. The bio-fuel will cause less pollution, increase the life span of the engine, and hence of the vehicle. Senior scientist from CSIR-IIP Neeraj Atray, who patented the idea of preparing bio-diesel from used cooking oil at room temperature, spoke about the process of conversion. “We simply place the used cooking oil in the set-up we have at our institute. Then the trans-esterification is carried out in presence of an alkaline catalyst,” he said.
DGH launches single window clearance system
The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) has launched a single window clearance system that connects upstream companies to different arms of the government, allows electronic filing of most applications, and sharply cuts time taken in obtaining numerous clearances. Oil and gas producers lose a significant amount of time and energy on obtaining countless permits from central and state governments for a range of things from mining lease to field development plan, budget, essentiality certificate, environment and vessel movements on sea. Slow grant of permits squeezes time available to companies for actual work on the ground, delaying the project on many occasions. The single window clearance system by DGH, the technical arm of the oil ministry, aims to attack these problems. “Under the new exploration licensing regime, a company gets 3-5 years for exploration as against 5-7 years earlier. So, if the government is reducing time given to companies for exploration, it would also need to help companies do more in less time,” said an official. The portal, just a few months old, is still adding new features every month by getting more and more stakeholders to connect to the system. At present, the DGH, Ministries of Defence and Home, and some state governments, which have oilfields, are already connected to the portal. The GST authority, another key stakeholder, has agreed to it in principle and got a software system ready that would link to DGH’s portal, but is yet to operationalise it.
To phase out diesel autos, Gurugram admin plans incentives for those making the green switch
The January 1 deadline to take diesel autos off city roads is less than a month away, but it appears unlikely that the target will be met. To give things a push, the district administration is planning to incentivise the switch from diesel to eco-friendly alternatives for auto drivers. At a closed-door meeting between chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and officials of the Regional Transport Authority (RTA), the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and other government departments, the CM said phasing out diesel autos needs to be prioritised to address pollution and traffic problems. While the chief minister did speak about the need to address pollution, he had a word of caution for all departments — don’t antagonise auto drivers. The instruction is in line with how things have panned out till now. In 2015, the EPCA had ordered a complete ban on diesel autos in NCR. In November this year, additional deputy commissioner and RTA secretary Imran Raza had announced an action plan to make sure the city’s 11,000 diesel autos go off the roads by January 1. Half-way through the period determined for the implementation, the target appears to be distant. RTA and GMDA officials, however, said they are following through on the plan. RTA and the district administration are considering e-rickshaws at subsidised rates for diesel auto drivers. The GMDA has proposed to link CNG auto services with city bus services to provide last-mile connectivity, with a trial run on one route on the basis of which it may be expanded. “The proposal is still at a nascent stage. We will deliberate on other modalities – like how much subsidy is needed, if and at what rate the government can buy these autos and if auto services can be streamlined. In the next few days, there will be more discussions and a concrete plan will be laid out,” said DCP (traffic) Himanshu Garg, who also holds additional charge as the CEO (mobility) of GMDA. But there are quite a few challenges ahead. “We need to have a broader perspective. We can’t just decide something today and make these autos illegal the next day. So many livelihoods are involved. So many people depend on these autos for their commutes. The idea should be to replace them with environmentally sustainable options,” Garg said, adding, “It will be an injustice to the auto drivers who have recently acquired a permit. Such transitions need more planning. The good thing is that everyone is on the same page.” Besides, these diesel autos ferry passengers on a sharing basis and are much cheaper than buses or CNG autos. RTA officials said that awareness drives are being conducted across the city to tell auto drivers why should switch to CNG autos. The switch would be in line with GMDA’s draft mobility plan, which has drawn attention to the need to have a better public transport network in the city.