Public Sector Enterprises under Petroleum Ministry command lions share of dividend income to exchequer: CAG
Over 40 per cent of the dividend proceeds to the exchequer from Public Sector Enterprises has been accrued from 14 government companies under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. The General Purpose Financial Report of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) noted that these 14 companies contributed ₹ 288.59 billion representing 40.90 per cent of the total dividend declared by all Government Companies and Corporations. In toto there were 644 Central Government Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) under the audit jurisdiction of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India as on March 31, 2018. These included 450 government companies, 188 government controlled other companies and 6 statutory corporations. The CAG report dealt with 420 government companies and corporations (including 6 statutory corporations) and 165 government controlled other companies. In all, 101 government companies and corporations declared dividend of ₹705.62 billion during 2017-2018. Out of this, dividend received/receivable by the centre stood at ₹422.29 billion. This represents an 11.83 per cent return on the total investment of ₹3570.64 billion in all government companies and corporations. The non-compliance to the government directive on declaration of dividend by 53 CPSEs has resulted in a shortfall of ₹94.1775 billion in the payment of dividend to the exchequer for 2017-2018. The report also said that 231 government companies and corporations earned profit of ₹ 1661.97 billion during 2017-2018 of which, 71.83 per cent (or ₹1193.79 billion) was contributed by 52 government companies and corporations in three sectors namely, petroleum, coal and lignite, and power. Raising concerns over the calculation of disinvestment proceeds, the CAG said, the government divested its share in 36 cases through different routes which includes income from Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) investment as part of disinvestment process which should not be part of disinvestment resulting in overstating the amount of disinvestment proceeds by ₹14 billion during 2017-2018. The CAG also said that the proposed disinvestment of centre’s 15 per cent stake in MMTC Limited and The State Trading Corporation of India Limited (STC) could not be implemented by August 21, 2017. This led to the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management missing out the opportunity to offload the shares at the best price.
INOX India Commissions Country’s First LNG Dispensing Station at Dahej, Gujarat
One of the global leaders in cryogenic liquid storage, distribution and re-gas solutions, INOX India commissioned the country’s first LNG Dispensing Station at Dahej in the Bharuch district, Gujarat. The LNG station has been commissioned at the Petronet LNG Terminal. Deepak Acharya, CEO, INOX India, comments, “Setting up of India’s first LNG dispensing station is a momentous occasion in the history of INOX India. More than a business milestone, the commissioning of India’s first LNG dispensing station for us is like fulfilling our responsibility towards the environment, and society at large. We have a vision of commissioning 25 more LNG/LCNG dispensing stations in the coming 2 years across the country. I also take this opportunity to thank Petronet LNG, TATA Motors and Petroleum & Explosive Safety Organization for being a part of this milestone”. Being cost-efficient, the use of LNG as a clean fuel would reduce air pollution and noise pollution. The stations would dispense fuel to the buses which are expected to ferry staff of Petronet LNG from Bharuch town to Dahej, which is 50 km. It also brings down the vehicle maintenance cost as compared to diesel buses. The initiative also supports the Government of India’s vision to rise the use of natural gas in the country’s energy mix that allows the use of safe and environment-friendly fuel across different parts of the country. Established in 1992, INOX India is now a market leader in the highly challenging field of vacuum insulated cryogenic equipment in India and across the world. It has created a wide-ranging portfolio of materials and engineering intellectual properties such as cryogenic standard products, cryogenic engineered tanks, and systems, large ASU SVD projects, LNG turnkey solutions and more.