Ajmer, Kota at work to realise ‘smart’ dream
Ajmer and Kota districts which couldn’t make it to the list of first 20 cities for smart city project will be vying for a spot in the second list. After these two districts were rejected in the first round, the state government is upgrading its smart city proposal and working on the shortcomings highlighted by the Centre. The reworked proposal will be submitted before June, the final deadline. In this regard, the state government has appointed a consultant firm, ICRA, for preparing action plans for these two cities. A local self-governance (LSG) official said, “The state government has appointed a new consultant to prepare the detailed project report (DPR). We are hopeful that these cities will be selected in the second list. The DPR will be submitted in June.” For Ajmer, the state government has also joined hands with US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) which will assist administration and municipal officials in preparing a roadmap for the smart city proposal. After these cities failed to secure a position in first list, the Union ministry of urban development had announced a provision of ‘fast-track round’. In all, 23 cities will compete in the ‘fast-track round’ to qualify for the second list. As per the proposal, Ajmer will be developed on retrofitting model, while Kota will be developed on green-field model. An official explained that there will be three approaches – retrofitting, redevelopment and green-field development. Under the retrofitting scheme, a city can undertake an area of minimum 500 acres and implement the scheme in three years. Similarly, in the case of green-field development, the project area can be a vacant land spread over at least 250 acres and the project can be completed in 10 years. For Ajmer, the state had earlier proposed to develop 1,334-acre area, out of which Rs 925 crore was proposed for area-based development and Rs 341 crore for pan-city development. The major development was proposed in the north side of Anna Sagar Lake in Ajmer. Similarly, for Kota which is to be developed as a green city, the state had proposed 395 acre area adjoined to Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) near Ranpur Village. It was proposed that Rs 1,045 crore will be spent to develop the area, and Rs 437 crore for the pan city development.
India’s thirst for oil is overtaking China’s
India’s rise dovetails with a reopening by Iran, once the second-biggest producer in Opec until sanctions choked output and investments. India is increasingly becoming the centre for oil demand growth as its economy expands by luring the kind of manufacturing that China is trying to shun. And just like China a decade ago, India is trying to hedge its future energy needs by investing in new production at home and abroad. India may have one advantage that China didn’t. While China’s binge came during a commodity super-cycle that saw WTI crude reach a high of $147.27 a barrel in 2008 – due in no small part to its demand – India’s spurt comes during the biggest energy price crash in a generation. While oil has tumbled more than 50 per cent from mid-2014 levels, India spent $60 billion less on crude imports in 2015 than the previous year even while buying four per cent more. “In addition to the boost from low oil prices, structural and policy-driven changes are under way which could result in India’s oil demand taking off in a similar way to China’s during the late 1990s, when Chinese oil demand was at levels roughly equivalent to current Indian oil demand,” said Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst for Energy Aspects in London. In 1999, China’s economy was less than a 10th of its current size of more than $10 trillion, and bicycles vied for space with taxis and buses on crowded streets in major cities like Shanghai. In the ensuing 17 years, the economy grew from the seventh largest in the world to the second largest. Vehicle sales surged and oil demand has nearly tripled since then, positioning the country to overtake the US as the world’s largest crude importer this year. China’s thirst for energy sent its companies on an unprecedented buying binge on every continent (except Antarctica), scooping up $169 billion worth of energy assets overseas in the past 10 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. India’s rise dovetails with a reopening by Iran, once the second-biggest producer in Opec until sanctions choked output and investments. Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan will lead a delegation this month to Iran. India is working with the Persian Gulf state to develop a port in Chabahar, near Iran’s border with Pakistan and about 800 kilometres from India’s west coast. The two countries are also discussing economic zones and joint projects on fertiliser plants and petrochemical projects. India appears to be in the same position China was at the start of its growth binge. Asia’s third-biggest economy consumed four million barrels of oil last year, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), and is expected to surpass Japan as the world’s third-largest oil user this year. It will be the fastest-growing crude consumer in the world through 2040, according to the IEA, adding 6 million barrels a day of demand, compared to 4.8 million for China. Just like China’s ascent, the growth is being driven by manufacturing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India campaign aims to create 100 million new factory jobs by 2022 and increase manufacturing’s share of the economy to 25 per cent from about 18 per cent when he took office in 2014. Manufacturing drives oil use both by increasing the amount of goods that need to be moved around on ships and trucks, and by raising living standards of workers. Rising wages allowed Indians to purchase a record 24 million new vehicles in 2015. “In a growing economy, where there is so much of emphasis on manufacturing, naturally the demand for energy will grow,” B Ashok, chairman of Indian Oil Corporation, said in an interview. “The emphasis on manufacturing and infrastructure building contributes a lot to increasing the employment potential, besides bringing in a lot of investments. There is bound to be a lot of more movements on the roads, in terms of goods and services and passengers.” India already relies on imports for 80 per cent of its oil and products needs, so it is also following China’s game plan of investing in energy-producing assets. Indian companies pledged $3 billion in asset purchases outside the country in the fourth quarter of 2015, the highest level since 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Firms have proposed paying $5 billion toward Siberian oil and gas fields, which would make their equity share about 250,000 barrels a day, compared with total domestic output of 760,000. The timing for such investments is fortunate because low energy prices have made many global majors wary of pouring money into oil and gas fields, said Vikas Halan, Moody’s Investors Service lead analyst for oil and gas companies in South and Southeast Asia. In the past, Indian companies would be elbowed out of the way of such acquisitions by deeper-pocketed competitors, including Chinese oil companies. “What is happening now is that a lot of companies, who were in competition earlier, are not able to compete,” Halan said. “It is effectively a free run for companies who have been sitting on cash, like the Indian ones.” India is also developing its own energy resources. State-owned explorer Oil & Natural Gas Corporation recently approved $5 billion more to develop a field off the east coast, even as oil firms worldwide delay more than $380 billion of projects. This could add about 10 per cent to India’s oil production and 18 per cent to its natural gas output, data compiled by Bloomberg show. “Economic expansion is priority for the Modi government, and energy is a key part of that story,” said Virendra Chauhan, a Singapore-based oil analyst for Energy Aspects. “Indian energy companies will be strategic in their buying. With prices where they are, it makes sense.”
IOC in thick of action as India’s fuel demand explodes
With India’s fuel demand set to take off, state-owned refiner Indian Oil Corporation finds itself in the thick of action. After commissioning its largest refinery at Paradip, IOC has drawn up a Rs 150 billion investment plan to expand capacity of its Gujarat, Barauni, Mathura and Panipat refineries in order to cater to fast-growing fuel demand in the country, according to a senior executive of the company.IOC board has already approved the investment plan. “We have lined up Rs 150 billion-investment plan for capacity expansion at Gujarat, Barauni, Mathura and Panipat refineries,” said Sanjiv Singh, director-refineries, IOC told UNI. The company has already done capacity expansion at these refineries through debottlenecking route. Meanwhile, as the country gears up to switch over euro IV and VI auto fuel norms from 2017 and 2020 respectively, the state-owned refiner is undertaking technological upgrades at its refineries, which may cost it over Rs 18,000 crore.IOC, along with Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum, the two other public sector refiners, is already working to set up India’s largest refinery in Maharashtra with an investment of Rs 1,500 billion. The proposed refinery will have 60 million ton per annum capacity. To put it in the perspective, India’s total refining capacity is 215 million ton. India’s petroleum demand is projected to more than double to 470-500 million ton per annum by 2040, which would necessitate additional investment of 62 billion dollar, as per official estimates. Luckily for IOC, it has been freed of petroleum subsidy burden just in time to be able to focus on capacity expansion and technological upgrades.”Our cash flows have improved and working capital requirement has come down,” Singh said.
Iran exporting 350,000 bpd oil to India, hopes for more: Shana news
Iran is exporting around 350,000 barrels of crude oil a day to India and hopes to increase this number, Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh was quoted as saying on Saturday after meeting Indian counterpart Dharmendra Pradhan. The Shana news agency, linked to Iran’s oil ministry, quoted Zanganeh as saying Indian oil purchases from Iran were at 350,000 barrels a day, and that “we hope this number will increase now that sanctions have been lifted”. The two ministers signed a cooperation agreement covering oil exports, the petrochemical sector and the development of a gas field, though there were no reports of any final deals being signed. Pradhan said India was ready to invest $20 billion in the port of Chabahar port in southeastern Iran, according to Shana, adding that “Iran and India’s energy ties are no longer limited to crude oil imports”. Industry sources last week said Indian refiners are looking to ramp up purchases of Iranian crude after sanctions on Tehran were lifted in January, bringing India’s imports to at least 400,000 bpd in the coming year. The Shana news agency, linked to Iran’s oil ministry, quoted Zanganeh as saying Indian oil purchases from Iran were at 350,000 barrels a day, and that “we hope this number will increase now that sanctions have been lifted”. Zanganeh added that Indian companies were looking to invest in oil, gas and petrochemical projects in Iran, but that reaching deals was “a difficult task and needs time”.
Does elevated road projects mean a boon or nightmare for residents of Bengaluru
What is common between chief minister Siddaramaiah’s budget and the Bengaluru civic corporation’s budget? Both of them show a vigour to pursue elevated road projects for Bengaluru, a city struggling to manage its nightmarish traffic. Well, almost as if it is the single, sure-shot solution to this ever growing problem. A number of projects, some new and some old, have been announced. One of them is estimated to cost a whopping Rs 18,000 crore: a 100-km road-on-road elevated corridor covering Silk Board to Hebbal, KR Puram to Tumakuru Road and Varthur to Mysuru Road. Another one is a flyover from Pipeline Road to Ring Road through Kurubarahalli, for which BBMP has earmarked Rs50 crore. Then there are older plans such as the steel bridge from Minerva Circle to Town Hall at a cost of Rs 134 crore and a similar one at Shivananda Circle that is estimated to cost Rs 46.7 crore. The cost of grade separators at Suranjan Das Road, Old Madras Road, Sarjapura-Haralur junction, Hulimavu junction, Arakere junction, Sony World junction and a flyover from Cox Town to Banaswadi -which have all been announced with much fanfare -is yet to be determined. Meanwhile, Sathya Sankaran, a founding member of civic group Praja RAAG, has floated a petition on Change.org, urging the government to drop elevated roads or flyover projects and focus instead on ramping up public transport. With over 200 signatures so far, the petition has sparked off a debate among experts on whether flyovers could mean a boon or simply end up being irrevocable mistakes. ET gets two experts to join the debate.
UIDAI cautions e-comm players, public against sharing Aadhaar information
The Unique Identification Authority of India cautioned e-commerce companies such as E-Bay, Flipkart, Amazon not to allow their merchants to collect Aadhaar information from general public for printing Aadhaar cards. It also cautioned general public against sharing their personal information, who are being asked to pay anywhere between Rs 50 to Rs 200 on a plastic card in the name of smart card, the Ministry of Communications and IT said in a statement. “The Aadhaar card or the downloaded Aadhaar card printed on ordinary paper is perfectly valid for all uses,” said Director General of UIDAI, Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey. “If a person has a paper Aadhaar card, there is absolutely no need to get his/her Aadhaar card laminated or obtain a plastic Aadhaar card or so called SMART Aadhaar card by paying money. There is no concept such as smart Aadhaar card,” he added. In addition, referring to e-commerce portals allowing merchants to ask for Aadhaar card details the statement said “collecting information related to Aadhaar card or its unauthorized printing or aiding such persons in any manner may amount to a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment under Indian Penal Code and also Chapter VI of The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016”.
In 2015-16, record 6,029 km of highways constructed
The construction of highways touched an all-time high of 6,029 km during 2015-16. Prior to this, a maximum of 5,732 km of national highway was constructed during 2012-13. Officials said while NHAI reported construction of nearly 2,000 km, the rest came from works done by the road transport ministry through its agencies including state public works departments, Border Roads Organisation and ministry’s entity NHIDCL for undertaking works in hill states. TOI on January 10 had first reported how the total construction was set to cross 6,000-km mark. Though surpassing 2012-13 record by merely constructing one extra km per day may not be that big achievement, sources said the increased pace of construction will now continue for the next few years.
Govt committed to supplying Euro VI fuel: Nitin Gadkari
Government is committed to supplying Euro VI compliant fuel which will be at par with international standards, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said. “Euro VI fuel will be supplied by the Petroleum Ministry complying to international norms,” Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari told PTI. Dismissing any apprehensions of diluting the fuel standards as false, the minister said government is making sure that “whatever standards have been fixed in the world for Euro VI, will be supplied here.” Automobile industry body Siam had recently criticised the BS VI fuel standards announced in the draft notification by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, saying it was diluted. Siam alleged that BS VI fuel norms in the draft is “inferior” to Euro VI norms. Terming the allegations “false” the minister said petroleum refineries were making a huge investment to supply Euro VI compliant fuel, which will minimise pollution that has become a big problem. The government had earlier estimated that refineries in the country will invest about Rs 30,000 crore to upgrade to the Euro VI fuel standards. Siam has demanded “exactly the same BS VI fuel as per Euro 6 fuel standards prevalent in Europe if it has to meet the BS VI norms for vehicles”, saying “this requirement for the country should be non-negotiable”. Earlier, refusing to budge under pressure from auto industry on stricter fuel emission norms, Gadkari has said carmakers must follow the same standards in India that they do elsewhere. “I do not agree with Siam. When the same car manufacturer can build cars following the same norms across the globe, then why can’t they build it here? The government is not reconsidering its decision,” Gadkari has told SIAM on their request to reconsider the decision to leapfrog to BS VI norms. In a bid to curb vehicular pollution, the government in January decided to implement stricter emission norms of Bharat Stage (BS) VI from April 1, 2020 by skipping BS-V altogether. At present, BS IV norms are followed in parts of India and by April 1, 2017, the whole of the country is scheduled to be covered under it. The decision to leapfrog to BS-VI was taken at an inter- ministerial meeting chaired by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, which was attended by Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar.
Cairn India output from Rajasthan oilfield down 4 per cent
Cairn IndiaBSE 1.75 % today reported 4 per cent drop in crude oil production at its flagship Rajasthan oilfields during the quarter ended March 31, mainly due to under-performance of its second biggest discovery. Production at Barmer block in Rajasthan in January-March dropped 4 per cent to 167,650 barrels of oil and oil equivalent gas per day, Cairn said in a regulatory filing. Its eastern offshore Ravva fields saw a 40 per cent drop in output in the fourth quarter of 2015-16 fiscal at 19,058 boepd while Cambay field off Gujarat managed a 8 per cent increase in production at 10,331 boepd. “Average gross production for Q4 FY2016 was 197,039 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), 9 per cent lower than Q4 FY2015, primarily due to lower volumes from Ravva on account of its natural decline,” Cairn said. Gross production from Rajasthan declined by 4 per cent “mainly due to natural decline and under-performance of the Bhagyam reservoir,” it said. Bhagyam is the second biggest oil discovery in the Rajasthan block after Mangala. “Lower volumes at Rajasthan were partly offset by infill wells in Aishwariya, better reservoir management initiatives across the field and a ramp up of production from successful EOR project execution. “Gross production from Development Area DA1 and DA2 averaged at 150,918 boepd and 16,732 boepd, respectively,” it said. DA1 comprises of Mangala, Bhagyam and Aishwariya oilfields while other discoveries are in DA2. Cambay block production increased by 8 per cent compared to Q4 FY2015 driven by commissioning of an artificial gas lift system and better reservoir performance in 4Q16, it said. For the full 2015-16 fiscal, average gross production was 203,703 boepd, 4 per cent lower than FY2015 on account of lower production from Rajasthan and offshore assets. “Rajasthan production declined 3 per cent (to 169,609 boepd) due to reservoir underperformance at Bhagyam. However, an excellent performance by Mangala EOR and contribution from Aishwariya infill program partly made-up for the decline,” it said. Cairn said Mangala enhanced oil recovery (EOR) project was on track and producing the result as expected. “Prudent reservoir management practices helped us reduce the impact of natural decline in our offshore assets,” it said. Gas production from the RDG field increased to an average rate of 27 million standard cubic feet per day in 2015-16 as compared to 16 mmscfd in 2014-15 and surpassing guidance of 25 mmscfd.
India-Iran sign agreements on crude oil imports, gas field development
Eyeing to step up energy partnership in the post-sanctions period India and Iran have signed an agreement that involves crude oil imports, petrochemical complexes and gas fields development besides Delhi making an announcement of $20 billion for strategic Chabahar Port complex during ongoing two-day visit of Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to Tehran. Pradhan who met his Iranian counterpart Bijan Zanganeh in Tehran Saturday also discussed on increasing India’s import of Iranian oil from its current 350,000 barrels a day. “We hope this number will increase now that sanctions have been lifted,” Zanganeh told Iranian news agency Shana after his meeting with Pradhan. A high-level delegation of Indian major oil and energy firms who accompanied the Minister, also evinced interest in Iran’s oil, gas and petrochemical projects, government sources here said. The two ministers signed a cooperation agreement encompassing oil exports, petrochemical operations and gas-field development on the occasion, sources said. Pradhan addressing a joint press conference on Saturday with his Iranian counterpart said, “Iran and India’s energy ties are no longer limited to crude oil imports,” and that India was ready to invest $20 billion in the port of Chabahar in Southeastern Iran. He added that “energy sector can be determining in development of Tehran-New Delhi relations.” India has already extended over $ 100 million Line of Credit for berths and jetties at Chabahar. India’s participation at Farzad-B gas field topped discussions between the two Ministers, sources informed. Last year ONGC submitted a proposal of $ 3 billion for development of Farzad-B field. In fact the most important item in Zanganeh discussions with Pradhan was the investment to develop Farzad-B offshore gas field, sources said. “It was decided that Iranian and Indian sides agree on the schedule of implementing the project which is a demanding job and take time,” sources quoting the Iranian Minister said. Post sanction Iran wants to cultivate closer ties with countries in the East and India’s close relationship with Iran is an added advantage, Iranian government sources said, adding the Minister also discussed pending oil payments issue by India with the banking authorities in Tehran.