Jet Airways asks junior pilots to furnish Rs 1 crore bonds
Jet Airways has asked junior pilots to furnish surety bonds worth up to Rs 1 crore and serve the airline for at least five to seven years, union sources said. The development comes at a time when many of its junior pilots have been asked to take 10 days off every month, a move that would result in up to 30 per cent pay cut, as part of cost saving measures. Sources at the National Aviators Guild (NAG), the pilots’ union of Jet Airways, said the bond requirement has been communicated to the junior pilots. These pilots have been asked to furnish surety bonds worth Rs 1 crore and the development also comes as the airline has “unilaterally” decided on salary cuts for them, sources told PTI. “No new bonds (have been) asked for. It is just a pattern that has been introduced,” a Jet Airways spokesperson said. He was responding to a query whether the airline has asked its trainee pilots to sign a bond amount of up to Rs 1 crore. The spokesperson was also asked the junior pilots have to serve the airline for 5-7 years and face encashment of the bond in case of failure to serve that tenure. Taven Bryan Womens Jersey
CCEA approves government stake sale of HPCL to ONGC: Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Lok Sabha
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given in-principle approval for the sale of the government’s 51.11 per cent stake along with the management control of HPCL to the ONGC, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said today. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) will continue as a public sector undertaking after Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) acquires its stake, the minister said in the Lok Sabha. “The proposed acquisition in the oil sector will create a vertically integrated public sector oil major company having presence across the entire value chain. “This will give ONGC an enhanced capacity to bear higher risks, take higher investment decisions and to neutralise impact of global crude oil price volatility,” Pradhan said. The minister was making a statement in the House regarding the sale of the government’s existing stake of total paid up equity shareholding in HPCL to ONGC. Marcus Gilbert Jersey
Mopa deal favours GMR more than Goans: NGO
A group of social activists, who are fighting against the construction of a new airport at Mopa, has alleged that the government has signed a one-sided agreement with GMR Airports Ltd which benefits the company even if the project is terminated, leaving the people of Goa to pay for it. Goans for Dabolim Only (GFDO) claimed the Mopa airport is an unviable project that goes against the interests of the people of Goa. “The government is flouting its own concessionaire agreement to breathe life into this unviable project,” it stated. The state government has agreed to give 381 acres of land to the concessionaire, of which 240 acres is for unrestricted development, the group said, pointing out that without a timeline for developing the 381 acres, the land will not benefit the Goans, only allowing GMR to hold on to the land resources by keeping them vacant until the land prices escalate. Russell Wilson Authentic Jersey
‘Salary cut lesser evil than layoffs in aviation space’
Slashing salaries is a “lesser evil” than pink slips in the domestic aviation sector, feel HR experts against the backdrop of a leading airline asking junior pilots to take ten days off every month as part of cost balancing effort. While the domestic aviation sector has been registering double-digit growth continuously for over two years, Jet Airways’ move to reduce junior pilots’ pay and disinvestment proposal of Air India have thrown the spot light on the prevailing tough business conditions amid stiff competition. The sector might be one of the fastest growing in the world but most airlines have wafer-thin margins as deeply discounted fares and rise in aviation fuel prices along with staff costs take a toll on their overall profitability. Against the backdrop of Jet Airways’ decision, HR experts opined that the move seems to be a case of “organisational stress” even though cost optimisation is a major concern for most of the sectors. Staffing firm TeamLease Services co-founder and executive vice president Rituparna Chakraborty said it is a specific situation of “organisational stress”. Su’a Cravens Womens Jersey
HPCL May Buy 2 ONGC Units Before Merger
Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) may acquire two subsidiaries of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) before the explorer takes over the refiner, a senior government official said. The two ONGC units are Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) and ONGC Petro Additions (OPaL). Such a move would consolidate all of ONGC’s downstream operations in HPCL, leaving it free to focus on exploration and production. HPCL will look after refining and marketing, according to this line of reasoning. HPCL already has a 16.96% stake in MRPL, in which ONGC holds 71.63%. ONGC has a 49.36% stake in OPaL with GAIL holding 49.21%. The government has already begun the process of appointing transaction advisors for the ONGC-HPCL deal and will seek an independent valuation of its stake in the refiner. The government currently holds a 51.1 % stake in HPCL. Earlier this week, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) accorded “in principle approval” for the strategic sale of its stake, “along with transfer of management control” to ONGC. HPCL will become a subsidiary of ONGC once this deal takes place. Department of investment and public asset management (DIPAM) secretary Neeraj Gupta said any proposal related to HPCL taking over the ONGC units has to come from the companies. Mergers and acquisitions are driven by economic considerations and fiscal prudence, he said. “Government by announcement in the budget has explicitly supported such merger and acquisition which improvise economies of scale, value addition, vertical and horizontal integration, and value of investment in the company,” he said. The government will support any move that strengthens staterun companies and creates value for investors. The government’s ONGCHPCL strategy is aimed at creating the first fully integrated oil company in India with exposure to upstream (exploration, production), midstream (refining) and downstream (retail) segments alongside petrochemicals, said the official cited above. “The HPCL distribution network is underutilised. They are buying oil from outside and by acquiring MRPL they will be augmenting their refining capacity. This mega merger will ensure value addition to the whole chain,” the official said. DIPAM secretary Gupta said: “We will do all due diligence and appoint transaction advisors and valuation advisors to independently evaluate the value of the holding through the established process for such divestment.” Market capitalisation is one of the factors that will be taken into consideration, he said, adding, “interest of all stakeholders shall be protected.” An alternative mechanism under finance minister Arun Jaitley has been set up to fast track the process.
India launches first R&D facility for high-end fuels, gas
India has launched its first petroleum Research & Development (R&D) facility for testing high-end BS-VI quality fuel emissions, according to an official here. Operated by state-run Indian Oil Corp, the R&D facility is designed to test all types of fuel including petrol, diesel, ethanol-blended petrol, bio-diesel, CNG, LNG, hydrogen-CNG and 2G-ethanol blends to ensure they meet the superior BS-VI norms that are to be implemented across the country by April 2020, a Petroleum Ministry statement said. This “first-of-its kind” facility was inaugurated by Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Faridabad in the National Capital Region (NCR) on Saturday. “In addition to generating emission data, the facility will also evaluate the fuel blends for energy-efficiency and engine durability,” it said. “In addition to generating emission data, the facility will also evaluate the fuel blends for energy-efficiency and engine durability,” it said. On the occasion, Pradhan complimented the IOC scientists for developing a “nano-additised battery for use in e-rickshaws, with better efficiency and longer life than commercially available batteries.” “The minister also lauded the efforts of Indian Oil R&D in commercialising Indane Nanocut — the industrial version. David Johnson Authentic Jersey
Centre to notify guidelines for renewable power procurement: Haryana govt
The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has clarified that a guideline for procurement of renewable power through competitive bidding would be notified shortly by the Centre, the Haryana government said today. Till then, projects may be set up under existing provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003 under section 62 wherein the State Regulatory Commission is to be approached for fixation of tariff, a Haryana government statement said here. The release, quoting a spokesman of Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency (HAREDA), said that after the notification, any project developer may set up a project for generation of renewable energy as per the bidding guideline if it qualifies for the same. “In the National Tariff Policy 2016 purchase of power by the states from renewable energy sources has been contemplated through competitive bidding. “This created confusion among the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) as on the site identified by them no one else could bid. Therefore, HAREDA sought clarification from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in this regard,” the release said. It added that in the renewable energy policy of the Haryana government, there is a provision for setting up of renewable power projects by independent power producers on the site identified by them. For this, they have to submit their proposal along with detailed project report (DPR) to HAREDA. After approval of the DPR, they have to file a petition before the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) for fixation of tariff for their projects for sale of power to the state grid. Cody Eakin Womens Jersey
Centre to notify guidelines for renewable power procurement: Haryana govt
The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has clarified that a guideline for procurement of renewable power through competitive bidding would be notified shortly by the Centre, the Haryana government said today. Till then, projects may be set up under existing provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003 under section 62 wherein the State Regulatory Commission is to be approached for fixation of tariff, a Haryana government statement said here. The release, quoting a spokesman of Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency (HAREDA), said that after the notification, any project developer may set up a project for generation of renewable energy as per the bidding guideline if it qualifies for the same. “In the National Tariff Policy 2016 purchase of power by the states from renewable energy sources has been contemplated through competitive bidding. “This created confusion among the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) as on the site identified by them no one else could bid. Therefore, HAREDA sought clarification from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in this regard,” the release said. It added that in the renewable energy policy of the Haryana government, there is a provision for setting up of renewable power projects by independent power producers on the site identified by them. For this, they have to submit their proposal along with detailed project report (DPR) to HAREDA. After approval of the DPR, they have to file a petition before the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) for fixation of tariff for their projects for sale of power to the state grid. Miles Killebrew Womens Jersey
India’s first wind power auction: Developers sign PPAs for 550 Mw capacity
Major wind power developers including Adani and Mytrah Energy today signed Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with Power Trading Corporation (PTC) for supply of 550 Mw power to states as part of India’s first wind power auctions scheme. The pacts were signed in the presence of power, coal, renewable energy and mines minister Piyush Goyal here. As per the PPAs signed, Mytrah Energy, Inox Wind and Ostro Kutch Wind would supply power of capacity 250 MW each. Further, Green Infra would supply 249.9 MW and Adani Green Energy 50 MW from their wind power projects through inter-state transmission system at a tariff of Rs 3.46 per unit discovered through open and transparent competitive bidding process,” the ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) said in a statement. “For the first tender, a tariff of Rs 3.46 per unit is great news. Feed-in tariffs can be good for initial hand-holding period and we can look ahead now. I have been told that for the second tender we have already received bids of about 2,800 MW,” Piyush Goyal said. For these projects, Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) conducted e-reverse auction on in February this year and issued Letter of Award (LoA) to successful wind power developers in April. The wind power projects under first wind auction are likely to be commissioned by September 2018. “As of today, we have 32.5 GW of installed wind capacity which amounts to only 10 percent of the total potential wind capacity. Earlier, transmitting wind energy from wind to non-wind states was a major challenge which prompted us to revise the wind policy. We are also planning to hold stakeholders sessions in order to address the challenges in the wind energy sector. The minister has asked us to come up with bids every month,” MNRE Secretary Anand Kumar said. PTC India has tied-up this wind power for sale to power distribution utilities of various states. As part of the scheme, Uttar Pradesh would receive 449.9 MW, Bihar 200 MW, Jharkhand 200 MW, Delhi 100 MW, Assam 50 MW and Odisha 50 MW for meeting their Non-Solar Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO). MNRE had sanctioned a scheme for setting up of 1,050 MW inter-state transmission system (ISTS)-connected Wind Power Projects on 14 June last year with the objective to encourage competitiveness through scaling up of project size and introduction of efficient and transparent e-bidding and e-auctioning process. Goyal also said it was time to review the need to have separate RPOs, adding the commercial aspects of such a move could be left to the states to decide depending on their requirements. Owen Tippett Authentic Jersey
UP government launches free power connection scheme for BPL families
Uttar Pradesh Power Minister Srikant Sharma today launched free power connection scheme for the BPL card holders in the state. “The scheme of providing free power connection to the BPL card holders has been launched at 624 places across the state,” he said. Sharma said the scheme would also benefit the poor people who do not have BPL cards at present. “Such people would have to pay between Rs 80 to Rs 120 for getting the power connection,” he said. “The scheme would also provide relief to the middle class people as the instalment payment facility would be admissible for them,” the minister said. Sharma said while the Centre had launched the free gas connection scheme for the poor, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is giving free power connection to the same class of people. “The Yogi government is working for the common man and the poor,” he claimed. Sharma accused the previous government of not being “worried” about the poor. “The body was in India, the soul was in Italy,” he alleged. He said, “The Saifai system is now over and the whole of the state is getting uniform power supply,” he claimed, adding that the same principle is being applied for development. “The work on making the state free of crime and corruption is going on a war footing,” he added. Isaac Rochell Womens Jersey