Government tells NITI Aayog to draw a road map for ailing Air India
Amid the dilemma over spending Rs 50,000 crore on health, education or airline, the government has tasked NITI Aayog to devise a road map for ailing Air India, which may include recommendation for a strategic sale. The latest push to set the house in order in the beleaguered state carrier has been spearheaded from the top. Sources said the NITI Aayog is looking at various options and will submit its recommendations in the next few weeks after which the government will take a final call on the way forward. This is the most serious effort being launched by the Modi government to tackle the mess in Air India. The then Vajpayee government had jump-started efforts to sell a stake in Air India and the then disinvestment minister Arun Shourie had promised to push ahead with a strategic sale even if one bidder was in the fray . But ultimately, the plans fell through and Air India continued as a state-run entity . “Why should we continue to put thousands of crores in Air India when we can utilise the money for several social sector projects,“ said an official, who did not wish to be identified. Estimates suggested that the airline has liabilities of over Rs 52,000 crore, with the interest burden alone esti mated at Rs 4,000 crore annually. While Rs 25,000 crore has been pumped in over the last five years,a similar amount has been committed till 2032 but still Air India will have an annual cash deficit of Rs 3,000 crore. Alarge part of the blame is on the way the national carrier was operated during 200507 when an aircraft acquisition plan of Rs 50,000 crore was cleared for an airline with a turnover of around Rs 15,000 crore, putting the national carrier under a severe debt burden, which it is finding tough to service. Officials have also blamed the Air India-Indian Airlines merger for the current mess. But the government is now finding it tough to sustain the ailing airline given its commitment to fiscal consolidation and the focus having shifted to welfare, for which it needs to spend more on health and education. Air India has loans of Rs 48,400 crore -working capital and term loans of Rs 22,000 crore, aircraft-related debt of Rs 19,000 crore, and Rs 7,400 crore that it had raised via non-convertible debentures (NCDs). Air India has been trying to get lenders to cut the interest rate on loans of Rs 10,500 crore, on which it pays 10.1%.The debt servicing alone comes to about Rs 4,000 crore per annum for the airline. John Elway Womens Jersey
Iraq replaces Saudi as top oil supplier to India in April: Trade flow data
Iraq replaced Saudi Arabia as top crude supplier to India in April as refiners moved to boost their processing margins by purchasing the cheaper Basra Heavy oil grade, ship tracking and Thomson Reuters trade flow data showed. India’s April imports from Iraq topped 1 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first time, up by about a third from March and 8 percent from a year ago, according to ship tracking data obtained from sources and data compiled by Thomson Reuters Oil Research & Forecasts. “Basra heavy is good for refineries with coker units, it is also good for conventional refiners that make bitumen as that is in demand in India. Also (the crude) is available at discounts so it is value for every dollar that we spend,” said M. K. Surana, chairman of Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Indian refiners in recent years have invested heavily in modernising plants to more efficiently process low grade crudes into diesel and gasoline, helping to boost operating margins and giving greater flexibility in the oil grades they can buy. This has allowed refiners in the third-largest oil consumer to shop around during periods of tightness, and remain profitable in a fast-growing, cost-sensitive market. India’s crude mix is highly diverse as a result, with just over 15 percent of its flows stemming from Africa in April, nearly 13 percent from Latin America, and most of the rest coming from the Middle East. Saudi Arabia, usually India’s main supplier, shipped about 750,000 bpd to the South Asian nation in April, a decline of about 5 percent from the previous month and 8 percent from a year ago, the data showed. With each barrel of Iraq’s Basra Heavy oil trading at roughly $2.85 less than a barrel of Saudi Arabia’s Arab Heavy mix when the deals were done, Indian importers were able to realise a substantial cost-savings by making the switch, without much impact on product output. India’s lower Saudi purchases were partly due to firmer Saudi prices following the production cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) since January. Iraq is OPEC’s second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia, but so far has been resistant to an aggressive cut given its reliance on oil revenues to fund its economy. “Iraqi oil is a good alternative to other heavy grades from OPEC. Basra is sold at a huge discount to Dubai or other heavy grades in spot markets, whereas Saudi oil is available only at the OSP (Official Selling Price),” said Ehsan Ul Haq, Senior Analyst at KBC Energy. A delay to Venezuelan oil loadings due to problems at a major port helped to boost India’s demand for Iraqi oil, and India also took more Russian Urals crude. Iran emerged as the third-biggest oil supplier to India in April, replacing Venezuela, which slipped to the fifth spot, behind Nigeria, the data showed. Harold Baines Jersey
Energy storage market for off-grid renewable energy in India to touch Rs 16,500 crore by 2022: CEEW
The energy storage market for off-grid renewable energy in India would be worth Rs 16,500 crore by 2022, according to a report released by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) during the Solar India Expo 2017. CEEW, the policy and research partner for Solar India 2017, shared the key findings of the analysis at the Expo. “Rooftop solar will itself account for 80 per cent of the total energy storage market for off-grid renewables and will be worth INR 130 billion (USD 2 billion) in 2022,” the report said. The report adds that the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s target to install 10,000 micro-grid or 500 megawatt (MW) of micro and mini-grids will offer an additional opportunity to the tune of Rs 3,300 crore for battery manufacturers. ”Batteries are a critical component of micro/mini-grid systems, since 100 per cent backup is often required to supply electricity to rural households during evening hours,” the report noted. The analysis provides an overview of the current Indian energy storage market for off-grid solar segment, examining multiple storage technologies under development and assessing opportunities arising due to rapid adoption of off-grid renewable energy. “Though a number of projects for grid-connected storage are being called for, the markets that are served poorly by the existing grid – mobile towers in remote locations, petrol pumps, ATMs are easy pickings for storage systems to cater,” said Dr Arunabha Ghosh, Chief Executive Officer, CEEW. According to CEEW, higher cost of energy storage solutions limits rooftop solar system installation to cater to base load. “Solar PV systems with energy storage could be a potential replacement to existing diesel generators and it would also save about Rs 4-5 per unit of electricity, compared to diesel, for industrial and commercial consumers,” the report said. CEEW’s analysis finds that advanced battery technologies could support rapid deployment of rooftop solar installations in the commercial and industrial segment. Benoit Pouliot Authentic Jersey
India ranked second in renewable energy attractiveness index
India has moved up to the second spot from third position in this year’s ‘Renewable energy country attractiveness index’ released by EY. This is primarily due to a combination of strong government support and increasingly attractive economics, EY said in a statement. According to the statement, India continued its upward trend in the index to second position with the government’s programme to build 175 GW in renewable energy generation by 2022 and to have renewable energy account for 40 per cent of installed capacity by 2040. The country has added more than 10GW of solar capacity in the last three years – starting from a low base of 2.6 GW in 2014, it said. “In the medium term, as renewable energy penetration rates increase, the government will have to turn its attention to the ability of India’s grid to manage intermittent renewables, especially around the evening peak, when solar availability falls away,” Somesh Kumar, Partner & Leader, Power & Utilities, EY India, said in the statement. The cost and availability of energy storage technology could dictate how close India gets to meeting its renewable targets. Meanwhile, India’s regulators must be mindful of the erosion of electricity market peaks caused by growing volumes of renewables and storage – this can undermine the economics of thermal power plants, risking the stability of the system as a whole, he added. The report also noted that the Indian government needs to increase compliance with the Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) as well as ensure that India’s distribution companies, many of which are financially distressed, have the capacity to continue to purchase renewable electricity, especially if bid prices level off or rise. As the availability of capital remains a concern, the government could ease rules around tapping foreign debt. Also, the government’s additional emphasis on photo voltaic (PV) parks will help to plug the gap, but it needs to do more to encourage rooftop solar installations, it said. The report cites that China, which has been ranked first in the index, and India have surpassed the US, which fell for the first time since 2015 to third place in the ranking of top 40 countries, follows a marked shift in the US policy under the new administration. The report identifies the US government’s executive orders to rollback many of the past administration’s climate change policies, revive its coal industry and review the Clean Power Plan as key downward pressures on renewable investment attractiveness. Economically viable renewable energy alternatives coupled with security of supply concerns are encouraging more countries to support a clean energy future. Kazakhstan (37), Panama (38) and the Dominican Republic (39) have all entered the index for the first time, it added. Norman Powell Womens Jersey
Piyush Goyal wants no hindrance to possession of electricity connections
Power Minister Piyush Goyal today endorsed the idea of providing electricity connection to consumers other than property owners like tenants and said it does not create any right over ownership. “Electricity connection does not prove the ownership of the property. Some states are afraid that providing power connections would lead to claims over properties,” Goyal told reporters here after a press conference on this Austria and UK visit at FICCI. He further said, “The Uttar Pradesh government is working on norms for providing electricity connection to all (including tenants) in a way that it does not create ownership of the power customer. It is already there in Maharashtra. We cannot deprive of anybody from electricity supply.” About the RBI’s observation that issuance of bonds under UDAY scheme affecting state finances, he said, “I wish the RBI will apply little more logic to what they have said to them because ultimately it was the debt of the state only.” The UDAY scheme was launched in November 2015 for reviving the debt-stressed state power distribution utilities. Under the scheme, the state had to repay 75 per cent of the debt by issuing bonds. Elaborating further the minister said, “It was state discom debt which is taken over by the state. It was always a fact that it was state debt. I have made de facto into de jure. I have made it legally a state debt. I think we have done a good job and RBI will understand what we have done.” About the idea of taking over of Coal India Provident Fund merger with the Employees Provident Fund Organisation, he said, “We don’t do anything which is not in the interest of workers. Coal mines worker PF body is very small and does not have the required skill to get the best returns on investments.” He explained, “The EPFO looks after lakhs of crore workers fund. The have got skill sets and expertise to handle it. We (in Coal India) subcontract that to the lowest bidder. I don’t think that it is very efficient way to do it so better let the efficient people do the whole job.” Talking about the result of the interaction in Austria, he said it has resulted in a delegation coming from Austria to India in June. The minister expressed hope that they would invest and work in India to aid government’s Make in India programme. The minister lauded London Stock Exchange (LSE) as they demonstrated their commitment to India by advancing their launch of international securities market exchange. India raised $1.1 billion through NTPC’s masala bond at 7.25 per cent interest rate at the LSE. The minister had floated the NTPC bonds on the LSE last week. Joe Flacco Authentic Jersey
Gulf Petrochem Group Marks First-Ever Bunker Supply by Barge at Indian Port of Paradip in Odisa
Gulf Petrochem Group, the UAE based global bunker supplier, has set another milestone in its operations with the successful execution of the first-ever bunker supply by barge at the non-conventional port of Paradip in Odisa, India’s east coast in a joint effort with Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL). Gulf Petrochem arranged for the supply of 810 metric tonnes of bunker fuel IFO 180 CST by barge, which marks a major achievement for the company. Typically, supplies were made to the non-regular bunker port of Paradip only by Road Tanker Wagons (RTW) and for small volumes. MT Dolphin, a bunker barge, was introduced to expedite the supply of the 810 MT cargo to the vessel MV COUNTESS I, highlighting a major triumph for both Gulf Petrochem and the Port of Paradip. IOCL, the only physical supplier, had recently introduced the duty-free 180 CST for vessels calling at Paradip. But the supplies were made through RTWs at berth. With the introduction of MT Dolphin, bigger future volumes of bunker fuel requirement at the port can be seamlessly met. Mr. Manan Goel, Group Director of Gulf Petrochem, said: “The supply of bunker fuel by barge to Paradip will significantly scale up the efficiency of the port, and underlines our commitment to strengthen our operations and deliver truly value-added services. In future, larger volumes of bunker fuel can be supplied that will facilitate bigger vessel arrivals to Paradip, with it evolving as a strategic port on the east coast of India. We were venturing into uncharted waters, and are thankful to the support of all our partners for their close coordination that made the planning and execution smooth.” With Gulf Petrochem supplying to MV COUNTESS I, future bunker supplies at berth or inner anchorage can be executed by barge. MT Dolphin is a IV class barge of 500 MT capacity of Fuel Oil and 50 MT of Gas Oil, with a pumping rate of 150 MT-200 MT per hour for FO and 25 MT for Gas Oil. Gulf Petrochem will also arrange for the supply of smaller quantities by RTWs at berth of up to 250MT supplies in a single day. Gulf Petrochem, a worldwide bunker supplier, has bunker facilities in the UAE, India, Singapore and the entire Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp (ARA) region through its representative offices. About Gulf Petrochem Group Gulf Petrochem Group is a leading player in the oil industry, specializing in Oil Trading and Bunkering, Oil Refining, Grease Manufacturing, Oil Storage Terminals, Bitumen Manufacturing, and Shipping and Logistics. Headquartered in United Arab Emirates, and having a presence in South Asia, the Far East Asia, Africa and Europe, Gulf Petrochem has emerged as one of the well-established manufacturers and traders of petroleum products in major parts of the world. Garrett Grayson Womens Jersey
Egypt’s Sisi: Newly-discovered gas fields to save about $3.6 billion yearly
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said he expected that recently discovered gas fields would save Egypt about $3.6 billion yearly as they start coming into production, state-run newspapers reported on Tuesday night. Egypt wants to speed up gas production from newly-discovered fields, with an eye to halting imports by 2019. Once an energy exporter, it has become an importer after domestic output failed to keep pace with rising demand in recent years, but the discovery of the 850 billion-cubic metre Zohr field in 2015 is expected to change that. The gas fields Sisi referred to in an interview with heads of state-run newspapers included West delta and East delta and the second phase of Zohr field. Zohr field is expected to come into production by the end of the year and will save Egypt billions of dollars in hard currency that would otherwise be spent on imports. Egypt’s total gas production is 4.45 billion cubic feet per day. It aims to increase it to 5.35 billion cubic feet in 2017/18 and in 2018-19 to around 5.9 billion cubic feet per day. Doug Baldwin Authentic Jersey
Iraq in favour of extending any OPEC-led crude oil output cut – PM Abadi
Iraq is committed to reducing oil production to decrease a glut in the global market, and will support extending output cuts in line with any OPEC decision, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Tuesday. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets in Vienna on May 25 to consider whether to extend output cuts agreed in December last year between OPEC and 11 non-member countries, including Russia. “Iraq is with the continuation of a reduction of oil production of OPEC nations and we will push in that direction,” Abadi said in a news conference broadcast on state TV. Abadi did not specify for how long Iraq was willing to extend the current cut. The country’s oil minister said last week Iraq would support a six-month extension. Saudi Arabia and Russia, the world’s top two oil producers, agreed on Monday on the need to keep the current cut in place until March 2018. Non-OPEC member Kazakhstan however said on Monday it would struggle to join any new deal on the old terms, as its own output was set to jump. Oman said it fully supported the idea of a nine-month extension. OPEC wants to reduce global oil inventories to their five-year average but so far has struggled to do so. Stockpiles are hovering near record highs, partly because of rising production in the United States, which is not part of the existing deal. Shaquill Griffin Jersey
IIEST creates India’s first smart grid project
The Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST) has successfully created the country’s first smart grid project, which will generate power from renewable sources of energy. The project will soon be inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee, IIEST Director Prof Ajoy Kumar Roy said. “The smart grid will be synchronised to generate power from solar, wind and vegetable waste resources, depending on the weather conditions and availability of waste products. It is the first of its kind in the country,” Roy said. “The power to be generated from solar energy depends on the availability of sunlight while wind energy will be produced during nor’wester and tropical storm. The power from biogas will be generated from vegetable waste collected from the campus kitchen and outside markets,” the professor said. “In the integrated project, by the Centre for Excellence for Green Energy Systems (CEGESS) of the institute, we are aiming to generate 32 kw of power from whichever resource available and synchronise the smart grid to take the power in the system for use. Thus we will not be depending on one resource,” Roy said. Roy added that the world will be faced with serious situation with the depletion of hydrocarbon source. “Since coal-hydrocarbon based energy technology leads to environmental degradation, the future lies in renewable energy based technology,” he said. The eminent scientist said, this being the age of smart technology, the institute needed to look forward. “The government planners and academicians should be involved in big way as technology is changing very very fast. “The next 50 years will witness unimaginable change in technology, which cannot be static,” he added. Deion Sanders Authentic Jersey
Towards “Power For All”
Provisioning of continuous and quality power supply to more than 250 million households (families) in the country is indeed a great challenge. Though electricity falls under the concurrent list of the Indian constitution, the Union Government has taken up this challenge as an opportunity to get connected with every citizen. Various developmental measures in the power sector have been undertaken during the last three years of the present government and ‘power for all’ is one of the most ambitious programs, which addresses the cause of both welfare and inclusiveness. The program stands as a joint effort of both union and state governments to provide uninterrupted power supply to every household by 2019. Undoubtedly, the ‘power for all’ program appears to be a big task. There are millions of households in our country who do not have access to electricity in their houses. In fact, as per the last household consumption expenditure survey conducted by national sample survey organization (nsso) in 2011-12, twenty percent of households (roughly 50 million) are reported not to have consumed electricity at all. Over the last five years since the last survey conducted, if we assume an improvement of five percentage point in the proportion of households consuming electricity that still leaves fifteen percent of total households of the country without electricity supply. In order to bring these households into network of electricity consumption by 2019, there is need to have a strategic move by the Union and State Governments. First, rural areas need more attention, effort and resources as the situation is worse there compared to the urban areas. Ninety five prevent of total un-electrified households in the country belong to rural sector according to the survey. It would be difficult to accept the fact that in the modern age, more than fifty five million households in the rural sector uses kerosene to light their houses. Getting electricity connection is still perceived to be a sign of affluence. The Deen Dayal Upadhya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) launched by the Union Government has a significant impact on increasing rural electrification as the scheme envisages provision of free electricity connection to the rural people from below poverty line. However, the state transmission and distribution utilities with the help of state governments need to be pro-active in solving the problems such as grid extension, high cost transmission, lower recovery rate etc. which stand as barriers on the way complete rural electrification. Second, some states need to be more pro-active and aggressive in the direction of achieving the target of power for all. It has been substantiated from the survey that distribution of un-electrified houses is uneven across states. Thirty six percent of total un-electrified houses in the country are reported from Uttar Pradesh followed by twenty seven percent in Bihar. Among others, West Bengal, Assam, Odisha etc. too have a disproportionate share in total number of un-electrified households. The issue of electrification in these states needs a big push from the Union and the concerned state governments in order to achieve the goal. Two major states, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar assume the centre of debate so far as lack of adequate electricity supply is concerned. Sixty four percent of total households in Bihar and forty four percent in Uttar Pradesh are reported not to have electricity connection. However, both the states have shown determination and have signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Union Government, though Uttar Pradesh signed little late i.e in Apri, 2017, just after the new government in the state took over to implement the program ‘power for all’. It is quite assuring to note that till today all the states and union territories have signed MOUs with the Union Government in the same cause. Third, a pro-poor tariff structure may help to sustain electricity supply to the households living below poverty line. Getting grid connectivity to the villages and providing free power connection to the families may not be adequate until the issue of affordable power supply is not properly addressed. It is found that forty percent of households not connected with electricity in India are rural poor, whose average monthly per-capita expenditure is less than Rs.816. Different state governments have their own cross-subsidy policies to address the issue of access to power supply for the rural poor. In Uttar Pradesh, a family in rural areas consuming up to 50 units of electricity a month has to pay Rs.200 while in Bihar it costs Rs.350. It should be noted that 37 percent of rural population in Uttar Pradesh and 41 percent in Bihar live below poverty line. A rural poor household in these two states would be forced to spend closer to 40 percent of its monthly per capita consumption expenditure only to light the house. These two states along with the others need to rationalize the tariff structure in order to sustain the power supply to the poor households. The distribution utilities in the states used to show differential response in supplying power to the rural sector, as tariff collection efficiency in the sector is relatively low. This inefficiency is found to be a demotivating factor for the distribution utilities to step up rural electrification. In order to achieve the success of ‘power for all’ the state governments need to direct the distribution utilities to be more active in the rural sector. A rational and pro-poor approach of the state governments along with the transmission and distribution utilities could help power to reach every household even before the specified time limit set by the Union Government. Mason Foster Authentic Jersey