New places, newer planes
2017 promises to be action-packed for domestic flyers right from the start. This is mainly because of the government’s ambitious Udey Desh Ka Aam Nagrik, or UDAN scheme, which wants to take aviation to those living in Tier II and Tier III cities. The UDAN scheme is part of the National Civil Aviation policy that was released by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in July 2016. One of the main objectives of the policy is to enhance regional air connectivity through fiscal support and infrastructure development. The Centre has fixed January 27, 2017 as D-day for opening the technical bids for players interested in operating under UDAN. While the date for selection has not been announced yet, it is expected to be soon as the proposal has the backing of the who’s who in the government. The Centre and States have come forward to provide subsidies to those operators who are willing to offer an one-hour flight between Tier II and Tier III cities at ?2,500. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttrakhand are among the 11 States and Union Territories that have signed up for UDAN. Needless to say the scheme is expected to see the entry of new players. Analysts feel that for the scheme to be successful and viable a small aircraft having the capacity to seat about 20 passengers per flight is ideal. New operators are expected to induct such aircraft in their fleet for starting operations. Andrew Whitworth Jersey
Delhi: Soon, no entry for airport staff without Aadhaar
Ahead of Republic Day, Central Industrial Security Force has thrown a security blanket in and around Indira Gandhi International Airport. As part of a new initiative, after January 1, all airport entry passes will be issued only on the basis of Aadhaar number. All employees have been asked to carry their Aadhaar cards for access to the building. CISF DG O P Singh said that the step was necessary to avoid unauthorised entry. There has been a spurt in incidents of trespass with people entering the premises using forged passes. When the new rule comes into effect, more than 25,000 employees working at the airport, including porters, housekeeping members, loaders and ground staff, will be under close watch. Singh told TOI: “These passes are renewed every year. The deadline for renewing passes that were expiring this month has been extended to March 31. For others, carrying Aadhaar will be mandatory.” The step has been taken in consultation with Bureau of Civil Aviation Security. Mason Foster Authentic Jersey
Aviation in 2016: Flight airborne; ATF price, congestion cloud outlook
Year 2016 could be termed a win-win time for flyers as low airfares allowed more passengers to travel even as a host of passenger-centric measures were taken to enhance the flying experience such as the cap on ticket cancellation charges levied by airlines. Domestic air traffic grew at 23 per cent to a record 9 crore from January-November this year, as per Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) estimates. According to International Air Transport Association (IATA), India’s air traffic grew at a significantly higher rate even in October when air traffic growth moderated in other countries such as China (14.1 per cent), Brazil (-5.5 per cent), Russia (2.5 per cent) and Japan (0.8 per cent). A dip in aviation turbine fuel prices by eight per cent on an average in 2016 allowed airlines to offer fares that were lower by about 14 per cent. Aviation turbine fuel cost contributes about 40 per cent of the total cost of the operations of airlines. Zach Parise Jersey
Aviation safety: Before two close shaves, many compliance violations
Two close calls on Tuesday buttress the need to redouble the focus on safety checks in the country’s aviation sector. For flyers though, the cause of worry is the fact that every third day, on an average, there was a reported irregularity by an airline pilot during the last year and the first ten months of this year. These were largely violations pertaining to breathalyser testing, flight and duty time limitations (FDTL) breaches and violations of cockpit and cabin discipline rules. According to DGCA data, a total of 208 irregularities by pilots of various airlines was reported over the last year and in the current year 2016, alongside a total of 15 irregularities by airlines during the period. Officials indicated that in all these cases, “relevant enforcement action” has been taken against the pilots and the airlines concerned. The bulk of the irregularities last year were related to breathalyser testing violations, with Jet Airways, Indigo and Air India reporting the highest number of cases. This year, till October 31, the bulk of reported cases involved FDTL violations, with Spice Jet logging the highest number of irregularities, alongside violations related to breathalyser testing, where Air India and Jet Airways reported the maximum number of cases. Worrying still is the fact that during the first ten months this year, a total of 38 pilots and 113 cabin crew tested alcohol-positive during the pre-flight medical examination for consumption of alcohol. Data collated over a longer time frame — over the last three years and the first ten months of this year — showed a total of 409 safety violations by the flight crew of Scheduled Operators, Non-scheduled Operators and general aviation that were reported to the DGCA. These include deficiencies in ramp procedures, violations of PPC (Pilot Proficiency Check), non-compliance for FDTL requirements, non-compliance of pre-flight medical requirements, crew over-logging training hours and unauthorised entry into cockpit. The incidents include a recent surveillance carried out by DGCA, where it was found that one of the scheduled airline was not strictly adhering to the regulatory requirements regarding breath analyzer check as laid down in the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR). Officials said that in cases involving crew members testing alcohol-positive, in accordance with the provisions of CAR (Section 5 Series F Part-III, Issue-III), the DGCA had suspended privileges of license of pilots and privileges of authorisation of cabin crew and the airlines have been forced to ground all these pilots and cabin crew. Zach Parise Authentic Jersey
Panel examines direct subsidy transfer for electricity consumers; Report in a month
After cooking gas, consumers may now get direct subsidy on electricity. An expert panel comprising senior officials from states and industry is studying the matter and will present its report to the power ministry next month. The expert committee, set up by the ministry to suggest ways to increase electricity demand and consumption, is examining subsidising the target consumers in a manner similar to what has been done in the case of LPG cylinders for plugging leakages and bringing down the subsidy burden. The Niti Aayog and industry experts have been advocating the scheme to lower subsidy, prevent its misuse and strengthening power distribution utilities. The committee comprises principal energy secretaries of states like Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and energy secretaries of Tamil Nadu and Bihar, besides top officials of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and the Central Electricity Authority. Under the direct benefit transfer scheme for cooking fuel, LPG cylinders are sold at market rates after which bank accounts of the consumers eligible for subsidy are credited with the amount of subsidy. “Currently, subsidy is calculated as the difference between energy sold and amount collected. If the direct benefit transfer scheme is implemented, only the actual consumption, and not power pilferage and losses, will be subsidised,“ a senior official part of the committee told ET on the condition of anonymity. The committee is in the process of finalising its recommendations which will be sent to the power ministry for action, he said.State governments give subsidies to power distribution utilities for selling electricity to consumers at less than the procurement cost or for free in some cases. However, subsidy payments by states are not made regularly , adding to the financial woes of distribution utilities. “In fair business practice, state electricity regulators declare subsidy amount at the beginning of every financial year and the state governments are obligated to make quarterly payments to electricity distribution companies. But when the subsidy payment is delayed, financial conditions of discoms deteriorate,“ the official said. Chris Carpenter Womens Jersey
India traded 251,000 Renewable Energy Certificates in December, says IEX
A total of 2.51 lakh renewable energy certificates (RECs) were traded in December, power exchange IEX said. “A total of 2.51 lakh RECs were traded in the REC trading session held on 28th December, 2016 at IEX,” it said in a statement. Power distribution companies as well as open access and captive consumers are under obligation to buy RECs from renewable energy producers under RPO mandated by central/state regulatory commissions. RECs are aimed at providing an easier avenue for various entities, including power distribution companies, to meet their green energy obligations. Two power exchanges — Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) and Power Exchange India Limited (PXIL), approved by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission — hold auction of RECs on the last Wednesday of every month. “Since the beginning of this fiscal (April-December), IEX has traded 17.85 lakh RECs,” the statement said. “On 28th December, 2016 a total of 2.51 lakh RECs were traded an increase of over 43 per cent over 17.50 lakh RECs traded in the previous month of the same fiscal,” the statement added. The purchase this month has been on account of few utilities such as BSES Rajdhani, DVC and BEST Undertaking. Further, obligated captive power and open access consumers also contributed in this trading session, it said. A total of 1,291 participants traded at IEX with 802 participants in non-solar segment and 489 participants in the solar segment. Overall, a total of 3,386 participants are registered in the REC segment at IEX. Of this, 851 are Eligible Entities (RE Generators) 2,516 are Obligated Entities (Discoms, Open Access Consumers and Captive Generators) and 19 are registered as voluntary entities. Zach Parise Authentic Jersey
India November LNG Imports up over 15%
India’s LNG imports in November saw a double-digit percentage growth as relatively low prices attracted buyers. According to latest data published by oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), LNG imports in November were 2.01bn m³, up 15.47% compared with the same month last year. Cumulative imports too remain substantially higher. For the April-November period, India’s LNG imports were 16.9bn m³, up by 23.2% on year. Out of the total imports 51.93% came from Qatar, 8.61% from Angola, 8.17% from Equatorial Guinea, 7.8% from Singapore, 7.65% from Trinidad & Tobago, 4.14% from Australia, 3.97% from Nigeria, 3.93% from UAE and 3.81% from Spain. LNG was procured by Petronet LNG, Gail, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, Reliance Industries, Hazira LNG, Indian Oil Corporation, Torrent Power and Bharat Petroleum Corporation. The cost of importing LNG has dropped sharply this year after New Delhi signed a revised long term contract with Doha. Qatar is the largest supplier of LNG to India. Given the backdrop of low global LNG prices, Petronet LNG insisted on renegotiating its long-term contract with RasGas. In December, the two parties have signed a revised deal. The revised formula bases the price on a three-month average figure of Brent crude oil, replacing a five-year average of a basket of crude imported by Japan. India has four operational LNG terminals: Dahej, Hazira and Dabhol in northwest India, and Kochi in the southern state of Kerala. According to a document released by the oil ministry on June 3, India’s LNG terminal capacity could more than double by 2022 as existing terminals expand capacity and new ones get commissioned. Bradley Chubb Jersey
Building Safe Highways, The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways Under Nitin Gadkari
The year 2016 has been a significant one for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, when road safety emerged as the central theme of almost its entire range of activities. While the Ministry pushed ahead to expand the National Highways network in the country, it was not enough to just build highways! It was equally important to ensure that the highways were safe for the commuters. As a signatory to Brasilia Declaration, India is committed to reducing the number of road accidents and fatalities by 50 % by 2020. Although efforts in this direction had started earlier, the year 2016 saw the Ministry taking major steps towards fulfilling this commitment. These steps include overhauling the institutional and statutory framework, employing engineering solutions to build safer roads, laying down standards for safer vehicles, building an environment for better enforcement of traffic regulations and improving emergency care. The major steps taken by the Ministry towards ensuring safety on roads are as follows: · A National Road Safety Policy had been approved earlier, outlining various policy measures like promoting awareness, establishing road safety information data base, encouraging safer road infrastructure, enforcement of safety laws etc. The Ministry has evolved a multi-pronged strategy to tackle the problem based on the 4 E’s viz Education, Engineering (both of roads and vehicles) Enforcement and Emergency Care. A National Road Safety Council had also been constituted as the apex body to take policy decisions in the matter of road safety. · Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2016 – The Ministry constituted a Group of Ministers from across states to deliberate upon and propose strategies for reducing road fatalities and to suggest actionable measures for implementation. On the basis of recommendations of the GoM , MoRTH introduced the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2016 in Parliament (Lok Sabha) on 9th August, 2016. The Bill addresses road safety issues by providing for stiffer penalties, permitting electronic enforcement, improving fitness certification and licensing regime, statutory provisions for protection of good Samaritans and recognition of IT enabled enforcement systems. The Bill also paves way for reforms in public transport which in turn will help in improving road safety. The Bill contains provisions for treatment of accident victims during golden hour which will help in saving precious lives. The Bill has been referred to the Department- related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture for examination and report. · Top priority has been accorded to correction of black spots on National Highways and adopting regulatory measures for improving automobile safety. Ministry has requested the States to send proposals for correction of black spots and 10% of the Central Road Fund (CRF) have been permitted to be used for undertaking road safety measures.Road safety has been made an integral part of road designing, safety audits are being taken up for selected stretches of National Highways. As Short-term measures rumble strips, reflective stickers at junctions, fixing signboard/ cautionary board, providing signage and speed restrictions are being used. As long-term measuresconstruction of vehicular under-pass, By-pass, flyover and 4-laning are being taken up. * An amount of Rs.1100 crore has been made available for the road safety purposes during the years 2015-16 and 2016-17. Of this, Rs.600 crores were earmarked for the years 2016-17. This amount is to be spent on rectification of black spots, installation of crash barriers in hilly areas, carrying out road safety audits and other road safety works included in Annual plan 2016-17. The power of technical sanction for rectification of black spots has been delegated to Regional officers, MoRTH. Proposals amounting to Rs 12 crore have been sanctioned and proposals amounting to Rs 124 crore are under sanction. Stretches have been identified for installation of crash barriers and proposals and estimates have been invited. Regarding other works of road safety, proposals of about Rs 39 crore have been finalized and are under sanction while other proposals are in different stages of investigations/preparation. · The Ministry has stressed upon States / UTs to set up State Road Safety Councils, formulate an action plan for improving road safety, implement it in a concerted manner, fix a definite, time bound target for fatality reduction and identify and allocate adequate manpower, financial and other resources for implementing the strategy to achieve the targets set. The status of implementation by the states is as follows: 22 States have notified a road safety policy. The states of Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Rajasthan and Tripura are in the process of notifying. State Road Safety Council (SRSC) has been constituted in all States and meetings are also being held by these councils. 24 states have submitted Draft Action Plans for reducing accidents and fatalities based on the six pillars of road safety recommended by the United Nations. All states except Bihar, Punjab and Mizoram have designated lead agencies for dealing with road safety issues. 11 States have created Dedicated Road Safety Funds.The states of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Delhi, Goa, Haryana, J&K, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telagana, Tripura, Uttrakhand and West Bengal are in process of establishment of Road Safety Fund by making available a portion of the fines collected from traffic offences Most states have started Road Safety Audits of all roads as per the guidelines of Ministry. Traffic calming measures are also being adopted. Most of the States have identified black spots. Rectification of Black Spots is in progress in the states. The Ministry has also written to the States to send proposals for correction of black spots. Most states have formulated the protocol and calendar for identification and rectification of Black Spots or have adopted the guidelines issued by the Road Safety Engineering Cell of the Ministry. The progress would be monitored by the Ministry on regular basis. Most of the states have issued necessary directions to the concerned agencies to undertake construction of road beyond Rs.10 crores only after Design Audit is completed and its recommendations implemented. Most States have started suspending Driving Licence
Oil & Gas year-ender: Petroleum sector set for a major fillip in 2017
The Indian oil and gas sector is set for a major fillip in the new year with the government in advanced stages of awarding oil and gas blocks under the new Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP). The upcoming launch of the national sedimentary data repository will provide the new exploration policy an additional thrust and help ramp up output. “We expect to auction oil and gas blocks in a few basins next year under the HELP regime. The national repository data will also be functional by next year,” a senior oil ministry official said. A major highlight of the year gone by was the commissioning of India’s largest public sector refinery – Paradip in Odisha set up by state-run refiner Indian Oil Corp (IOC) – at a cost of Rs 34,555 crore in January 2016. The mega refinery is currently operating at 65 percent capacity and is expected to work at an excess of 90 percent capacity utilization beginning 2017, according to IOC. In the new year, the oil refining sector will also witness activity on the front of the planned 60 MTPA refinery being built by the three PSU oil firms – IOC, Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) — on the West coast. The companies signed an initial pact last month to construct the refinery at a cost of $30 billion. The project will be undertaken by a consortium of IOC, BPCL and HPCL with a 50, 25 and 25 percent stake, respectively. The detailed feasibility report of the project will be in works over the next year, according to an IOC executive. The past year will also be remembered for the Cabinet approval for the HELP policy that came in March replacing the earlier NELP regime. The differentiator for the new policy would be easing of E&P norms including — single license for exploration and production of conventional as well as non-conventional hydrocarbon resources, option to select blocks without waiting for formal bid rounds, revenue sharing model with no micro-management by the government as opposed to profit sharing model under the previous policy and pricing and marketing freedom. The oil ministry concluded the auction of 67 Discovered Small Fields in November where a bulk of the participation came from new entrants. The auctions witnessed 134 e-bids from 42 companies. Officials said the contracts for development of the blocks are likely to be awarded in the beginning of the year 2017. Analysts say the biggest highlight of 2016 was the OPEC decision to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day to rein in global glut and prop up prices. The decision may force the government to cut excise duty on fuel, impact the petroleum subsidy budget for the next fiscal year and disrupt oil companies’ balance sheets. The rising oil price scenario will not translate into good news for the downstream refining and marketing companies, said Salil Garg, Director-Corporates at research agency India Ratings. “An upward movement in crude will also impact natural gas prices which will increase the cost of production for the downstream segment as many of the crude derivates are used for their own industrial use,” he said. The oil and gas sector also witnessed one of the biggest acquisitions in 2016 when Russia’s oil major Rosneft announced its decision to acquire Essar Oil and its Vadinar refinery in October in a deal pegged at over Rs 72,000 crore. The deal is likely to be closed in the first quarter of 2017. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also launched Ujjwala Yojana in May 2016 aimed at providing 5 crore LPG connections to BPL families with a support of Rs 1,600 crore per connection in the next three years. The government has allocated Rs 8000 crore for the scheme. The ministry managed to provide 14.5 million LPG connections in the first six months since the launch of scheme prompting them to revise their targets. Mirco Mueller Jersey
102 Villages Electrified Last Week; 11,429 Villages Electrified till date under DDUGJY
102 villages have been electrified across the country during last week (from 19thto 25thDecember 2016) under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojna (DDUGJY). Out of these electrified villages, 17 villages belong to Assam, 9to Bihar, 10 to Chhattisgarh, 29to Jharkhand, 5 to Manipur, 30to Odisha and1 each to Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.The progress of ongoing electrification process can be tracked on http://garv.gov.in/dashboard An update on ongoing electrification process: – In view of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi’s address to nation, on Independence Day, Government of India has decided to electrify remaining 18,452 un-electrified villages within 1000 days i.e. by 01stMay, 2018. The project has been taken on mission mode and strategy for electrification consists of squeezing the implementation schedule to 12 months and also dividing village electrification process in 12 Stage milestones with defined timelines for monitoring. 11,429 villages have been electrified till date. Out of remaining 7,023 villages, 698 villages are uninhabited. 3,775 villages are to be electrified through grid, 2,502 villages to be electrified through off-grid where grid solutions are out of reach due to geographical barriers and 48 villages are to be electrified by State Government. Total 1654 villages were electrified during April 2015 to 14thAug 2015 and after taking initiative by Government of India for taking it on mission mode, 9,775 additional villages have been electrified from 15thAugust 2015 to 25thDecember, 2016. In order to expedite the progress further, a close monitoring is being done through Gram Vidyut Abhiyanta (GVA) and various actions are also being taken on regular basis like reviewing the progress on monthly basis during the RPM meeting, sharing of list of villages which are at the stage of under energization with the state DISCOM, identifying the villages where milestone progress are delayed. Jason Witten Authentic Jersey