Kullu airport inducted under UDAN scheme
The Kullu-Manali Airport at Bhuntar has been included under UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) scheme by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). UDAN was launched by the government last month and it seeks to connect small cities by air as well as make flying more affordable for the masses. Kullu Airport Director AN Sharma said the AAI had called for open bidding from all interested stakeholders, including airlines, on the government’s regional connectivity scheme UDAN. The Kullu Airport and many other airports throughout the country having less than seven flights a week were included under the scheme. Airfare of Rs 2,500 or lower is to be offered for flights of less than one-hour duration. The scheme is a market-based mechanism in which airlines bid for seat subsidies through auctioning. Operators will assess demand on routes and submit proposals for operating and providing connectivity on such routes and seek Viability Gap Funding (VGF), if any, while committing to certain minimum operating conditions, Sharma stated. So far only national carrier Air India was plying daily flights from Delhi to Kullu. With the inclusion of Kullu Airport under UDAN scheme, other airlines would be encouraged to conduct operations on this sector. Air India would also offer lower airfares after other operators start scheduled operations and offer UDAN seats, AN Sharma added. Trent Taylor Authentic Jersey
Govt. withdraws permission for Aranmula airport
The State government has snapped all its links with the proposal for setting up a greenfield airport at Aranmula in Pathanamthitta district by withdrawing the in-principle clearance it had given for the project. The decision to wash its hands of the controversy-ridden project was taken by the State Cabinet at its weekly meeting here on Wednesday. The Cabinet also decided to scrap all the orders the government had issued in relation to the airport project. From the beginning, the project was ridden by controversies. Mooted in 2009, the project had received in-principle clearance on February 2, 2010, which also declared Aranmula and surrounding areas as an industrial area. The project hit the first stumbling block when environmental activists, religious groups, and political parties launched an agitation against it. Logan Brown Womens Jersey
Tenders worth Rs 442 crore floated for runway work on Chandigarh airfield
Tenders for the re-surfacing, extension and widening work of the runway and taxi tracks on the Chandigarh airfield have been floated for an estimated cost of around Rs 442 crore. The task of re-surfacing and extension of dispersal of runways and other related works is expected to be completed within 26 months from the date of awarding the tender. According to senior IAF officials, the runway on the airfield is expected to be closed on two occasions for 15 days each when the re-surfacing work is in progress – firstly, when stress absorbing membrane interlayer is being laid and secondly, for the laying of dense asphaltic concrete. These two occasions when the runway will be closed will not be a concurrent period so that the flying operations of the air force and domestic and international flight operations of the Chandigarh airport are not disrupted for a long period of time. During these two 15-day periods, the military aviation flights will be diverted to another airfield nearby, while the civilian flights will not be able to operate from Chandigarh. Tony Gonzalez Womens Jersey
Karnataka govt keen on developing airstrips: Industries Minister Deshpande
Asserting state government’s commitment to develop regional airports, Industries Minister R V Deshpande on Wednesday said there is a proposal to develop airstrips in different parts of the state. “We understand the importance of regional air connectivity and its benefits in the development of tourism sector in the state,” Deshpande said in the Assembly. Pointing out at a few airports that are in different stages of development, he said, “We have planned airstrips in Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, Uttara Kannada and other places.” Deshpande was replying to a query by Govinda Karajola (BJP) on the delay in completion of Vijayapura airport. Stating that the state government was awaiting central government’s response on the Vijayapura airport project, the Minister said 727 acres had been acquired for the purpose. Ryan Smith Authentic Jersey
Devendra Fadnavis raises hope for Kolhapur airport
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the state government has taken all necessary steps to clear hurdles for development of Kolhapur Airport and it will be the first airport in the state to become operational under Central government’s Regional Connectivity Scheme. The ministry of civil aviation released National Aviation Policy 2016 (NCAP 2016) with an objective to enhance regional connectivity through fiscal support and infrastructure development. The ministry has started regional connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagarik) with an objective of civil aviation’s significant growth that in turn would promote tourism, increase employment and lead to a balanced regional growth. As per the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) of the ministry, the government plans to develop airports at 398 cities, including 29 in Maharashtra. Fadnavis has stated that Kolhapur’s airport will be first to become operational in the state. Larry Robinson Womens Jersey
NTPC’s Talcher plant achieves highest generation at 104.13 per cent PLF
NTPC Ltd’s Talcher thermal power station achieved its ever best highest single day generation of 11.496 million units of electricity at 104.13 per cent plant load factor (PLF) on Wednesday, the company said. The station had topped the national ranking for Highest Capacity Utilization among all power stations of the country during 2015-16. With an installed capacity of 460 megawatt, station has four units of 60 MW and two units of 110 MW each. First 60 MW unit of the station was dedicated to the nation on February 7, 1968 making it the oldest power station in the state of Odisha. The station shall enter 50th year of operation early next year. Talcher Thermal was taken over by NTPC from the erstwhile Orissa State Electricity Board in 1995 and had already outlived its prime. “Turnaround story of Talcher Thermal is a masterpiece of NTPC’s operation and maintenance practices which led to its life enhancement and spectacular journey from 19 per cent PLF in 1995 to a PLF of 90 per cent plus for the last eight years,” NTPC said. Andrus Peat Womens Jersey
Three foreign oil companies keen on hiring strategic oil storages
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Saudi Aramco of Saudi Arabia and Royal Dutch Shell have evinced interest in hiring strategic oil storage that India has built on east and west coasts, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said today. India, which is 80 per cent dependent on imports to meet its crude oil needs, has built three underground oil storages at Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Mangalore and Padur in Karnataka as insurance against supply disruptions. “ADNOC of UAE, Saudi Aramco of Saudi Arabia and Shell have expressed their interest in storing crude oil in the strategic petroleum reserve facilities,” he said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha here. Pradhan said under Strategic Petroleum Reserve project Phase-I, underground rock caverns for storage of 5.33 million tons of crude oil at three locations — Vishakhapatnam (1.33 million tons), Mangalore (1.50 million tons) and Padur (2.5 million tons) have been created. “The Vishakhapatnam and Mangalore storage facilities have already been commissioned. The facility at Vishakhapatnam has already been filled up and nearly one-fourth of Mangalore storage facility has also been filled. The storage facility at Padur has also been completed,” he said. These reserves as well as storages at refineries and depots are enough to meet 73.5 days of India’s crude requirement, he added. “To facilitate participation of foreign investors in filling up part of Mangalore storage facility, Government has inserted Section 10 48(A) in the Income Tax Act providing for exemption from income tax of a notified foreign oil company,” he said. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget for 2016-17 gave tax exemption to income of foreign company from storage and sale of crude oil stored as part of strategic reserves. Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL) has built the underground storage facility. But to meet the huge cost of filing the storages with crude oil, the Government is keen to meet a substantial part of the financial burden through participation of private players including foreign national oil companies (NOCs) and multinational companies (MNCs) storing and selling crude oil from outside India. However, the storage of crude oil by NOCs/MNCs and its sale in India would have created tax liability for these entities. In order to achieve neutrality in terms of taxation to encourage the NOCs and MNCs to store their crude oil in India and to build up strategic oil reserves, Jaitley amended the provisions of Section 10 of the Act to provide that any income accruing or arising to a foreign company on account of storage of crude oil in a facility in India and sale of crude oil therefrom to any person resident in India shall not be included in the total income. Jacquizz Rodgers Jersey
Oil companies shoulder pain of downturn with lower output
The world’s listed oil companies have slashed oil output by 2.4 percent so far this year during one of the industry’s worst downturns as OPEC battles to agree on its first production cut since 2008. The aggregated production of 109 listed companies that produce more than a third of the world’s oil fell in the third quarter of 2016 by 838,000 barrels per day from a year earlier to 33.88 million bpd, data provided by Morgan Stanley showed. By comparison, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries produced 33.64 million bpd in October. OPEC has struggled to agree on a joint production freeze or cut to support oil prices before its Nov. 30 meeting in Vienna. In the second quarter of 2016, the companies reduced production by nearly 930,000 bpd, according to Morgan Stanley. The firms include national oil champions of China, Russia and Brazil, international producers such as Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell, as well as U.S. shale oil producers like EOG Resources and Occidental Petroleum. The drop in oil companies’ output is particularly compelling given the increase in 2015, when third-quarter production rose by some 1.9 million bpd. “Clearly, we have seen a large swing in the year-on-year trend in production, from strong growth as recent as a year ago, now to steep decline. This is the outcome of the strong cutbacks in investment,” Morgan Stanley equity analyst Martijn Rats said. Capital expenditure for the companies combined more than halved from $136 billion in the third quarter of 2014 to $58 billion in the same period this year, according to Rats. Oil executives and the International Energy Agency have warned that a sharp drop in global investment in oil and gas would result in a supply shortage by the end of the decade. Large oilfields, such as deepwater developments off the coasts of the United States, Brazil, Africa and Southeast Asia, typically take three to five years and billions in investment to develop. Cost reductions and increased efficiencies have only partly offset the drop in production as a result of the lower investment. Technological advancements have also helped boost onshore U.S shale production. “These declines should temporarily soften in 2017 as new fields are coming on-stream in Canada, Brazil, the former Soviet Union and U.S. tight oil probably stabilises,” Rats said. “Still, unless investment rebounds relatively soon, this steep downward trend is likely to resume in 2018 and beyond. Eddie Murray Authentic Jersey
Flash fire at Reliance Industries’ Jamnagar refinery; 8 workers injured
Eight persons were injured when a flash fire broke out at Reliance Industries’ 33-million-tonnes -a-year refinery at Jamnagar in Gujarat. The fire which borke out at 3 AM was immediately extinguished and there was no impact on production, the company said in a statement. The fire broke out at the fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU), a petrol-making unit, domestic tarrif area (DTA) refinery, which was under maintenance. RIL owns and operates two refineries at the Jamnagar refining complex – a 33 million tonnes a year old unit that cater to fuel demand locally and a 29 million tonnes a year only-for-export newer unit. “There was an unfortunate flash fire in one of the units under a planned maintenance shutdown in our DTA refinery at Jamnagar. “While the Reliance fire brigade extinguished the fire swiftly, this has resulted in injuries to 8 contract workers, who are being provided necessary medical treatment,” the statement said. RIL said all operations of the refinery continue to be normal. Adam Shaheen Womens Jersey
Noida seeks layout plan of FNG from NHAI
Noida Authority on Tuesday said that it has asked the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to provide it with a detailed layout plan of the under-construction Faridabad-Noida-Ghaziabad (FNG) expressway. The NHAI has been given the mandate to develop the stretch as a National Highway. The highway aims at connecting Ghaziabad, Faridabad with Noida and Greater Noida besides decongesting existing road networks. According to Noida Authority officials, they need the details of the layout map and the alignment of the highway to integrate the changes into its Master Plan. “A meeting was held with the NHAI officials last week,” said P.K Agarwal, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Noida Authority. “We have sought the details including the alignment and land required for the project so that we can make the relevant changes in our Master Plan and also ensure that NHAI do not face any hurdles during construction,” he explained. “We will also make sure that there is no delay in any land acquisition for the project,” he added. Agarwal further said that a consultant has been appointed by the NHAI to prepare a project report on the highway. The consultant will take about a year to complete its report and before work can be started at the site, he said. “A report will be provided to us in next 2-3 months on the 17 km stretch that falls into Noida. This report will be used to construct approach roads and underpass to connect areas falling along this route,” the CEO said. The FNG was planned way back in 1989 and work kick-started on it in 1993. Work in Noida started on the FNG in 2008. In November last year, the Uttar Pradesh government had given a no-objection certificate (NOC) to the Center for granting a National Highway tag to the expressway. The government of India had also been urged the latter to complete the project soon. Once complete, the much-awaited FNG expressway is touted to provide fast connectivity to daily commuters of the area. The objective of the highway is to decongest Delhi roads and mitigate pollution caused due to vehicular emissions. Of its total length, about 19.9km falls in Noida-Greater Noida region, 8km in Ghaziabad, while the rest 28.1km is in the Faridabad region. In Noida one end of the FNG e-way is located at Chijarsi on the NH-24, while the other end is at the entrance to Faridabad near sector 168. Once it is extended till Sohna—as has been proposed—its length will be 75km. Though Noida has completed about 70% of the project some stretches are yet to be completed for use of commuters. Since NHAI has adopted the highway, completion will now be the responsibility of the highway authority. Dominic Moore Womens Jersey