AAI announces Rs. 17000 crore for development of existing airports
The Airports Authority of India on Tuesday announced a major expansion plan of Rs 17000 crore in next five years, for the development of existing airports in the country. AAI Chairman Guru Prasad Mahapatra, who paid a visit at the Bhubaneswar airport, said the development plan includes the expansion of terminals, runway and improvement in the radars of the air navigation system. During the briefing Mahapatra enlightened that round 200 to 300 crore would be spent by the AAI authority to expand the Bhubaneswar airport, under which new terminals would be built and the old ones would be repaired with new tools. The decision of expansion arrived after the aviation sector in India witnessed a growth of more than 20 percent. The Airports authority has plans to purchase new aircrafts under the process to increase the connectivity with other countries. C. J. Prosise Womens Jersey
Armed With A Winning Strategy, Jayant Sinha Vows To Make Air India Profitable Again
Jayant Sinha assumed charge as Minister of State for Civil Aviation in July this year, after a stint in the Finance Ministry. The former investment banker gained a reputation of being a quick learner there and he has demonstrated that again in his new job, having acquired a good grasp over the intricacies of India’s high-cost aviation sector. He has helped launch the ambitious regional connectivity scheme UDAN (which had been in the works for years) and now promises to revolutionise service standards in the aviation sector. In an exclusive chat with Swarajya’s Sindhu Bhattacharya, Sinha promises a return of loss-laden Air India to its former glory and a new definition of what we know as an “Indian” airline. His next pet project is Air Sewa, which is expected to change service standards in India’s aviation industry. Excerpts: Q. In the last six months, every airline was competing aggressively, especially on pricing so much so that yields were falling. But last-minute prices have shot through the roof in the last few days. A. It is important to understand how airline pricing is done. Like any other industry, setting prices is a very dynamic process. If you look in aggregate, prices have been declining for air travel and if you look at the revenue per average seat kilometre (RASK), which is something that airlines track very closely and you can see the data from the latest numbers that Indigo has posted, those are actually coming down. So airline prices in aggregate are declining. Q. What do you mean by aggregate pricing, for the common man? A. If you look at the number of kilometers flown and the amount of rupees collected, the rupees collected per km are actually going down. So in aggregate, the cost of flying is going down. Now that’s the overall story and now you have to look at the individual routes over time. Pavel Buchnevich Womens Jersey
State eyes global firms for highway works
In a bid to curb corruption, the Public Works Department (PWD) has decided to give contracts for redevelopment of 30,000-km-long state highways only to big or global companies. The new tender condition will be that the company should have a turnover of at least Rs 2,000 crore so that small contractors are automatically barred. The ambitious project will be executed in two years’ time, bringing state highways up-to-speed with international standards. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has even invited big companies like L&T, Shapoorji Pallonji and Reliance as also Malaysian and Korean companies on November 21 to disclose plans to redevelop 30,000-km roads in the state. “The idea is to curb corruption at lower levels while redeveloping roads. Local contractors have a link with local leaders which impacts work quality. The road conditions are very poor across the state. Hence, we have decided to adopt contract policy from national highways. National and international companies will not indulge in local-level corruption and will build roads matching global standards. The CM has given in-principle approval to changing norms for road construction, allowing us to involve companies with a turnover of Rs 2,000 crore. Also, such companies will have machinery, expertise and engineers required to construct roads,” an official from the PWD department told The Asian Age. Going further, the government has worked out a new financial model where it will pay 60 per cent of the amount in the first three years, and the remaining will be paid in parts for the next 12 to 15 years. “The companies will be allowed to quote their price with interest as the government is going to pay them for the next 12 to 15 years, the entire cost of the project. We don’t have much funding to reconstruct roads and hence, the model will help us pay the cost,” the official said. Every company will be allotted work on 100 km of road and government expects a cost of Rs 1.5 crore per km, he added. The project includes state highways, roads connecting tehsils with district headquarters and a few tourists’ places. “The government wants roads to be completed in two years’ time. Good road condition can have a huge impact on the public and this can also be used as election agenda. The CM has called a meeting with companies on November 21 where we will take suggestions from them,” the official said. Meanwhile, a contractor who has been in the business of road contracts for the past 10 years, expressing surprise over the government’s new policy, said that this would affect small contractors adversely. He also refused to accept that corruption could be rooted out completely with the decision. “The perception that small contractors are corrupt is not correct. This will affect our business. But we have not heard anything concrete from the government yet,” he said on condition of anonymity. Riley Reiff Jersey
Ban diesel vehicles in 4 states: NGT on Delhi pollution
Slamming the Centre and Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana governments over non compliance and inaction to tackle air pollution, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday proposed to expand the scope of diesel vehicle ban, which is enforced in Delhi, to the four states. The tribunal also directed the central and state governments to declare emergency if the particulate matter (p.m.) 2.5 and 10 reaches in excess of 500 and 300 micrograms respectively. During the emergency, the tribunal said the states must temporarily shutdown thermal power plants and close all construction activities in the affected areas. The tribunal also reached to the corporates and asked them to collect and dispose agricultural residues under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. With regards to stubble burning which has been, reasoned by many, as the major cause of air pollution, the green court asked the central and state governments to constitute committees to tackle crop burning and find out the source of pollution. The concerned committees will then have to report to the NGT and update it about the steps being implemented. The Delhi government on Sunday unveiled a slew of steps, including closure of all schools for three days, to battle unprecedented smog levels that have drastically cut visibility and turned the national capital into a virtual gas chamber. Justin Williams Authentic Jersey
Govt’s target of 25,000 km of highway projects may not be met in FY17
Government may fall short of its target of awarding 25,000 km of highway projects in the current financial year as delays in project clearances impact growth in the sector. So far, a meagre 18% of the highway projects have been awarded during the current financial year as against the target of 25,000 km. “On an average project clearances takes about one and one-and-a-half year, this delays the award process, ” road minister Nitin Gadkari said at the Economic Editor’s Conference. Land acquisition, environment and forest clearance is required prior to award of a highway project. Road projects of 4,433 km have been awarded till October 2016 of which 3,591 km have been constructed. The construction target of roads for the current year is 15,000 km. Gadkari has announced Rs 2 lakh crore investment for constructing expressways in the poll-bound states of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Of these, projects worth Rs 30,000 crore are already underway in UP. But officials said land acquisition cost may prove to be a real challenge because of the steep cost involved, Business Standard reported recently. Expressways, by definition, are greenfield projects and involve huge land acquisition cost. As much as Rs 10-12 crore per km of cost is incurred in the expansion of a highway from two-lane to four-lane. The number would be five to six times higher in a greenfield project like expressway. Estimates suggest land acquisitions costs constitute around 50 per cent of the total cost of the expressway project. On an average, an expressway is built at a width of 100-feet. The cost of land acquisition varies from state to state and can even differ at two locations in the same state, an official said. The Western Peripheral Expressway (Kundli-Manesar-Palwal) and the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal) are among other projects delayed for over a decade. These are likely to be completed by December 2017. The projects would benefit Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, as they will open both the rural as well as the urban areas for developing commercial spaces and townships along the expressways, apart from generating revenue. The projects are also expected to improve air pollution levels in Delhi and decongest the national Capital. Another project is the New Delhi to Katra (Jammu & Kashmir) expressway, which would also reduce travel time to Amritsar by about two-and-a-half hours. The Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway would be executed on an alignment cutting across Jind in Haryana and connecting Amritsar via Barnala in Punjab. The project — that would come up at a cost of Rs 60,000 crore — would reduce the distance between Delhi and Katra by 110 km. The distance from Delhi to Katra via National Highway-1 is 729 km. In addition, the government has prepared a blueprint of expressways stretching across 18,000 km. But experts remain sceptical of the ambitious announcements made by the minister, mainly on account of land acquisition cost involved. At present, there are only a clutch of expressways in the country, including the Mumbai-Pune expressway, that was built at a cost of over Rs 1,600 crore and became fully operational in April 2002. In order to complete the proposed projects on time, the road construction pace has to be set at 30 km per day, as promised by Gadkari, after he took charge in May 2014. Johnny Unitas Jersey
Twenty Five lakh crore rupees investment in highways and shipping in 5 yrs: Nitin Gadkari
To overhaul infrastructure, government is lining up Rs 25 lakh crore for the highways and shipping sectors in 5 years, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday. “We are doing massive work in the infrastructure sector. There will be investment worth Rs 25 lakh crore in highways and shipping in 5 years,” Gadkari, who holds road transport, highways and shipping, said while addressing the Economic Editors Conference 2016. His estimate is the investment of Rs 25 lakh crore in the sector is bound to boost GDP by 3 per cent and this will also create at least 5 crore jobs. According to the minister, so far projects worth Rs 4 lakh crore have been awarded, including projects worth Rs 3.17 lakh crore in highways and Rs 80,000 crore in shipping. He backed up his claims saying the massive work has led to construction of 22 km of highways per day, whereas the ministry is striving to achieve 42 km a day target and is working hard in that direction. Highway construction target for 2016-17 is 15,000 km and “till October, we constructed 3,591 km”, he said. The minister said that the current BJP government so far has constructed 14,594 km of highways while it has awarded projects for construction of another 21,247 km. The government is in the process of finalising project reports of 12 expressways soon and work on the same will start. Two key projects, Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways will be completed in the next seven months, the minister said. “Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has asked us to complete both these projects to decongest Delhi within 400 days and accordingly, the work is going on and we are hopeful to complete these in the next seven months,” Gadkari added. The government remains “committed” to increasing the length of National Highways to 2 lakh km. The length of National Highways has already been increased to 1.65 lakh km, from the earlier 96,000 km. Also on the priority list of the government is improving the infrastructure in the North-East, and Rs 1 lakh crore investment has been pencilled in for the same. Asked about the delays in projects in Kerala, he pointed to land acquisition as a major hindrance but the situation has improved recently with a new government there. Turning to Tamil Nadu projects and the one involving elevated corridor of the Chennai Port, the minister said: “I may be a go-getter in India, but I am failing in exam in Tamil Nadu.” Gadkari said policy initiatives and other measures have resulted in unlocking Rs 3.8 lakh crore of stalled projects. He expressed happiness that bankers and and private players interest in the road sector has revived. He is clear that there is no question of scrapping toll fees and people need to pay for the same if they want to avail better services. The minister sees immense potential of waterways in the country, including cruise tourism, and the government is working to give a push in this direction. The government has already approved conversion of 111 rivers across the country into waterways. “Work on 20 inland waterway projects will start soon,” the minister added. Emphasis is on port rail connectivity projects and works worth Rs 22,000 crore are being undertaken through Port Rail Corporation. Indian Port Rail Corporation (IPRCL), which has been set up to take up last-mile rail connectivity for ports, have taken up 25 works across 9 major ports. Of this, 4 have already been awarded and 9 more are in the pipeline for the remaining part of 2016-17. Out of the final list of 27 rail connectivity projects identified under Sagarmala, 21 for 3,300 km worth Rs 28,000 crore are being taken up by the Ministry of Railways and 6 worth Rs 3,590 crore are to be taken up either in Non-Government Rail (NGR) or JV model through IPRCL. The ambitious Sagarmala project is under way, in which five coastal economic zones are being developed. The idea is to reduce logistics cost for exim and domestic trade with minimal infrastructure investment and Sagarmala aspires to reduce logistics costs leading to overall cost savings of Rs 35,000-40,000 crore per annum. As part of Sagarmala, more than 400 projects, at an estimated infrastructure investment of more than Rs 8 lakh crore, have been identified. Master plans have been finalised for the 12 major ports and based on the same, 142 port capacity expansion projects worth Rs 91,434 crore have been identified for implementation over the next 20 years. “Out of this, 30 projects worth Rs 11,612 crore have been proposed for implementation starting 2016-17,” he said. In addition, 6 new port locations have been identified and will be developed – Vadhavan, Enayam, Sagar Island, Paradip Outer Harbour, Sirkazhi, and Belekeri. Seventy-nine road connectivity projects have been identified under Sagarmala and will be taken up, including 18 projects under Bharatmala scheme. An Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) has also been formed to develop a strategy and implementation road map for coastal shipping of coal and other commodities and products, he said. Zack Kassian Womens Jersey
Govt to promote solar powered charkhas, rickshaws
The government is looking at promoting solar powered charkhas as well as rickshaws in the country and has invited views from stakeholders on design and costing of the products. “Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) is considering to promote ‘Solar Powered Charkhas’ and ‘Solar Rickshaw’ under off grid and decentralised solar programme. Suggestions are invited from the stakeholders on…Technical specifications,” a MNRE official said. The official further said that manufacturers and developers of solar powered charkhas and solar rickshaw have been requested to send their comments on the technical specifications with design by November 22. “Manufacturers of solar charkhas, who have developed the product/interested in developing an improved product may please send their comments,” the official said. It is possible, he said, to eliminate the hardship/ drudgery involved in the manual operation of charkha and increase the wage earning capacity. Since charkhas are being mainly operated in rural areas which don’t have assured electric supply, the use of solar energy could be thought of. The use of solar energy can usher in a new era of spinning, the official added. Since the charkha is a small machine, it is feasible to operate the charkha using solar energy. A commercially viable solar system for the operation of 8-10 spindles charkha has been developed by many institutions. The technology is now well proven. To revive the large numbers of charkhas going out of operation in villages, solar energy could be easily harnessed. Solar charkha kit attachment has been developed to operate the existing 8-10 spindle charkhas which are normally used for manual operation in practice. A motorised mechanism ensures an even power supply, which in turn ensures a better quality of yarn. The government has ambitious plans for deployment of 175 GW renewable power capacities by 2022, including 100 GW of solar and 60 GW of wind. Dominique Easley Authentic Jersey
AP power utilities to cash in on surplus
Even as the State has reached a comfortable position in the power supply situation, the Andhra Pradesh power utilities are gearing up to participate in the tenders invited for supply of power by the other States. To begin with, the utilities have decided to participate in the bids called by Kerala Government for supply of 100 MW power. The decision was taken after assessing the availability of power in the State factoring in the increased demand from agriculture, industry, domestic and commercial segments. The State had become surplus in power with the addition of the Krishnapatnam and Hinduja power plants besides addition of close to 1,000 MW power through the renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. In addition, the APGenco is hopeful of installing the fourth unit of the Rayalaseema Thermal Power Plant by the middle of next year. “ Energy from the renewable sources is being treated as spillover reserve to secure grid stability in the event of deficit supply from the existing plants” APTransco joint managing director Dinesh Parchuri told The Hindu. He said absence of a corridor to supply power to Kerala would not be a problem for the power utilities as they would rely on the network of the Power Grid Corporation of India. Asked about the aggregate revenue requirement report that the utilities needed to submit to the regulator AP Electricity Regulatory Commission, he said the utilities were engaged in the preparation of the report based on the availability of power and demand from different sectors besides assessing the revenue requirements of the utilities. The utilities were actively working on incorporating the prospect of revenues through sale of surplus power to the States with deficit supply. Glenn Dorsey Authentic Jersey
Bengal not ready to join Centre’s UDAY scheme
The Bengal government denied joining power scheme UDAY on Thursday. While addressing media here the state power minister Sobhandeb Chatterjee said that the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led state government refused to sign any agreement to join the scheme and as ‘it doesn’t believe in any forceful agreement to promulgate center’s scheme.’ However, the minister also mentioned, “We have assured the Center of the state’s support over joint-mechanism. Initially they pressurised us to sign the UDAY agreement, but our CM denied and assured co-operation in its different schemes.” The Minister of State with Independent Charge for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines Piyush Goyal urged the state government to join the scheme meant for revival of debt-ridden power distribution companies in the nation and claimed that only 22 villages are un-electrified in the state. He also asserted the government’s effort to ensure affordable 24X7 power to all by 2019 is an integral part of the state by joining UDAY. On this context Chatterjee claimed, “West, Bengal is one of the states which now can provide 24X7 power to all in two years to 97% of the entire population successfully.” “There are 15 villages which are un-electrified. 14 are in a coastal area and one in Purulia district,” the minister added further. Chatterjee also emphasised on the “Alternate Power Source” and raised the matter in a power summit, organised by both the Centre and Indian Chamber of Commerce in the national Capital on Thursday. The state also asked the Center to divide the entire power system of India. “We are looking forward to enhance power manufacturing into Hydraulic and Solar sectors. We have targeted to generate 100 MW Solar Power in one year,” Chatterjee mentioned. Ryane Clowe Womens Jersey
NGT: Shut power plants, stop construction on bad air days
The National Green Tribunal said on Thursday that whenever air pollution reaches severe levels, Delhi and its four neighbouring states would have to take a set of emergency measures that include sprinkling water from choppers, stopping construction activities and shutting down polluting power plants and gensets. Passing a host of directions to tackle air pollution in Delhi and its neighbourhood, the NGT also asked for the setting up of a central and five state-level monitoring committees to check implementation of its orders and form action plans to check pollution. “When PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels cross 251 and 431 microgramscubic metre, it is an ‘environment emergency’ and states would have to take measures to tackle the situation. In other situations, normal measures will continue to be implemented,” said a bench headed by NGT chairperson Swatanter Kumar. The NGT said farmers must be given “happy seeders” — machines that sow wheat without burning paddy residues — to prevent crop fires. During the period of severe air pollution, all construction, transport of construction material and stone-crushing activities must be stopped. States would also have to shut down power plants, hot-mixers, brick kilns and diesel generator sets whose emissions are above the prescribed limit, the National Green Tribunal said in its interim order. The green court further directed the state governments to gradually shift to mechanised cleaning of roads by purchasing vacuum machines.”Cleaning of dust manually should be stopped in a gradual manner and mechanised cleaning through machines should be introduced to reduce dust levels,” the bench said. It asked the four neighbouring states of Delhi — Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan — to consider banning diesel vehicles older than 10 years while directing Delhi to ensure strict implementation of its orders on diesel vehicles. Brandon Williams Authentic Jersey