JK Tyre is looking to enter aviation market
JK Tyre & Industries Ltd, part of the Rs 28,000 crore JK Group last week rolled out its 10 millionth radial tyre from its Vikrant plant at Mysuru in Karnataka. The company, which ranks amongst the top 25 tyre manufacturers in the world and has a wide range of products catering to diverse business segments in the automobile industry, at present operates 12 plants – nine in India and three in Mexico. It recently announced integrating its Research and Development centres (R&D) spread across different locations in the country into one by setting up a Rs 100 crore centre in Mysuru. Raghupati Singhania, chairman and managing director, JK Tyre, in an interview with Shahkar Abidi, speaks about a wide range of topics and challenges, including the threat from the dumping of Chinese products in the Indian market. He also talked about the company’s interest in getting into the civil aviation sector which provides huge scope for growth as India is amongst the fastest-growing aviation markets in the world. Q. A lot of Indian companies are getting into the aviation market by offering to supply parts to aircraft manufacturers. Does JK Tyre have any plans to get into the aviation segment? A. Yes, we are working towards that direction as it’s a very lucrative segment. Though at present I cannot comment more on it as plans are still being worked out and things are still taking shape. But one thing is sure – we cannot ignore the segment as its going very strong and offers a lot of opportunity for growth. Christian Dvorak Womens Jersey
Agra will get its airport, but Jewar Airport stays, says Union minister Mahesh Sharma
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed his first pre-electoral speech in Agra in November 2013, he had made some very ambitious promises to Agra, including that of an international airport and barrage on Yamuna. However, in barely 3 years, his own ministers have reneged on Modi’s promises and the people of the city are not very pleased with the BJP at this hour. According to Anil Sharma, coordinator of the local civil society, Union Tourism MoS (IC) Mahesh Sharma has played a very shrewd game with the people of Agra by snatching away Agra’s international airport in order to benefit his own constituency in Jewar (Noida), when he was also holding the charge of MoS of Civil Aviation. The local civil society had raised this issue before the prime minister and the minister of civil aviation. Though, Mahesh Sharma has been removed from the civil aviation portfolio, the international airport is still being built in Jewar and not in Agra. This made it clear that Agra ranks very low on PM Modi’s priorities these days, in sharp contrast to the Modi Agra heard in November 2013, who appeared to be fully aware of each and every woe of the city. Jonathan Huberdeau Womens Jersey
DGCA may double 6-month notice period for pilots
A bitter fight has broken out among Indian carriers over the issue of ‘old’ airlines trying to retain their prized pilots and ‘new’ airlines aiming to poach them for their expanding fleets. Things have come to such a pass that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is reviewing its over a decade-old rule of having six months’ notice period for pilots. The old and established airlines have sought doubling of pilots’ notice period to a year. The DGCA has now sought individual views of all airlines. Highly placed sources say established airlines like Air India and IndiGo are in favour of one-year notice period, while ‘new’ airlines from the Tata Group like Vistara are against raising the notice period. Even some old airlines which are now going to expand their fleet are against the proposal for a year’s notice period. “There is differed opinion among airlines on this issue. Unfortunately nobody looks at this issue on the basis of legality. A final call will be taken after due dilligence by current DG B S Bhullar. His predecessors were not in favour of extending the notice period,” said a highly placed source. Mirza Teletovic Authentic Jersey
IOC raises oil import from Iran to 5 MT for FY 2017
Indian Oil Corp, the nation’s biggest oil firm, has raised crude oil import from Iran to four fold and has cleared most of the past payments as sanctions against the Persian Gulf nation were eased. “We have contracted to import 5 million tons (MT)of crude oil from Iran in 2016-17, up from 1.2 MT,” IOC Director (Finance) A K Sharma said. India has steadily raised crude oil imports from Iran after US sanctions were lifted in January this year. Iran today is India’s fourth biggest crude oil supplier. Iran, which was India’s second biggest supplier of crude oil after Saudi Arabia till 2010-11, had been relegated to 7th place in 2013-14 and 2014-15 out of the 50-odd nations India sources its crude oil from. But with the lifting of sanctions in January this year, crude oil imports have steadily climbed. India imported 12.7 MT of crude oil in 2015-16, up from 11 MT in the previous two fiscals. That made it 6th largest supplier of oil to India. In April-June this year, India bought 5 MT of crude oil from Iran, making it the fourth largest supplier just a shade behind Venezuela which exported 5.2 MT. Iran had in 2009-10 supplied 21.2 MT which came down to 18.5 MT in 2010-11 and to 18.1 MT in the year after. Sharma said imports from Iran were going exactly in line with the plans. “Month-wise lifting is in line with the 5 MT contracted volume,” he said. IOC Director (Refineries) Sanjiv Singh said the company had paid USD 510 million out of the total outstanding of USD 621 million due to Iran in past oil dues. Sanctions had blocked payment routes and dues had accumulated over the past couple of years. After accounting for the exchange variations, the total outstanding due is only USD 55 million now, he said. Iraq this year has overtaken Saudi Arabia as India’s top oil exporter. It sold 11 MT of crude oil to India during April-June, higher than 10 MT sourced from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has been India’s top supplier of crude oil – selling 35 MT of oil in 2014-15 and 40.04 MT in 2015-16. During the first three months of current fiscal, India imported 53.2 MT of crude oil, 65 per cent of which came from the volatile Middle East region. India imports about 80 per cent of its oil needs. Allen Bailey Authentic Jersey
Oil discoveries at 70-year low signal supply shortfall ahead
Explorers in 2015 discovered only about a tenth as much oil as they have annually on average since 1960. This year, they’ll probably find even less, spurring new fears about their ability to meet future demand. With oil prices down by more than half since the price collapse two years ago, drillers have cut their exploration budgets to the bone. The result: Just 2.7 billion barrels of new supply was discovered in 2015, the smallest amount since 1947, according to figures from Edinburgh-based consulting firm Wood Mackenzie Ltd. This year, drillers found just 736 million barrels of conventional crude as of the end of last month. That’s a concern for the industry at a time when the US Energy Information Administration estimates that global oil demand will grow from 94.8 million barrels a day this year to 105.3 million barrels in 2026. While the US shale boom could potentially make up the difference, prices locked in below $50 a barrel have undercut any substantial growth there. New discoveries from conventional drilling, meanwhile, are “at rock bottom,” said Nils-Henrik Bjurstroem, a senior project manager at Oslo-based consultant Rystad Energy AS. “There will definitely be a strong impact on oil and gas supply, and especially oil.” Global inventories have been buoyed by full-throttle output from Russia and OPEC. They’ve flooded the world with oil despite depressed prices as they defend market share. But years of under-investment will be felt as soon as 2025, Bjurstroem said. Producers will replace little more than one in 20 of the barrels consumed this year, he said. Global spending on exploration, from seismic studies to actual drilling, has been cut to $40 billion this year from about $100 billion in 2014, said Andrew Latham, Wood Mackenzie’s vice president for global exploration. Moving ahead, spending is likely to remain at the same level through 2018, he said. Exploration is easier to scratch than development investments because of shorter supplier-contract commitments. This year, it will make up about 13 percent of the industry’s spending, down from as much as 18 percent historically, Latham said. The result is less drilling, even as the market downturn has driven down the cost of operations. There were 209 wells drilled through August this year, down from 680 in 2015 and 1,167 in 2014, according to Wood Mackenzie. That compares with an annual average of 1,500 in data going back to 1960. 10-Year Effect Ten years down the line, when the low exploration data being seen now begins to hinder production, it will have a “significant potential to push oil prices up,” Bjurstroem said. “Exploration activity is among the easiest things to regulate, to take up and down,” said Statoil ASA Chief Executive Officer Eldar Saetre, in an interview at the ONS Conference in Stavanger, Norway on Monday. “It’s not necessarily the right way to think. We need to keep a long-term perspective and maintain exploration activity through downturns as well, and Statoil has.” Oil prices at about $50 a barrel remain at less than half their 2014 peak, as a glut caused by the US shale boom sent prices crashing. When the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to continue pumping without limits in a Saudi-led strategy designed to increase its share of the market, US production retreated to a two-year low. Global benchmark Brent added 0.2 per cent to $49.38 a barrel at 1:04 p.m. Singapore time on Tuesday. Creating Opportunities Kristin Faeroevik, managing director for the Norwegian unit of Lundin Petroleum AB, a Stockholm-based driller that’s active in Norway, said it will take “five-to-eight years probably before we see the impact” on production from the current cutbacks. In the meantime, he said, “that creates opportunities for some.” Oil companies will need to invest about $1 trillion a year to continue to meet demand, said Ben Van Beurden, the CEO of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, during a panel discussion at the Norway meeting. He sees demand rising by 1 million to 1.5 million barrels a day, with about 5 percent of supply lost to natural declines every year. On Monday, oil declined amid doubts producers will agree on a deal to stabilize the market when suppliers meet next month for informal talks. Iran’s plan to continue boosting crude output until it regains its pre-sanctions OPEC market share is dimming prospects of collective action, said Patrick Allman-Ward, CEO of Dana Gas PJSC. Less Risk Persistently low prices mean that even when explorers invest in finding new resources, they are taking less risk, Bjurstroem said. They are focusing on appraisal wells on already-discovered fields and less on frontier areas such as the Arctic, where drilling and developing any discovery is more expensive. Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Statoil ASA, among the world’s biggest oil companies, abandoned exploration in Alaska last year. “Traditionally, it’s the big companies that have had the means to gamble, and they might be the ones that have cut the most,” Bjurstroem said. Overall, the proportion of new oil the industry has added to offset the amount it pumps has dropped from 30 per cent in 2013 to a reserve-replacement ratio of just 6 per cent this year in terms of conventional resources, which excludes shale oil and gas, Bjurstroem predicted. Exxon Mobil Corp. said in February that it failed to replace at least 100 per cent of its production by adding resources with new finds or acquisitions for the first time in 22 years. “That’s a scary thing because, seriously, there is no exploration going on today, “Per Wullf, CEO of the offshore drilling company Seadrill Ltd., said by telephone. Jason Demers Jersey
Norway Gas India in focus for Norwegian expertise with natural gas
Innovation Norway, DNV GL and the Norwegian Embassy organized a seminar in New Delhi recently to display Norwegian expertise within natural gas, and to address the challenges and opportunities in the evolving market in India. Innovation Norway, DNV GL and the Norwegian Embassy organized a seminar in New Delhi recently to display Norwegian expertise within natural gas, and to address the challenges and opportunities in the evolving market in India. The seminar provided unique opportunities to get the latest on industry developments, driving technologies, safety guidelines and operational issues. “India wants to combine economic growth with low carbon emissions, and aims to deliver electricity 24X7 to all Indians. Norway aims to be your partner in achieving these goals”, said Ms Hanne Meldgaard, Minister-Counsellor, Norwegian Embassy, expressing hope for an even stronger partnership on energy and maritime between India and Norway in the future. Inland Waterways Authority of India, represented by Shrikant Mahiyaria, said “India is keen to promote LNG as bunker fuel for sustainable and efficient inland transportation. I am sure that the bilateral cooperation between Norway and India will grow in this sector”. The rapid economic growth in India is highly dependent on an increased supply of energy. Small-scale distribution of LNG will be used to fuel up smaller power plants, industry users and as fuel for ships. There is a positive environmental aspect of using LNG as an alternative to heavy fuel oil. Globally there are now another 50 LNG vessels under construction, of which 20 are Norwegian owned. According to DNV GL there will be 1000 vessels operating on LNG within 2020. LNG propelled vessels can significantly contribute to reduced emissions, both for the Norwegian short sea fleets and for deep-sea transportation. The Norwegian Government has also developed and implemented a specific Maritime Strategy during the last 7 years that focus on cleaner and greener shipping. By combining financial instruments like a NOX fund, reduction of port taxes and duties, implementing ship scrapping regimes for those ship-owners selecting to renew their old ships with LNG propelled ships, promoting development of small scale LNG distribution, etc. it is possible for governments to be a catalyst in facilitating a change to clean short sea shipping within a limited number of years. Use of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is one of the solutions for a greener energy sector in India. “LNG is a key feature of India’s future plans for a sustainable energy sector. This cannot be complete without Norway, because of your experience”, said Sunjay Sudhir, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. With two decades of experience, Norwegian companies develop and deliver products along the entire LNG value chain. Norway has developed small-scale LNG infrastructure for more than 10 years and has today around 40 distributed LNG terminals along the coast and 50 LNG-propelled vessels in operation. This makes Norway one of the pioneers in this business, and it has “propelled” the development of highly skilled Norwegian vendors and suppliers of equipment and services in this sector. Tre Flowers Jersey
Diesel ban: Anant Geete asks auto companies not to take ‘panga’ with courts
Union Minister Anant Geete today said the auto industry has the government’s backing on the issue of high-capacity diesel cars, but cautioned it against taking “panga” (messing) with courts that had banned such vehicles. Union Minister Anant Geete today said the auto industry has the government’s backing on the issue of high-capacity diesel cars, but cautioned it against taking “panga” (messing) with courts that had banned such vehicles. The remarks followed the comments made by SIAM President Vinod Dasari, who said the industry lost Rs 40 billion in eight months following the ban in Delhi-NCR, which was lifted by the Supreme Court earlier this month. “Vinod Dasari expressed unhappiness at the position adopted by the court on pollution. I would like to tell Vinod Dasari, don’t take panga with courts. There is no need for you to take this panga,” Geete said while addressing a conference here. Speaking at the 58th annual session of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) earlier today, Dasari had said it was “improper information” to the courts coupled with media hype that led to the ban on the diesel vehicles. Led by media hype, provided with improper information, the courts decided to ban those vehicles which actually meet the standards set by the government. It is for the first time that when you meet the law, you actually get penalised. The auto industry has lost Rs 40 billion in the last eight months,” Dasari said. He is of the view that everyone wants to regulate the auto industry without looking at the real cause of pollution. Dasari, who is also MD of Ashok Leyland, added: “I feel everyone wants to regulate the auto industry. Let’s take the Delhi example. Every winter when there is fog, there is a lot of media hype, lots of NGOs get involved. They blame one industry that everyone wants to blame — auto industry.” The minister, however, sought to calm the nerves of auto manufacturers, saying the government is with them. “Perhaps for the first time, four ministries including the department of heavy industry, road transport, forests and environment and petroleum & natural gas, had come together and were discussing the issue of pollution with the court in one voice,” Geete, who holds the portfolio of heavy industries, added. The Supreme Court has now allowed registration of diesel vehicles of 2,000 cc and above with 1 percent environment cess. But Dasari doubts if the move will help in curbing the pollution level in the capital. “After all of this, what happened there is environmental cess of 1 percent for vehicles that are larger than 2,000 cc. Please tell me, people who buy such vehicles, are they going to stop buying these due to this 1 percent cess. Is that going to have an impact on Delhi pollution?” Dasari asked. He regretted that the industry is being singled out whenever there is congestion, pollution or an accident. Dasari went further, saying less than 20 percent pollution comes from the auto industry. He added that the industry has several times asked the government to ban old vehicles if it wants to reduce pollution. “Ban vehicles that cause pollution,” Dasari said. Corey Peters Authentic Jersey
LNG price slump sends Indian Oil Corporation on buying binge
Indian Oil Corp., the nation’s biggest refiner that’s also boosting its liquefied natural gas business, is lifting purchases of the fuel to take advantage of a price plunge amid a glut. The state-run company plans to buy two LNG shipments per month in the spot market for six months from October, according to Debasis Sen, director of planning and business development. That compares with a total of nine spot cargoes for the previous year, when it started importing the commodity directly. India is among buyers seeking more cargoes of the cleaner fuel as spot prices have fallen about 60 per cent since October 2014 amid a supply glut. While demand growth prospects are limited in more mature markets like Japan and South Korea, consumption in India, China and emerging Asian nations will increase, the US Energy Information Administration forecasts. India’s consumption may rise 11 per cent a year over the next decade, BMI Research predicts. “Low prices have made LNG more affordable,” Sen said in a telephone interview on Aug. 25. “We are witnessing strong demand from customers such as fertilizer, power plants and glass industries.” Indian Oil sold 1.93 million metric tons of natural gas during the year through March 31, up 6.9 per cent from a year ago, according to a statement. The refiner holds rights to market 30 per cent of the fuel imported by Petronet LNG Ltd., the country’s top purchaser. While IOC gets supplies sourced from Petronet, it is seeking to increase direct procurement through spot deals. Cleaner Fuel Higher imports will help New Delhi-based Indian Oil diversify further into natural gas. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration is seeking greater use of the cleaner fuel in the country’s energy mix to curtail carbon emissions by the world’s second-most populous nation. The nation has more than doubled its imports in the past seven years as domestic supplies dried up. Purchases rose 15 per cent from a year earlier to 16.08 million tons during financial year ended March 31, 2016, according to provisional data from the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell. The country plans to increase its LNG import capacity to 55 million tons per year within five years, from about 21 million now, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in New Delhi on Aug. 1. Petronet has expanded the capacity of the Dahej terminal in western India, the nation’s largest LNG import and re-gasification terminal, by 50 per cent to 15 million tons per year. Indian Oil, which owns 12.5 per cent of the importer, has booked a portion of the increased capacity to bring in more shipments directly. “We were facing capacity constraints at Dahej in importing LNG on our own and could purchase only one shipment so far since April,” Sen said. “But now with the expansion, we can accommodate two cargoes a month.” Mark Andrews Jersey
Government plans two funds to charge up power sector
The power ministry plans to set up two funds of $1billion each to enable alternative financing options for stressed power assets and renewable energy projects.The two funds have been proposed under the ambit of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). “NIIF is the fund of funds within which we will set up a sub-fund which will focus on renewable energy projects and give investment support for faster ramp up of renewable energy. It is under our active consideration and we may launch it in the near future,” power minister Piyush Goyal told ET in an interview. “We are also in dialogue with certain bankers to see if we could look at a stressed power asset fund. It may take us some more months to put its framework in place.” Asked about the size of the funds, Goyal said, “Each of these funds could easily be of the size of $1billion.” The government set up the Rs 40,000 crore NIIF in as an investment vehicle to fund commercially viable greenfield, brownfield and stalled projects. The power ministry’s renewable energy fund will be seeded with initial capital from a few state-run companies and will be driven largely by the private sector. “It will be run and managed by an investment manager who will be chosen through international bidding. We would like to keep the entire fund professionally managed – something like a Temasek or a GIC model. We have the entire framework in place. We have also got investment commitments of REC, PFC and NTPC already lined up. This fund can be launched quickly ,” Goyal said. Temasek and GIC are Singapore government-owned investment firms. Finance minister Arun Jaitley had sought investment from Singapore in NIIF at a meeting on Friday with visiting Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam. Goyal said the Centre is working on a mega investment plan for the power sector that includes extending investment support to the tune of Rs 1.1 lakh crore to states under the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana and the Integrated Power Development Scheme. Additional investments worth over Rs 1 lakh crore will materialise through the implementation of four planned ultra mega power projects of 4,000 MW capacity each. Whitey Herzog Womens Jersey
Indefinite protest begins for toll-free DND flyway
Hundreds of people from more than 35 organisations in Noida and Greater Noida started an indefinite protest against the toll-tax on Delhi-Noida-Direct flyway on Sunday. Led by former minister Nawab Singh Nagar under the banner of Janhit Morcha, the protesters removed the barricades at the toll plaza to allow vehicles a free-of-charge passage and continued to do so throughout the day. While commuters had a free run on the flyway without paying the toll, the protesters said they will not allow toll to be levied till their indefinite sit-in is over. However, being a Sunday, there were no traffic snarls or inconvenience to the commuters as the protest continued on the side of the DND bridge while allowing a free flow of traffic. “It’s a rare opportunity to get a free-of-charge ride on DND. It’s high time the toll-tax was removed from here,” said a commuter on way to Delhi. Nagar told TOI that the protest will last till a final settlement on the matter is arrived at. While a large contingent of police presence on the flyway ensured that the protest was a peaceful one, numerous attempts to reach Anwar Abbasi, spokesperson for Noida Toll Bridge Company Limited (NTBCL) failed as his cellphone was not reachable. The protest, result of a month-long preparation by the morcha including a series of meetings and plannings at the residence of Nagar in Sector 33, was a peaceful one and was held in the presence of SP, crime, Vishwajeet Shrivastava, city magistrate Bachchu Singh and ADM Vineet Kumar. “We are here to ensure that no one takes law and order in their hands,” said a police officer. The protestors also handed over a petition to ADM Vineet Kumar and addressed to chief minister Akhilesh Yadav for a CAG inquiry into the toll-tax. Jordy Nelson Jersey