LPG tankers and oil companies are not following guidelines
District administration had come out with 10 norms for them to follow. Rounds of official meetings to make oil companies and transporters of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) take precautionary measures to prevent accidents on highways in Dakshina Kannada have not yielded desired results. It came to the fore in the Karnataka Development Programme review meeting presided over by B. Ramanath Rai, Minister in-charge of Dakshina Kannada here on Monday. Additional Deputy Commissioner Kumar told the meeting that the district administration had given 10 guidelines to them to follow. But none of them had been adhered to. They had been told to identify two acres between Mangaluru and Shiradi for developing it as a truck terminal. The companies and transporters had to keep an additional emergency rescue vehicle. The LPG tankers should have had one more additional driver to make it a three-member crew (two drivers and a cleaner). They had been asked to fix speed governors and connect a vehicle tracking system to the office of Superintendent of Police. They had been asked to set up a quick response team and keep a crane ready for rescue operations. But none of the guidelines had become a reality. “They have not yet given positive commitment,” he said. A.B. Ibrahim, Deputy Commissioner, said that about 1,800 tankers plied on the highways in the district daily. He said an LPG tanker from Mangaluru to Hassan toppled at Addahole on NH 75 on Sunday. It was a cause for concern. There is a ban on the movement of LPG tankers in the district between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Ivan D’Souza, MLC, and B.A. MohiuddinBava, MLA, took the officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to task for water-logging on the highways between B.C. Road and Mangaluru and between Talapady and Udupi. They questioned what sort of engineering the NHAI was following. Expressing concern over increasing accidents on the highways, Rai instructed the Police and Transport departments and the NHAI to work in coordination to take preventive steps. Ivan D’Souza, MLC, alleged here on Monday that though movement of tankers transporting cooking gas or LPG on the highways in Dakshina Kannada is banned between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., the police are allowing it by taking bribe. At a Karnataka Development Programme review meeting here on Monday, he said that recently crew of a tanker near Uppinangady told him that if bribed Rs. 500 police allow movement of tankers during night. The MLC said that when he noticed a LPG tanker on the highway near Uppinangady recently, he stopped it and questioned how it could ply during night. The crew revealed that they could ply by bribing.
AMC reminded to use CNG buses
In a second reminder, a high-level committee on air quality for Ahmedabad has once again reminded the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) of opting for CNG buses instead of new diesel buses. It was only recently that AMTS bus service had decided to replace the 400 odd CNG buses. Over the last five years, CNG-run buses were being strategically phased out in Ahmedabad, even as diesel engines continue to spew out venomous particulate matter of 2.5 microns (PM 2.5) and NOx gases into the air we breathe. Ahmedabad’s BRTS, which started in 2004 with the concept of buses run on clean fuel like CNG, has transformed its fleet to 220 Euro III and Euro IV complaint diesel buses today, and just 25 old CNG buses remain. The AMTS, too, has ordered 330 diesel buses to add to its existing 725-strong CNG bus fleet. The trend continues despite the fact that the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) claimed in its 2013 report that even Bharat Stage IV complaint diesel vehicles spew out seven times more PM 2.5 than petrol vehicles. “The diminishing difference between diesel and CNG fuels, has affected clean public transport. In May 2010, the cost of a litre of diesel was Rs 40 while that of CNG was Rs27.50 per kg. Today, the difference is of a few rupees,” said a senior AMC official. Luc Robitaille Jersey
Fuel consumption grows 6.7% in May, import dependence goes up to 81.9%
India’s fuel consumption grew 6.7% in May over that a year ago, reflecting greater use of cars and increased air traffic in an expanding economy, while crude oil production fell 3.3%, increasing import dependence to 81.9% from 81.3%. In May, India consumed 9.4% more diesel and 16.7% more petrol than it did a year ago, the latest data released by the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell shows. Aviation turbine fuel consumption grew 20% as lower prices and holiday travels boosted air traffic. Except for kerosene and naphtha, the consumption of all other petroleum products went up during the month. Domestic output of oil and gas, however, did not pick up. In May, local crude oil production declined 3.3% to 3.1 million metric tons from a year ago. Natural gas production fell 6.9% to 2,656 million metric standard cubic meters. Increasing gas demand in the country was met by increased import of liquefied natural gas. India imported 2082 MMSCM of LNG, 43% more than it did a year ago. The government has set a target to bring down oil imports to 67% of total consumption by 2022. According to the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell’s estimate, India’s crude oil import will increase 2% to $66 billion in 2016-17 from $64 billion in the previous financial year considering crude oil price of $45 per barrel for the Indian basket and an exchange rate of Rs 67 to a dollar for the remaining part of this fiscal. The prices of Brent crude averaged $46.88 per barrel in May, compared to $41.48 in April. The Indian basket crude oil averaged $44.97 per barrel in May, significantly higher than $39.85 a barrel in the previous month. Tyeler Davison Womens Jersey
Essar Oil’s Ranigunj asset logs record CBM production
Essar Oil announced its Ranigunj (East) coal-bed methane asset in West Bengal reached the one million metric standard cubic metre a day (mmscmd) production mark. This is the first CBM asset in the country to cross the milestone. The second best, Great Eastern Energy Ltd is producing in the range of 0.4 mmscmd. The total CBM production in the country is around 1.5 mmscmd. “Essar has commenced supply to Matix Fertilisers for its pre-commissioning activities at the rate of 150,000 scmd (0.15 mmscmd). Besides Matix, the CBM is supplied to industrial consumers in Durgapur as per government notified gas prices,” the company said in a press release. Matix’s Rs 50 billion urea manufacturing facility at Panagarh in West Bengal was idling for more than a year for delay in gas availability from Essar. According to Essar, as per 2016 NSAI (Netherland Sewell & Associates, Inc.) report, the proven, probable and possible gross CBM reserves in the Ranigunj (East) Block is estimated at 1.09 tcf (trillion cubic feet). Ron Parker Womens Jersey
Crude oil, natural gas output down in May
Domestic crude oil and natural gas production fell 3.34 per cent and 6.88 per cent, respectively last month, according to data released by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Domestic crude oil production stood at 3.078 million tonnes in May 2016 compared with 3.184 mt in the same month last year. Natural gas production stood at 2.656 billion cubic meter during May against 2.852 billion cubic meter in the same month last year. Further, refinery throughput during the month grew 1.24 per cent to 19.950 mt compared with 19.705 mt in the same month last year. Dave Dravecky Womens Jersey
Indian pipe companies dominate Rs 550 crore GAIL contract
Three Indian pipe manufacturers have walked away with a major pie of a Rs 550 crore order from GAIL as the state-run gas utility began spending on building the main stretch of Urja Ganga — PM Narendra Modi’s proposed energy lifeline to revive fertilizer units and supply cleaner fuel in the eastern region. Sources said Gas Authority of India (Limited) has placed the order for 341km of pipes with Jindal Saw, Essar Steel and MAN Industries. China’s Zhongyou BSS (Qinhuangdao) Petropipe is the lone overseas company to be awarded part of the contract, indicating competitiveness of Indian manufacturing. The order is for linking Phulpur in UP with Dobhi in Bihar, which is part of the Phulpur-Haldia pipeline. Work on spur lines from Gaya to Barauni via Patna in Bihar are already in progress. GAIL is set to complete the Rs 12,000-crore Phulpur-Haldia-Dhamra (Odisha) project in three phases The project envisages laying a 2,050km pipeline for supplying cleaner and cheaper fuel to Allahabad in UP; Patna, Gaya, Chapra, Siwan, Gopalganj, Muzaffarpur, Bettiah and Bhagalpur in Bihar; Bokaro, Dhanbad, Ranchi and Jamshedpur in Jharkhand; and Asansol, Durgapur and Kolkata in West Bengal. The pipeline will help revive defunct fertilizer plants in Gorakhpur in UP, Barauni in Bihar, Sindri in Jharkhand and Durgapur in West Bengal by supplying gas, considered a cheaper feedstock than naphtha. In addition, the pipeline will also supply natural gas to refineries in Barauni and Haldia, steel industries, power plants and other large manufacturing units in the region. Josh Jackson Jersey
India announces sweeping reforms to foreign direct investment rules; Apple, Ikea to benefit
India announced on Monday sweeping reforms to rules on foreign direct investment, opening up its defence and civil aviation sectors to complete outside ownership and clearing the way for Apple to open stores in the country. The reforms also loosen restrictions on inbound investments in pharmaceuticals and retail. Apple is expected to be a beneficiary of a three-year relaxation India is introducing on local sourcing norms with an extension of up to five years possible if it can be proven that products are “state of the art”. Other single-brand retailers like furniture giant IKEA are also expected to benefit. Defence contractors that have been reluctant to transfer technology to manufacture equipment in India would get the right to own local operations outright, up from 49 percent previously. In other changes, India allowed 100 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) in civil aviation, following on from last week’s launch of a new policy that lowered barriers to entry for airlines that want to fly international routes. The government also allowed foreign companies to own up to 74 percent in ‘brownfield’ pharmaceuticals projects without prior government approval. India already allows 100 percent ownership of greenfield pharma businesses. The reforms announcement comes two days after India’s central bank governor Raghuram Rajan, feted by foreign investors, announced he would not be available for reappointment when his term expires in September. Rajan’s decision, whose reforms have been credited for much of the economy’s success in recent years, came as a jolt to the country’s financial markets. The rupee fell to a near one-month low and bonds weakened on Monday. The last time Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-year-old government announced a loosening of FDI norms was after his nationalist political party suffered a heavy defeat in a state election last autumn. Montravius Adams Womens Jersey
FDI in single-brand retail: Easing of sourcing norm may open doors for Apple Stores
he government decision on Monday to relax local sourcing norms for foreign brands keen to open own stores in the country has almost paved the way for Apple Stores as companies with ‘cutting-edge’ technology can possibly avoid local sourcing for up to eight years. The Cupertino, California-based maker of iPhones and Mac computers is now looking to initiate talks with the government and put up details of its technologies and patents it holds to show it’s a maker of cutting-edge technology products, a person aware of the development said. A note issued by the prime minister’s office on Monday said, “It has now been decided to relax local sourcing norms up to three years and a relaxed sourcing regime for another five years for entities undertaking single brand retail trading of products having ‘state-ofart’ and ‘cutting edge’ technology.” An email sent to Apple India did not elicit any response as of press time on Monday. The person quoted earlier said a clarification on the definition of ‘cutting-edge technology’ will be welcome. It remains a grey area as the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) had last month denied exemption from 30% local sourcing norms to Apple while approving its application to open own stores. The nodal agency for clearing foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals, instead, asked the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) to incorporate a definition of the term ‘cutting edge’ in FDI policy framework. Chinese smartphone maker LeEco, which too had applied for retail FDI, is now hopeful that its application will get fast-track approval. LeEco India chief operating officer (smart electronics business) Atul Jain said the company will eventually meet the sourcing norms since it soon plans to start local manufacturing. He said the government’s intention is clear that it wants to make a strong impetus to investment and encourage more technology brands to enter India and hence the lack of definition of cuttingedge should not be a stumbling block. LeEco plans to open 5-10 company-owned stores in the country, Jain said. Apple has no immediate plans to manufacture or source products from India, except refurbish iPhones that it plans to sell as company-certified pre-owned handsets. But the government is not much in favour of refurbished phones. As per industry estimates, sales from exclusive stores account for 15% of smartphone sales for brands that have such franchiseerun outlets while around 50-55% of smartphones are sold from neighbourhood multi-brand stores, 15% from large retail chains, and balance 15-20% from ecommerce marketplaces. Apple CEO Tim Cook during his recent visit had told his India team how company-owned stores are vital for Apple’s long-term plans since it would set benchmarks in sales and services, even though he does not want to disrupt the existing distribution and retail network as multi-brand stores still accounts for a large share of overall sales in India. Chinese brand Xiaomi, which had earlier sought an exemption from local sourcing norms to set up own stores, recently told the government that it does not need the waiver any more since it is already manufacturing in India. Xiaomi said it was studying the changes. Chidobe Awuzie Womens Jersey
Government allows 100% FDI for online grocery startups
In a boost to retailers and grocery startups such as Bigbasket and Grofers, the government on Monday allowed 100% FDI in food retail, including through e-commerce, provided such items are produced, processed or manufactured in the country. This will allow multi-brand retail giants such as Walmart to look at their food business here closely and perhaps even foray into B2C food retail. Currently, the US giant operates a B2B business here since FDI in multi-brand retail is not allowed. The US retailer has built a strong backend infrastructure in food. Similarly, the move will help Indian hyper-local grocery startups raise funds more easily. “The decision by the government to allow up to 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) through FIPB in marketing of food products produced or manufactured in India, including through e-commerce, is very progressive and will help in reducing wastage, helping farm diversification and encourage industry to produce locally within the country. This far-reaching reform will benefit farmers, give impetus to food processing industry and create vast employment opportunities. We will study the policy document when government finalises and issues it,” said a Walmart India spokesperson. The decision comes without any riders, department of industrial policy and promotion secretary Ramesh Abhishek said. The food processing ministry wanted the food retailers to mandatorily invest in back-end infrastructure besides being allowed to sell some non-food goods. “This initiative (FDI in food retail) could bring in investments in food infrastructure by global players and provide a platform to sell those products manufactured in India, thus opening up the domestic food market,” said Sreedhar Prasad, partner-e-commerce, KPMG in India. “Further, this could enable some of the existing e-commerce players to attract FDI in food category where they are selling only products manufactured or produced in India.” The government expects it to curb food wastage as well, said Abneesh Roy, associate director at Edelweiss Securities. Food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal has been seen rooting for FDI in the sector citing heavy food wastage. She said India has been wasting food and agricultural produce worth Rs 92,000 crore and foreign funds can build infrastructure at farm gate level for benefit of farmers. As for grocery startups, the government’s move comes with a catch since it allows FDI in only retailing of food products, while most grocery startups sell household items such soap and incense sticks apart from food. It remains to be seen whether they hive off a separate food business from their existing one, said industry experts. “It is a possibility, although at present, food accounts for around 70% of our business,” said Hari Menon, co-founder-CEO, Bigbasket. “If we manage to separate our food business from the rest of our portfolio, it will allow us to raise funds easily from foreign players.” Drew Kaser Womens Jersey
Foxconn goes slow on startup funding, invested only in 4 startups in India
In August last year, Terry Gou, chairman of Foxconn Technology Group, announced that the world’s largest electronics contract manufacturing company was in the final stages of investing in New Delhi-based refurbished goods seller GreenDust. The deal, estimated at $65-70 million ( Rs 430-460 crore), would have been the Taiwanese manufacturer’s second-largest investment in an Indian startup, next to its $200-million investment in online marketplace Snapdeal. But 10 months since, the GreenDust deal is yet to be closed. The maker of iPhones for Apple has invested in a mere four startups here since announcing ambitious plans for India more than a year ago, adding to domestic funding woes. “It seems that investing in India’s startup ecosystem has slipped down Foxconn’s pecking order,” said an investment banker who had advised multiple startups in their negotiations with the Taiwanese firm. “(Foxconn) had met dozens of startups (in India) over the past 12 months and not much seems to have been done since then,” this person said, requesting anonymity. Foxconn did not reply to an email from ET, seeking comment about its startup-focused investment plans for India. Apart from its investment in Snapdeal, Foxconn participated in a $9-million funding round in QikPod and invested undisclosed amounts in home automation startup eGlu and mobile internet venture MoMagic. These, however, are a far cry from the firm’s intention of investing $1 billion in Indian startups. In its core area of electronics manufacturing, though, Foxconn has announced plans to develop 10-12 factories and data centres in India by 2020. Hitendra Chaturvedi, chief executive of GreenDust, declined to comment on the proposed Foxconn deal, but said, “We have a high-growth, profitable business model and, therefore, having incoming investor interest is not uncommon.” In June last year, ET had reported that over a dozen Indian startups met Wen-Hsin (Vincent) Tong, chairman and director of investments at FIH Mobile Limited, an investment arm of Foxconn, at the New Delhi office of Snapdeal “The advantages of having a strategic investor on board are that it’s a great acknowledgement of the value of the business and a testament to what is being built. However, a premature announcement has the potential to stop every other conversation,” said Sandeep Murthy, partner at Lightbox. Foxconn’s $3.5-billion takeover of Japanese electronics manufacturer Sharp is cited as a leading reason for the company’s change in strategy, as it struggled to close a transaction that was dogged by last-minute disclosures and stiff competition from other suitors.Also, globally, tech stocks have dragged across major bourses, including on Nasdaq, posting sharp declines since February. Jessie Bates III Authentic Jersey