Chennai-Delhi Cargo Express flagged off
The first time-tabled train from Chennai (ICD Tondiarpet) to Delhi (DCT Okhla) was flagged off today from Tondiarpet. The service will benefit trade with scheduled transit time at no additional cost being incurred. The trains will leave on every Saturday at 7 pm from Tondiarpet to reach Okhla at 8 am on Tuesdays covering the distance in 61 hours. In the return direction, trains from Okhla will leave on every Saturday at 1 am to reach Tondiarpet at 3 pm on Mondays covering the distance in 62 hours, the release said. The service will help loading of perishable cargo like vegetables, fruits and pharmaceuticals in specially designed ventilated containers and for parcel traffic, says a press release from Southern Railway. In fulfilment of his Budget commitment, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on June 15 flagged off the first time-tabled container train (called Cargo Express) of Container Corporation of India (Concor) from Delhi to Bengaluru and from Delhi to Chennai. This initiative was done in coordination with Concor to streamline freight traffic and attract parcel traffic being moved by road to rail, the release said. Michael Johnson Authentic Jersey
Krishna ZP chief feels heat as airport oustees up the ante on govt
The oustees of Gannavaram airport expansion on Saturday turned the heat on Krishna Zilla Parishad chairperson Gadde Anuradha, demanding a fair deal for their properties acquired for the project. Around 400 plot owners of two different ventures convened a meeting at Allapuram near the airport by inviting the ZP chief. They made a futile attempt to involve local MLA Vallabhaneni Vamsi of the ruling TDP who did not turn up citing preoccupation with a pre-arranged assignment. Uppala Vedavati, president of the Airport Vistarana Badhitula Sangham, petitioned Anuradha on behalf of the victims with a request for allotment of plot-to-plot compensation for the victims. She said when the government is treating house plots as agricultural lands and offering compensation it would hardly do justice to plot onwers. The cost of the plots is five times more than what the government is offering for agricultural lands. For farmlands the government is offering Rs 39 lakh per acre. Steven Stamkos Womens Jersey
UP govt to directly sell intra-state flight tickets
To provide wings to its plan to start intra-state air service in Uttar Pradesh, the Akhilesh government is all set to introduce a system in which it will sell tickets directly to flyers after having already paid per-hour charges to service providers. Tourists flying to destinations like Agra, Varanasi or Kushinagar from Lucknow will have to buy tickets from the UP tourism department. According to principal secretary for tourism, Navneet Sehgal, the government will underwrite all seats and, in turn, give per-hour flying charges to airlines. Once UP tourism takes all the seats, it will sell them to passengers through UP Tour, the department’s ticketing agency. Mr Sehgal said UP Tour will have a special website and counter for booking tickets. The official said that bids will soon be invited from airlines and tenders will be allotted to the company that quotes lowest flying hour rates. The new scheme, he said, would be passenger-friendly because the promoters will not be concerned about sale of tickets. The Akhilesh government has brought in changes in policy for introducing the inter city airline services to revive its nearly dumped policy. The tourism department had introduced a scheme to launch intra-state flights two years back but it never took off since investors and owners of private airlines showed no interest on grounds of feasibility. The state government has now repackaged the scheme and will table it for approval in the next cabinet meeting. Zack Martin Jersey
Growth blips in regional connectivity radar
Come July, there will be yet another regional airline opening shop in the country. Air Carnival will not be a player connecting big cities with each other, but one that tries to make inroads into less connected and unconnected air routes. Air Carnival is only the latest entrant into the regional aviation sector. There are already players like Air Pegasus, TruJet and others that seek to tap into the short haul segment. The new National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP), with its unarguable emphasis on regional connectivity and affordability might well foster an environment where flying becomes mainstream for thousands of the unconnected. “The regional connectivity scheme (RCS) under NCAP will connect India’s remote unconnected regions, boost tourism, create jobs and stimulate the economy in Tier 2-3 cities,” observed Amber Dubey, Partner, KPMG India and an Aerospace and Defence expert. Shyson Thomas, Managing Director, Air Pegasus says there is immense potential for anyone gutsy enough to enter the segment. “While mid-segment and large players with larger aircraft cannot get sufficient passenger load to realise profits, those with smaller aircraft of 60 to 70 seats can easily do so,” he said. Air Carnival is entering the Madurai to Chennai sector with an ATF 72 – 500, seating 70. According to sources, the route already sees 86 per cent occupancy. “We have sufficient load factors on most routes we ply. and there is space for competition,” stated Thomas. Pegasus is also planning to invest in seven or eight more aircraft and is also increasing routes it covers to 24. Joshua Garnett Womens Jersey
Big idea clears skies to connect small towns
When the new civil aviation policy takes off, it will open up flights from Delhi to Bhatinda, Jaisalmer or to the coaching hub of Kota for just 2,500, almost matching train fares. At a meeting with the civil aviation ministry officials on May 25, state representatives have proposed routes from major hubs to tier II and small towns, with the potential of drawing good traffic. These routes are within one hour flying distance or less, and are eligible to offer tickets for 2,500 or less under the regional connectivity initiative. At present, only two per cent of Indians book an airline ticket. Studies have shown that 50 per cent of the middle income group travel only once in four years on a flight. The reason: airports are too far from their homes. Officials in the Ministry of Civil Aviations said most places proposed to be connected with major hubs such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai or Kochi have infrastructure in place to accommodate smaller aircraft. Carriers, however, are reluctant to fly to these places fearing losses. Tax incentives proposed under the new policy could help in reviving airports in smaller towns. Nico Siragusa Womens Jersey
New aviation policy may help airline startups take wing
The new aviation policy will lead to the launch of new airlines in the country bringing in more cities on the national network, according to civil aviation secretary Rajiv Nayan Choubey. India currently has Air Costa, Air Pegasus and Trujet which fly smaller planes and command between them 1.4% of the domestic market. Air India, Jet Airways and SpiceJet also have sizeable small plane operations. Several entrepreneurs have showed interest in starting new airlines even with a small fleet of three planes while the policy was being framed, Choubey said, adding that he was expecting new launches in the months ahead. A lot of small plane manufacturers too have been in touch with the ministry, Choubey said. The ministry has told the manufacturers that while they sell their planes in India, they should also create training and aircraft maintenance facilities and offer aircraft and better aircraft leasing terms. The ministry plans to subsidize airlines that aim to connect cities that have not been connected before. A cess on most domestic flights will be levied to create a corpus that could help keep the fares on such routes at about Rs.2,500. “Since inception, Air Pegasus has positioned itself to connect with small towns and cities like Hubli, Kadapa, Belgaum and the policy announced today aims at increasing the connectivity to such smaller towns and cities by offering sops and incentives. This should motivate players like us to increase our connectivity further more with smaller towns as the policy will refund 80% of the losses incurred by airlines due to the cap of Rs.2,500 for one-hour flights between smaller towns and cities,” said Shyson Thomas, managing director, Air Pegasus. To be sure, many short-haul routes in the country like Delhi-Dehradun, Jammu-Srinagar and others are already available for as little as Rs.1,100 when booked in advance. The policy aims to take the number of such city pairs up, but experts say it’s going to be a challenging task. Ty Montgomery Jersey
Gazprom and Indian companies to collaborate on oil and gas projects
A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Dharmendra Pradhan, Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, took place today at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2016. The parties discussed potential avenues for cooperation in the oil and gas sector. Particular attention was paid to the possibility of supplying LNG to India from Gazprom Group’s international portfolio, including under the existing contract with GAIL. In addition, the meeting participants addressed the prospects for collaboration between Gazprom and Indian companies in the field of oil and gas exploration and development, as well as scientific and technical cooperation. Background With 1.5 trillion cubic meters of natural gas in proven reserves, India ranks fourth among Asian countries (with China, Australia, and Indonesia in the top three) in terms of gas reserves. India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas controls and regulates oil and natural gas production, processing and distribution, as well as oil and petroleum exports and imports. GAIL is India’s largest gas company focused on gas exploration, production, transmission and processing, marketing of gas derivatives, and gas-fired power generation. Between 2009 and 2016, Gazprom Group delivered 26 LNG cargoes to India totaling 1.7 million tons. In 2012, Gazprom Marketing & Trading Singapore, which is part of Gazprom Group, and GAIL signed a long-term Sales and Purchase Agreement for liquefied natural gas. The 20-year Agreement provides for LNG supplies in the amount of 2.5 million tons per year on a free-on-board basis, with potential for renewal. Marshall Faulk Jersey
Petronet picks Qatari producer Rasgas to supply cargo: Trade sources
India’s Petronet has picked Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) producerRasgas to deliver a single cargo in August or September, trade sources said. Rasgas clinched the deal at an estimated price of $5.10 per million British thermal units, the sources said. Jake Muzzin Womens Jersey
IndianOil, OIL and BPRL sign agreement with Rosneft
The Indian Consortium, led by Oil India Limited (OIL), along with, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and Bharat PetroResources Limited (BPRL), a 100% subsidiary of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), signed definitive agreement to acquire upto 23.9% shares from Rosneft Oil Company (Rosneft), NOC of Russia in JSC Vankorneft, a company organised under the law of Russian Federation which is the owner of Vankor and North Vankor Field licenses. The acquisition is subject to relevant Board, Government and regulatory approvals and is expected to close by September 2016. The agreement was signed on 17 June 2016 during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) held in St. Petersburg in the presence of Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon. Minister of State-Independent Charge, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, and Alexander Novak, Minister of Energy, Russia, by B Ashok, Chairman, IndianOil; Biswajit Roy, Director (HR & BD), OIL; D Rajkumar, Managing Director, BPRL; and Igor I Sechin, President, Chairman of the Management Board, Vice-Chairman of Board of Directors of Rosneft. Presently Rosneft Oil Company holds 85% shares while ONGC Videsh Ltd (through its subsidiary) holds 15% shares in JSC Vankorneft. Vankor field, located in East Siberia, is Russia’s second largest field by production and accounts for around 4% of Russian production and currently producing oil at a level of approximately 422,000 bopd. It is the largest of the fields, discovered and commissioned in Russia during the last twenty five years and is located in the North of Eastern Siberia in Turukhansk District of the Krasnoyarsk Territory 142 km away from Igarka town. The recoverable resources of the Vankor field as of 01.01.2016 stood at 361 million tonnes of oil and condensate and 138 bcm of gas. With the closure of the Vankor deal, IndianOil’s equity oil portfolio will go up by 1.6 MMT per annum. The agreement takes forward the shared vision of the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, and the Hon’ble President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, to strengthen the India-Russia partnership over the next decade, especially in the hydrocarbons sector. Commenting on the occasion, Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon. Minister of State-Independent Charge, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India, said, “The agreement will further strengthen the long-standing relationship between Indian PSUs and Rosneft, paving the way for an enriching journey together. The acquisitions also have significant strategic importance to India, both in terms of augmenting India’s energy security as well as enhancing India’s stature in the global political and economic arenas.” Marquis Haynes Jersey
Complaint against Essar forwarded to Home Ministry
Lawyer Suren Uppal alleges that Essar Group ordered its former security chief Albasit Khan to tap into its business rivals’ telephone conversations. Complaint into the alleged tapping of telephone conversations of some top industrialists and politicians by the Essar Group has been forwarded to Home Ministry for “appropriate action”. The complaint was made to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) by lawyer Suren Uppal alleging that the Essar Group had ordered its former security chief Albasit Khan to tap into its business rivals’ telephone conversations. “Complaint regarding Essar leaks has been forwarded to Home Ministry for appropriate action,” official sources said. The complaint includes call logs for purported conversations of Mukesh and Anil Ambani with Directors/ Promoters of the two companies and other senior officials as well as conversations that show how business rivals reach out to politicians to seek favours. The complaint also mentioned purported conversations of senior officials of the PMO including Ranjan Bhattacharya and Brajesh Mishra. Essar has denied any wrongdoing. T. J. Watt Authentic Jersey