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Govt to set up trade agreement cells
Red-tapism mars easy approach to Baddi
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TN industrialists evince interest in biofuel
Surf Net with Reliance card
IOC’s Lankan arm plans IPO
Confusion prevails over Ultra Tech Cemco shares
Air fares fluctuate as oil prices rise
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Govt to set up trade agreement cells
New Delhi, October 16 Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said these cells would address trade-related grievances and also deal with complaints by clarifying procedural issues. The decision to set up these cells ostensibly comes in the wake of reports about dumping of copper in the country in an alleged misuse of the free trade agreement with Sri Lanka. Moreover, to ensure transparency, the proposed FTAs will be posted on the website of the Commerce Ministry shortly which will also serve as a platform for eliciting feedback from persons concerned. “This would not only ensure transparency, but also allow stakeholders to giver feedback on the issues,” the Minister said.
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Red-tapism mars easy approach to Baddi
Long time ago, a direct road between Chandigarh and Baddi was proposed without touching Pinjore, but still the road seems to be a distant dream due to the lack of coordination between Himachal, Haryana and Punjab governments. With the construction of this road, Baddi will be just 26 km from Chandigarh whereas it is 57 km via Pinjore now. There is a turning point - 2 km from Baddi towards Pinjore, which leads to Chandigarh and just after crossing Baddi, Haryana territory starts. According to Mr S.P.Negi, Chief Engineer, HPPWD, they have completed the construction of bridge on the stream and for this they have paid the full amount to Haryana government. Mr S.S.Goyal, Superintending Engineer, Haryana PWD, when contacted, said out of a stretch of 6 km in Haryana, 3 km is metalled, while the remaining 3 km stretch would be completed within three months. He said they were yet to receive a part of payment from Himachal in lieu of bridge, while the Himachal government claims to have paid the full amount. In Punjab area, there exists 1 km of metalled road in between Tapria and Siswan. There was an unmetalled road up to Siswan but due to construction of Siswan Dam, the road was submerged. From Siswan Dam to Sultanpur there is a metalled road, which is 3 km long and connects the Chandigarh-Kurali state highway. Baddi is 15 km from Sultanpur and Sultanpur is 11 km from Chandigarh. The distance between Sultanpur and Kurali is 14 km, so a major portion lies with the Punjab PWD. Mr T.S.Gill, Superintending Engineer, Punjab PWD, says they have already sent the estimate of Rs 7 crore to the ministry concerned under the Economic and Inter-state Connectivity Importance Scheme for approval and they would complete the road within a year after approval.
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TN industrialists evince interest in biofuel
Coimbatore, October 16 Realising the potential of this plant, the Tamil Nadu government too chipped in and started encouraging Jatropha cultivation. The government’s thrust on this cultivation for extracting bio-fuel from its seeds would require an investment of Rs 45 billion and generate employment for at least 4.5 lakh persons for about 100 days in a year. Tamil Nadu is among the five front-runners among 14 states identified for extensive Jatropha plantation through the Joint Forest Management and Forest Department. According to Dr. G. Rangaswami, former Vice-Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore, one of the pioneers of the Jatropha movement in the state: “Rural jobs may be created by allowing village self-help groups to manage the plantations. The wastelands may be leased out to landless labourers at the rate of 2 to 5 hectares each and may be financed out of the government’s wasteland development scheme.” “Along side, small-scale downstream industries can also be created for ventures like biomass production. Though there may not be adequate returns for the first three years, from the third year onwards, one can expect assured return of a minimum of Rs 5,000 an acre, not to speak of profits out of selling by-products like glycerol and oilcake,” he adds. He also points out how it is imperative that the right variety of plant — only the high-yielding Jatropha — be chosen and not the other varieties. Mr. M. Paramathma, Head, Department of Tree Breeding, Forest College and Research Institute, Coimbatore, says: “The thrust on Jatropha cultivation will create a chain of employment right from the point of cultivation to marketing.” The institute is a wing of the TNAU, which is the nodal agency for propagating biodiesel production. He said: “Besides earning income from selling Jatropha seeds, the investor can recover money from glycerine, a by-product, which can be sold to soap manufacturing companies and oil cakes, another byproduct, which is a fertiliser-cum-insecticide.” Mr. Paramathma said a litre of biofuel could be extracted from 3.28 kg of Jatropha seeds and could be marketed at around Rs 16.59 per litre, which is much cheaper than diesel and petrol. Naturally, thousands of persons are looking out for avenues to get trained in the cultivation and extraction of oil from Jatropha. The awareness about Jatropha increased after the Tamil Nadu Government encouraged Mohan Breweries and Distillers Limited to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the UK-based D1 Oils Limited in August for producing biofuel in the state. According to Planning Commission projection, during 2003-07 nearly 2 lakh hectares of land would be brought under Jatropha cultivation in Tamil Nadu. In the country, Jatropha cultivation in Madhya Pradesh, which tops the list, is expected to generate job for 69 million mandays. Rajasthan would bring 2.2 lakh hectares under Jatropha creating employment for 66 million mandays while Jharkhand and Maharashtra are expected to provide 60 million mandays job each.
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Surf Net with Reliance card
New Delhi, October 16 Company officials said the card, the size of a credit card, fits inside the standard PCMCIA slot available on most laptops. The user can access the Net without having to block a landline or a mobile phone line, and make or receive phone calls.
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IOC’s Lankan arm plans IPO
Chennai, October 16 Addressing a press conference here, Mr Nageswaran said the company was planning to set up 15,000 metric tonne lube blending plant at Tricomalee, converting Tricomalee into a bunkering hub and entering into the aviation and LPG business in future. — UNI
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by K.R. Wadhwaney Air fares fluctuate as oil prices rise THERE is a marked uncertainty in skies as fares continue to jump to and fro. One day they are slashed; another day they are hiked. This time, three scheduled airlines have increased fares because of the abnormal rise in the fuel prices. According to a
market survey fuel price will continue to rise and it, in other words, means there the rise in fares will continue.
While three scheduled carriers are caught in this vexed situation one no-frill airlines continues to reduce fares or offer more benefits to its passengers. Some knowledgeable airline officials claim this scenario may not continue for long. Senior officials of
est ablished airlines maintain that low fare offer is a temporary phase. “Soon there will be stability in fares and even no-frills airlines will have to adhere to certain laid-down norms,” said senior officials who have been connected with the airlines for more than 20 years. The no-frills game plan may not sustain for long but chartered flights’ operations may be commercially viable. The Civil Ministry has been caught in tizzy. The aviation experts say that the situation will ease only when two national carriers are allowed to augment their fleet without any more loss of time. Avoidable mishap Pawan Hans’ rise has been
consistent and performance satisfactory. It adheres to strict maintenance schedule, and is one of the profit making undertakings. But its pilots, though experienced, occasionally attempt to fight treacherous weather and this lapse proved fatal recently. The recent crash at Barapani, 20 km from Shillong, was the such instant. All eight passengers on board and two crew members were killed. Among them was Meghalaya Community Development Minister Cyprian Sangma. Weather was reportedly bad and visibility poor in the hilly region. The commander should not have undertaken the flight or he should have returned to the base instead of continuing to fly Dauphin helicopter. In the preliminary report it was stated that poor weather was the cause of the crash. The conditions were not suitable but the VIPs on board reportedly coaxed the pilot to continue. As a result precious lives were lost. This is not the first when human
fallibility caused the crash. On several other occasions including the one in which Madhavrao Scindia died, similar lapses have proved suicidal. The Pawan Hans authorities maintain that they take all precautions before allowing the commander to fly. This crash was the eighth in Pawan Hans history. Two of them had crashed in the North-east. This chopper had logged more than 14,000 hours and there were sufficient reasons for adhering to the norms in toto. Established in 1985, Pawan Hans has logged about 3.3 lakh hours and has achieved about 12 lakh landings. Judging from this, eight accidents may not be too many. But the latest acc ident was avoidable.
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Parwanoo, October 16