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Restart mixing ethanol with petrol, urge sugar firms
HP clears projects worth Rs 283 crore
Delay in coal sector reforms costs
Masterline’s alternative to mobile
Rothenberger enters India
DD plans to rent out Kasauli TV tower
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Traders upset over 3-day bank holiday
Airport Economic Regulatory Authority on the anvil
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Restart mixing ethanol with petrol, urge sugar firms
New Delhi, March 25 A delegation of Indian Sugar Mills Association (Isma) called upon the Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Mani Shankar Aiyar last week. Mr S. L. Jain, Director General of the ISMA, said, “a common agenda on behalf of all concerned associations — Isma, National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd (NFCSF), Ethanol Manufacturers Association (EMA) and the All-India Distillers’ Association (Aida) — will be drawn up by Isma, after consultation and detailed discussions.” The minister reassured the ethanol producers of the government’s long-term commitment to the ethanol-blending programme, in keeping with the policy prevailing in most progressive economies in the world. He told the sugar industry that delay in the implementation of the ethanol programme and its limiting to a few regions was mainly due to the inadequate availability of ethanol resultant upon decline in sugarcane and sugar production during the last two years. The minister said the oil companies had been asked to finalise the bids made in the tenders within a period of two to three weeks and resume blending of ethanol at the earliest. With regard to future requirement of ethanol, Isma President Rajshree Pathy explained that with the sugarcane and sugar production slated to reach normal production levels of 18 million tonnes for the next sugar year, the industry would be in a position to meet the demand of ethanol for doping with petrol, after providing for the liquor and chemical sectors. Total production of ethanol for the next year was forecast at 1700 million litres, while the needs of the potable and chemical sectors was assessed at 1200 million litres leaving a clear balance of 500 million litres, sufficient for 5 per cent doping with petrol for the country as a whole. Presently, nine states and four union territories undertake ethanol doping, where the requirement was limited to only 345 million liters. Sugar factories with ethanol capacities will be greatly benefited, as the additional revenues generated will help them to pay the higher cane prices for the coming year, Mrs Pathy said. Isma president informed that all successful global ethanol programmes, including that in Brazil had begun with the support and active participation of the governments, including the US that is the largest single consumer of ethanol today. In Brazil where the admixture of ethanol with petrol had now been increased to as much as about 25-26 per cent, a complete free market situation was prevailing.
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HP clears projects worth Rs 283 crore
Shimla, March 25 Presiding over the meeting, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said these projects would generate employment for 3,450 persons. He said the state had succeeded in attracting an investment of Rs 9,211 crore over the past two years which would generate employment for 1,61,311 persons. He said the authority had so far sanctioned 4,612 large, medium and small industrial units, dawning a new era in industrial expansion in the state. The Chief Minister said the state would be welcoming such industries in the state which were environment-friendly and had good employment potential.
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Delay in coal sector reforms costs country dear
New Delhi, March 25 Consequently, the power plants are facing shortage of coal, and the oil and coal import bill may rise significantly in the coming years. It is despite the fact that India has one of the largest coal reserves in the world, and the demand for energy is increasing at a fast pace. Officials in the Power Ministry disclosed that public sector coal companies including Coal India Ltd. were unable to ensure the adequate to supply of coal to the power plants, so it has allowed them to “import coal from abroad, besides asking the government to sanction captive coal mines to them.” After the resignation of Union Coal Minister Shibu Soren, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had directed the ministry officials to prepare a roadmap for reforms in the coal sector considering its importance for the growing energy needs. However, it seems that the government has decided to defer its plans for the time being under the pressure of the Left parties. The Minister of State for Coal, Dr Dasari Narayana Rao, admitted in the Parliament last week that “government has no plans to re-introduce the Privatisation of Coal Bill, 2000 in the Parliament as the Left and trade unions are not in its favour.” Previous NDA government had brought the Bill, but it could not be passed in time after the Lok Sabha was dissolved last year.
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Masterline’s alternative to mobile recharge cards
Chandigarh, March 25 Mr Naresh Nanda, Managing Director, Masterline, told The Tribune here today that the electronic system of recharging would be easy to implement and would benefit the operators and end users. Moreover, the existing infrastructure of point of sale terminals (POS) terminals laid by banks for credit/debit card transactions and ATMs of all leading banks can easily be utilised for processing, which will not only reduce the amount of investment in these terminals, but also serve as a revenue point for banks and existing retailers. The terminals are loaded with intelligent software that will link up to the Masterline/Pre-Paygo server based in Chandigarh and will control and process data for multiple operators and will reload top up codes as per the pre-allotted reorder levels, based on the sales targets and revenue plans. The customer will get a print out of the recharge code and top ups his phone with the code printed. Adding further, Mr Nanda said, with this system, customer has an option to pay cash or use bank card at terminals. The terminals will also be GSM-enabled, which will provide mobility to retailer by using GPRS connectivity.
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Rothenberger enters India
New Delhi, March 25 Encompassing over 2,000 tools, the product base includes tools required to bend, expand, press or clean the copper tube, multi-layer piping, installation tools for steel pipes, hand tools for pipe installation, testing and measuring tools, soldering and welding equipment, butt fusion and electro fusion machines for plastic pipes (HDPE, PP and PE, drain cleaning and inspection cameras. According to Mr J.P. Singh, Country Head, India Operations, it would also provide product advisory services, including technical assistance, onsite training and after sales service.
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DD plans to rent out Kasauli TV tower
Kasauli, March 25 “We have planned to start scroll message facility from April 2, he informed. The centre is already equipped with the required infrastructure for facility and only clearance for rent amount is awaited,” he said. Tentatively, it would be between Rs 300 and 400 for scrolling of 15 words message for full day on DD 1 and DD 2, he pointed out. The centre tower covers 100-km radius area including Punjab, Haryana, J&K, HP and some parts of UP. “We have written to private cellular companies to use TV tower for their operation,” Mr Duhan said. The tower situated at the height of 1680 meter above sea level is 130 meter high, including 14-meter height of DD 1 antenna. The signal-catching facilities here is outstanding that could be quite useful for private cellular players, Mr Duhan maintained. There are three platforms on tower at the height of 41, 60 and 70 meters where the cell companies could easily set up their different size of antennas to get excellent signal facilities, he asserted. By using the tower, the companies could not only drastically reduce cost but also get very fine signal services, he remarked. Bharti Telecom has showed its interest to use the tower for expanding its media network in region, he revealed. The centre could earn Rs 8 to 10 lakh annually by the providing its available infrastructure on rent to mobile companies, he said.
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Traders upset over 3-day bank holiday
Shimla, March 25 While the employees of the banks are elated over the decision of the state government to declare a holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act on March 26, the industrialists and traders are upset as the suspension of banking services will slowdown business activity. More so, because the three-day closure of banks has come at a time when the financial year is coming to a close. It is the peak time for depositing taxes and settlement of accounts. Not only that the Beopar Mandal has given a call for 72-hour bandh from March 30 which meant that commercial activity would remain affected for almost a week. Mr Sunil Taneja, the outgoing president of the state chapter of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), said that the flow of business would be disturbed. The business establishments as well as traders would be losing interests as payments would not be deposited. It would make a lot of difference as business had become highly competitive and every penny mattered. He said certain banks like IDBI had been alive to the problem and had decided to keep certain branches open.
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