New Delhi, July 3
With commercial vehicles and buses guzzling more than a third of all diesel consumed in India, the government has constituted a high-level committee to develop fuel economy norms for heavy duty vehicles.

The committee, to be headed by Rajive Kumar, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, will "develop a road map for fuel efficiency norms for heavy duty vehicles (trucks and buses) in India". An Oil Ministry order said the panel will have tenure of 15 months.

"In view of growing dependence of the country on import of crude oil and the fact that the highest consumption of diesel is by commercial vehicles i.e 26.75%, followed by 10.75% by buses/state transport undertakings (STUs), it has been felt imperative by the Government to define fuel economy norms for heavy duty vehicles (trucks and buses) in India," it said.

Diesel is the most consumed fuel in the country, accounting for over 43% of 158.2 million tonne of petroleum products consumed in 2013-14. Diesel consumption was 68.37 million tonne in the last fiscal.

The panel will finalise schedule of implementation of fuel consumption standards and recommend policy guidelines for funding, upgrade involved in development of norms.

Besides, it will examine incentives for phasing out old and inefficient commercial vehicles and suggest a road map for their replacement, the order said.

The committee will examine norms/regulations being followed internationally, their effectiveness and possibility of replicating in India. It will recommend category-wise norms for heavy duty vehicles (HDVs).

It will finalise standards and requisite specifications considering availability of infrastructure and logistics involved, processing economics and improvement in vehicle engine technology.

It will "consider and recommend to the appropriate government to take forward required legislation/Act or notification or suggest amendment to an existing legislation, act or notification for enforcement of norms and its promotion in India, if necessary," the order detailing terms of reference of the committee said.

It will have representatives of Department of Heavy Industries and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

Director General of Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Director of Pune-based of Automotive Research Association of India and Director General of Society of Indian Automotive Manufacturers will be members. — PTI

New Delhi, July 3
The Petroleum Ministry said today that the hike in the price of non-subsidised LPG cylinder by Rs 16.50 per cylinder will affect less than 1% of the consumers.

The price of non-subsidised LPG, which customers buy after using up their quota of 12 subsidised cylinders, was raised to Rs 922.50 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi on July 1, the first hike in six months.

“More than 99% customers use less than 12 cylinders per year and thus will remain unaffected by this hike. This price increase will affect only less than 1% of consumers who consume more than 12 cylinders per annum,” a Petroleum Ministry statement said.

While the price of subsidised LPG cylinder remains unchanged at Rs 414 per cylinder, oil companies revise non-subsidised cooking gas rates every month in step with the cost of production.

Oil marketing companies revise rates of non-subsidised domestic LPG cylinders in accordance with international prices, the statement said.

Mumbai, July 3
As many as 447 stocks hit their one-year high on the Bombay Stock Exchange today as the benchmark Sensex almost scaled the record 26,000 level.

A total of 447 stocks touched their 52-week high on the BSE, including Lupin, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Strides Arcolab, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra and TVS Motor.

The S&P BSE Sensex closed at 25,823.75, down 17.46 points from yesterday’s close, after hitting a life time high of 25,999.08.

“The day saw the BSE remaining closed for the first three trading hours due to technical glitch. The markets will be in a profit-booking and consolidation mode until the highly anticipated Union Budget on July 10. Until then, investors can expect the markets to mostly stay range-bound unless fresh news from the Iraq crisis causes volatile oil prices in the next week,” said Raghu Kumar, co-founder, RKSV.

The index had gained over 778 points in the previous four days on rising hopes of a growth-oriented Budget next week.

Among the 30 Sensex constituents, 19 stocks ended with losses, while 11 settled in green.

From the 12 BSE sectoral indices, six ended the day in red, while the rest six made gains. — PTI

New Delhi, July 3
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has made financial commitment of $350 million in loan and equity investment for two energy projects in India.

“The ADB has approved a multi-tranche loan facility of $300 million to help Assam continue its drive to eliminate power sector inefficiencies that are hurting consumers and the economy,” the multilateral lending agency said today.

In an equity investment of $50 million in a renewable energy company ReNew Power Ventures Private Ltd, it would help India meet clean energy targets.

The three tranches $300 million loan facility will fund generation and distribution upgrades and contribution of a 120-megawatt hydro power plant.

It will finance new energy efficient generating equipment at existing plants, new distribution lines and substations, and financial management training for staff of the state power companies. — PTI

BRIEFLY

India’s services PMI hits 17-month high in June
New Delhi: India’s private sector output witnessed significant uptrend in June as both manufacturing and services sector registered solid rate of expansion, driven by robust order flows and stronger business sentiment, an HSBC survey said on Thursday. The headline HSBC Services Business Activity Index was at a 17-month peak of 54.4 in June rising from a modest 50.2 in May, HSBC said adding that "the Modi wave has struck the services sector". — PTI

Toyota launches ‘Etios Xclusive’ at Rs 7.10 lakh
New Delhi: Toyota Kirloskar Motor on Thursday launched a special edition of its mid-sized sedan Etios, priced up to Rs 7.10 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). Only 900 units of the limited edition, which comes with both petrol and diesel engines, would be on sale, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) said. — PTI

Manjit Singh appointed director of P&S Bank
Chandigarh: Manjit Singh Sarang has been appointed director of Punjab and Sind Bank. He had filed his nomination from among the shareholders and has been elected for a period of three years — from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2017. — TNS

Renault hikes prices of Duster, Scala, Pulse
New Delhi: French auto major Renault has hiked the prices of its three vehicles in India, including compact SUV Duster, by 1% to partially offset rising input costs. It has increased the prices of Duster, mid-segment sedan Scala and hatchback Pulse, across the country from Tuesday, Renault India said. — PTI

HP India unveils Apollo server range
Mumbai: Hewlett-Packard (HP) has unveiled its latest line up of servers — Apollo 6000 and Apollo 8000 — in India, which deliver enhanced performance using less space and energy. HP claims that the Apollo 8000 System is the world's first 100% liquid-cooled supercomputer with built-in technology that protects the hardware. — PTI