New Delhi, November 6
The nation needs to invest $250 billion over the next five years to tackle chronic energy shortages and provide power for all its 1.2 billion people, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.

He said the bulk of the investment would need to come from the private sector, but the government would also invest more.

“I visualise an investment of nearly $250 billion in this sector in the next four or five years,” Goyal said at the India Economic Summit in New Delhi.

The government is targeting $100 billion of investment in renewables and $50 billion in transmission and distribution to “create a national grid where power can seamlessly flow”, Goyal said, as it seeks to avoid a repeat of 2012 when one of the world’s biggest blackouts hit swathes of northern India.

He said nuclear power offered the “potential” to help resolve India’s energy shortages.

Rapidly growing demand that outstrips supply and an antiquated transmission system mean much of India still suffers regular outages, which hamper investment and force many businesses to rely on costly generators for back up.

As many as 400 million Indians are still not connected to the grid, while the average Indian household uses about a third of the power consumed by a family in China.

The total energy consumed in India will double by 2019, Goyal said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, elected in May, has made a commitment to bring uninterrupted power to all people — a key plank of his government’s programme.

To achieve that, Goyal said India needed to rapidly raise the amount of coal it mined for power generation, cut back on electricity lost on transmission lines and through theft, and promote the use of renewable resources such as solar and wind.

Coal, which generates about three-fifths of the country’s energy, would retain an “essential role” in India’s energy mix, as in the United States, despite more environmentally friendly alternatives, Goyal said.

Past governments have struggled to attract foreign cash into the power industry, partly because companies remain unconvinced they will be able to earn a return on their investment while tariffs are kept low to please consumers.

“The most important thing for infrastructure related investments (in India) is how to make the project bankable,” Masakazu Sakakida, managing director of the Indian arm of Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp, said earlier this week.

“In a coal-based power plant, the price of electricity is almost fixed, it is not related to the price of the coal.”

Dong-Kwan Kim, managing director at Hanwha Group, a Korean conglomerate with interests in solar, said India’s high cost of capital was also deterring investors from renewable projects because they could earn far better returns elsewhere. — Reuters

Govt cautious on discarded N-technology Union Minister Piyush Goyal said the government is looking at all options on nuclear energy but does not want to get saddled with "something" that has been discarded by the West. He said the Centre is trying to address issues with regard to civil nuclear liability issues. "Nuclear has potential and has opportunities for India.

New Delhi, November 6
Bharti Group chairman Sunil Mittal today said the telecom industry wants more spectrum and the government should make it available.

“We want from the government more spectrum. Every country has the same amount of spectrum and it is not that India has less... It needs to be vacated from other places, that is what other countries have also done," Mittal said on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit here.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), on October 15, gave its recommendation on spectrum auction for premium 900 Mhz band and 1800 Mhz band that are presently being used for 2G GSM mobile services by Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications.

The government has proposed to put for auction about 184 Mhz of spectrum in 900 Mhz band which is held by these companies through their various licences expiring in 2015-16. The four telecom operators will have to buy spectrum afresh to continue their services.

"I would say the government should make available enough spectrum so that there is a balance between spectrum pricing," said Sunil Mittal. — PTI

New Delhi, November 6
India will push for improved financial tax enforcement for trans-border trade, better system of reportage and reduction in transaction fee for remittance by Indians residing overseas at the upcoming G-20 Summit in Brisbane, Australia next week.

While the focus will be on a range of issues covering the economy and the energy sector, India is keen that the G-20 countries take a collective view on tax evasion even the world is seeing a shift towards e-commerce.

With the Modi government having committed itself to bring back money stashed overseas, the issue assumes significance since tax evasion will be a key issue at the summit that is expected to discuss having a timeline to implement common reporting standard enabling automatic exchange of tax information by 2017.

Briefing reporters on the two-day summit starting November 15, former Union Minister Suresh Prabhu, said the focus would be on steps to deal with Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (BEPS), where globally operating firms shift profits to low or no-tax jurisdictions.

"There will be a new platform, a new regime and common reporting standards," Prabhu said adding that an action plan to tackle BEPS to ensure companies fairly pay taxes is expected to be finalised in 2015. The BEPS initiative would ensure that tax is paid where profits are made.

He said the issue could be understood since now a company could be located in one country, but picking up orders in another country, manufacturing in a third country. The concept of paying tax in the country where the firm is located is altering in global trade accentuated by e-commerce. India, he said, has already circulated a paper outlining the principles and protocols to be put in place to avoid such cases.

The other issue of concern for India is to reduce the cost of sending money home. Prabhu said with Indian remittances figure last year at US $71 billion, a major share of funds is deducted by banks and financial institutions while transferring money.

In some cases, the costs of sending money to developing countries is as high as 10% of the value of the remittances, he said, adding, efforts must be made to reduce the costs to less than 5%.

The G-20 will discuss issues relating to infrastructure, energy, environment, and Ebola outbreak. India is seeking that global surplus could be channelised to develop infrastructure and demanding energy mix, including renewable and alternative energy, while advocating efficient use of energy.

‘Channelise surplus to develop energy mix’ The G-20 will discuss issues relating to infrastructure, energy, environment, and Ebola outbreak. India is seeking that global surplus could be channelised to develop infrastructure and demanding energy mix, including renewable and alternative energy G-20 countries will take a collective view on tax evasion even the world is seeing a shift towards e-commerce

New Delhi, November 6
Despite a weak global recovery, Indian companies continue to look abroad and have invested close to $17.6 billion in April-September this fiscal while outward investment in the fiscal 2013-14 was $36.9 billion, an Assocham study said.

Though Indian firms have invested overseas in the first half of the current fiscal, almost same as compared to 2013-14, they are expected to retain their appetite for opportunities abroad, the study said.

"What is adding to their quest for going abroad is the attractive valuations of assets abroad , given the fact some of the markets such as European Union are facing slowdown with several of the home companies seeking to exit," said DS Rawat, secretary general, Assocham.

Even in the US, valuations are attractive. Exit options are entry opportunities for several global firms, including from India, the paper said. Besides the assets buying opportunities in various sectors, the Indian firms are making fresh investment in their existing facilities, including in the manufacturing.

The study said foreign investment by Indian companies was nearly $17.2 billion in 2008-09, but touched a peak $43.9 billion in 2010-11. In 2013-14, foreign locations investment touched around US $36.9 billion than the $26.8 billion in 2012-13.

About 5,028 Indian companies have invested in foreign locations during April 2009 to September 2014. The top hundred companies that have recorded significant foreign investment account for 76.01% share in the foreign investment by Indian companies.

Indian companies have invested $ 51.5 billion in the manufacturing sector which is almost 30% of total outflows in the sector for five years under review.

New Delhi, November 6
In a setback to Nissan Motors, consumer safety testing body Global New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) has asked the Japanese car maker to withdraw its compact car Datsun GO from the Indian market saying it was “sub-standard”.

Datsun GO, which was launched in the country last year, had failed a crash test recently conducted by the Global NCAP. It had failed on critical safety count.

In a letter to the Nissan chairman and CEO, Global NCAP chairman Max Mosley urged for an “urgent withdrawal of the Datsun Go from the Indian and related markets”.

“It is disappointing that Nissan has authorised the launch of a model that is so clearly sub-standard. At present, the Datsun Go will certainly fail to pass the United Nation’s frontal impact regulation. In these circumstances, I would urge Nissan to withdraw the Datsun Go from sale in India pending an urgent redesign of the car’s body-shell,” Mosley said.

Applying the UN’s minimum crash test standards to all passenger car production worldwide is a key recommendation of the Global Plan for the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety, he said.

“Given Carlos Ghosn’s responsibilities as the chairman and CEO of Nissan and president of the European Car Manufacturers’ Association, he should now demonstrate leadership both in Nissan and on behalf of the vehicle industry generally that corresponds to the UN’s legitimate expectation that automobile safety should be improved during the Decade of Action,” Mosley said.

As per the crash results, the Datsun GO scored zero star for adult occupant protection and just two stars for child occupant protection. Its vehicle structure collapsed in the crash and was rated as unstable.

“The car’s lack of airbags meant that the driver’s head makes direct contact with the steering wheel and dashboard — the dummy readings indicate a high probability of life-threatening injuries. However, the failure of the body shell makes it redundant to fit an airbag,” the Global NCAP said.

When contacted a Nissan India spokesperson said: “We have not received the letter yet.” — PTI

'Sub-standard' vehicle Datsun GO had failed a crash test recently conducted by the Global New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) As per the crash test results, the Datsun GO scored zero star for adult occupant protection and just two stars for child occupant protection. Its vehicle structure collapsed in the crash and was rated as unstable The vehicle was launched in the country last year, as Datsun's first global product when Nissan revived the brand

BRIEFLY

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