Opinion
Appeal
The legacy of IPA, founded by Nikhil Chakravartty, the doyen of journalism in India, to keep the flag of independent media flying high, is facing the threat of extinction due to the effect of the Covid pandemic. Only an emergency funding can avert such an eventuality. We appeal to all those who believe in the freedom of expression to contribute to this noble cause.Exchanges Forced To Sell Power At Lower Rates: Deo
KOLKATA: Power exchanges will have to sell power at low prices since state distribution companies will not be able to purchase high-priced power, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) chairman Pramod Deo said on Monday. Deo, at an interactive session organised by the Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce, said power has...
Merchant Power Rates May Go Up This Summer
KOLKATA: The Chairman of Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, Dr Pramod Deo, today said the merchant power tariff may increase this summer. This is largely because of the rise in fuel costs. “We are monitoring the merchant tariff. The tariff is showing a tendency to move up when compared to...
MoEF Nod For Parallel Processing Of Eco Clearances
MUMBAI: The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has accepted coal-based power producers’ demand for a parallel processing of environment and forest clearances, instead of sequential clearances. This would help power producers secure these clearances early. The MoEF’s decision, made last week, is expected to fast-track clearances to...
Policy On Anvil For Thermal Power Plants
KOLKATA/BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government is in the process of formulating a comprehensive policy for coal-based thermal power projects and captive power plants (CPPs) in the state. The proposed policy is likely to have a clause at the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) level which will make it mandatory for all...
CERC Bats For Private Participation In Distribution
KOLKATA: The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has batted for more private sector participation in distribution sector to reduce aggregate technical and commercial(AT&C) losses and to improve efficiency. “Losses in distribution companies is due to huge inefficiency. More private sector participation is needed in the sector. In distribution, only...
Power Plants Grapple With Coal Shortage
NEW DELHI: Power plants in the country continue to grapple with coal shortage as 19 stations suffered acute scarcity, with only four days of fuel stock, last week. As per the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) data (April 19), 19 power plants spread across all the four regions of the...
One In Three Plants Running On Critically Low Coal Supply
NEW DELHI: More than one-third ofIndia’s coal-based thermal power plants are running on critically low levels of fuel stocks, according to the latest data released by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) on Monday. Figures posted on the CEA website on Monday show that, as of 19 April, 32 of...
Cairn Deal: SC Notice To Govt, ONGC, Others
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday sought replies from the Centre, ONGC and others on a PIL seeking a CBI probe into the $8.48-billion Cairn-Vedanta deal, besides a direction to the government to cancel its approval for the deal on the ground that the country would lose over...
Now, gujarat to cover narmada canals with solar panels!
GANDHINAGAR: Close on heels of commencing use of wastelands in northern districts and rooftops in towns and cities, Gujarat is set to potentially use the existing 19,000 km-long network of Narmada canals across the State for setting up solar panels to generate power. The Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi,...
No Auction Of Coal Blocks For Power Sector: Source
NEW DELHI: India will not auction new coal mining blocks to the power sector and will instead allocate them to companies that offer to sell electricity cheapest, a government source said on Monday. The country is introducing a new system that will put an end to allocation of captive...
Indonesia Bets On Tax Incentive To Attract Investments From India
CHENNAI: The Indonesian government is betting on a tax incentive for export of value-added products from the country and attract more investments from India. The country expects that the tax incentive, compared to the higher tax structure for trading of raw coal and crude palm oil from Indonesia to...
CIL New Head S Narsing Rao To Focus On Raising Efficiency
KOLKATA: Coal India’s new chairman S Narsing Rao, who takes charge on Tuesday, will focus on raising the state-run firm’s output and consider production-linked incentives for employees – a system he successfully implemented at Singaneri Collieries. “At Singareni Collieries I had introduced a production incentive system, where a worker...
M&M Plans Unmanned Sea Surveillance Vessels
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), India’s biggest sport-utility vehicle maker, plans to build unmanned coastal surveillance vessels as the nation boosts security along its coastline following the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack. The company’s newly formed joint venture with Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems will assemble the vessel at a facility...
Tata Motors, DefTech Tie Up For Truck Order From Malaysian Forces
NEW DELHI: Tata Motors and Malaysia’s DRB-HICOM Defence Technologies (Deftech) have signed an agreement to develop, promote and market the former’s high-mobility 4-by-4 trucks for the armed forces of Malaysia. Deftech, a wholly owned subsidiary of DRB-HICOM Berhad, will be initially working on two models in the 2.5-5-tonne payload...
Boeing To Help Set Up Transonic Tunnel Facility
HYDERABAD: Global aircraft major Boeing is setting up a transonic wind tunnel facility in Hyderabad. The facility, the first of its kind in the country and under ‘Defence offsets’, could involve an expenditure of Rs 400-450 crore. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will use the facility for...
DRDO To Test Indigenous Scram Jet Engine Next Year
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will test the indigenously developed scram jet engine next year, according to DRDO chief V. K. Saraswat. “We have demonstrated the performance of a scram jet engine operating at Mach six speed (six times the speed of sound),” he said in an interview...
Work On Submarine-Fired ICBM In Advanced Stage
DRDO Chief Dr. VK Saraswat said that the work on the naval variant of the Long Range Strategic Missile (a moniker given by India to the Agni-V launched on April 20) was in “advanced” stage. With indigenous nuclear-attack submarine, INS Arihant (meaning destroyer of enemies) ready to get operational...
Petition Against Army Chief Designate Dismissed
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a petition challenging the appointment of Lt Gen Bikram Singh as the next Army chief. The court said that after carefully going through the petition and the material placed before it, it does not find any justiciable ground to entertain the...
