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.Wind Energy Venture Capital Funding Off To A Breezy Start At $240 Million In Q1
NEW DELHI: The global venture capital funding in the wind energy sector has got off to a strong start with deals worth $ 240 million for 12 deals in the first quarter of this calender year. According to Mercom Capital Group, a global clean energy communications and consulting firm,...
Coal India Could Get To Pass On Cost Of Expensive Imports
NEW DELHI: The government is weighing a new coal pricing dispensation to help Coal India (CIL) recover the extra cost of imported coal it might have to give power plants to comply with the fuel supply agreement (FSA). The agreement means Coal India must guarantee supply of at least...
Neyveli Plans 2,000-MW Plant With Odisha PSU
BHUBANESWAR: Chennai-based Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd (NLC), a navratna public sector unit, has evinced interest in setting up a 2,000-Mw coal-fired power unit in Odisha through a joint venture (JV) with a state government owned PSU. The proposal envisages an investment of around Rs 10,000 crore. NLC would prefer...
Thermal Coal Imports Via Paradip Jump 50%
BHUBANESWAR: Thermal coal imports through Paradip port improved by 50 per cent to six million tonnes during 2011-12. This comprised the lion’s share of the 16 million tonnes of import traffic handled by the port during the year. The sharp jump in coal import through the port is attributed...
Admiral Gorshkov To Be Commissioned On December 4
The much-awaited Russian-built aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov will be commissioned in the Indian Navy on December 4 this year and the certain trials that needed to be done will now be completed post its induction in the force. Gorshkov, rechristened in the Indian Navy as INS Vikramaditya, has been...
India, Japan To Talk On Cooperation In Asia-Pacific
NEW DELHI: This Monday, and then again on Monday the 30th, Japanese and Indian officials will meet to impart momentum to what is arguably New Delhi’s most important partnership in Asia, but one that has consistently underperformed. These meetings seek to take forward a relationship that has the economic...
Sikorsky Aims To Corner 30 Per Cent Market Share In Chopper Sales
The world’s largest chopper-maker Sikorsky Aircraft, which has a joint venture with the Tatas for assembling helicopter cabins, is targeting to corner up to 30 percent market share in India over the next five years. “We expect to corner around 25-30 percent of the growth (in new choppers sales...
India Cut Agni V Range From 9000 KM To 5000 KM Under Nato Pressure: Chinese Media
BEIJING: Continuing its tirade against the successful launch of Agni V, Chinese state media accused New Delhi of buckling under NATO pressure to cut down the missile’s range from 9000 km to 5000 km. The state-run Global Times which derided the missile even before it was launched saying that...
Navy Focusing On Creating High-Tech 'Sea Warriors'; Plans To Have Officers With Btech Degrees
NEW DELHI: Slowly but surely emerging as a powerful three-dimensional “blue-water” force to protect India’s geo-strategic interests stretching from Hormuz Strait to Malacca Strait, the Navy is now also focusing on creating high-tech “sea warriors”. The force, in fact, is steaming ahead with plans to ensure all its new...
Long-Range Cruise Missile Test In August, Says DRDO
India’s Tomahawk-like long range cruise missile Nirbhay is expected to be test-fired for the first time in July-August this year, according to the Dr V.G. Sekaran, director of the Advanced Systems Lab (ASL) at DRDO. This will be, without a doubt, the most significant weapon test since, perhaps, the...
Textron To Produce Weapons For India’s Jaguars
Textron Defense Systems will start production of India’s order for 512 CBU-105 sensor fuzed weapons (SFW) soon. The $257.7 million sale was contracted via the U.S. Foreign Military Sales mechanism in November 2010. Encouraged by India’s continuing move away from reliance on Russian weapons, Textron is now marketing other...
DRDO Plans To Build Reusable Missiles
NEW DELHI: After the successful launch of Agni V Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile, India is all set to develop reusable rockets which will combine the technologies of both ballistic and cruise missiles. As part of plans to develop reusable ballistic missiles, the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) will test...
Max India to sell polypropylene business division for Rs 800 crore
NEW DELHI: The Analjit Singh-promoted company Max India has decided to divest its 25-year-old polypropylene business in a two-stage transaction for an enterprise value of about Rs 800 crore, a move that will help it exit its non-core business. The Delhi-based company is in advanced negotiations with at least...
Defence Ventures With Foreign Entities To Face Closer Scrutiny
NEW DELHI: With the rising role of private sector in defence production, the government is planning guidelines for defence sector joint ventures (JVs) between Indian and foreign firms. Government sources said these will be similar to foreign direct investment (FDI) norms for defence collaborations in certain developed countries. The...
Important Reforms Coming In Six Months, Says Basu
WASHINGTON: After the flak over his remarks to a think tank here, Chief Economic Advisor Kaushik Basu feels India will see “some important” reforms in the next six months, including on subsidies and maybe partial diesel decontrol and FDI (foreign direct investment) in retail. However, he feels the “biggest...
Foreigners May Get To Buy $10 Billion Corporate Bonds
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: The finance ministry has asked the Reserve Bank to open a $10-billion window for individual foreign investors in corporate debt, hoping high yields on Indian paper will attract greater flows and prevent large government borrowing from pushing up interest rates. This year’s budget has proposed to allow...
Halved Tax To Keep PEs Alive & Kicking In India
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: The finance ministry is set to halve the tax burden to keep alive the interest of private equity (PE) players, who constitute the biggest foreign direct investor group in India. The ministry is prepared to lower long-term capital gains tax on unlisted stocks to 10% for PEs,...
Govt mulls new norms, tax sops to revive SEZ boom
NEW DELHI: It could be a second innings for special economic zones, especially those held up for years, with the commerce department proposing fresh tax concessions and a cut in the minimum area requirement to a quarter of the present specifications. The department has suggested that any zone that...
