POWER
Rel Power to raise Rs 12,000-crore debt for 4,000-mw Andhra plant
Hopes to achieve financial closure in 2-3 months
ANIL AMBANI promoted Reliance Power company will raise a debt of well over Rs 12,000 crore for the proposed 4,000mw ultra mega power project at Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Power Finance and IDBI are lead arrangers for the same and they together are expected to provide a debt of Rs 3,500-5,000 crore. Sources told FE the Asian Development Bank (ADB) proposes to give a debt of $250 million for the project. Besides, a rupee debt will also be organised from the public sector banks and private banks. Besides, IIFC (UK), which had provided $600 million to the Sasan UMPP which is being developed by Reliance Power, has indicated that it would also provide whatever maximum is possible for the Krishnapatnam project. The total project is estimated at Rs 17,000 crore and the company proposes to implement the project at debt equity ratio of 75:25 or 80:20 depending upon the interest rate regime. Reliance Power, which achieved a financial closure by organising a debt of Rs 14,000 crore for the Sasan UMPP on April 21, however, hoped that the financial closure of the Krishnapatnam UMPP will be achieved after at least two to three months. The company has already achieved more than 80% of the land required for the project. Reliance Power has al- ready indicated that the first unit of the Krishnapatnam UMPPwill be commissioned in the first quarter of 2012-13. The company has already held talks with the Indian and foreign suppliers of main plant and equipments. Reliance Power had bagged the project by quoting the per unti tariff of Rs 2.33 per unit. This was much lower than Larsen & Toubro’s Rs 2.68 per unit and and Rs 4.18 per unit quoted by Sterlite. (Financial Express)
Shinde-led panel to push power capacity addition
The power minister Sushilkumar Shinde will head a committee of former power secretaries and members to independent power producers (IPPs) to review the slow pace of capacity addition and make necessary recommendations to give a much needed push for it. The Centre has proposed a capacity addition of 78,577 mw by the end of 2011-2012. During 2007-08 against the target of 16,335.20 mw, only 9,263 mw was achieved leaving a gap of 7,72.20 mw. In 2008-09, against the target of 11,061.20 mw, the capacity addition was of the order of a paltry 3,452.70 mw leaving a gap of 7,607.80 mw. Ironically, in the current year 2009-2010, 300 mw was added in April against the target of 14,507 mw. more...
Govt to unveil 3 new ultra power projects
The government is all set to launch new ultra mega power projects (UMPPs). The ministry of power and power finance corporation (PFC), which is the nodal agency for ultra-mega projects, are now working overtime to launch the bidding process for three new UMPPs, with the first one expected in a month’s time.“We intend to start the request for qualification (RFQ) process for the Cheyyur (Tamil Nadu), Bedabahal (Orissa) and Akaltara (Chattisgarh) in July-August. Our aim is to complete the bidding process for these three projects by the year-end,” ND Tyagi, chief executive officer of PFC Consulting, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Power Finance Corporation (PFC), told Financial Chronicle. more...
INFRASTRUCTURE
Metro Rail project gets Rs 550 cr allocation
Tamil Nadu government has allocated Rs 550 crore for Chennai Metro Rail Project, for which construction work was flagged off by state’s Deputy Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday. The Rs 14,600 crore and 45 km long project is expected commence operation by 2014-15. Speaking after commencing piling work for the construction elevated tracks from Koyambedu to Ashok Nagar Stalin said that the project is being implemented by a special purpose vehicle Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. He added, 59 per cent of the project cost will be funded by a concessional loan by the Japanese government. The central government will contribute 15 per cent as equity and 5 percent as debt, with the balance being funded by the state. more...
Cement industry seeks tax sops, boost in infra spends
CONSIDERING the fact that cement is vital for infrastructure development, the 219-million tonne Indian cement industry believes that it is burdened with high taxes, which are far more, compared to any other commodity. With the Budget round the corner, industry players are seeking relief on certain taxes that would provide support to the industry, which is expected to soon face a slowdown in demand with the approaching monsoons. Says Vinita Singhania, vice president of CMA and MDof JK Lakshmi Cement, “The biggest concern for the industry is the present system of levying of excise duty on an MRP basis, without any abatement. In case of cement, the post manufacturing expenses are very high, notably the freight component and the VAT (value added tax) component. Therefore, the industry has requested the government to allow an abatement of 55%, which is as per the recommendations of NCAER.” Meanwhile, the industry also wants to bring down the VAT for cement in line with steel, which is charged a VAT of just 4%, compared to 12.5% in cement. more...
ECONOMY
Inflation rate dips to 0.13%; food still dearer
The annual wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation rate has further slipped from 0.48 to 0.13 per cent for the week ended May 30. That makes it the thirteenth consecutive week where year-on-year inflation has ruled below the 1 per cent level. The all-commodities WPI (base 1993-94=100) was provisionally placed at 232.6 for the latest recorded week, as against 232.3 a year ago. The coming week (i.e. ended June 6) could well see the headline inflation rate turning negative — the first time in over two decades. The reason for this is that the WPI last year, between May 31 and June 7, shot up from 232.3 to 236.5. The ‘base effect’ of this 1.8 per cent rise in a single week is likely to produce a negative inflation rate, when the June 6-ended WPI data is released. more...
PM's economic council expects 7% GDP growth in 2009-10
Sharing the optimism of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, his advisory council today projected a growth rate of 7 per cent for the current fiscal. "I think it should be around 7 per cent," Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) Chairman Suresh Tendulkar told reporters here on the sidelines of a function organised by the Competition Commission of India (CCI). Although the Reserve Bank in its annual monetary policy in April forecast a growth rate of around 6 per cent for the current fiscal, Prime Minister Singh felt otherwise, saying the growth rate would be at least 7 per cent. more...
POLITICS
Chidambaram discusses J&K security issues with Omar
Union home minister P Chidambaram on Thursday discussed security issues and progress of development projects with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah here. Chidambaram, who arrived here this morning on a two-day visit to the state, will make an on-the-spot assessment of security situation in the state.
The Home Minister, who heads a team of senior officials, will meet the Unified Command to review law and order and militancy situation, official sources said. more...
Modi for zero tolerance towards terrorism
Paying tributes to Major Rishikesh Ramani, killed in an encounter in Kashmir, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said there should be "zero tolerance towards terrorism." "The government should adopt zero tolerance towards terrorism," he said after visiting the residence of Major Ramani this morning. "It is unfortunate that terrorism is claiming lives of youths like Major Ramani for last 25 years," he said adding that the country should avenge such killings. The 27-year-old Major was killed in a gunbattle with the terrorists in Kupwara district Kashmir on June 7.more...
TELECOM
DoT willing to hike 3G bid price
The communications ministry is set to tell the Union Cabinet that it is open to increasing the reserve price for the auctions of pan-India third generation (3G) spectrum to Rs 3,540 crore and auction up to eight slots of 3G spectrum. As per the existing 3G policy unveiled by the communications ministry late last year, the reserve price for pan-India 3G spectrum is Rs 2,020 crore and accommodating five players per circle. The department of telecom is of the view that hiking the reserve price for these airwaves will ensure that the finance ministry does not put up any fresh roadblocks for the upcoming 3G auctions, which is vital for high-end services such as video conferencing and high speed internet on mobile handsets. Spectrum is the airwaves on which telecom signals travel and is the lifeline for all telcos. more...
Bharti, Vodafone to bring iPhone 3GS to India in Aug
India’s leading GSM telecom operators -- Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar -- are set to bring Apple’s latest iPhone, called iPhone 3G S, to India in August. The new iPhone 3G S, which offers faster data speeds, a new camera, video recording, compass and voice control, was unveiled in US earlier this week. In India, Apple has exclusive tie-ups with Bharti and Vodafone and this is one of the few markets where the US-based technology firm has a tie-up with two operators. Bharti and Vodafone jointly account for over 170 million of the over 400 million cellphone users in the country. Apple had issued a guidance, saying the iPhone 3G S would make its debut in India in August, but refused to specify the date and the pricing for the country. The guidance also added that the handset would be launched in 31 other countries in August. Additionally, as per information made public by Apple, the iPhone 3G S will go on sale in 10 countries, including the US on June 19, and another 32 countries in the month of July. more...
INTERNATIONAL
China told to pull up cos selling fake ‘made-in-India’ drugs in Nigeria
India has asked China to take ”strict” action against Chinese companies selling fake drugs in Nigeria with ‘made-in-India’ labels, said an official in the government. The Nigerian government had recently confiscated consignments of such drugs shipped from China. “The cartons had labels with names and addresses of the Chinese manufacturers written on them. It won’t be a problem for the Chinese government to trace them,” told the official, who did not wish to be named, to ET. India’s concern has already been communicated by the commerce department to the Chinese ambassador to India Zhang Yen more...
Indo-US nuclear deal plays out in slow motion
Although a nuclear deal between US and India is a wrap, the wheels are moving at a grinding slow pace on implementing the deal, with the US dithering on starting negotiations for the reprocessing agreement. Government sources said civil nuclear issues occupied a large part of the discussions between William Burns and foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon on Wednesday. It's likely they will come up for talks again when Burns meets NSA M K Narayanan on Thursday. more...
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Genius is the gold in the mine; talent is the miner that works and brings it out.
HEALTH TIP
Having lassi after lunch can aid your digestion. For best results, add half to one teaspoon of almond powder for an energetic afternoon.
TIP - to save energy
Microwave ovens consumes 50% less energy than conventional electric / gas stove
HUMOUR JUNCTION
Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else.
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