POWER
India needs more flexible power plants to meet demand
India needs flexible power plants as well as ultra mega ones to meet its demand for electricity, a top industry official said. "To meet the increasing power demand, the country needs flexible power plants along with 2,000 MW Ultra Mega Power Plants (UMPPs)," Wartsila India Managing Director Rakesh Sarin said on the sidelines of a conference here. Wartsila India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Finnish company Wartsila Corp, is a significant supplier of decentralised power plant for industries, utilities and independent power producers (IPPs) in India. more...
A Cabinet Committee on energy?
Sushil Kumar Shinde, Bharathsinh Solanki, Dr Farooq Abdullah, Murli Deora, Jitin Prasada, Shri Prakash Jaiswal, and Vincent Pala. What is common between these newly sworn in ministers of the new UPA government? They along with the Prime Minister, who is in charge of nuclear energy, are all connected in one way or the other with determining the fate of India’s energy scene for the next five years. It is inevitable, in jumbo-sized cabinets, the government is compelled to slice the meat into slivers so thin as to reduce the cabinet-making exercise to a farce. more...
INFRASTRUCTURE
Bandra-Worli Sea Link to open by June end
The much-awaited Bandra Worli Sea Link (BWSL), an ambitious 8-lane twin carriageway built over the Mahim Creek, will be opened to the public at the end of the month. "You yourself have seen the entire work, I found the work quite satisfactory. By the end of June, we will open this bridge for the public," said Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Saturday. Earlier, Chavan had inspected the site with Deputy Chief Minister Chaggan Bhujbal and other senior state government officials.Chavan also revealed that the government would finalise bids for the Worli to Haji Ali sea link next week. more...
Banks for restoring tax sop on long-term lending to core projects
With the new government laying thrust on infrastructure creation, bankers are expecting a crucial tax sop, whereby interest earned on long-term lending to infrastructure projects is considered as an allowable deduction, to be restored. Under the erstwhile section 10(23)(G) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, banks were allowed to claim the interest earned on long-term lending to infrastructure projects as an allowable deduction. This section helped in channelling investments/ credit to the infrastructure sector. However, this section was withdrawn in the Finance Act, 2007. more...
ECONOMY
Economy to grow by 8.5 pc, but govt borrowing a worry: Kamath
ICICI Bank Chairman K V Kamath on Sunday said the Indian economy could grow by 8.5 per cent in current fiscal, but warned the government against massive borrowing and said this would obstruct banks from lowering lending rates. Advising the government to look for alternative sources for raising funds to pursue its employment and rural economy programmes, which he termed as a must for high growth, Kamath said, "I think we have hit the road at a pace where we can aspire for 8.5 per cent growth in not a difficult way." more...
An island of growth
If one goes by what the Prime Minister told the Lok Sabha the other day, the signs of a recovery within the national economy are strong, and may lead to a GDP growth rate of between 8 and 9 per cent in 2010-2011 compared to an expected 7 per cent in the current year. In the previous year (2008-2009) growth was 6.7 per cent, which was entirely the work of the recessionary forces buffetting the international economy, especially in the second half of the year, ending a spec tacular run of around 9 per cent growth between 2005 and 2008. How can India achieve this growth performance at a time when nearly every other major world economy will still be battling the recession which, most observers agree, is gradually weakening? more...
POLITICS
Cabinet may decide schedule for Budget session tomorrow
The schedule for the Budget session of Parliament is likely to be decided at a meeting of the Union Cabinet tomorrow. The meeting will be held shortly before the departure of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the SCO and BRIC Summit being held in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Indications so far are that the Union Budget is likely to be presented in the Lok Sabha on July 3, Economic Survey on July 2 and Railway Budget on July 1. Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal has said the session is expected to begin by the end of June or early July and passing of the Budget would constitute the main agenda. more...
Mayawati govt in a financial mess
Uttar Pradesh is facing a financial crisis. The gap between revenue receipts and expenditure is widening. This may result in a cut in plan size, tentatively pegged at Rs 36,000 crore for the current financial year. This is pending the Planning Commission’s approval. A critical analysis made by the finance department presents a bleak picture. “The income from all sources during the last two months is in the range of Rs 4,500 crore whereas the expenses exceed Rs 8,000 crore in the same period. Unless the government prioritises its spending and cuts down on some of its populist announcements the state is doomed,’’ sums up the finance department in its report. more...
TELECOM
BSNL drops plan to bid for Tunisia license
BSNL has dropped its plans to bid for telecom licence in Tunisia as the PSU finds the returns not enough to enter that market through bidding of licence. "We did not bid for Tunisia... we did not find returns on our investment," a senior BSNL official said. Earlier the PSU's CMD Kuldeep Goyal had said BSNL was planning to bid for telecom licence in Tunisia and get a footprint in the African market, which has immense potential. But not bidding for Tunisia does not mean BSNL has lost sight of the potential of the African region, which it says has growing mobile usage. more...
MTN may take GDR route for 25% stake in Bharti Airtel
South African telecom major MTN’s proposed 25% stake in Bharti Airtel will be through global depository receipts (GDRs), if the plans by the two companies to mutually acquire equity to form a global cellular alliance stretching from the Cape of Good Hope to the Indian Ocean goes through. A top Airtel executive involved in talks with MTN told ET that the GDRs will be listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, shedding more light into the complex nature of the deal, which is set to test the new foreign direct investment (FDI) norms earlier this year. more...
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INTERNATIONAL
Global loans once again flowing for Indian cos
Global money markets are fast becoming favourable for Indian companies to borrow, with bankers saying it’s only a matter of time before the tap opens again. The premiums above the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (Libor), a benchmark used by bankers for pricing corporate loans, have fallen significantly over the past few weeks. Already, ICICI Bank’s Credit Default Swap (CDS), widely considered as the benchmark for measuring investor appetite for Indian debt, has fallen to levels before investment bank Lehmann Brothers succumbed to the global financial crisis and filed for bankruptcy on September 15, 2009. more...
US sees $1.3 tn wealth erosion in '09 first quarter
With recession extending its grip on the US economy, the country witnessed wealth erosion of USD 1.3 trillion, much more than India's GDP, in the first three months of 2009. The Americans saw their wealth tumble to USD 50.4 trillion in January-March period against USD 51.7 trillion at the end of 2008. The total loss of USD 1.3 trillion is higher than the value of Indian economy, which is little over USD 1 trillion. According to the figures from the US Federal Reserve, the household net worth or wealth of Americans, declined to USD 50.4 trillion in the first quarter of 2009. more...
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Don't stand in someone else's shadow when it's your sunlight that should lead the way.
HEALTH TIP
Heading for workout? Have two bananas. Apart from Carbohydrates, the ample amount of potassium in the banana will minimize the chances of muscle cramps during or post workout
TIP - to save energy
Vacuum the outside bottom of your refrigerator. Also vacuum the back and behind it. This removes clogging dust and lets the air flow, allowing your refrigerator to function more efficiently.
HUMOUR JUNCTION
Who tastes dog food when it has a 'new & improved' flavor?
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