(BS) The government allowed the conversion of surplus rice, available with the Food Corporation of India (FCI), to ethanol. The development comes at a time when loopholes in the Public Distribution System (PDS) are keeping people away from getting free or subsidised grains. This will lead to utilisation of part of a huge stockpile of 30.57 million tonnes (mt) of rice (as of March 10) —almost 128 per cent more than the buffer stock and strategic requirement norms. Ethanol produced from this will be used for utilisation in making alcohol-based hand sanitizers and blending in petrol. The decision was taken by a group of experts under…
Author: Aruna Sharma
(ET) The government’s move to give large loans to power distribution companies to help them clear Rs.88,000-crore power plant bills would be finalised in a couple of days as it would no longer require the approval of Union Cabinet. The special loans from Power Finance Corp (PFC) and REC Ltd are proposed to be given directly to power plants to clear Rs. 88,000 crore dues on behalf of the discoms. The government will not offer the loans to distribution companies under working capital heads and state guarantees to these loans will be within the powers of state legislature, doing away…
(LiveMint) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday identified key policy priorities for the nation based on learnings from the coronavirus pandemic, which include finding the know-how for reducing the carbon footprint, as well as finding low-cost health solutions that can be deployed on a large scale. Modi also urged industry to take the lead in embracing new business models and work culture that are resilient to future crises and are efficient, as well as inclusive. The world is in pursuit of new business models and India, with its innovative zeal, can take the lead in offering a new work culture,…
(ET) Coal India Limited (CIL) has asked the government to lower railway freight rates for coastal and southern regions to make its fuel viable and encourage importers to switch to domestic supply.The lockdown has reduced demand for coal, leaving the company with 75 million tonnes of stocks that it wants to reduce. The state-owned miner also sought use of railways instead of waterways to transport coal. Due to high freight rates, coastal plants use a mix of waterways to transport coal. Due to high freight rates, coastal plants use a mix of waterways and trucks or import the fuel.
(PTI) The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariats will resume work from today after they were shut in the last week of March due to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to official orders.Both the houses were adjourned sine die on March 23 following the passage of the Finance Bill for 2020-21, bringing a premature end to the Budget Session, which was slated to conclude on April 3. According to an order issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, it will resume work from Monday and all officers of the joint secretary rank and above will join office.The Upper House of Parliament also issued…
(ET) Renewable energy projects will take time to resume construction although the government has relaxed the lockdown restrictions for them.Project developers said labour shortage is a worry and village panchayats may not allow external labour to enter as there would be a virus risk. “Mobilising the team will be a challenge. If people have gone across the country, they are not going to come back. And if the project is in a village, a local government authority might be worried about migrant labour returning and the virus spreading,”a solar developer said, requesting anonymity.There is a possibility of various layers of…
(TH) 13, the total number of women beneficiaries were 19.86 crore, which resulted in disbursement of Rs.9,930 crore. DBT ensures cash benefit directly credited into the account of the beneficiary with the help of Public Financial Management System (PFMS). Such a mechanism helps in removing duplicate/ fake beneficiaries, plugging of leakages, and cutting wastage, thus ensuring the effective use of resources for schemes such as the LPG subsidy or wages under the rural employment guarantee programme. As on date, 427 schemes implemented by 56 Central Government ministries and departments use DBT. DBT is heavily dependent on JAM — the trio of…
(ET) Coal India plans to auction 60 per cent of its inventory by May to liquidate stocks that touched a record 75 million tonnes in March. The company has decided to reduce floor price for bidding, from 20 per cent-30 per cent above notified price, to the notified prices and bulk of the offer would be for auctions allowing consumers to lift booked quantities over several months. The lockdown has hit coal demand as manufacturing and power generation have slowed down. Coal India executives said demand outlook is not promising for at least the first half of this fiscal.Coal India is also expecting increased competition from…
(LiveMint) Indian Railways is playing a key role in addressing the supply chain challenges caused by the nationwide lockdown, by transporting essential goods, including foodgrain, across the country. Between 23 March and 14 April, more than 788,000 wagons have transported essentials to keep the supply chain functional, official data showed. Of these, more than 515,000 wagons carried commodities such as foodgrain, salt, sugar, milk, edible oil, onions, fruits, vegetables, petroleum products and coal. In the year-ago period, the railways had loaded 490,000 wagons with essential commodities. The railways has also upscaled the transportation of goods using the roll-on roll-off (Ro-Ro) facility to…
(PTI) As many as 286 new cases of COVID-19 were found in Maharashtra on Thursday, taking the tally beyond the 3,200-mark, while seven more people succumbed to the disease, said a state health official. With this, the state has so far reported 3,202 cases, while the death toll is now 194, he added. Five more COVID-19 patients were discharged after recovering from the disease, taking the tally of cured cases to 300, he said. The state has so far carried out testing of 56,673 samples for COVID-19 in laboratories, the official said.