(ET) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today shrugged off questions on the GDP growth declining to 5 per cent in the first quarter, saying the ups and down are part of the growth process and the government is responding to the current economic challenges to revive demand and consumption in the country. Speaking at a press conference in Chennai, Sitharaman said a dip in the GDP is part of the growth cycle and the government is conscious that it has to respond. “It’s not that government is not responding with measures to boost GDP. A dip in GDP is part of growth. Our full focus…
Author: Aruna Sharma
(ET) India on Tuesday launched South Asia’s maiden cross-border oil pipeline that will help in regional connectivity amid Pakistan’s intransigence on approving Saarc connectivity pact. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli on Tuesday inaugurated South Asia’s first crossborder petroleum products pipeline from Motihari in India to Amlekhgunj in Nepal via video conference. This will reduce retail oil prices in Nepal by Rs 2. India is alreadysupplying diesel to Bangladesh through crossborder train and plans to build pipeline to supply petroleum products to its eastern neighbour. Speaking on the occasion, Oli expressed appreciation for the early implementation of…
(BS) After clearing high-value investment projects worth Rs 2.04 trillion, the Odisha government is likely to stumble on land acquisition hurdles especially for mega projects proposed by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL). Last month, the High Level Clearance Authority (HLCA), the highest body to approve investments in Odisha, inter alia gave the go-ahead to expansion projects proposed by IOC and a refinery cum petrochemicals complex by HPL. Between them, IOC and HPL have pledged investments valued at around Rs 1.8 trillion. IOC has pledged a massive investment of Rs one trillion to ramp up capacity of its coastal crude oil…
(FE) In order to fast-track the implementation of the Smart Cities Mission (SCM), the government will award tenders worth over Rs 2 lakh crore by March next year, as well as finish smart city projects worth Rs 50,000 crore by June 2020, which also marks 5 years of the launch of the mission. Sources said the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs will issue tenders for all the projects under the SCM by March 2020. It has already started work in this direction and ministry officials are coordinating with respective cities. At present, 100 cities have created SPVs for launching various…
(NDTV) The country’s planned giant refinery and petrochemical project, which is being built with Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC), will cost more than the originally planned $45 billion, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Tuesday. The 1.2 million barrels-per-day (bpd) giant coastal project is part of government’s plans to raise its refining capacity by 77 per cent to 8.8 million bpd by 2030. It is being built at Roha, around 100 km south of Mumbai. “The primary plan was around $45 billion, it will be more than that,” Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters at the World Energy Congress…
(FE) JioSaavn has received capital infusion of Rs 140.35 crore from parent firm Reliance Industries, according to documents sourced from business signals platform paper.vc. In 2018, Reliance Industries had announced the merger of its digital music service JioMusic with audio over-the-top (OTT) platform Saavn. The valuation of the combined entity is pegged at over $1 billion, the company had said. JioSaavn competes with Gaana, Spotify, Wynk and YouTube Music. Digital audio streaming has gained ground due to increased proliferation of smartphones and cheap data. In India, more than 4,440 million monthly streams are running across leading OTT players, according to…
(FE) State-run electricity distribution companies (discoms) of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have opposed the central government panel’s recommendation to make advance payments to power producers. The recommendation was made by a committee which was constituted by the Union power ministry ‘to look into the issue of delayed payments by discoms’ to power generators. Delayed payment from discoms have been cited as one of the reasons behind the rising stress in the sector. This impairs the generating company’s ability to service debt and exhausts their working capital. Inability to service debt leads to lower credit ratings and higher interest rates. According…
(ET) Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country’s largest fuel retailer, s planning to open its second Research and Development (R&D) facility adjacent to an existing facility in Faridabad, Haryana, at a cost of Rs 2,282 crore. The proposed facility — to be called IndianOil Technology Development and Deployment Centre — will be spread across 59.32 acres of land in Industrial Model Town in Faridabad, the company said in an application to the environment ministry. It will house facilities which will research on alternative & renewable energy, industrial bio-technology, nanotechnology, refining technology, petrochemicals, applied metallurgy, pipeline research, catalytic interventions for clean energy processes and…
(ET) NTPC said the coal ministry has transferred Badam coal block, located in Jharkhand, to the company. The coal block , earlier allocated to Bihar State Power Generation Company (BSPGCL), has been given to NTPC after it acquired the Barauni thermal plant from BSPGCL in December 2018, NTPC said in a statement.With this coal block, NTPC currently possesses 10 coal blocks — Pakri Barwadih, Chatti Bariatu (including Chatti Bariatu-South), Kerandari, Dulanga, Talaipalli, Bhalumuda, Banai, Mandakini-B, Badam and Banhardih (being developed by PVUNL, a JV company of NTPC & state Govt of Jharkhand) coal blocks with a total estimated geological reserves of…
In a bid to expedite the government’s Skill India Mission, Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) Mahendra Nath Pandey will lay the foundation of the Indian Institute of Skills in Mumbai on Wednesday. Earlier, the Union Cabinet under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved of the proposal to set up Indian Institute of Skills (IISs) in three locations — Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Kanpur. The concept of the Indian Institute of Skills (IISs) is similar to that of the IITs and IIMs and will be premium institutes for skill development offering latest skill courses aligned to industry…