BANGALORE: State-run power generator NTPC is awaiting forest department clearance to set up its first wind energy project in the country. The 100-MW project, with an estimated cost of Rs. 650 crore is to come up at Guledagudda in Bagalkot district, Karnataka, said R Venkateswaran, Regional Executive Director (South). A few months ago, the company floated tenders but was not successful, and now it is […]
New Delhi: The geopolitical wrangling and heartburn over India’s mother of all defence deals, the lucrative $20 billion MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) project, is still not over. First, it was the Americans, then the Europeans and now, the Russians. Even as India and France inch forward to stitch up the contract for acquisition of 126 Rafale fighters for the IAF, Russian ambassador Alexander Kadakin last […]
Iran’s revenue from crude sales, the OPEC member nation’s most important export, dropped 30 percent because of the recent drop in global oil prices, according to President Hassan Rouhani. “International conditions are such that the country’s main source of income, i.e. oil revenues, has been cut by some 30 percent,” Rouhani said in remarks to the nation’s parliament that were published today by the Oil Ministry’s news […]
The Federal Reserve said it sees further improvement in the labor market while confirming it will end an asset-purchase program that has added $1.66 trillion to its balance sheet. “Labor market conditions improved somewhat further, with solid job gains and a lower unemployment rate,” the Federal Open Market Committee said today in a statement in Washington. “A range of labor market indicators suggests that underutilization of labor […]
NEW DELHI: Life Insurance Corporation of India, the country’s largest insurer, will consider increasing its holding in companies in which the government plans to sell shares this year, possibly up to the 15% limit allowed. LIC, which is also the country’s largest investor, is expected to invest about Rs 55,000 crore in the equity markets this financial year, up from about Rs 51,000 crore in 2013-14. […]
NEW DELHI: Private-sector power plants with a combined capacity of over 1 lakh MW, including plants of 36,500 MW that have been deprived of their captive coal blocks thanks to a recent Supreme Court verdict will get “firm coal linkage” if the Cabinet approves a plan put forth by the power ministry. Pooling of domestic (Coal India) and imported coal will be done to ensure these […]
NEW DELHI: ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp, on Tuesday signed an agreement to pick an up to 50 per cent stake in PetroVietnam’s two exploration blocks in the South China Sea. OVL will take a 40 per cent stake in Block 102/10 and 50 per cent in 106/10 that lie outside the sea territory claimed by China. PetroVietnam, […]
Mumbai: In the first big boost to the government’s “Make in India” initiative, aimed at making India a manufacturing hub, Airbus Defence and Space and Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) on Tuesday announced a joint bid for a government contract to supply military aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF). The IAF is looking to replace its fleet of Avro aircraft and the joint venture will supply Airbus’ […]
Global SWFs: Assets under Management (USD billion), 2014 GeoEconomica The sovereign wealth funds of the energy-rich Arab Gulf are some of the world’s largest pools of capital, collectively holding more than $1 trillion of assets. But their strategies, returns and approaches to risk aren’t often disclosed, something political risk consultancy GeoEconomica singles them out for in a new report. Gulf funds lag global peers in compliance with […]
Harry Wallop: ‘What was the point in having four offspring, only to send them away the moment they become interesting individuals? Photo: Clara Molden/The Telegraph WHY I SAY ‘NO’ TO BOARDING The photo in my old school magazine is captioned “Lent 1983”. It shows 14 boys, all wearing Guernsey jumpers and corduroy trousers, posing on their first day at their new school: Summer Fields in north Oxford. I […]
AP It’s not just Wall Street banks such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. that got it wrong. Energy consultants and even the U.S. government didn’t foresee the sharp slide in oil prices, which have tumbled 25% since June. Goldman shocked the market yesterday with a call for U.S. prices to fall to $70 a barrel in the second quarter of 2015. Barclays just released its second price update in […]
Twenty years after Israel and Jordan signed a historic peace agreement, the absence of progress toward an independent Palestinian state continues to weigh heavily on ties between the two Middle East neighbors. Widespread public sentiment in Jordan to downgrade relations over Israeli policy for the Palestinians makes it awkward for government officials to openly embrace Israel. But at a Tel Aviv ceremony marking the treaty anniversary on […]
Shares of Indian companies with key markets in Europe such as Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Bharat Forge, Motherson Sumi and Crompton Greaves have crashed by as much as 19% since mid-September on concerns their earnings may get adversely affected by the slowdown in the region. However, analysts say investors should buy some of these stocks. “We are positive on companies such as Tata Motors, Bharat Forge […]
New Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government on Monday scrapped the selection of six chiefs of public sector banks, recommended under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime, following a high-level panel finding irregularities in the process followed. The probe into selections for banks such as Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank followed the arrest of tainted Syndicate Bank Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) S K Jain […]
NEW DELHI: The NDA government has finally taken the first step towards formulating a policy for hydropower projects on the Ganga — Alakananda and Bhagirathi rivers —in Uttarakhand. Water resources minister Uma Bharti informed the National Ganga River Basin Authority on Monday that a committee comprising officials of the environment and water resources ministry had been asked to review the reports of three committees dealing with […]
Smart solutions… to enable low-energy living Shifting focus to smarter products MANAMA, 1 days ago As the world advances to its urban future and the global population rises, so does the degree of waste thereby causing major environmental challenges – in some cases catastrophes, said an industry expert. A quick glance at the growth in waste numbers (from water to industrial refuse to plastics) shows an alarming […]
By P. Sreekumaran THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: An unfortunate war of words and articles has erupted between the CPI and the CPI(M), which can only cause immense damage to the communist movement in the country. What makes it all the more saddening is that the angry exchange has come at a time when both the parties should be bending their energies towards strengthening the left, secular and democratic forces […]
NEW DELHI: After clarity on natural gas prices and an ordinance on coal, the government is set to decide on pooling of imported and domestic fuel prices to help stressed power stations with a combined capacity of 91,000 mw generate electricity that’s badly needed as India tries to revive its economy. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs is likely to decide on pooling gas and coal prices […]
NEW DELHI: With a decade’s existence of the Electricity Act of 2003 doing precious little in infusing efficiency and competition into the sector, the government has proposed some key changes in the Act to remedy the situation and prevent the loss-ridden sector, which is struggling to meet the reformist conditions of a financial restructuring package (FRP), from plumbing fresh depths. The Union power ministry’s draft amendments […]
Maids from the Philippines break their Ramadan fast at a shelter managed by Labour and Welfare officers in Dubai. The house maids live at the refuge after fleeing their employers’ homes. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Maids, housekeepers, nannies and other female domestic workers in the United Arab Emirates are often denied wages, have their passports confiscated, don’t get proper medical care and are even in some cases subject […]
China reduced oil imports from Saudi Arabia even as the world’s largest crude exporter cuts prices to lure Asian customers amid intensifying competition from Colombia to Oman. Oil deliveries from Saudi Arabia fell 2.7 percent to 4.74 million metric tons last month from a year earlier, according to data released today by the General Administration of Customs in Beijing. Shipments from Colombia surged 389.6 percent, while Russian […]
U.S. stocks were lower in afternoon trading on Wednesday, with major indexes erasing earlier gains as a shooting at the Canadian parliament unnerved investors and Boeing and Biogen sold off following results. Indexes had traded in positive territory for much of the session, putting the S&P 500 on track for a fifth straight day of gains. Earnings initially drove the move higher, with technology and material shares […]
ACWAs Chief Executive Paddy Padmanathan says the company wants to expand its presence in the renewables sector and make a push for fuel diversification. ACWA Saudi Arabia-based water and power project developer ACWA Power has recently received a $100 million equity investment from the International Finance Corp (IFC), a unit of the World Bank. The investment is aimed at funding renewable energy projects to help meet the […]
NEW DELHI: In order to make India a better place to do business, the government is working to cut down the time for registering a business from 27 days to a single day. Towards this end, it has readied a raft of measures, such as, single registration for all labour laws, overhaul of tax systems, reduction in the number of permits required, easing up property registration, quick […]
