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HIGHER POWER RATES NOT TO HIT STATE UTILITIES

NEW DELHI: Consumers of Tata’s ultra mega power project (UMPP) and Adani’s power plant at Mundra in Gujarat might not see a major escalation in their procurement price after the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) gave its nod to include compensatory rate in the final rate of sale of power.

The beneficiary utilities in Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab and Maharashtra are already buying power for Rs 3.61 to Rs 3.7 a unit, according to the annual revenue requirement reports submitted to state regulators.

The levelised tarifforiginally offered by Tata’s imported coal-based UMPP is much lower at Rs 2.26, but after the compensatory tariff of 52 paise, it would work out to Rs 2.8. Power from

FUEL SUBSIDY SYSTEM REVAMP LIKELY, ONGC GETS REASON TO CHEER

NEW DELHI: The government plans to tweak the system of calculating fuel subsidies to make ONGC’s public offer more attractive for investors. It plans to make subsidy sharing more predictable and transparent so that analysts can properly assess the ONGC’s earnings outlook.

Currently they are unable to assess the amount and the timing of the huge subsidy payout. This diminishes the interest of top institutions in the stock.

The oil ministry may soon approach the Cabinet to overhaul the fuel pricing system to incorporate some of the observations of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, which recently submitted a report on the matter.

The pricing system has a direct impact on O

Israel’s Gaza Offensive Continues

Thousands of Israeli troops backed by tanks, aircraft and navy ships continued what appears to be a limited advance into the Gaza Strip on Friday, the second day of a ground invasion into the Palestinian territory. Palestinian medics say at least 21 Gaza residents have been killed since the start of the ground offensive, which has the stated aim of destroying tunnels militants have used to attempt […]

Poroshenko sworn in amid east Ukraine clashes

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said in a combative inaugural speech that Ukraine would not give up Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed from it in March. “Crimea was, is, and will be Ukrainian,” Poroshenko said in an emotional address after his swearing-in on Saturday. He was greeted with a standing ovation. He stressed the unity of Ukraine, which is fighting a pro-Russian separatist uprising in the east, and said it […]

US Wants Accountability, Transparency from Sissi

The United States is calling on Egypt’s president-elect, Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, to carry out reforms to ensure the government is accountable and transparent while protecting “the universal rights of all Egyptians.” A White House statement Wednesday said President Barack Obama plans to speak with Sissi in the coming days, following the official announcement the former army chief won 97 percent of the vote in last week’s election. Egypt […]

The UAE children aiming to make robots a part of the homes of the future

ABU DHABI // If Daniel Bekai has his way, robots will be common features in homes of the future. Daniel, 16, wants to live in a world where humans command robots to perform the mundane tasks that an artificially intelligent machine would be better at anyway. “Suppose you’re in your house and you want some yogurt, you can build a robot that gets yogurt from your fridge […]

Indian commodity regulator seeks more disclosures

The commodity markets regulator has launched a fresh attempt to rebuild volume on domestic commodities exchanges, after their credibility was dented by last year’s failure of the National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL). The regulator said it had asked its capital market counterpart to require companies to disclose their commodity trading positions on domestic futures markets, seeing this as a way of boosting the credibility of those markets, […]

Banker-turned-bookie is World Cup betting king

Inside a nondescript office building in central London, a roomful of men and women sit at computer screens and talk over Skype with people in faraway places. Sharp-edged Cantonese fills the air, and a flat-screen TV emits a continuous din. It’s the chanting, singing Midlands crowd at Birmingham, England’s Villa Park Stadium: Liverpool at Aston Villa. The match has just kicked off. The name of the company, […]

Google+ hangout: David Cameron – bold EU reformer or politician in a panic?

Photo: AFP/GETTY As the Newark by-election approaches, the Prime Minister is reported to have said in a private – inevitably leaked – conversation that if the wrong candidate becomes president of the European commission it will trigger an early referendum and a likely Brexit. That’s some tough talk from a Tory leader who has previously insisted that he wants to stay in the EU. Labour says he’s […]

Losing Election Not an Option for Syrian President

WASHINGTON — As Syrians go to the polls this week amid civil war, the presidential victor is all but assured: Bashar al-Assad. So why bother holding an election at all? Analysts say Assad has more to gain than votes. He is trying to display political solidarity to the world and to ignore the apolitical transition that the West has called for. Watch related video report by VOA’s […]

Abbas Swears In a New Palestinian Government

JERUSALEM — President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority swore in a transitional government on Monday intended to unify the West Bank and Gaza after seven years of division, though the run-up was marred by last-minute disputes over its composition. The move is likely to complicate further the Palestinians’ already fraught relations with Israel and put them under international scrutiny because the new government is supported by […]

Private Sector Key to Egypt Economic Turnaround – Citadel

Now that Egypt has held its elections, many in and outside the country will be turning to the new president to see how he plans to pull the domestic economy back from the brink. The economic challenges former army chief Abdel Fattah Al Sisi faces in many ways resemble those of Citadel Capital, one of Egypt’s foremost investment firms which itself is in the middle of a […]

Only our PM can lead the fight for a new-look European Union

David Cameron could place himself at the head of a movement to halt the European Union steam-roller and turn it around  Photo: EPA Earthquake or not, British politics has certainly undergone a seismic change over the past few weeks. Familiar landmarks have vanished, fresh features emerged, and the outlook has fundamentally changed. Let’s start with an intrusion into private grief, and take a long look at the […]

Ukraine’s rebels report deaths in Donetsk

At least 40 people, including two civilians, have been killed in the eastern Ukraine city of Donetsk following a day of heavy fighting, in which the government forces used combat jets and helicopter gunships to reclaim the regional airport. “The airport is under our full control. The enemy suffered heavy losses. We have none,” Ukraine Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said in a statement on Tuesday.  He said […]

After Travelex Buy, UAE Exchange Founder Eyes India Expansion

Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty moved to the United Arab Emirates from India nearly 40 years ago and made his fortune by building a hospital chain and money exchange group from scratch. Last week, he bought Travelex, the foreign exchange operator, for an undisclosed sum but what is likely the biggest investment of his career. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Shetty said he plans to […]

‘Refill policy’: doctors in Abu Dhabi to get power to issue long-term prescriptions

ABU DHABI // Doctors will soon be able to issue repeat prescriptions for up to a year to save thousands of patients costly and time-consuming hospital visits. Patients with a long-term reliance on medication for conditions such as diabetes and hypertension have to visit a doctor every time they need a prescription. But health chiefs are now in the final stages of implementing a refill policy, so […]

David Cameron’s next EU challenge: renegotiation

Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Cameron. Photo: AFP Tory MPs may have agreed not to panic in the light of Ukip’s big win, but that doesn’t mean David Cameron isn’t going to come under a huge amount of pressure from them in the coming days and weeks to do something, anything, to show he’s got the message. One of their demands is bound to be that the […]

Eurosceptics make big gains in EU polls

Far-right and anti-EU parties in France and the UK have made sweeping gains in the European Parliament elections. The majority of almost 388m eligible voters across 21 of the 28 member states, including Germany, France and Spain, cast their ballots on Sunday at polling stations across the EU. The other seven countries, including the UK and the Netherlands, in the bloc had already voted. The European Parliament’s […]

Israeli and Palestinian Leaders to Meet With Pope at Vatican

JERUSALEM — Pope Francis inserted himself directly into the collapsed Middle East peace process on Sunday, issuing an invitation to host the Israeli and Palestinian presidents for a prayer summit at his apartment in the Vatican in an unexpected overture that has again underscored the broad ambitions of his papacy. Francis took the extraordinary step in Bethlehem, where he became the first pontiff ever to fly directly […]

Pope’s Visit Marks a ‘Great Day for Palestine’

Pope Francis at Israel’s separation barrier Associated Press BETHLEHEM, West Bank–Palestinians had been hoping that the papal visit to the West Bank would kick up international sympathy with their campaign for statehood and against Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank, and many were pleased with his actions. “It’s a great day for Palestine par excellence,” Palestinian Parliament Member Mustafa Barghouti said after after Pope Francis finished a […]

Columbia professor may be Modi’s top economic aide

Indian-born economist Arvind Panagariya, who is widely expected to take a top advisory role in prime minister-elect Narendra Modi’s government, wants its first budget to boost capital spending even at the risk of a higher fiscal deficit. Panagariya, 61, whose market-friendly, pro-growth economics has helped shape Modi’s outlook, told Reuters in an interview that higher spending is critical to India’s economic revival. Modi swept to power on […]

People diary: Cameron Mackintosh plays down talk of a Highlands rift

Naomi Campbell during her birthday party At The Billionaire’s Club Photo: GETTY IMAGES Sir Cam makes a stand on Scotland If there’s one thing likely to get Sir Cameron Mackintosh’s goat, it’s asking him to comment on reports about run-ins with locals in the Scottish coastal village of Mallaig. Sir Cameron Mackintosh: Mallaig people ‘unbelievably supportive’ (REX FEATURES) Over the past decade, his nearly 15,000-acre estate in the […]

Egypt’s New Strongman, Sisi Knows Best

CAIRO — Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the former army officer soon to be Egypt’s president, promises to remedy Egypt’s crippling fuel shortage by installing energy-efficient bulbs in every home socket, even if he has to send a government employee to screw in each one. “I’m not leaving a chance for people to act on their own,” Mr. Sisi said in his first and most extensive television interview. “My […]

Emotions Stirred Ahead of Pope Francis’ Israel Visit

Orthodox Jews protested against the forthcoming visit of Pope Francis to Jerusalem. Josh Mitnick/Wall Street Journal Pope Francis wants to spur interfaith tolerance during a trip to the Holy Land, but a planned Papal mass at a Jerusalem holy site is stoking the embers of religious rivalry that have plagued the city for centuries. Just days before the Pope’s arrival, hundreds of religious Jews turned out at […]