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| JCCB sanctions 91 lakhs loan Excelsior Correspondent Jammu, May 4: The Loan Committee meeting of the Jammu Citizens Cooperative Bank today ...more CBI
moves application NEW DELHI, May 4: CBI today moved a Delhi court for the separate trial of six accused......more Fixed
rates to be paid MUMBAI, May 4: The Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) is going to convey.....more Indonesia
bans JAKARTA, May 4: Indonesia said today it had extended a ban on corn, soybean and soybean....more |
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WB clears $450 mn WASHINGTON, May 4: The World Bank has announced a 20-year 450-million US dollar loan for India’s second powergrid system development project. The project will support the plans of powergrid, India’s National Transmission .......more Karnataka
prepares BANGALORE, May 4: Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL), the State-owned Electricity Generator, has proposed to add 1940 MW during the next five years at a total expenditure of over Rs 6,000 crore to tideover the power crisis in the state.....more Thai
king seeks patent BANGKOK, May 4: Thailand’s king Bhumibol Adulyadej has applied for a patent on a formula for using palm oil which could fuel diesel engines,......more |
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CBI
moves application for separation o NEW DELHI, May 4: CBI today moved a Delhi court for the separate trial of six accused including the Hinduja brothers in the Rs 64 crore Bofors payoff case. The application was moved before the Special Judge R L Chugh, who asked the six accused S P Hinduja, G P Hinduja, P P Hinduja, former Bofors agent Win Chaddha, former Defence Secretary S K Bhatnagar and Swedish arms manufacturer A B Bofors, to file replies by May 8, the next date of hearing. The application was moved by CBI in compliance of April 27 order of Delhi High Court for separation of trial of these accused from that of Kuala Lumpur-based Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi and former Bofors chief Martin Ardbo. Quattrocchi and Ardbo have not appeared so far before the court despite issuance of summonses and non-bailable warrant. The Delhi High Court on April 27 had dismissed Hinduja brothers’ appeal for leaving the country saying the CBI’s apprehension that they might not be available for trial, could not be said to be unfounded. However, Justice S K Agarwal had directed CBI to move the trial court for separate trial of Hindujas and other accused who have already appeared before the court for expeditious disposal of charges against them. CBI had given an undertaking to the High Court that it was ready to split the trial of Hindujas and other accused who had appeared in the case from that of Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi and former Bofors chief Martin Ardbo in view of delay in their extradition. Directing the trial court to record evidence in the case preferably on day-to-day basis within six months, the High Court had said if CBI failed to do so, the Hinduja brothers could move the trial court to seek permission to go out of the country. (PTI) |
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Fixed rates
to be paid to DPC from next MUMBAI, May 4: The Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) is going to convey to Dabhol Power Company (DPC), a subsidiary of US energy giant Enron, its inability to pay increased fixed charges at the rate of Rs 500 crore a month from next year. MSEB officials told UNI here that DPC would be informed about this during re-negotiation of the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). As per PPA, the increased rate will come into effect from January, 2002 following completion of DPC’s 1,444 mw second phase of the project in October this year. PPA also says that the fixed rate will have to be paid to the company irrespective of the consumption of electricity. At present MSEB is paying fixed chages of Rs 95 crore a month to DPC for its first phase of the project, generating 740 mw power. "We have been raising this issue with DPC for last couple of months, highlighting that this (fixed charges from next year) is not viable for us. Even State Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh raised the issue in New Delhi at a meeting recently", the officials said. The Board will continue to raise this issue during the re-negotiation process with DPC. However, DPC officals are keeping mum over the issue, adopting a ‘wait and watch’ policy, they added. Under the second phase of the project, 722 mw power generating capacity will be achieved by June and remaining 722 mw by October this year, the officials said. The Maharashtra Government on April 30 announced a nine-member committee headed by former Union Home Secretary Madhav Godbole to renegotiate PPA with DPC. The committee has been given a month to renegotiate among other things lowering of the DPC tariff, separating the LNG facility, restructuring of DPC and allowing sale of excess Dabhol power to other buyers. The Dabhol project had run into controversy after MSEB defaulted on payments complaining that the tariff, which was based on rupee-dollar fluctuations, was too high. The Godbole committee in its interim report had recommended that ppa be re-negotiated in view of high power tariff. Enron, in its meeting in London on April 25, authorised the DPC Managing Director to issue termination notice for sale of power to MSEB. (UNI) |
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Indonesia bans China, India grain imports JAKARTA, May 4: Indonesia said today it had extended a ban on corn, soybean and soybean meal imports to India and China as they were not free from foot-and-mouth disease. India is Indonesia’s main supplier of soybean meal, while china is one of Indonesia’s main suppliers of corn. The move is expected to disrupt grain imports to the world’s fourth most populous country, which has been hit by a recent ban on cheaper grains from argentina and the weak rupiah. "The Government has banned imports of corn, soybean and soymeal from India and China because they are not free from the disease," Bachtiar Moerad, Director of Veterinary Health at the Agriculture Ministry, told reporters. The OIE is the Paris-based office international Des Epizooties, also known as the World Animal Health Organisation. In late March, Indonesia imposed a ban on grains from South America. A quarantine order has been imposed on grains from those South American countries arriving in Indonesia after the ban. A vessel carrying 38,000 tonnes of argentine corn bought by international trading house Cargill and four feedmillers has been stranded at Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok Port since Wednesday. "We are trying to ban imports from all foot-and-mouth affected countries," Moerad said. (REUTERS) |
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WB clears $450 mn loan for India’s 2nd powergrid project WASHINGTON, May 4: The World Bank has announced a 20-year 450-million US dollar loan for India’s second powergrid system development project. The project will support the plans of powergrid, India’s National Transmission Services Company, to diversify services by utilising its national network of power infrastructure to include telecommunications facilities, the bank said in a release yesterday. "Powergrid is ideally in a position to strengthen India’s information infrastructure to help meet India’s rapidly growing telecommunications needs," said Karl Nyman, lead specialist and task leader for the project. "Given its existing power transmission infrastructure, with a nationwide network with rights-of-way readily available, powto install and provide long-distance telecommunications facilities and services," he said. Optical fiber ground wire will be installed on the transmission lines as a dual purpose earth wire — an integral part of the power transmission system — and optical fiber for telecommunications purposes, the bank said. The 450 million dollars provided by the World Bank has a maturity period of 20 years and a five-year grace period. Total projects cost is about 1.3 billion dollars. Out of the total 1.3 billion dollar loan, the remaining funding of 850 million dollars will be contributed by powergrid, the local capital market, and foreign commercial financiers with 150 million dollars coming from the German Development Bank, KFW. The project will enable the Indian Government to continue its ongoing reform programme to improve coordination in power system operations and promote inter-regional and interstate power trading, the bank said. Specifically, the project will assist in the development of modern power system monitoring and control facilities necessary for improved coordination among various power systems, particularly in the eastern and western regions, it said. It will expand or reinforce power transmission linkages between regions and will support ongoing institutional development of powergrid services and staff in key areas, it said. It will also encourage private sector participation in the power sector through rationalisation of regulatory and tariff barriers as well as establish a national telecommunication network, it added. (PTI) |
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Karnataka prepares Rs 6000
cr plan to BANGALORE, May 4: Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL), the State-owned Electricity Generator, has proposed to add 1940 MW during the next five years at a total expenditure of over Rs 6,000 crore to tideover the power crisis in the state. The projects included the 700=MW Bidadi combined cycle power plant which would now be based on LNG instead of naptha and diesel. It would be set up in two phases at a cost of Rs 2100 crore. Corporation managing director K Jyothiramalingam told newsmen here last night that three international companies had shown interest to supply ING. However, the company would float international tenders. It had already started discussions with the Gail Petronet Consortium to set up a pipeline from Kochi, Mangalore to Bangalore. The project would be taken up jointly with unocal of United States. Despite facing liquidity crisis, with mounting arrears from Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL), which had touched Rs 1100 crore on April 1 after the state Government asked to waive Rs 344 crore in two instalments, the corporation had been able to raise resources for a number of projects at reduced interest rates. KPCL contributed 19474 million units to the KPTCL during 2000-01 and in view of the waiver its profits stood just at about Rs.One crore. Mr Jyothiramalingam said the KPCL had already approached the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission for an upward revision of the supply price. The average cost at present worked out to 82 paise. He said the price had not been revised since 1993 though during the last seven years the NTPC had increased the rates twice and the KPTCL had increased its tariff on four occasions. Apart from the Bididi project, the other proposals were the 290 MW Almatti power house (Rs 715 crore), which was withdrawn from independent power producer, the Chamundi Power Corporation, estimated at a cost of Rs 1470 crore, the 500 MW Vijayanagar thermal project (Rs.2307 crores) for which the company is negotiating with L and T for a joint venture and the seventh 210 MW unit of the Raichur thermal power station, costing Rs 613 crore. The second unit of the four 60 MW Gerusoppa Hydro Electric Project across the Sharvathi would be commissioned on May 15, he said. The first unit was synchronised with the grid in February this year. The rs 531=crore project, which was bogged down by environ-mental crisis and stoppage of assistance by the world bank in 1993, would be completed this fiscal with the third unit scheduled to go on stream by october this year and the fourth by march next year.(UNI) |
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Thai king seeks patent for palm oil engine fuel BANGKOK, May 4: Thailand’s king Bhumibol Adulyadej has applied for a patent on a formula for using palm oil which could fuel diesel engines, helping to cut pollution and save on oil imports, officials said today. Santi Rattanasuwan, Deputy Director-General of the Intellectual Property Department, told Reuters the king had found that a special mixture of palm and diesel oil could be used in diesel engines without the need for modifications or a filter. "This will be a great help for the country," Santi said. "The concept of using palm oil as engine fuel is not new. Many people have talked about it, tested it and failed." "But the king’s formula, which he tested and proved himself, works well with the engine," Santi said. Industry Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit said the ministry would ask the state-run petroleum authority of Thailand to assist with producing the palm oil formula fuel so it could be sold in Thailand at low cost. (REUTERS) |
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