J&K is a power-deficit State. This is despite large water resources owned by the State. Power shortage is acute in our State and all successive governments have been exploring possibilities of increasing power supply and decreasing power losses either through pilferage or through outdated transmission system. In current times, three main sources of energy are identified, namely hydroelectric power generation, thermal power or atomic power. Of late solar energy is also recommended to be of considerable help. We have been harnessing the water of rivers in all the three regions and are producing power to whatever capacity it is possible. Solar energy has not been explored and exploited fully so far despite the claims that Ladakh could be feasible for generating solar energy.
In this situation, the State has taken up the matter of thermal power production with the Centre. The Ministry of Coal has allotted 100 million ton coal block to the State. It means that the State has been given the facility to utilize the coal for production of thermal power for the State. The Joint Venture Agreement would be signed between the J&K State Power Development Corporation (JKSPDCL) and NTPC. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) would spell out details about setting up of the End Use Power Plant, in which the State will have one-third equity share, while the remaining will be held by NTPC. We expect 1000 MW electricity from this source when it becomes fully functional. With this dependable source of energy, the long standing problem of deficit power in the State will be overcome. At least during winter months when the flow of water in our rivers is reduced and it adversely affects the generating of power, we will have the alternative of thermal power. However this does not mean that we stop exploring possibilities of opening smaller hydroelectric power units wherever we can or we abandon the exploration of solar energy. Alternate efforts must go on if we want the State to become self sufficient in energy.
Thermal power for J&K
Railway crimes
By and large, passengers travelling by railways are aware that Indian railways are crime prone. Criminals have a bagful of methods to execute their criminal intentions. From what one learns from police sources, be it the Railway Protection Force or the State Police Crime Branch and other agencies, the criminals committing crimes like theft, assault, chain snatching etc. in running trains have created mafia and they have raised networks in their respective sectors.
Theft of baggage in railways has increased in comparison to previous years though the rate of drugging the passengers during their journey has come down. Drugging has come down for the reason that passengers are become more cautious of consuming unknown eatables from the hands of unknown persons. It is not because of any extraordinary vigil mounted by the RPF. Railway Minister has given facts and figures of various forms of railway crimes and the picture he has painted is in no way re-assuring. It is a sad commentary on the social status of our nation and a blot on the name of Railway Protection Force. It brings to question the efficiency and efficacy of the force and the structure. The efficiency of the railway protection force will be gauged from how many cases of imminent theft have been stalled by them and how many criminals have been brought to the book.
Let us be clear about one thing. If the accountability of authorities charged with the responsibility of ensuring safety and security of passengers remains in shambles in which these happen to be at present, Indian Railways would be asking for defamation all over the world. The worst part of this criminology is that processing of a case against an alleged criminal is slow, ambiguous and uncertain. Such cases drag on in courts of law for years at end. Much water flows down the river during the long investigations. One thing is sure the investigating authorities have fair chance of greasing their palms and then dragging the matter on till all stakeholders lose interest. It is almost impossible to recover even a single item stolen from the passengers in a running train. The thieves and burglars are noted criminals and ordinary passengers, especially women and older people are unable to resist the criminals tying to snatch their baggage.
We all travel in trains and there is no need to say that the presence of Railway Protection Force is seldom visible in the bogies. If at all a railway policemen happens to be moving in the bogey he just takes quick steps from end to end of the passage in the bogey not even casting a passing glance at the passengers. More often than not the police man makes small sitting space at the edge of a lower berth just to steal a nap or two and kill the time.
The statistics provided by the Railway Minister amply suggest that the existing system of providing security to the passengers is abysmally out of date and meaningless. Knowing that nothing is going to come out of it, people who have suffered theft of their baggage hesitate to report the theft to the police. They know it will be an exercise in futility. Entire Railway Protection concept needs to be overhauled and redrawn in accordance with the new methodology of stealing and intimidating passengers is carried out with the clear intention of looting their baggage and other belongings.
Equally important is the follow up action either by the police or the law enforcing authorities when a case of railway crime is formally processed. In the first place, such cases linger on for decades and no decision is taken, leave aside the punishment or imprisonment that would be the natural justice. We are told that there is inadequacy of legal provisions and more stringent laws should be enacted to deal with the criminals. We wonder how many more laws we need. How come the existing laws are inadequate? That, of course, is not the real problem. The real problem is inability of the authorities to implement the law with all intents and efforts. When a person involved in a railway crime finds that his case will continue for decades at end there is the likelihood that he will escape scot free. What happens is that others follow the example and in this way crime proliferates. Laws not implemented mean abuse of law and cheating the people. This culture must change and the Railways Minister will have to come out with a comprehensive plan of reformed protection laws. Under the constitution, the Minister has to provide security to the person and property of the passenger.
German couple pays Greece 875 euros in WWII ‘damages’
ATHENS, Mar 19: A German couple visiting Greece were hailed as heroes by the local press today after paying 875 euros (USD 945) to a town hall in what they said were World War II reparations.
“They came to my office yesterday morning, saying they wanted to make up for their government’s attitude. They made their calculations and said each German owed 875 euros for what Greece had to pay during World War II,” Dimitris Kotsouros, Nafplio mayor, told.
The mayor of the seaport town where the tourists deposited their cheque, said the money has since been donated to a local charity.
He said they chose his town “because it was the first capital of Greece in the 19th century.”
Greek media reports named the pair as Ludwig Zacaro and Nina Lahge. They say he is retired, and that she works a 30-hour week. They did not have enough money to pay for two, one paper said.
Athens is struggling under a crushing debt mountain that amounts to around 175 per cent of the country’s annual economic output.
The country has long claimed Germany owes it payment for a forced wartime loan and other reparations, and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras recently said Greece had a “moral obligation” to claim payment.
Germany’s economy minister last week rejected the calls however. “The likelihood is zero,” said Simgar Gabriel.
Nearly 70 years have passed since the end of the war during which the Nazis occupied Greece for four years and forced the Greek central bank to give the Third Reich a loan that financially ruined the country.
The dispute has grown in intensity because of tensions between Athens and the rest of the eurozone as Germany leads demands for economic austerity that Greece and other southern European countries are struggling to handle.
Figures from some sources in Athens put the amount still owed by Germany at around 162 billion euros (USD 183 billion), or more than half the level of debt that Greece is currently struggling with. (AGENCIES)
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Brent crude falls below $56 on oil inventory built
SINGAPORE, Mar 19: Brent crude slipped below $56 a barrel on bigger than expected oil stocks in the United States though losses were limited on a weaker dollar as the Federal Reserve signalled a slower pace of interest rate hike. Brent crude oil futures for May delivery fell 22 cents to $55.69 a barrel by 0155 GMT, after jumping as much as six percent in the previous session.
U.S. crude oil futures for April delivery shrunk by 53 cents to $44.13 a barrel, after ending the previous session three percent higher.
“The harsh reality of last night’s build in inventory is starting to set in on oil prices,” said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at Sydney’s CMC Markets.
“The weaker U.S. dollar was supportive of commodity prices but another big build in inventory might mean the upside on oil prices is limited until there is some turnaround in U.S. oil production.”
U.S. crude stocks rose by 9.6 million barrels last week, nearly three times as much as analysts’ expectations, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed on Wednesday. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 2.865 million barrels to 54.4 million barrels, a record since the EIA began tracking inventories at the delivery point for the U.S. light sweet crude futures contract traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Oil prices had jumped on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar fell after the Federal Reserve indicated it preferred a more gradual path to normalizing U.S. interest rates despite being open to the first rate hike in almost a decade.
A weaker dollar should support oil prices because it makes commodities denominated in the dollar cheaper for holders of other currencies and expands their purchases of commodities and other assets.
China, the world’s second largest oil consumer, could trim oil purchases as its petroleum reserves reach capacity and oil refiners cut production, a move that could exacerbate the global glut of oil.
Still, some support for crude oil prices could be seen from India which is set to import 8 million barrels of Iraqi oil to fill its first strategic petroleum reserve (SPR), taking advantage of cheap prices.
(AGENCIES)
Australia and NZ dlrs boosted by Fed; yields hit record lows
SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, Mar 19: The Australian and New Zealand dollars held hefty gains on Thursday after a dovish-sounding Federal Reserve surprised U.S. dollar bulls, sending short-term bond yields to record lows.
The Australian dollar was firm at $0.7758, having shot up 2 percent overnight when it reached a peak of $0.7846 at one stage. The New Zealand dollar traded at $0.7501, after gaining 2 cents in the wake of the Fed statement.
The Fed downgraded its views on the economy and inflation; lowered its projected interest rate trajectory and highlighted the drag on exports from a strong U.S. dollar. “The Aussie relief rally may have more legs in the short-term and we could see it towards the 79 cents to 80 cents region,” said Elias Haddad, a senior currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Stiff resistance was found around $0.7840-50. The euro, however, gained even more to reach A$1.3959 , an increase of 2.5 cents since Monday.
A major rally in U.S. Treasuries helped Australian government futures set fresh records. The three-year bond contract jumped 10 ticks to 98.290, having scaled an all-time peak of 98.310. The 10-year contract exploded 14 ticks higher to 97.6900 in a bullish flattening of the curve.
Two-year cash yields dived to 1.75 percent, well below the cash rate of 2.25 percent.
A strong reading of New Zealand’s four-quarter domestic economic growth gave an added fillip to the kiwi. “The Fed has indicated that it may start raising rates … but the process will be very slow, and that does support currencies such as the New Zealand dollar which have good growth and have yield,” ANZ currency strategist Sam Tuck said. The kiwi rallied to 90.45 yen, its strongest since March 5, helping to lift the currency to a two-week high of 78.47 on a trade-weighted index.
Technical resistance was found at $0.7509, the 55-day moving average, while some market participants said a climb towards $0.7600 would provide an opportunity to re-enter short positions. New Zealand government bonds tracked gains in U.S. Treasuries and knocking longer-dated yields as much as 11 basis points lower.
(AGENCIES)
Dollar licks its wounds after Fed gores bulls
TOKYO/SYDNEY, Mar 19: The dollar nursed hefty losses on Thursday, having suffered its biggest one-day fall against the euro in six years after the Federal Reserve struck a much more dovish than expected tone on interest rates while highlighting the currency’s drag on U.S. exports. As expected, the Fed dropped the word ‘patient’ from its statement in terms of raising interest rates, but it also downgraded its views on the economy and inflation and lowered its interest rate trajectory. That signalled a far more gradual path to policy normalisation than many investors had expected. Against the yen, the greenback slid as low as 119.29 overnight, its lowest since Feb. 27, trading below 120.00 for the first time in nearly three weeks. It recovered some ground to last stand at 120.13 yen, slightly higher on the day. ‘People are still cautiously buying dollar/yen,’ Kaneo Ogino, director at Global-info Co in Tokyo, a foreign exchange research firm. ‘I’m convinced that even after this selloff, the dollar has a solid base against the yen because people are buying on dips.’ But the sharp dollar selloff dealt a severe blow to the confidence of many dollar bulls. Some market participants said strong U.S. data was needed for sentiment to turn and the dollar to resume its rally, while others said positioning suggested the dollar’s correction could continue in the meantime. Fed Chair Janet Yellen, who like most central bankers tends to avoid discussing currencies, told reporters the strong dollar is compressing inflation ‘at least on a transitory basis,’ which suggests a tacit admission that the soaring dollar has stalled the central bank’s policy-tightening plan. In the wake of the Fed’s revelation, U.S. Treasury yields dived and Fed funds futures <0#FF:> surged as a result. The dollar index skidded, retreating from a 12-year peak set on Friday. It was last down 0.7 percent on the day at 97.881. The greenback’s slide caught many investors short. The latest data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday showed currency speculators piled into long dollar bets in the week ended March 10, with net long positions rising to their highest level in four weeks.
The euro bounced as high as $1.1062 on Wednesday in the wake of the Fed’s announcement, well off a 12-year trough of $1.0457 plumbed on Monday. It has since drifted back down to $1.0822, down about 0.4 percent on the day.
‘Our technical analysts now say we are looking at a bullish short-term trend reversal in EUR/USD that opens up $1.1016 and $1.1098 on the topside,’ said Elsa Lignos, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets.
‘But fundamentally we like layering into a EUR/USD short and adding to the position between $1.1050 and $1.11, targetting an eventual move to parity.’
Commodity currencies also benefited from the dollar’s slide. The Australian dollar hit an overnight peak of $0.7846. It was last down about 0.2 percent at $0.7758 but well off a six-year trough of $0.7561 set earlier this month. Central bank meetings in Switzerland and Norway will take centre stage later in the session.
(AGENCIES)
‘Railways will set up unit for handling logistics by July’
NEW DELHI, Mar 19: The Indian Railways will set up a new state-owned entity, TRANSLOC, by July to handle transport logistics, a senior official said today.
“The railways have already moved a Cabinet note to this effect. We expect the new entity (TRANSLOC) would be created in next 4-5 months to attain the objectives of implementing railways projects through public private partnership (PPP) route,” said a PHD Chamber of Commerce press released quoting Rail Ministry ED-Traffic/PPP M S Mathur.
Addressing a conference organised by the Chamber, he said: “The Cabinet clearance is keenly awaited for setting up of Transport Logistics Corporation of India.”
In his budget speech last month, Rail Minister Suresh Prabhu had proposed to set up the public sector unit and said, “Indian Railways must expand freight handling capacity in tandem with the expansion of freight carrying network capacity.”
TRANSLOC will develop common user facilities with handling and value-added services to provide end-to-end logistics solution at select Railway terminals through PPPs.
In the budget it was proposed to upgrade 10 existing goods sheds of Indian Railways and develop 30 small multimodal logistic parks, initially under the aegis of TRANSLOC, where Indian Railways has surplus land.
Mathur also said that the tariff regulator for the railways will be appointed by 2016.
“The appointment of railways regulator will take about a year as things are advancing towards this direction,” he said.
“The tariff regulator would suggest to the government the tariff and freight structure for the railways in addition to recommending the reforms on pricing factor of the largest entity of the government,” he said.
Mathur said the latest gross revenues of the railways have reached to Rs 1,40,000 crore against its working expenses of Rs 1,30,000 crore. (PTI)
Gold at near two-week high as dollar tumbles on dovish Fed
SINGAPORE, Mar 19: Gold extended gains on Thursday, rising to its highest level in nearly two weeks as the dollar tumbled after the Federal Reserve signalled a slower pace of U.S. interest rate hike and caution on U.S. economic growth. Spot gold gained 0.6 percent to $1,173.60 an ounce by 0302 GMT, after earlier climbing to $1,177.46, its highest since March 9. The metal gained 1.6 percent on Wednesday, its biggest one-day jump since Jan. 30.
The Fed on Wednesday moved a step closer to hiking rates for the first time since 2006, but downgraded its economic growth and inflation projections, signalling it is in no rush to push borrowing costs to more normal levels. The U.S. central bank removed a reference to being ‘patient’ on rates from its policy statement, while sounding a cautious note on the health of the economic recovery. It also slashed its median estimate for the federal funds rate and expressed concern over the strength in the dollar.
‘The (Fed’s) statement and press conference suggest that monetary policy is likely to be tightened but at a more moderate pace than the FOMC initially anticipated,’ ANZ said in a note, referring to the Federal Open Market Committee. Gold fell to a four-month low earlier this week as concerns mounted regarding higher interest rates. Investors fear higher rates could dent demand for bullion, which does not pay any interest.
The dollar has gained nearly 8 percent this year against a basket of major currencies as strong U.S. economic data boosted expectations the Fed would soon start raising interest rates. Diverging global monetary policies have also helped. But the dollar extended losses to a second session on Thursday after the dovish Fed statement. ‘The prospect of continued low interest rates in the U.S. pushed the greenback sharply lower and therefore boosted most asset prices denominated in the dollar,’ said MKS Group trader James Gardiner.
Immediate resistance for gold sits around $1,180-85, Gardiner said, adding that he sees decent offers leading up to $1,200. Others noted that bullion could see further gains on a short-covering rally.
The Fed’s caution on rates brought some bullion investors back on board.
Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.24 percent to 749.77 tonnes on Wednesday – the first inflow since Feb. 20. The fund had seen some heavy outflows recently that took holdings to their lowest in over a month just earlier this week.
(AGENCIES)
Korea automaker Ssangyong suspends Russia exports on weak rouble
SEOUL, Mar 19: South Korea’s Ssangyong Motor said it has suspended vehicle shipments to major export market Russia since January, the latest global automaker to see demand hit by the plunging rouble and a prolonged economic slump. South Korea’s fourth-largest automaker, owned by Indian automaker Mahindra and Mahindra, has no plans to resume shipments to Russia until the rouble stabilises, and will boost sales to Europe and China instead, a spokesman added. Russia’s once-promising car market has seen demand dwindle as the economy weakens, battered by Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis and sliding oil prices. The tumbling value of the rouble has also raised prices of imported vehicles, further curbing global automakers’ sales. On Wednesday, General Motors said it would shut a Russian factory and wind down its Opel brand in the country, while Nissan Motor also said earlier this week that it was suspending Russia production for 16 days this month.
Ssangyong Motor is taking a bigger hit than other foreign brands in Russia because it does not have a local production base: all its vehicles are made in Pyeongtaek city, South Korea. The company shipped no vehicles to Russia in January and February after exports slumped 41 percent to 21,258 last year from a record high of 35,753 in 2013, according to data from Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association. Ssangyong Motor, which survived near-bankruptcy in 2009, saw its operating loss widen last year to 76.9 billion won ($69.12 million) from 8.9 billion won in 2013, hit by losses in Russia and higher wage costs.
Its January-February overseas sales plunged by 47 percent from a year earlier, while its domestic sales grew 22 percent thanks to sales of it smaller Tivoli SUV. Other South Korean automakers including Hyundai Motor sister company Kia Motors, as well as GM’s South Korean unit, have also cut exports to Russia this year, according to the auto association.
(AGENCIES)
LME metals open up as weak dollar eclipses US growth downgrade
MELBOURNE, Mar 19: London copper opened up by more than one percent on Thursday, from a one-month low in the previous session, as a soft dollar absorbed the fallout from a U.S. economic growth downgrade.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange climbed by 1.2 percent to $5,740 a tonne by 0105 GMT, paring 2 percent losses from the previous session when prices touched their weakest since Feb. 17 at $5,621.50 a tonne. * The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange traded down 0.7 percent to 41,800 yuan a tonne, having notched up 2 percent losses in the early session. * Other metals also rallied off multi-year and -month lows, with nickel, zinc and lead posting gains of one percent or more. LME aluminium also climbed 1 percent. * The Federal Reserve on Wednesday moved a step closer to hiking rates for the first time since 2006, but downgraded its economic growth and inflation projections, signalling it is in no rush to push borrowing costs to more normal levels. * A majority of Wall Street’s top banks now see the Federal Reserve holding off until at least September before raising interest rates.
* The Japanese-owned Caserones copper mine in northern Chile has been fined $11.9 million for breaching environmental rules, Chile’s environmental regulator said on Wednesday. * For the top stories in metals and other news, click or MARKETS NEWS
* The dollar nursed punishing losses in Asia on Thursday after investors priced in a later start and a slower pace for future U.S rate rises, slashing Treasury yields and firing up Wall Street stocks.
(AGENCIES)