Coal Blocks Auction to Start by June

For the first time, the government will auction coal blocks by June-end and seven explored mines will be up for grabs for companies other than power firms. 

“We had a paper given to us by CII which has worked on the issues and we will be having a presentation by CII very shortly on it”, Coal Secretary, S K Srivastava

Recently, a parliamentary panel had criticised the government for undue delays in allotment of coal mines through auction route amid dry-fuel crunch faced by the country.

The government is constrained by the fact that they don’t have too many explored blocks on offer and the power sector needs large blocks. It cannot do with small blocks. Given the background, they might be coming up with the auction of six-seven blocks.

The Coal Ministry has also approached the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) seeking a feedback from it on the seven blocks.

The Coal Ministry started debating so as to whether they can have some environmental comfort and therefore took up these seven blocks with the Ministry of Environment; they have said that as long as the Environment Ministry can  assure that these blocks don’t fall in inviolate areas that will be a sufficient push.

Srivastava also said that exploration is the biggest constraint with regard to the auction of the mines. But still have not been able to really tackle the issue as to how to auction a regionally explored block.

Source: Economic Times

Andhra Pradesh to offer 20% extra subsidy to solar units

Andhra Pradesh Government is planning to offer 20 per cent subsidy in addition to the 30 per cent subsidy offered by the Union Government for solar units. According to a statement from the Energy Conservation Mission, the additional subsidy will come through budgetary support. Households can sell extra solar power to the grid at pool cost.

M. Sahoo, State Principal Secretary, Energy, in a statement said the accent was on harnessing solar power by encouraging industries and other entities to set up solar power plants for captive consumption as well as for third-party sale within the State.

AP Transco has invited bids for procurement of 1,000 MW of solar power and received 331 bids offering 1,730 MW. It has offered Rs 6.49 per unit.

AP Transco has agreed to provide connectivity for 779 MW of solar power for industries having captive power plants.

At a meeting organised by the Gujarat Energy Research & Management Institute (Germi), M. Kamalakar Babu, Vice-Chairman and MD of Corporation, said considerable amount of power could be saved by tapping solar power.

He said the State offers to extend concessions on land registration and VAT and offer other benefits making it attractive to set up solar units.

As part of these initiatives and for the development of green power, the government is planning to conduct a big solar exhibition in coordination with industrial associations like Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) to highlight the impact of solar power for the benefit of industries, entrepreneurs and general public. For details contact: cii.south@cii.in

CII’s agenda is to accelerate economic (GDP) growth to 6 – 6.5 percent this year and to take it to 8.5 – 9 percent as quickly as possible

The drivers for growth would be reforms and governance, inclusive growth and affirmative action, innovation, entrepreneurship and growth of MSMEs and transformation of sectors: S Gopalakrishnan, President CII

India ranks 132nd among 185 countries on the parameter of ‘ease of doing business’; this needs to be improved: S Gopalakrishnan, President CII &  Co-Founder and Executive Co-Chairman, Infosys Limited

CII Members’ Interactive Meet with Mr S Gopalakrishnan, President CII took place here today. Addressing the meet, Mr Gopalakrishnan, informed the audience that CII theme for 2013-14 is “Accelerating Economic Growth through Innovation, Transformation, Inclusion and Governance”. He said, “Our agenda is to accelerate economic (GDP) growth to 6 – 6.5 percent this year and to take it to 8.5 – 9 percent as quickly as possible. “ He further added, “The drivers for growth would be reforms and governance, inclusive growth and affirmative action, innovation, entrepreneurship and growth of MSMEs and transformation of sectors.” On the front of reforms and governance, he highlighted that the World Bank Report indicates that India ranks 132nd among 185 countries on the parameter of ‘ease of doing business’. This needs to be improved. Further, FDI should be encouraged wherever applicable in a phased manner. With reference to GST implementation, he also informed that it has been a top priority of CII to play an active role in creating the right atmosphere. He also highlighted that CII has been active on facilitating distribution reforms in power sector, model APMC Act, leveraging technology for strengthening MSMEs, the Companies Bill, Land Acquisition Bill, etc.

Mr S Gopalakrishnan also briefed the members on CII’s efforts towards the inclusive growth agenda. He informed that CII has already engaged with Dalit Chamber of Commerce and also been active on skill building and employment of marginalized sectors. On the front of innovation and entrepreneurship, CII efforts are on to popularize the job portal http://www.thefairjob.com linking industry with job seekers from marginalized sections. In transformation of sectors, President CII informed that this year CII would be starting a three year project called Project Village Budha which would be targeted to implement the idea of Kaizens (small improvements) in a village environment. Further, ‘Visionary Leaders for Manufacturing Programme’ of CII would help 100 top MSMEs to improve on their current size and status. Mr Gopalakrishnan, concluded his remarks by saying, “We will also continue our focus on global engagement and sustainability.”

A Template For Power Reform by Chandrajit Banerjee, DG, CII

A Template For Power Reform: A holistic reform of the power sector with a multi-sectoral approach needs to be undertaken to address the underlying issues behind the widening demand-supply gap for electricity in the country to enable India to reach its growth potential. Click on the link to view the article by Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General (CII), published in the Sunday edition of the Business Standard on 12 August, 2012. http://cii.in/WebCMS/Upload/BS-Power-Reforms-Template.pdf