Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will dedicate Gas Authority of India Limited's (GAIL) petrochemical complex at Pata in Uttar Pradesh, to the nation on Thursday. The plant was commissioned on March 19 this year and the first batch of its branded products were launched on April 19, says an official release. The natural gas-based petrochemical plant cost Rs 2500 crore and was completed without any cost overrun. The gas cracker has a capacity to produce three lakh tonne of ethylene, which will act as a feedstock for the two downstream units.

IOC refineries stick to eco norms

Indian Oil Corporation's (IOC) refineries at Mathura, Panipat, Gujarat, Haldia and Barauni have begun supplying motor spirit with a lower benzene content than environment norms require. The April 1996 notification of the Centre and the BIS-2000 norms permit up to five per cent benzene in motor spirit, but Indianoil has already been able to reduce its benzene content in petrol toless than three per cent. Mathura and Panipat refineries, which supply motor spirit to the National Capital Region, produce petrol with less than three per cent benzene. The Indianoil focus on clean fuels began with unleaded petrol in 1995. Since January this year the National Capital Region is being supplied only unleaded motor spirit and by April next year, lead-free gasoline will be available all over the country.

Bharat Yantra Nigam signs MoU with ministry

Bharat Yantra Nigam Ltd, a central PSU under the administrative control of the ministry of industry, has signed an MoU with the ministry setting out performance targets for the company for the year 1999-2000. The MoU was signed by P Shankar, secretary, department of heavy industry and Satish C Gupta, chairman BYN. The company has targeted a turnover of Rs 930 crore with an order booking of Rs 1,080 crore and a gross profit of Rs 75 crore. The MoU also envisages measures to improve overall performance of the group companies, includingdiversification, technology upgradation and on-time delivery performance.

50 ship breaking units to be set up in Tamil Nadu A private firm is to set up 50 ship breaking units, an oxygen gas plant and a steel rolling mill in Valinokkam, the natural port in Ramanathapuram district at a cost of Rs 175 crore, Tamil Nadu minister for highways, Tha Kirrutinan said on Wednesday. This was in line with the government decision, inviting private parties to pump in funds and improve the port.

Rs 200 cr aid for NE sub-transmission lines

The Union government on Wednesday agreed to disburse Rs 200 crore as grant assistance to the north eastern states for improvement of sub-transmission lines. Assam power minister Hitendra Nath Goswami told UNI the government has agreed to release the money to these states.