Economy - Print Edition - The Financial Express

Regulator against long-term contracts

The introduction of long-term electricity contracts or term-ahead market by the power exchanges has hit a major roadblock as it has been strongly opposed by the Central Electricity Authority.

French co Alstom eyes rail projects with technology tie-up with BEML

With railway industry in India started offering bumper business opportunities, France-based global rail major Alstom has decided to strengthen its presence in India through Defence PSU BEML.

Centre to meet states over coal auction, lignite blocks

In a move that could usher in an era of competitive bidding in allocation of coal and lignite blocks for captive mining, the government has convened a meeting of 17 states having coal and lignite reserves next month to discuss changes in the existing policy.

Expert panel to make biz plan to help rlys chug on

Mamata Banerjee’s Rail Budget 2009-10 was passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday amidst heated comments from members of both the Houses over the priority given to West Bengal, even as Banerjee dismissed the charges and announced setting up an expert group headed by Ficci secretary general Amit Mitra to prepare a business plan for the improvement of railways.

Slowdown puts microfinance industry to stress test, says survey

The resilience of the global microfinance industry will be put to the test by the economic crisis, according to a new survey of the risks to the business, Microfinance Banana Skins 2009.

India-targeted M&A volume touch $19.9 bn; lowest in 3 years

Merger and acquisition activities involving Indian companies have slumped to a three-year low of $19.9 billion so far in 2009, with the corporate world facing a liquidity crunch in the wake of the global financial crisis.

29 coal projects awaiting green nod

Twenty-nine coal projects meant for power generation are awaiting environmental clearance, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

National gas grid to boost gas availability: Fitch

Fitch Ratings said on Wednesday the government’s proposal to develop a blueprint for long-distance gas highways, leading to a national gas grid will have a long-term impact, especially given the expected increase in the country's gas availability.

CERC initiates consultations for power trading norms

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, in a bid to fulfill the mandate of Electricity Act 2003, has started framing power market regulations.

GE inks rehabilitation, service pacts with Dabhol

Finally, GE, which supplied 9FA turbine to Dabhol project, signed a comprehensive service and rehabilitation agreements with the Ratnagiri Gas & Power Pvt Ltd which ensures availability guarantees of 87% after completion of rotor modification jobs and control system upgrades.

Govt plans to sell power from unallocated quota via exchanges

The power ministry on Tuesday proposed that 15% of the unallocated quota from the central sector will be sold through power exchanges. This is to bring in competitive price, transparency and curbing the power price during shortages.

Stresses on green fine print

Budget 2009-10 is green in bits and pieces, but does not focus on the big picture. It promises to provide adequate funding to eight national missions, which were announced under the National Action Plan on Climate Change last year, but refers to neither specific monetary allocation nor timeline.

Convergence approach for NREGA

The government has decided to converge its flagship NREGA with other schemes relating to agriculture, water resources, land resources etc. It is expected to give boost to food productions.

Direct fertiliser subsidy to the farmer is a reformist step

In a significant move to prevent indiscriminate use of fertiliser by farmers and attract new investment into the sector, the government on Monday proposed to move towards a nutrient based subsidy regime for fertilisers from the current product pricing regime.

Loan waiver window widened

Concerned over the unsatisfactory performance of the monsoon this summer, the Budget 2009-10 aimed at providing some support to farmers with land holdings of more than two hectare under the debt waiver scheme announced last year by extending the time for payment by six months to Dec 31.

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