Tweet: PPP alive: @PiyushGoyal says “Invsmnt in renewables totalled Rs 86,000 crores in last 3 years, with most of it coming from pvt sector.”
Private sector’s thumbs up for renewables
Private sector has been investing heavily in the renewables sector, according to a statement made by power minister Piyush Goyal in Parliament. Of the total, Madhya Pradesh received the largest amount, at Rs 14,318.8 crore, followed by Maharashtra and Rajasthan, respectively, at Rs 13,743.01 crore & Rs 11,632.96 crore
Tweet: Analysts are noticing a marked increase in order-books of cos engaged in urban infra projects—water supply, sanitation, flyovers et al.
Urban infrastructure projects get traction
Apart from roads, housing, schools, hospitals and waste management projects have been among the beneficiaries of government spending, according to reports by financial analysts. Orders worth R12,000 crore and R18,000 crore were awarded in water contracts and in housing and government buildings, respectively.
Tweet: The journey from Planning Comm to Monitoring Agency: NITI Aayog now to fix & monitor targets for PMO for infra & social sector ministries.
Centre’s target-driven approach
In a bid to make ministries more accountable, the Centre has directed NITI Aayog to fix monthly targets to monitor progress of major schemes. It includes targets for urban & rural housing, construction of toilets, rural roads, national highways, ports & airports, clean drinking water, power, health & education, to name a few.
Tweet: March production figures showing 11.9% jump in cement output and 11.3% rise in power production possible signs of beginning of uptick.
Good news for core sector growth
Core sector growth registered a 16-month rise of 6.4% in March. Fertiliser production jumped by 22.9%, followed by cement, which grew at 11.9%.
Tweet: Parl Comm on Rlys: “Domestic air travellers today r more than 50 times the no travelling in AC -1 & AC-2 on Rlys.” Major refix reqd.
Railways fighting a losing battle?
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways headed by former minister Dinesh Trivedi has pointed out that the sharp deterioration in the competitive strength of Railways in its AC-1 and AC-2 passenger business is among the key factors for falling volumes. While domestic air travel grew 15% during 2015-16, Railways’ AC passengers of all four classes registered negative growth last year.
Tweet: 2 summers ago power plants had 4 day’s coal stock. This summer Coal India asked to curtail production due to low off-take. How times change!
Coal India’s summer of slow growth
After recording 8.5% growth in coal production in FY16, Coal India is cutting back on output due to sluggish demand. Analysts expect a revival in demand only after the positive impact of discom reform initiated by the UDAY scheme begins to set in.
Tweet: India stands tall in exclusiv club of 5 nations that have own satellite navigation & positioning system. 7 satellite constellation placed.
India’s satellite navigation system in place
The launch of the seventh navigation satellite, IRNSS-1G, also known as Navic, is a landmark achievement for the country. With the complete system in place, Indian armed forces will no longer have to depend on other nations for military navigation. The Navic will also be used to aid civil navigation, including aircraft, ships, trains, etc. Other civilian applications include mapping, disaster management, and vehicle and fleet management.
Tweet: Haryana announces Rooftop Solar Policy with Net-metering. Hope no bureaucratic delays in site clearance & disbursing 30% subsidy. Let’s see.
Haryana’s rooftop solar scheme
Power distribution companies in Haryana are set to introduce a new scheme to enable consumers to generate solar electricity. They can then adjust this against their regular electricity bills. The state government shall provide financial assistance at a rate of 40% of the cost of system to beneficiaries.
—Vinayak Chatterjee is Chairman of Feedback Infra
His Twitter handle: @Infra_VinayakCh
A weekly selection of the author’s tweets—
with a brief backgrounder—in the infra space, by Adite Banerjie