Reliance Industries Ltd's legal battle over the Uttar Pradesh government's decision to impose 21 per cent value-added tax on gas is holding up supply to NTPC's two power plants and Indian Oil Corporation's Mathura refinery, despite a group of ministers making allocation to them.
Last week, Chandra Shekhar Verma did something rather uncharacteristic for a state-owned company chieftain, especially one reputed to be a stickler for rules. The Steel Authority of India (SAIL) chairman - its youngest ever - openly criticised the government.
If the waxy crude oil from Cairn's Mangala field in Rajasthan's Barmer area could get the company such high valuations, the prospects of other companies producing higher-grade crude oil or natural gas certainly brighten.
Timely commissioning of over 50,000 Mw of power generation capacity has been jeopardised owing to the environment ministry's latest move to classify India's coal-bearing regions as "go" and "no-go" areas. This comes at a time when the country is striving to bridge the widening gap in the demand and supply of electricity.
While the government is pushing for the use of renewable energy in rural areas to address the twin problems of climate change and scarcity of power, the nodal ministry for carrying out the exercise has not been performing well.
GAIL India chairman and managing director B C Tripathi said the availability and possibility of gas has changed with the change in government policy.
While the mechanism of auctioning commodities like coal and electricity and telecom spectrum at electronic platforms has brought in transparency in their allocation, experts believe that the strategy cannot fructify until the prevailing shortfall in their availability is met.
In an interview with Ajay Modi & Jyoti Mukul, ONGC chairman R S Sharma says uncertainties continue in the business even after decontrol of petrol prices.
L&T plans to transfer the equity of L&T in their joint ventures with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries into L&T Power through a book transfer, if clauses for the re-tender remain the same, company executives told Business Standard.
In what could close the doors for import of Chinese equipment in power transmission, state-run Power Grid Corporation is making it mandatory for suppliers to have manufacturing facilities in India within three years. The company's board is likely to approve the proposal in its meeting on July 2.
Canada has decided to rope in its content solution company, OpenText, to do a 'Facebook' on the negotiators.
CRR is the proportion of deposits each bank must keep in the form of cash.
With the government making a distinction between the privately-run Reliance Natural Resources Ltd and the government-run NTPC Ltd in relation with the gas dispute with Reliance Industries Ltd, the ministry of power is likely to take up NTPC's case with the Empowered Group of Ministers.
RNRL had sought 28 mscmd of gas for 17 years at $2.34 per million British thermal units (mBtu) from Mukesh Ambani's RIL.
The Eleventh Plan working group report, however, was based on projections of the directorate general of hydrocarbons (DGH).
"For 2010-11 and beyond, the Kirit Parikh report will be the benchmark. The report is being studied.These decisions are politically sensitive issues and have to be sustained over a period of time," Petroleum Secretary S Sundareshan told Business Standard. "It is impossible to insulate the Indian consumer against the movement in international oil prices."
There is scepticism in some quarters that the Budget for 2010-11, while spreading cheer, may be skating on thin ice. For instance, some of its assumptions will give way if the non-tax revenue projections turn out to be castles in the air.
Disinvestment proceeds of the government could be higher than the estimate of Rs 25,000 crore for 2009-10. The government has already raised Rs 13,621 crore through disinvestment in four public sector companies.Dilution of stake in National Mineral Development Corporation, the fifth public sector undertaking to come out with a public offer this year, is likely to fetch the government more than the remaining Rs 11,388 crore, thereby exceeding even the revised target.
'Prices can be adjusted now. The government can even temporarily cut taxes'.
This comes at a time when the country's total commercial energy requirement is expected to grow at 5-6 per cent to a massive 1,667 million tonne oil equivalent (Mtoe) required to achieve and sustain a 9 per cent gross domestic product growth rate in the next two decades, as per planning commission's projection.
