The government has fixed an indicative value for Delhi's iconic 'The Ashok' hotel at Rs 7,409 crore under the national monetisation programme, according to sources. The Ashok and the adjacent hotel Samrat are among the eight India Tourism Development Corp assets listed under the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman last year. The sources said investor consultation has already been undertaken and a cabinet note for the sale of the sprawling 25-acre property in the heart of the national capital is under consideration.
'At present, hybrids emit lesser carbon despite using fuel than pure play electric cars.' 'That is because EVs have to be charged and 76 per cent of the country's electricity is still coal-based and not renewables.'
Maiki South Mining Pvt Ltd has bagged the country's first lithium block in Chhattisgarh that was put up for sale, the government said on Monday. Meanwhile, the government cancelled the auction of 14 critical minerals that were on offer in the second round of auction. The Katghora lithium and rare earth elements (REE) block in Chhattisgarh was awarded to the company at an auction premium of 76.05 per cent.
Earlier this year, the Union Cabinet gave the management of state-run companies the freedom to decide on divesting their subsidiaries. However, the very next day a meeting was held at the top level of the Government of India, for the presentation of proposals for more autonomy for state-run companies. Interestingly, no chiefs of any of these companies were invited. It is a problem that will stare the government in the face with the state-owned banks too, as talks have again begun for inviting strategic investments in these companies.
If the power plants are reporting low coal stocks with them, it is largely because they have improved their power generation to meet higher demand.
Because of his proximity to Indira Gandhi, he was able to intervene directly at the level of the PMO, which he did in the days leading up to the partition of Pakistan in 1971 when he transferred crucial information about Pakistan's moves via information handed to him by an East Pakistani diplomat in Poland where he was posted.
To tackle increasing demand, the Union Ministry of Power has urged central and state public-sector power-generating companies (gencos) and state power and energy departments to pick projects that are undergoing insolvency proceedings. The power ministry is looking at a quicker turnaround of these stressed power plants and enhancing power supply. Increasing demand is pushing states to scout for more power sources. "It is requested that state-owned gencos may be encouraged to participate in the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) of stressed power assets, which are of strategic and commercial significance to the capacity addition plans of the states concerned.
The fact that the government has no specific deadline to impose this policy was revealed through a response to an RTI application in February 2017.
The shift to gross calorific value-based grading of coal aligned domestic prices with international benchmarks.
Indian and Canada are looking at exploring more opportunities in the mining sector.
Bids for eight coal blocks were sent for re-examination.
An inquiry has been ordered by the Director General of Mines Safety and a high-level committee of experts has been constituted by Coal India to investigate the causes of the accident.
Coal India would open 60 new mines soon, the minister said.
The maiden, critical mineral auction in India has failed to enthuse the mining industry, with the first tranche achieving less than a 50 per cent success rate and the auction of several mines was cancelled owing to low response. The results, announced by the Ministry of Mines on Monday, showed that six lesser-known companies emerged as preferred bidders. Among these were Agrasen Sponge, Kundan Gold Mines, Dalmia Bharat Refractories, Sagar Stone Industries, and Maiki South Mining.
A greater payment security mechanism for power generation companies to ensure timely payouts for supply of electricity will be in focus in 2022 as stricter rules are on the anvil for 24x7 power supply amid discoms' outstanding dues at a whopping Rs 1.56 lakh crore. Mounting outstanding dues of distribution companies (discoms) to electricity generation companies (gencos) have been a perennial issue affecting the entire value chain in the power sector and are also a hindrance for the ambitious goal of 24x7 power supply across the country even when the payment for coal is made in advance. The situation persists despite the fact that discoms' dues become overdue after 45 days of generating bills and they also have to pay penal interest on the overdue amount in most of the cases to gencos.
Transparency is more than welcome, but govt should not look vindictive.
The strong message from the prime minister is of continuity of policies he considers right with strong emphasis on execution, points out T N C Rajagopalan.
The Supreme Court verdict on mining royalty case will give a further jolt to the Indian mining industry and will have very large financial implications, as arrears may work out to the tune of more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore to Rs 2 lakh crore, industry players said on Wednesday. The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the power of states to levy tax on mineral rights and mineral-bearing land, and allowed them to seek refund of royalty from April 1, 2005 onwards. According to a senior mines ministry official, the verdict will have a very large financial impact on mining, steel, power and coal companies.
Reliance Industries has regained the top slot among Indian energy companies on the Platts global list
P Chidambaram says all options are on the table.
Parliament has cleared the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023, recently. The objective of the Act is to invite investments from the private sector, including foreign companies, for mining minerals such as lithium and other critical minerals. Other than lithium, some of these minerals were classified as atomic minerals, including beryl and beryllium, niobium, titanium, tantalum and zirconium.
The Union Government on Thursday said that 5.9 million tonnes of lithium reserves have been found for the first time in the country in Jammu and Kashmir. Lithium is a non-ferrous metal and is one of the key components in EV batteries. "Geological Survey of India for the first time established Lithium inferred resources (G3) of 5.9 million tonnes in the Salal-Haimana area of the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir," the ministry of mines said on Thursday.
Eight of the 30 companies in the BSE Sensex that shared data reported 99 fatalities in 2016-17 against 86 in the previous year. These lives were lost due to industrial accidents at manufacturing facilities. Fatalities owing to road accidents were excluded from the count.
China on Tuesday announced a major policy change for its crisis-ridden power sector by allowing coal-fired power plants to charge their industrial and commercial customers market-driven prices. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China said the electricity generated by coal-fired plants would discover price in market trading "in an orderly manner" from October 15. This is being done to pass on the high costs of coal and is being held up as the boldest reform in the Chinese power sector.
Dual methodology for e-auction to introduce price ceiling for power sector
The government is likely to take a call on the much-talked about divestment in Hindustan Copper next week.
While there are some new faces in the cabinet, leaders such as BJP president JP Nadda and Jual Oram have returned as ministers.
Power generating companies (gencos) that use imported coal to produce electricity, may find it difficult to switch on their idle units immediately in the wake of high fuel costs, several players have told Business Standard. Recently, the Union power ministry had invoked Section 11 of the Electricity Act mandating all imported coal-based plants to generate power at full capacity. However, some generating companies that use imported coal, argue that it is simply unviable for them to produce power when the price of coal in the international market is high, while the per-unit price of power has been capped at Rs 12 per unit on the domestic power exchange.
The Congress on Wednesday said the Supreme Court judgment on certain matters relating to transactions by the Adani Group has proven to be 'extraordinarily generous' to Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and asserted that the party's fight against crony capitalism and its ill-effects on prices, employment and inequalities will continue.
The company signed a JV agreement with Coal India to set up 5000 Mw of solar and thermal projects. These projects are expected to commence between 2023 and 2027.
Government is expected to rely more on divestment proceeds to keep the fiscal deficit in check
Amid strong opposition from CIL workers union to the proposed stake sale in the company, Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said the disinvestment proceeds of about Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion) from the coal behemoth will be invested in public sector banks.
Public-sector enterprise stocks have seen a good run thus far in 2023-24 (FY24), with the S&P BSE PSU Index surging by over 26 per cent during the period, compared to an 11 per cent increase in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex.
Their coal block bids may be referred to CCI.
The top gainers on the Sensex are Gail(India), HDFC, Infosys.
The government's disinvestment programme is set to get a boost this Diwali, with the finance ministry planning to hit the market to sell a five per cent stake in Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) by October.
The issue of missing files relating to coalgate paralysed proceedings in Parliament on Tuesday with the Bharatiya Janata Party demanding an immediate response from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, even as the government said it will leave no stone unturned in tracing the documents.
Unexpected discovery of huge coal reserves beneath NTPC's Karanpura plant site has led to a stand-off between the coal and power ministries.
'Inter-ministerial coordination, information on the proposed PSUs, and due diligence are taking longer than expected to conclude the process.'
The Finance Ministry has invited private sector bankers.
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