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.
In a development that could deliver a setback to Reliance Industries, the Bombay high court on Monday allowed power PSU NTPC to amend its petition, seeking implementation of a gas supply agreement.
Equity investors suffered a massive loss of Rs 31 lakh crore on Tuesday as markets went into a tailspin with the BSE Sensex tumbling nearly 6 per cent as vote counting trends showed the BJP may not have a clear majority in the Lok Sabha polls. Erasing the record-rally of the previous trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex cracked 4,389.73 points or 5.74 per cent to settle at 72,079.05. During the day, the benchmark tanked 6,234.35 points or 8.15 per cent to hit a nearly five-month low of 70,234.43.
NTPC, which currently generates over 43,000 MW, aims to add 14,000 MW capacity by 2017.
The crisis-riden CWG has received a further jolt with two power PSUs, NTPC and PowerGrid, deciding to hold back their Rs 40 crore sponsorship money out of a combined committed sum of Rs 60 crore for the event.
From the Sensex basket, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, HDFC Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Axis Bank, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Larsen & Toubro, ICICI Bank and Power Grid were the major gainers. Tata Motors dropped over 8 per cent despite reporting over three-fold jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 17,528.59 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2024. NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Titan, State Bank of India and Nestle were the other major laggards.
"All requirements including providing bank guarantee have been met by NTPC and gas flow can start as early as tomorrow," an official said.
Another FPO, that of NMDC, is also likely to be held by end-this fiscal, the official said.
India's largest power generation company National Thermal Power Corporation on Tuesday embarked upon a major overseas fund raising exercise and decided to establish medium term note programme of $1 billion.
Anil Ambani Group firm RNRL on Tuesday welcomed the government's move to protect NTPC's interest on sourcing gas from Reliance Industries, saying effective legal steps will defeat the Mukesh Ambani firm's 'malafide attempts to dishonour' its commitment.
The issue received bids for over 25 crore (250 million) shares against 41.22 crore (412.2 million) equities on offer, according to the data available with the National Stock Exchange.
A Division Bench led by Chief Justice Swatenter Kumar on Thursday dismissed NTPC's appeal. The suit between the two parties relates to their gas supply agreement.
Reliance Industries has cautioned that NTPC should not make comments on matters sub-judice lest they are construed as attempt to influence the outcome of its court case seeking natural gas at price committed in 2004.
The CBI is investigating into the alleged irregularities in NTPC awarding a contract to Russian power equipment supplier Technopromexport (TPE) to supply equipments for its Rs 8,600 crore (Rs 86 billion) 1,980-mw Barh (Bihar) Super Thermal Power Project in 2005.
According to sources close to the development, NTPC is likely to hit the capital market with a follow-on public offer to raise nearly Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion) early next fiscal. The government would divest 10 per cent of its stake and 10 per cent would be the fresh equity offered by NTPC.
The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies soared to an all-time high of Rs 406.52 lakh crore on Monday thanks to a rally in equities where the BSE Sensex climbed over 1 per cent. The 30-share BSE Sensex rallied 941.12 points or 1.28 per cent to finish at 74,671.28. During the day, it zoomed 990.99 points or 1.34 per cent to 74,721.15.
There can be no forgetting the Margaret Thatcher principle of leaving something on the table for the small investor.
Decks have been cleared for National Thermal Power Corp's foray in oil exploration sector with the government awarding one block to the power major under the fifth round of New Exploration Licensing Policy.
Power major NTPC on Friday said it plans to foray into nuclear power generation.
Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Co Ltd (RasGas) of Qatar has pulled out of state-run National Thermal Power Corporation's tender for supply of 3 million tonnes of LNG for its power plants.
The government has sought details from National Thermal Power Corporation for its proposed public offer for increasing equity by up to five per cent
Govt to earn Rs 13,000 crore via stake sales in NTPC and IOC.
The court on Tuesday ordered BSES -- part of billionaire Anil Ambani's Reliance Infrastructure Ltd to pay state-run NTPC the Rs 700 crore (Rs 7 billion) it is owed by May 31.
Confidence in the company as government is the biggest shareholder.
State-run NTPC will invest about Rs 20,000 crore to set up a 3,960-megawatt (Mw) coal-based power project in Madhya Pradesh. NTPC had signed a memorandum of understanding with the state government and MP Power Trading Company regarding this, the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
State-owned NTPC is likely to pick up stake in two coal mines in Indonesia, a move that would help the company secure its raw material requirement.
As India's electricity demand soars, the power ministry on Tuesday reviewed the power supply situation to ensure 'zero load shedding' during the summer months. The ministry has drafted plans ranging from delaying planned maintenance of thermal power stations to mandatory operations of imported coal-based and gas-based stations till September. In a series of meetings with industry stakeholders, Union Minister for Power, New, and Renewable Energy R K Singh emphasised the importance of adequate planning to avoid situations where one state has surplus power while another state faces shortages.
State-run NTPC Ltd is likely to sign by month-end an agreement to buy natural gas allocated by the Centre from Mukesh Ambani-run Reliance Industries Ltd at government-approved rate of $4.20 per mmBtu, power secretary H S Brahma said on Wednesday.
Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Friday said the Supreme Court upholding the government's right to approve price and utilisation of gas was a "fair decision" and it had no bearing on the gas supply dispute between NTPC and Reliance Industries.
Among the Sensex firms, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, Wipro, State Bank of India and Larsen & Toubro were the major gainers. ICICI Bank, NTPC, Axis Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the laggards.
State-run NTPC, Essar Power and Torrent are among the firms identified by the Union power ministry for buying natural gas from Reliance Industries' eastern offshore D6 block.
Abolition of import duty on naphtha under the government's stimulus package has come as a much-awaited breather for power projects running on dual-fuel.
In a letter to the state principal secretary (energy and petrochemicals) S Jagdeesan on September 4, RIL executive director PMS Prasad said NTPC is currently buying natural gas on spot basis, which could potentially increase the cost of power by about Rs 1,500 crore.
NTPC, India's largest thermal power operator, said it will stay away from the ongoing Reliance Industries and Reliance Natural Resources case in the Bombay high court over the supply of KG Basin gas.
State power utility NTPC Ltd will not lose any money even if it was to get natural gas at prices higher than those committed by Reliance Industries five years ago, the Power Ministry has told the committee on public undertakings.
Adani Power, part of the Adani group, plans to add close to 6 gigawatts (Gw) of new power assets in the next five years, according to an investor presentation by the company. That is clearly meant to ride on India's burgeoning power demand. But there is another side to it: All of this new capacity is expected to be thermal power, or power produced from coal.
GAMES-TOURISM Tourism industry asked to cash on C'Wealth Games New Delhi, Aug 19 (PTI) With over one lakh foreigners expected to throng the city during Commonwealth Games, tourism industry must gear up to reap the benefits, Tourism Minister Kumari Selja said today.