The interlocutory application filed on Tuesday made it clear that $4.20 per mmBtu price approved by the government for RIL's KG-D6 gas was without prejudice to the state-run firm's case seeking the fuel from the Mukesh Ambani-run company at $2.34 per mmBtu price committed in 2004.
The 11 units comprise two 660 MW units for the Damodar Valley Corporation and nine for the NTPC. The NTPC and DVC have already received the techno-economic clearance to buy Rs 21,000 crore worth of power equipment for their upcoming thermal power generation plants from the Central Electricity Authority. The equipment would be procured through the international competitive bidding route. The bidders should have a manufacturing base in India.
Public sector major NTPC's follow-on public offer (FPO) managed to scrape through today, but raised questions about the state of the primary markets and the government's disinvestment programme.
A day after facing massive erosion from their wealth, equity investors became richer by Rs 13.22 lakh crore on Wednesday with markets making a strong comeback. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 2,303.19 points, or 3.20 per cent, to settle at 74,382.24. During the day, it rallied 2,455.77 points, or 3.40 per cent, to 74,534.82.
RIL is also fighting a case with Reliance Natural Resources Ltd in the Supreme Court on supply of 28 mmsmcd at the NTPC price to the Anil Ambani-owned company. Though Subramanium has said this case has no bearing on NTPC, the ministry of petroleum and natural gas' plea in the Supreme Court may have implications on price and utilisation of gas sales from RIL's D6 block in the Krishna-Godavari basin.
Of the 17.99 mmcmd gas allocated to the power sector, gas supply pacts of only 2.67 mmcmd allocated to NTPC remained to be signed. NTPC's opposition has also delayed the GSPA for a separate 2.7 mmcmd allocated to the Dabhol power plant and the same is now slated to be signed next week.
RIL has complained the to power ministry about NTPC's reluctance to sign an agreement to buy gas from it and said that the power PSU stands to lose Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion)on buying imported LNG.
The letter comes days after the government made it clear that the empowered Group of Ministers approved price of $4.2 per mmBtu for RIL's KG basin gas.
The government holds 89.5 per cent stake in NTPC and it plans to dilute five per cent stake constituting 41.22 crore (412.2 million) shares through its proposed FPO.
In the face of oil minister's comment that Reliance Industries Ltd gas to NTPC could be given at a government-approved price, the state-owned power major on Saturday said it will continue to fight legally for the fuel's contracted price and seek power ministry's help.
From the Sensex basket, PowerGrid, Bharti Airtel, Wipro, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints, Infosys and Reliance Industries were the major laggards. Bajaj Finance, NTPC, Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank and Bajaj Finserv were among the gainers.
State-run power firm NTPC overstated its profits by Rs 938 crore (R 9.38 billion) in 2007-08, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India said in a report, but categorically stated that chances of Satyam like frauds in PSUs are very remote.
From the Sensex basket, Bharti Airtel, Nestle, Maruti, Tata Motors, HCL Technologies, NTPC, Asian Paints and State Bank of India were the major gainers. Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, JSW Steel, Tech Mahindra and Bajaj Finance were among the laggards.
State-run NTPC has agreed to buy natural gas from Reliance Industries but is opposed to paying marketing margin to the private firm and wants to use the fuel at plants other than Kawas and Gandhar that were identified by the government.
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Monday after hitting their all-time high levels in early trade amid selling in blue-chip IT stocks and HDFC Bank. After breaching the 77,000-mark during the early trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex came under selling pressure at the fag-end of the session and ended 203.28 points or 0.27 per cent lower at 76,490.08. During the day, the benchmark jumped 385.68 points or 0.50 per cent to hit a new record of 77,079.04.
From the Sensex firms, Power Grid, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Maruti were among the laggards. Asian Paints, Wipro, JSW Steel, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finserv and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the biggest gainers.
In a bid to diversify its product portfolio, National Thermal Power Corporation plans to enter into new areas like power distribution and electricity supply besides consolidating its presence in hydel power sector.
Adani Ports, NTPC, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, HCL Technologies and Sun Pharma were among the other big gainers. However, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank were amonh the major laggards.
The Union Cabinet has cleared an initial public offer of 10 per cent of its equity in National Thermal Power Corporation to raise Rs 3,000 crore (Rs 30 billion), power secretary R V Shahi said on Thursday.
From the Sensex basket, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, UltraTech Cement, Wipro, ICICI Bank, Infosys, HCL Technologies and Asian Paints were the major gainers. NTPC, JSW Steel and HDFC Bank were the laggards.
Around 90-100 people received burn injuries, and the condition of some of them was serious.
The last batch of quarterly earnings, global trends and trading activity of foreign investors will guide the equity market movement in a holiday-shortened week ahead, analysts said. Volatility may continue amid investors' cautious approach in the election season. Markets will remain closed on Monday due to the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections in Mumbai.
Among the 30 Sensex companies, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints, Reliance Industries, ITC, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and JSW Steel were the major laggards. Larsen & Toubro, Tata Motors, Maruti, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra and UltraTech Cement were among the gainers.
They said rampant infrastructure development without a plan is making the fragile Himalayan ecosystem even more vulnerable to the effects of climate change which acts as a force-multiplier.
Four major banks including State Bank of India and ICICI Bank have been appointed as the preferred banks for extending loans to employees of NTPC for investing in the power major's maiden public offer.
NTPC raises new demands, while CIL is not willing to yield
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.
Reliance Group-owned power distribution companies in Delhi on Thursday approached the Supreme Court against NTPC's notice threatening to cut off power supply for not clearing outstanding dues.
State Bank of India, NTPC, Nestle, Sun Pharma, JSW Steel, ITC, Mahindra & Mahindra and HCL Technologies were among the other major gainers.
From the Sensex basket, NTPC, Power Grid, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, JSW Steel, Tech Mahindra and Larsen & Toubro were the biggest gainers. Bharti Airtel, Maruti, ICICI Bank and Asian Paints were the laggards.
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, Kotak Mahindra Bank jumped 5 per cent after the company reported a 25 per cent growth in its March quarter net profit at Rs 5,302 crore, limited by a drop in the core income due to narrow interest margins. Tata Consultancy Services, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra, Sun Pharma, Tech Mahindra and IndusInd Bank were among the other major gainers. Titan tanked 7 per cent after its March quarter earnings failed to cheer investors.
"All requirements including providing bank guarantee have been met by NTPC and gas flow can start as early as tomorrow," an 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.
Another FPO, that of NMDC, is also likely to be held by end-this fiscal, the official said.
From the Sensex firms, Wipro, NTPC, Sun Pharma, Mahindra & Mahindra, ITC and Reliance Industries were among the biggest laggards. IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro and State Bank of India were among the major gainers.
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.
Among the Sensex firms, NTPC, Power Grid, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and IndusInd Bank were the biggest gainers. JSW Steel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement, Infosys and Titan were among the laggards.
