ashok321
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Nilgiri
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http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...s-to-create-behemoth/articleshow/53371857.cms
Government set to start talks on merging 13 state oil companies to create behemoth
NEW DELHI: The government is set to start consultations for an ambitious plan to merge 13 state oil firms to create a giant corporation whose revenue dwarfs global energy major Chevron which competes with US conglomerate General Electric in the Fortune-500 ranking.
The Cabinet Secretariat has referred the idea of the integrated giant, which would also absorb various institutions related to safety, development and analysis, to the oil ministry, sources familiar with the development told ET.
Following this, the oil ministry has begun the process of evaluating the prospects of creating the conglomerate, which will have a bigger market value than Russian state oil giant Rosneft and India's Reliance Industries Ltd, sources said. It plans to consult all stakeholders including the state firms that may be combined to create the mega corporation that will be the country's No. 1 in turnover, net profit, capital expenditure and market capitalisation, they said.
The oil ministry declined comment for the story.
A similar proposal was considered more than a decade ago. But the government in July 2005 said that the official committee that studied the matter felt that a merger or formation of the holding company "may not be advisable for the present".
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), the top oil producer and one of the largest companies in the country, leads the pack of 13 state oil companies that are being considered for the merger. Other companies include Indian Oil Corporation, the nation's largest refiner and fuel retailer, Bharat Petroleum CorporationBSE 1.54 %, Hindustan Petroleum, GAIL, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL), Chennai Petroleum, Numaligarh Refinery and Oil India.
A consolidated entity could rival the likes of Russia's Rosneft ($55 billion in market cap) and UK's BP Plc ($112 billion) in market value and financial power.
The top six listed Indian state oil firms have a market value of $77 billion. In 2015-16, all state oil firms together reported a profit of Rs 45,500 crore on a revenue of Rs 9,32,000 crore. In the current fiscal year, they have planned a capital expenditure of Rs 87,600 crore.
The government is also evaluating if the consolidated entity can include all non-corporate government bodies in the oil sector such as Oil Industry Development Board (OIDB), Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) and Petroleum Conservation Research Association.
A powerful integrated company would have the muscle to consider proposals like a significant stake in Rosneft.
Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently said Indian state firms were considering a stake in the company that pumps more oil than Exxon.
The NDA government under AB Vajpayee and the UPA government in its first term had seriously explored the possibility of merging state oil companies or reorganising them in fewer units to give them heft and efficiency that would help them compete globally.
In 2005, the government had also appointed a panel led by V Krishnamurthy, which advised against merging the state oil firms, arguing the dominance of a mega entity may not be good for competition in an energy-starved economy and that there were several examples of smaller specialist firms doing better. It also argued that globally, less than a third mergers succeeded in enhancing shareholder value mainly due to their inability to manage employees.
The option of cutting jobs to slash costs mostly undertaken by private players after mergers is not easily available to state firms where lay offs have big political fallouts. And it requires greater political will and smart manoeuvring to offset that. Moreover, the competing interests and ambitions of top leaders and diverse cultures at companies also obstruct a smooth merger.
In the last decade since the merger talks were buried, state oil firms have also changed in character, growing in size and pushing for vertical integration. Refiners like Indian Oil, HPCL and BPCL have acquired several exploration and production assets in India and overseas while ONGC has enhanced presence in refinery and petrochemicals.
More at: https://defence.pk/threads/governme...nies-to-create-behemoth.440949/#ixzz4FObBI9DC
Government set to start talks on merging 13 state oil companies to create behemoth
NEW DELHI: The government is set to start consultations for an ambitious plan to merge 13 state oil firms to create a giant corporation whose revenue dwarfs global energy major Chevron which competes with US conglomerate General Electric in the Fortune-500 ranking.
The Cabinet Secretariat has referred the idea of the integrated giant, which would also absorb various institutions related to safety, development and analysis, to the oil ministry, sources familiar with the development told ET.
Following this, the oil ministry has begun the process of evaluating the prospects of creating the conglomerate, which will have a bigger market value than Russian state oil giant Rosneft and India's Reliance Industries Ltd, sources said. It plans to consult all stakeholders including the state firms that may be combined to create the mega corporation that will be the country's No. 1 in turnover, net profit, capital expenditure and market capitalisation, they said.
The oil ministry declined comment for the story.
A similar proposal was considered more than a decade ago. But the government in July 2005 said that the official committee that studied the matter felt that a merger or formation of the holding company "may not be advisable for the present".
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), the top oil producer and one of the largest companies in the country, leads the pack of 13 state oil companies that are being considered for the merger. Other companies include Indian Oil Corporation, the nation's largest refiner and fuel retailer, Bharat Petroleum CorporationBSE 1.54 %, Hindustan Petroleum, GAIL, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL), Chennai Petroleum, Numaligarh Refinery and Oil India.
A consolidated entity could rival the likes of Russia's Rosneft ($55 billion in market cap) and UK's BP Plc ($112 billion) in market value and financial power.
The top six listed Indian state oil firms have a market value of $77 billion. In 2015-16, all state oil firms together reported a profit of Rs 45,500 crore on a revenue of Rs 9,32,000 crore. In the current fiscal year, they have planned a capital expenditure of Rs 87,600 crore.
The government is also evaluating if the consolidated entity can include all non-corporate government bodies in the oil sector such as Oil Industry Development Board (OIDB), Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) and Petroleum Conservation Research Association.
A powerful integrated company would have the muscle to consider proposals like a significant stake in Rosneft.
Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently said Indian state firms were considering a stake in the company that pumps more oil than Exxon.
The NDA government under AB Vajpayee and the UPA government in its first term had seriously explored the possibility of merging state oil companies or reorganising them in fewer units to give them heft and efficiency that would help them compete globally.
In 2005, the government had also appointed a panel led by V Krishnamurthy, which advised against merging the state oil firms, arguing the dominance of a mega entity may not be good for competition in an energy-starved economy and that there were several examples of smaller specialist firms doing better. It also argued that globally, less than a third mergers succeeded in enhancing shareholder value mainly due to their inability to manage employees.
The option of cutting jobs to slash costs mostly undertaken by private players after mergers is not easily available to state firms where lay offs have big political fallouts. And it requires greater political will and smart manoeuvring to offset that. Moreover, the competing interests and ambitions of top leaders and diverse cultures at companies also obstruct a smooth merger.
In the last decade since the merger talks were buried, state oil firms have also changed in character, growing in size and pushing for vertical integration. Refiners like Indian Oil, HPCL and BPCL have acquired several exploration and production assets in India and overseas while ONGC has enhanced presence in refinery and petrochemicals.
More at: https://defence.pk/threads/governme...nies-to-create-behemoth.440949/#ixzz4FObBI9DC
ashok321
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Local_Legend
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Railways plans to pour Rs 8.6 lakh crore for new tracks, faster trains and station revamp
Indian Railways plans to rack up debt to help fund an unprecedented modernization plan.
Some Rs 2.5 lakh crore ($37 billion) of debt is required in the five years through 2020, according to Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. That's more than triple the Rs 692 billion of outstanding Indian Railway Finance Corp. bonds. The network is also exploring non-fare revenue streams from advertising and land holdings, Prabhu said.
"Very soon we'd go out to the market to open up advertising and branding on most of our trains and stations," Prabhu said in e-mailed replies to questions. "Indian Railways has various land banks which we are looking to monetize through long-term leases and other commercial development."
The world's fourth-largest railroad aims to pour Rs 8.6 lakh crore into new tracks, faster trains and station redevelopment to drag a network with roots in British colonial rule into the 21st century. Indian Railways carries about as many passengers daily as Australia's population, even as congestion and aging rolling stock slow speeds.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration is relying on government spending and debt for the bulk of the five-year upgrade. Roughly 1 trillion rupees is expected to come from the private sector, according to Prabhu.
Some projects, such as a $15 billion bullet train due to start operations in 2023, have funding options in place. But questions remain over India's ability to find all the money needed for other railway improvements and to deliver projects on time.
The network spends most of its revenues on operating costs. Raising passenger fares is politically challenging as more than half of India's 1.3 billion people live on less than $3.10 per day, based on World Bank data. Most cargo is shipped by road rather than rail, denting freight-based earnings.
"Cutting costs is also a major strategy going forward," Prabhu said. "We're also focusing on increasing freight revenues by increasing the basket of goods we carry."
The railroad saved 100 billion rupees last year by paring expenses, he said.
The prospective borrowing to fund Modi's modernization project exceeds the gross domestic product of nations such as Serbia or Bolivia.
Indian Railways has 638 billion rupees of local-currency bonds and $800 million of dollar-denominated debt outstanding.
Yields on the 8.88 percent rupee bonds due 2029 fell to 6.08 percent on July 15, the lowest since they were issued in 2014, according to Bombay Stock Exchange prices. Recent speculation that the Reserve Bank of India may become more dovish under its next governor boosted the allure of bonds in Asia's No. 3 economy.
Modi's government recognizes the potential impact of railway modernization on the country's economy, but the scale of the network means it's crucial to manage investment projects better, said Bharat Salhotra, managing director of transport operations at Alstom SA's Indian unit near New Delhi.
"When you're looking at an organization with the size and scale of the railways, they need to develop the competence and tools to be able to assess and prioritize investments," he said.
Another challenge for Prabhu is implementing a pay increase of as much as 320 billion rupees for railway workers. The network employs around 1.3 million people.
Prabhu said the current fiscal year's budget provides 200 billion rupees for the wage increases, and that he's looking to exploit newer sources of revenues, such as advertising, to help plug the gap.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ion-revamp/articleshow/53375373.cms?prtpage=1
Indian Railways plans to rack up debt to help fund an unprecedented modernization plan.
Some Rs 2.5 lakh crore ($37 billion) of debt is required in the five years through 2020, according to Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. That's more than triple the Rs 692 billion of outstanding Indian Railway Finance Corp. bonds. The network is also exploring non-fare revenue streams from advertising and land holdings, Prabhu said.
"Very soon we'd go out to the market to open up advertising and branding on most of our trains and stations," Prabhu said in e-mailed replies to questions. "Indian Railways has various land banks which we are looking to monetize through long-term leases and other commercial development."
The world's fourth-largest railroad aims to pour Rs 8.6 lakh crore into new tracks, faster trains and station redevelopment to drag a network with roots in British colonial rule into the 21st century. Indian Railways carries about as many passengers daily as Australia's population, even as congestion and aging rolling stock slow speeds.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration is relying on government spending and debt for the bulk of the five-year upgrade. Roughly 1 trillion rupees is expected to come from the private sector, according to Prabhu.
Some projects, such as a $15 billion bullet train due to start operations in 2023, have funding options in place. But questions remain over India's ability to find all the money needed for other railway improvements and to deliver projects on time.
The network spends most of its revenues on operating costs. Raising passenger fares is politically challenging as more than half of India's 1.3 billion people live on less than $3.10 per day, based on World Bank data. Most cargo is shipped by road rather than rail, denting freight-based earnings.
"Cutting costs is also a major strategy going forward," Prabhu said. "We're also focusing on increasing freight revenues by increasing the basket of goods we carry."
The railroad saved 100 billion rupees last year by paring expenses, he said.
The prospective borrowing to fund Modi's modernization project exceeds the gross domestic product of nations such as Serbia or Bolivia.
Indian Railways has 638 billion rupees of local-currency bonds and $800 million of dollar-denominated debt outstanding.
Yields on the 8.88 percent rupee bonds due 2029 fell to 6.08 percent on July 15, the lowest since they were issued in 2014, according to Bombay Stock Exchange prices. Recent speculation that the Reserve Bank of India may become more dovish under its next governor boosted the allure of bonds in Asia's No. 3 economy.
Modi's government recognizes the potential impact of railway modernization on the country's economy, but the scale of the network means it's crucial to manage investment projects better, said Bharat Salhotra, managing director of transport operations at Alstom SA's Indian unit near New Delhi.
"When you're looking at an organization with the size and scale of the railways, they need to develop the competence and tools to be able to assess and prioritize investments," he said.
Another challenge for Prabhu is implementing a pay increase of as much as 320 billion rupees for railway workers. The network employs around 1.3 million people.
Prabhu said the current fiscal year's budget provides 200 billion rupees for the wage increases, and that he's looking to exploit newer sources of revenues, such as advertising, to help plug the gap.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ion-revamp/articleshow/53375373.cms?prtpage=1
Local_Legend
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RBI levies Rs5 crore penalty on Bank of Baroda in forex scam
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed aRs.5 crore penalty on Bank of Baroda in connection with a foreign exchange scam detected at the bank last year.
The penalty was levied for “weaknesses and failures in internal control mechanisms in respect of certain AML (anti money laundering) provisions such as monitoring of transactions, timely reporting to FIU (foreign investigations unit), and assigning of UCIC (unique customer identification code to customers.”
In a stock exchange notification on Monday, the bank said that the move followed an internal audit by the RBI and investigative agencies in October 2015, which pointed to the weaknesses mentioned above. A foreign exchange scam was unearthed at Bank of Baroda and a number of public and private sector lenders were found to be affected by it.
In January, the central bank had asked all public and private sector lenders involved in the matter to conduct internal audits and present a report to their audit committees.
Bank of Baroda has implemented a comprehensive corrective action plan, to strengthen internal controls and to ensure that such incidents do not recur, it said in the notification.
In October 2015, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted raids across bank branches, including those of Bank of Baroda and HDFC Bank, as part of a foreign exchange scandal, where bank employees had liaised with certain people to illegally transfer funds to various accounts in Hong Kong and the UAE, flouting foreign exchange norms set by the RBI.
Bank of Baroda’s Ashok Vihar branch in New Delhi was central to the entire racket, where according to the CBI, overRs.6,000 crore worth of funds were transferred illegally.
http://www.livemint.com/Industry/iG...-penalty-on-Bank-of-Baroda-in-forex-scam.html
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed aRs.5 crore penalty on Bank of Baroda in connection with a foreign exchange scam detected at the bank last year.
The penalty was levied for “weaknesses and failures in internal control mechanisms in respect of certain AML (anti money laundering) provisions such as monitoring of transactions, timely reporting to FIU (foreign investigations unit), and assigning of UCIC (unique customer identification code to customers.”
In a stock exchange notification on Monday, the bank said that the move followed an internal audit by the RBI and investigative agencies in October 2015, which pointed to the weaknesses mentioned above. A foreign exchange scam was unearthed at Bank of Baroda and a number of public and private sector lenders were found to be affected by it.
In January, the central bank had asked all public and private sector lenders involved in the matter to conduct internal audits and present a report to their audit committees.
Bank of Baroda has implemented a comprehensive corrective action plan, to strengthen internal controls and to ensure that such incidents do not recur, it said in the notification.
In October 2015, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted raids across bank branches, including those of Bank of Baroda and HDFC Bank, as part of a foreign exchange scandal, where bank employees had liaised with certain people to illegally transfer funds to various accounts in Hong Kong and the UAE, flouting foreign exchange norms set by the RBI.
Bank of Baroda’s Ashok Vihar branch in New Delhi was central to the entire racket, where according to the CBI, overRs.6,000 crore worth of funds were transferred illegally.
http://www.livemint.com/Industry/iG...-penalty-on-Bank-of-Baroda-in-forex-scam.html
itachii
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India has seen about 35 new smartphone factories in the past two years, with a production capacity of about 18 million devices a month, since the central government had announced a tax rationalization for electronics products to boost local electronics manufacturing.
The new manufacturing units have generated employment for 37,000 people and led to fivefold increase in capacity. According to an official in the electronics and information technology ministry, overall mobile phone production capacity was about 68 million units in 2014, 100 million in 2015 and 350-400 million till July this year. With India becoming a global hub for mobile phone manufacturing, the government has set a target of 500 million devices a year by 2020, riding on an incentive policy and availability of good talent.
“Production capacity has reached 350-400 million in July 2016. The government has set up a task force with a vision to produce 500 million phones by 2019-20 and create five million jobs. The aim of the initiative is to export 120 million phones,” Pankaj Mohindroo, Indian Cellular Association (ICA) founder and president, told Business Standard. He said by 2020, the industry could reach Rs 3 lakh crore.
“With the target, for which the task force is working and we have achieved initial success, manufacturing activities have gone up in the country,” Mohindroo added.
The new units that have come up include that of Foxconn with five facilities, Micromax, Lava International, Intex Technologies, Videocon, Vivo Mobile, Celkon Mobiles and Flextronics.
Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said the mobile phone production in the country has doubled on the back of reforms announced in the 2016-17 Budget. He said due to the initiatives, especially duty rationalisation, there had been a remarkable acceleration in the field of electronics manufacturing.
To boost domestic manufacturing, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had proposed a hike in levies on components and peripherals like batteries and chargers. However, it was later rationalised after the industry said the hike in levies will hurt manufacturers as some of these parts have to be imported. The government had removed basic customs duty (10 per cent) and special additional duty (four per cent) proposed on charger, adaptor, batteries and wired headsets.
A ministry official said that apart from phones, the reforms were helping domestic manufacturers to get into other areas like medical devices, consumer electronics, broadband equipment and set-up boxes.
SEEING GROWTH
Source: https://defence.pk/threads/indias-s...-37-000-jobs-in-2-years.441006/#ixzz4FQOg2n7u
The new manufacturing units have generated employment for 37,000 people and led to fivefold increase in capacity. According to an official in the electronics and information technology ministry, overall mobile phone production capacity was about 68 million units in 2014, 100 million in 2015 and 350-400 million till July this year. With India becoming a global hub for mobile phone manufacturing, the government has set a target of 500 million devices a year by 2020, riding on an incentive policy and availability of good talent.
“Production capacity has reached 350-400 million in July 2016. The government has set up a task force with a vision to produce 500 million phones by 2019-20 and create five million jobs. The aim of the initiative is to export 120 million phones,” Pankaj Mohindroo, Indian Cellular Association (ICA) founder and president, told Business Standard. He said by 2020, the industry could reach Rs 3 lakh crore.
“With the target, for which the task force is working and we have achieved initial success, manufacturing activities have gone up in the country,” Mohindroo added.
The new units that have come up include that of Foxconn with five facilities, Micromax, Lava International, Intex Technologies, Videocon, Vivo Mobile, Celkon Mobiles and Flextronics.
Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said the mobile phone production in the country has doubled on the back of reforms announced in the 2016-17 Budget. He said due to the initiatives, especially duty rationalisation, there had been a remarkable acceleration in the field of electronics manufacturing.
To boost domestic manufacturing, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had proposed a hike in levies on components and peripherals like batteries and chargers. However, it was later rationalised after the industry said the hike in levies will hurt manufacturers as some of these parts have to be imported. The government had removed basic customs duty (10 per cent) and special additional duty (four per cent) proposed on charger, adaptor, batteries and wired headsets.
A ministry official said that apart from phones, the reforms were helping domestic manufacturers to get into other areas like medical devices, consumer electronics, broadband equipment and set-up boxes.
SEEING GROWTH
- New manufacturing units have employed 37,000 people, a fivefold increase in capacity
- Mobile phone production capacity was about 68 million in 2014, which has increased to 350-400 million in July 2016
- Govt has set a target of 500 million devices a year by 2020
- Govt has set up a task force with a vision to produce 500 million phones by 2019-20 and create 5 million jobs
- The aim of the initiative is to export 120 million phones
Source: https://defence.pk/threads/indias-s...-37-000-jobs-in-2-years.441006/#ixzz4FQOg2n7u
Ankit Kumar 002
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India's longest train = Vivek Express.
Vivek Express :-Vivek Express actually is a group of 4 long distance trains announced to celebrate 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda . One of the Vivek Express trains, the one from Dibrugarh to Kanyakumari; is the longest route on the Indian Railways network, in terms of distance and time, and is the 9th longest in the world.
http://m.thehindu.com/news/national/now-northeast-south-come-closer/article2642902.ece
As new routes and doubling has occured at many places , distance travelled has reduced a bit.
Train no 15905/15906 is a weekly service offering 2AC, 3AC , SL and 2S accommodations.
The train has 57 halts across its route.
More info about list of stoppages can be found at Indian Rail Info website.
Local_Legend
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IRCTC offers Rs. 10 lakh insurance cover for passengers
Railway passengers from next month, booking tickets through the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, (IRCTC) website can avail a travel accident cover of Rs. 10 lakh at a premium of one rupee.
IRCTC Chairman-cum-Managing Director A.K. Manocha said that the insurance cover is besides the compensation given by the railways in case of accidents to valid ticket holders.
The insurance will provide coverage against death, injury and disabilities caused due to accidents.
He said the insurance offer is under integration process and it will be operationalised from September.
About five lakh tickets are at present booked online through IRCTC.
http://www.business-standard.com/ar...ance-cover-for-passengers-116072600125_1.html
How ICF can give major filip to Indian Railways, Make in India
ICF created a new record of manufacturing 2,005 coaches in FY16, more than the combined output of two other coach manufacturing units Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, Punjab and Modern Coach Factory, Rae Bareli, UP
Set up in 1952 in collaboration with Swiss Car & Elevator Manufacturing Co., Schlieren, Switzerland, ICF (Integral Coach Factory) at Perambur, Chennai began production in 1955. It rolled out its 50,000 thousand passenger coach just a couple of months ago. In the process it also created a new record of manufacturing 2,005 coaches for the year FY16, more than the combined output of two other coach manufacturing units viz. RCF (Rail Coach Factory), Kapurthala, Punjab, and MCF (Modern Coach Factory), Rae Bareli, UP. It is now poised to reach greater heights in FY17 targeting 2,400 coaches of no less than 69 variants.
Historically, ICF has had a very strong design office as it went into business much before RDSO (Research Design and Standards Organisation)-railway’s premier R&D facility in Lucknow-got into top gear. Moreover being miles away from Lucknow, dire neccessity forced it to develop its own design expertise which has enabled it over the years to come up with a string of designs to suit varied needs be it for railways, defence, or the export market.
From production of passenger coaches to manufacturing of EMUs (Electric Multiple Units) for Kolkata’s suburban system in 1962-63, was a short but a significant step for ICF in ‘Make-in-India’, as till then EMUs were being imported for Mumbai’s suburban system from varied sources such as, Metro Cammel of UK, Italy’s Ansaldo Breda, and Japanese firm Hitachi.
The design team proved its mettle when it manufactured 72 more coaches for India’s first ever metro system at Kolkata in 1981-82, with a unique system for collecting current from a third rail automatic door closing mechanism. This was followed by repeat orders in 1989-90 and once again in 2010, this time for 13 of fully air-conditioned eight coach rakes similar to those running on Delhi metro.
As the only premier rail coach manufacturing facility in Southeast Asia, ICF succeeded in getting its first export order for meter-gauge bogies from Thailand in 1967, followed in quick succession by orders from Burma, Thailand, and Taiwan. Graduating to complete coaches, it began with 113 coaches for Taiwan, followed by 383 meter or cape gauge coaches and 361 bogies to Burma, Phillipines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Mozambique, Angola, and Zambia. The latest order being a score of six-coach DEMU (Diesel Electric Multiple Unit) rakes for Srilanka in 2010 -12 for R126 crore.
ICF’s product mix comprises of locomotive hauled passenger as well as special purpose viz. military ward cars for defence, OHE maintenace tower cars, double-decker coach, self-propelled accident relief trains etc. It has also the distinction of being the only facility in the world which builds self-propelled coaches with all three types of traction viz. electric, diesel-electric and diesel-hydraulic.
First dual voltage AC-DC EMU for Mumbai was rolled out in 2000-01, and recently 384 fully air-conditioned three-phase EMU coaches with automatic door closing mechanisms and other state-of-art passenger amenities, including 12 with indigenous propulsion system have been supplied to the Central Railway. They are presently undergoing extensive trials before being placed in active service, and are to be followed by another lot of 39 AC EMU 12 coach rakes for MUTP Phase-2 Project.
A brand new facility built a couple of years ago now churns out LHB (Linke-Hoffman-Buche) stainless steel body coaches. About 500 are programmed for manufacture this year for upgradation of premier routes to 160 kpmh speed, as had been announced by Suresh Prabhu in his last budget speech. Time is now ripe for an aggressive bid for exports to at least South-Asian and African nations which are badly in need of rail coaches, but are not rich enough to pay big bucks for ‘Bullet’ or other similar trains of high speed variety.
A SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) set up under railway ministry could leverage the vast resources of ICF, RCF, MCF and a host of ancillary units to not only earn foreign exchange and improve railway’s bottom line, but also provide a major boost to PM’s ‘Make-in-India’ initiative.
(RC Acharya is former member, Railway Board)
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe-...ilip-to-indian-railways-make-in-india/328747/
Railway passengers from next month, booking tickets through the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, (IRCTC) website can avail a travel accident cover of Rs. 10 lakh at a premium of one rupee.
IRCTC Chairman-cum-Managing Director A.K. Manocha said that the insurance cover is besides the compensation given by the railways in case of accidents to valid ticket holders.
The insurance will provide coverage against death, injury and disabilities caused due to accidents.
He said the insurance offer is under integration process and it will be operationalised from September.
About five lakh tickets are at present booked online through IRCTC.
http://www.business-standard.com/ar...ance-cover-for-passengers-116072600125_1.html
How ICF can give major filip to Indian Railways, Make in India
ICF created a new record of manufacturing 2,005 coaches in FY16, more than the combined output of two other coach manufacturing units Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, Punjab and Modern Coach Factory, Rae Bareli, UP
Set up in 1952 in collaboration with Swiss Car & Elevator Manufacturing Co., Schlieren, Switzerland, ICF (Integral Coach Factory) at Perambur, Chennai began production in 1955. It rolled out its 50,000 thousand passenger coach just a couple of months ago. In the process it also created a new record of manufacturing 2,005 coaches for the year FY16, more than the combined output of two other coach manufacturing units viz. RCF (Rail Coach Factory), Kapurthala, Punjab, and MCF (Modern Coach Factory), Rae Bareli, UP. It is now poised to reach greater heights in FY17 targeting 2,400 coaches of no less than 69 variants.
Historically, ICF has had a very strong design office as it went into business much before RDSO (Research Design and Standards Organisation)-railway’s premier R&D facility in Lucknow-got into top gear. Moreover being miles away from Lucknow, dire neccessity forced it to develop its own design expertise which has enabled it over the years to come up with a string of designs to suit varied needs be it for railways, defence, or the export market.
From production of passenger coaches to manufacturing of EMUs (Electric Multiple Units) for Kolkata’s suburban system in 1962-63, was a short but a significant step for ICF in ‘Make-in-India’, as till then EMUs were being imported for Mumbai’s suburban system from varied sources such as, Metro Cammel of UK, Italy’s Ansaldo Breda, and Japanese firm Hitachi.
The design team proved its mettle when it manufactured 72 more coaches for India’s first ever metro system at Kolkata in 1981-82, with a unique system for collecting current from a third rail automatic door closing mechanism. This was followed by repeat orders in 1989-90 and once again in 2010, this time for 13 of fully air-conditioned eight coach rakes similar to those running on Delhi metro.
As the only premier rail coach manufacturing facility in Southeast Asia, ICF succeeded in getting its first export order for meter-gauge bogies from Thailand in 1967, followed in quick succession by orders from Burma, Thailand, and Taiwan. Graduating to complete coaches, it began with 113 coaches for Taiwan, followed by 383 meter or cape gauge coaches and 361 bogies to Burma, Phillipines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Mozambique, Angola, and Zambia. The latest order being a score of six-coach DEMU (Diesel Electric Multiple Unit) rakes for Srilanka in 2010 -12 for R126 crore.
ICF’s product mix comprises of locomotive hauled passenger as well as special purpose viz. military ward cars for defence, OHE maintenace tower cars, double-decker coach, self-propelled accident relief trains etc. It has also the distinction of being the only facility in the world which builds self-propelled coaches with all three types of traction viz. electric, diesel-electric and diesel-hydraulic.
First dual voltage AC-DC EMU for Mumbai was rolled out in 2000-01, and recently 384 fully air-conditioned three-phase EMU coaches with automatic door closing mechanisms and other state-of-art passenger amenities, including 12 with indigenous propulsion system have been supplied to the Central Railway. They are presently undergoing extensive trials before being placed in active service, and are to be followed by another lot of 39 AC EMU 12 coach rakes for MUTP Phase-2 Project.
A brand new facility built a couple of years ago now churns out LHB (Linke-Hoffman-Buche) stainless steel body coaches. About 500 are programmed for manufacture this year for upgradation of premier routes to 160 kpmh speed, as had been announced by Suresh Prabhu in his last budget speech. Time is now ripe for an aggressive bid for exports to at least South-Asian and African nations which are badly in need of rail coaches, but are not rich enough to pay big bucks for ‘Bullet’ or other similar trains of high speed variety.
A SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) set up under railway ministry could leverage the vast resources of ICF, RCF, MCF and a host of ancillary units to not only earn foreign exchange and improve railway’s bottom line, but also provide a major boost to PM’s ‘Make-in-India’ initiative.
(RC Acharya is former member, Railway Board)
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe-...ilip-to-indian-railways-make-in-india/328747/
ashok321
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The trade between India & Pakistan stood at $339.43 million during the first two months of 2016-17 fiscal year, Parliament was informed today. Exports during April-May stood at $278.75 million and imports were aggregated at $60.68 million - Nirmala Sitharaman
To Pakistan: India sells 4, while buys 1
To Pakistan: India sells 4, while buys 1
Local_Legend
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Maruti Q1 profit soars 23% to Rs 1,486 cr
The auto major had posted a net profit of Rs. 1,208.1 crore for the same period in the previous fiscal.
Country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India on Tuesday reported 23 per cent jump in net profit for the first quarter to Rs 1,486.2 crore, its best-ever quarterly result, on the back of material cost reduction and higher non-operating income.
The auto major had posted a net profit of Rs. 1,208.1 crore for the same period in the previous fiscal.
Net sales rose by 12.1 per cent to Rs. 14,654.5 crore for the first quarter as against Rs. 13,078.3 crore last year, Maruti Suzuki India said in a statement.
“The profit was helped by a higher turnover, material cost reduction, higher non-operating income and lower depreciation.
Adverse foreign exchange movement reduced profits to some extent,” it added.
The firm said it sold 3, 48, 443 units during the quarter, a growth of 2.1 per cent a year ago. This includes 3, 22, 340 units in domestic market, a growth of 5.4 per cent.
Exports during the quarter stood at 26,103 units.
“The growth in the first two months of the quarter had been 10.2 per cent, but the unfortunate incident of fire at a key vendor of the company resulted in lower sales in June 2016,” the company said.
The company hopes to recover the lost sales during the course of the year, it added.
Maruti Suzuki India stock was trading at Rs. 4,575.00 on BSE, up 0.18 per cent from the previous close in late afternoon session.
http://www.thehindu.com/business/In...-soars-23-to-rs-1486-crore/article8901702.ece
The auto major had posted a net profit of Rs. 1,208.1 crore for the same period in the previous fiscal.
Country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India on Tuesday reported 23 per cent jump in net profit for the first quarter to Rs 1,486.2 crore, its best-ever quarterly result, on the back of material cost reduction and higher non-operating income.
The auto major had posted a net profit of Rs. 1,208.1 crore for the same period in the previous fiscal.
Net sales rose by 12.1 per cent to Rs. 14,654.5 crore for the first quarter as against Rs. 13,078.3 crore last year, Maruti Suzuki India said in a statement.
“The profit was helped by a higher turnover, material cost reduction, higher non-operating income and lower depreciation.
Adverse foreign exchange movement reduced profits to some extent,” it added.
The firm said it sold 3, 48, 443 units during the quarter, a growth of 2.1 per cent a year ago. This includes 3, 22, 340 units in domestic market, a growth of 5.4 per cent.
Exports during the quarter stood at 26,103 units.
“The growth in the first two months of the quarter had been 10.2 per cent, but the unfortunate incident of fire at a key vendor of the company resulted in lower sales in June 2016,” the company said.
The company hopes to recover the lost sales during the course of the year, it added.
Maruti Suzuki India stock was trading at Rs. 4,575.00 on BSE, up 0.18 per cent from the previous close in late afternoon session.
http://www.thehindu.com/business/In...-soars-23-to-rs-1486-crore/article8901702.ece
PARIKRAMA
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India discovers producible natural gas hydrates: US agency
PTI | Jul 26, 2016, 01.10 PM IST
WASHINGTON: India has discovered a large, highly enriched accumulations of natural gas hydrates in the Bay of Bengal that has the potential to be tapped, a top US agency which helped in this major discovery has said.
"Advances like the Bay of Bengal discovery will help unlock the global energy resource potential of gas hydrates as well help define the technology needed to safely produce them," said Walter Guidroz, coordinator of the US Geological Survey (USGS) Energy Resources Program coordinator.
USGS said this discovery was the result of the most comprehensive gas hydrate field venture in the world to date, made up of scientists from India, Japan and the US.
The scientists conducted ocean drilling, conventional sediment coring, pressure coring, downhole logging and analytical activities to assess the geologic occurrence, regional context and characteristics of gas hydrate deposits in the offshore of India, it said on Monday.
This research expedition was called the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 02. It is second joint exploration for gas hydrate potential in the Indian Ocean.
The first expedition, also a partnership between scientists from India and the US, discovered gas hydrate accumulations, but in formations that are currently unlikely to be producible, a statement said.
Natural gas hydrates are a naturally occurring, ice-like combination of natural gas and water found in the world''s oceans and polar regions.
Although it is possible to produce natural gas from gas hydrates, there are significant technical challenges, depending on the location and type of formation.
USGS said the second expedition focused the exploration and discovery of highly concentrated gas hydrate occurrences in sand reservoirs.
The gas hydrate discovered during the second expedition are located in coarse-grained sand-rich depositional systems in the Krishna-Godavari Basin and is made up of a sand-rich, gas-hydrate-bearing fan and channel-levee gas hydrate prospects.
The next steps for research will involve production testing in these sand reservoirs to determine if natural gas production is practical and economic, it said.
"The results from this expedition mark a critical step forward to understanding the energy resource potential of gas hydrates," said USGS Senior Scientist Tim Collett, who participated in the expedition.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...s-hydrates-US-agency/articleshow/53394611.cms
PTI | Jul 26, 2016, 01.10 PM IST
WASHINGTON: India has discovered a large, highly enriched accumulations of natural gas hydrates in the Bay of Bengal that has the potential to be tapped, a top US agency which helped in this major discovery has said.
"Advances like the Bay of Bengal discovery will help unlock the global energy resource potential of gas hydrates as well help define the technology needed to safely produce them," said Walter Guidroz, coordinator of the US Geological Survey (USGS) Energy Resources Program coordinator.
USGS said this discovery was the result of the most comprehensive gas hydrate field venture in the world to date, made up of scientists from India, Japan and the US.
The scientists conducted ocean drilling, conventional sediment coring, pressure coring, downhole logging and analytical activities to assess the geologic occurrence, regional context and characteristics of gas hydrate deposits in the offshore of India, it said on Monday.
This research expedition was called the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 02. It is second joint exploration for gas hydrate potential in the Indian Ocean.
The first expedition, also a partnership between scientists from India and the US, discovered gas hydrate accumulations, but in formations that are currently unlikely to be producible, a statement said.
Natural gas hydrates are a naturally occurring, ice-like combination of natural gas and water found in the world''s oceans and polar regions.
Although it is possible to produce natural gas from gas hydrates, there are significant technical challenges, depending on the location and type of formation.
USGS said the second expedition focused the exploration and discovery of highly concentrated gas hydrate occurrences in sand reservoirs.
The gas hydrate discovered during the second expedition are located in coarse-grained sand-rich depositional systems in the Krishna-Godavari Basin and is made up of a sand-rich, gas-hydrate-bearing fan and channel-levee gas hydrate prospects.
The next steps for research will involve production testing in these sand reservoirs to determine if natural gas production is practical and economic, it said.
"The results from this expedition mark a critical step forward to understanding the energy resource potential of gas hydrates," said USGS Senior Scientist Tim Collett, who participated in the expedition.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...s-hydrates-US-agency/articleshow/53394611.cms
Ankit Kumar 002
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15 Deen Dayalu coaches to roll out by month-end
Updated: July 27, 2016 06:01 IST | Special Correspondent
New look:The new coaches cost more given the additional features they sport.— Photo: PTI
Improved amenities on the coach would make travel comfortable, say officials
The Integral Coach Factory will be rolling out 415 Deen Dayalu coaches before the end of the year and 15 of them before the end of this month. The manufacture of these coaches, at the Integral Coach Factory in Perambur, was announced during the Railway Budget this year. These coaches will be deployed exclusively in long-distance trains in unreserved compartments.
Official sources said the coach had several additional features compared to the conventional general second class and even second class sleeper coaches and hence the cost of manufacture was slightly higher than the normal coaches. The cost of manufacturing a Deen Dayalu Coach is about Rs. 98 lakh each, while it cost about Rs. 93 lakh to manufacture the conventional general second class coaches.
According to them, they had manufactured only one Deen Dayalu coach so far and it was flagged off to New Delhi by the end of June. The same coach was unveiled by the Railway Minister at the national capital a couple of days ago.
Despite improved amenities on the coaches, including mobile recharge points in all the bays, two fire extinguishers, and water purifiers, the cost of travel in these coaches would not be increased, officials said.
Officials also hoped the new coaches would make commuting more comfortable.
http://m.thehindu.com/news/cities/c...es-to-roll-out-by-monthend/article8903699.ece
Updated: July 27, 2016 06:01 IST | Special Correspondent
New look:The new coaches cost more given the additional features they sport.— Photo: PTI
Improved amenities on the coach would make travel comfortable, say officials
The Integral Coach Factory will be rolling out 415 Deen Dayalu coaches before the end of the year and 15 of them before the end of this month. The manufacture of these coaches, at the Integral Coach Factory in Perambur, was announced during the Railway Budget this year. These coaches will be deployed exclusively in long-distance trains in unreserved compartments.
Official sources said the coach had several additional features compared to the conventional general second class and even second class sleeper coaches and hence the cost of manufacture was slightly higher than the normal coaches. The cost of manufacturing a Deen Dayalu Coach is about Rs. 98 lakh each, while it cost about Rs. 93 lakh to manufacture the conventional general second class coaches.
According to them, they had manufactured only one Deen Dayalu coach so far and it was flagged off to New Delhi by the end of June. The same coach was unveiled by the Railway Minister at the national capital a couple of days ago.
Despite improved amenities on the coaches, including mobile recharge points in all the bays, two fire extinguishers, and water purifiers, the cost of travel in these coaches would not be increased, officials said.
Officials also hoped the new coaches would make commuting more comfortable.
http://m.thehindu.com/news/cities/c...es-to-roll-out-by-monthend/article8903699.ece
