Railway Ministry launches Clean My Coach Service
Railway Ministry launches Clean My Coach Service to ensure cleanliness in trains.
As per the scheme, for any cleaning requirement in the coach, the passengers will have to send an SMS on mobile number 58888. The Ministry said, passenger’s request is immediately acknowledged via SMS on mobile phone along with a code. A message is also sent by the server to the mobile number of on board house keeping staff travelling on the same train along with the details of the passengers…
Pakistan team nods to play World T20
Pakistan cricket team will come to India for the World T20 on Saturday morning.
Pakistan Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Friday gave the ‘green signal’ for the Pakistan Cricket Team to participate in the World T20 being held in India. The team is likely to depart tonight or tomorrow morning for Kolkata announced Najam Sethi.The decision had been pending in light of security concerns for the Pakistani team in India.
Executive Committee Chairman Najam Sethi told journalists on Friday evening that following a meeting between the Pakistan High Commissioner in India Abdul Basit and the Indian Home Secretary, India assured that Pakistan will be provided security during the tour. Pakistan’s Interior Ministry cleared the team’s travel to India for the tournament, the Pakistan Cricket Board said on Friday evening. “The interior minister has given permission to send the Pakistan cricket team to play the Twenty20 on the basis of solid assurances received from chief minister of West Bengal and the… union home secretary and the home minister (in India),” PCB executive committee chairman Najam Sethi told reporters.
Pakistan had earlier said its men’s and women’s cricket teams would travel to India only after a public guarantee on the safety of its players.
Speaking to media on Friday, Home Minister Rajnath Singh assured foolproof security to Pakistan cricket team. Thus following the assurance from home minister publicly, the Pakistan interior ministry has prompted into action and a meeting over the decision is underway.Earlier, Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Shahryar Khan, said that the final decision rests with Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar.
Country is staring at a historic opputunity – GAIL Voice |  |
- Country is staring at a historic opputunity
- Cabinet approves Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana – Scheme for Providing Free LPG connections to Women from BPL Households
- Policy for the Grant of Extension to the Production Sharing Contracts signed by Government awarding small, medium sized and discovered fields to private Joint Ventures
- Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP)
- Decision on Marketing including Pricing freedom for the gas to be produced from Discoveries in High Pressure-High Temperature, Deepwater and Ultra Deepwater Areas
| Country is staring at a historic opputunity
Posted: 10 Mar 2016 11:37 PM PST
GAIL (India) Limited’s Chairman and Managing Director, Mr. BC Tripathi speaks to Fortune India about the great opportunity ahead in the gas industry. Click the image the read the complete interview
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| Cabinet approves Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana – Scheme for Providing Free LPG connections to Women from BPL Households
Posted: 10 Mar 2016 04:37 AM PST
New Delhi; March 10, 2016
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana – Scheme for Providing Free LPG connections to Women from BPL Households. Under the scheme, Rs 8000 crore has been earmarked for providing five crore LPG connections to BPL households. The Scheme provides a financial support of Rs 1600 for each LPG connection to the BPL households. The identification of eligible BPL families will be made in consultation with the State Governments and the Union Territories. This Scheme would be implemented over three years, namely, the FY 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19.
This is the first time in the history of the country that the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas would implement a welfare scheme benefitting crores of women belonging to the poorest households.
In our country, the poor have limited access to cooking gas (LPG). The spread of LPG cylinders has been predominantly in the urban and semi-urban areas with the coverage mostly in middle class and affluent households. But there are serious health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuels. According to WHO estimates, about 5 lakh deaths in India alone due to unclean cooking fuels. Most of these premature deaths were due to non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer. Indoor air pollution is also responsible for a significant number of acute respiratory illnesses in young children. According to experts, having an open fire in the kitchen is like burning 400 cigarettes an hour.
Providing LPG connections to BPL households will ensure universal coverage of cooking gas in the country. This measure will empower women and protect their health. It will reduce drudgery and the time spent on cooking. It will also provide employment for rural youth in the supply chain of cooking gas.
In this direction, Finance Minister in Budget speech on 29.2.2016 had announced a budgetary provision of Rs. 2000 crore for 2016-17 to provide deposit free LPG connections to 1.5 crore women belonging to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families. Further, the Budget announced that the Scheme will be continued for two more years to cover 5 crore households.
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| Policy for the Grant of Extension to the Production Sharing Contracts signed by Government awarding small, medium sized and discovered fields to private Joint Ventures
Posted: 10 Mar 2016 04:35 AM PST
New Delhi; March 10, 2016
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved a policy for grant of extension to the Production Sharing Contracts for small and medium sized discovered fields. This extension policy deals with 28 fields. Of these 27 fields (small and medium sized fields) were awarded as a result of two rounds of bidding during 1991 to 1993, and one (PY-3) was separately put to bidding as discovered field. For many of these fields the recoverable reserves are not likely to be produced within the remaining duration of contract period of these PSCs. Further, in certain fields where additional recovery of hydrocarbons can be obtained only through capital intensive Enhanced Oil Recovery / Improved Oil Recovery (EOR/IOR) Projects, the payback period would extend beyond the current duration of PSC.
The Government share of Profit Petroleum during the extended period of contract shall be 10% higher for both small and medium sized fields, than the share as calculated using the normal PSC provisions in any year during the extended period and hence will vary from year to year based on Investment Multiple (IM) /Post Tax Rate of Return (PTRR). During the extended period of Contract, the royalty and cess shall be payable at prevailing rates (of nomination regime). Royalty and cess will be payable by all the contractors in proportion to their participating interest. This will lead to additional government revenue of Rs. 2890 Crores on account of additional royalty and cess as compared to present concessional regime in these blocks.
Besides these fiscal terms and conditions, the policy brings out detailed guidelines regarding pre-requisites for grant of extension, criterion for evaluation of request, time frame for consideration of request, duration of extension, seat of arbitration etc.
Production Enhancement:
The policy for PSC extension will lead to production of hydrocarbons beyond the present term of PSC. The reserves which are likely to get monetized during the extended period are of the order of 15.7 MMT of oil and 20.6 MMT of Oil Equivalent of gas. The reserves associated with this field would lead to monetization of reserves worth USD 8.25 Billion (around 53000 Crore). The monetization of these reserves would require an additional investment of USD 3 to 4 Billion.
Employment Generation Potential:
The extension of these contracts is expected to bring extra investments in the fields and would generate both direct (related to field operations) and indirect employment (related to service industry associated with these fields).
The extension of contracts would also envisage that the present employment levels in these fields are maintained for a longer period of time.
Presently, medium sized fields are employing around 300 personnel for field operations while for small sized fields this would be around 40 to 60 persons.
The investments in these fields may also lead to construction and laying of facilities which would employ several unskilled labourers, over and above the skilled labourers.
Transparency and Minimum Government and Maximum Governance:
With a view to enable the E&P companies to take investment decisions for exploitation of the remaining reserves this extension policy has been approved so as to grant extensions in a fair and transparent manner.
The policy aims at bringing out clear terms of extension so that the resources can be expeditiously exploited in the interest of energy security of the country and improving the investment climate.
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| Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP)
Posted: 10 Mar 2016 04:33 AM PST
New Delhi; March 10, 2016
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP).
Four main facets of this policy are:
iii. easy to administer revenue sharing model and
The decision will enhance domestic oil & gas production, bring substantial investment in the sector and generate sizable employment. The policy is also aimed at enhancing transparency and reducing administrative discretion.
The uniform licence will enable the contractor to explore conventional as well as unconventional oil and gas resources including CBM, shale gas/oil, tight gas and gas hydrates under a single license. The concept ofOpen Acreage Policy will enable E&P companies choose the blocks from the designated area.
Present fiscal system of production sharing based on Investment Multiple and cost recovery /production linked payment will be replaced by a easy to administer revenue sharing model. The earlier contracts were based on the concept of profit sharing where profits are shared between Government and the contractor after recovery of cost. Under the profit sharing methodology, it became necessary for the Government to scrutinize cost details of private participants and this led to many delays and disputes. Under the new regime, the Government will not be concerned with the cost incurred and will receive a share of the gross revenue from the sale of oil, gas etc. This is in tune with Government’s policy of “Ease of Doing Business”.
Recognising the higher risks and costs involved in exploration and production from offshore areas, lower royalty rates for such areas have been provided as compared to NELP royalty rates to encourage exploration and production. A graded system of royalty rates have been introduced, in which royalty rates decreases from shallow water to deepwater and ultra-deep water. At the same time, royalty rate for onland areas have been kept intact so that revenues to the state governments are not affected. On the lines of NELP, cess and import duty will not be applicable on blocks awarded under the new policy. This policy also provides formarketing freedom for crude oil and natural gas produced from these blocks. This is in tune with Government’s policy of “Minimum Government –Maximum Governance”
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| Decision on Marketing including Pricing freedom for the gas to be produced from Discoveries in High Pressure-High Temperature, Deepwater and Ultra Deepwater Areas
Posted: 10 Mar 2016 04:31 AM PST
New Delhi; March 10, 2016
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approveda proposal to grant marketing including pricing freedom for the gas produced from High Pressure High Temperature, Deepwater and Ultra Deepwater areas. The marketing freedom so granted would be capped by a ceiling price arrived at on the basis of landed price of alternative fuels.
The policy guidelines would be applicable to future discoveries as well as existing discoveries which are yet to commence commercial production as on 1.1.2016. However, in case of existing discoveries which are yet to commence commercial production as on 1.1.2016, if there is pending arbitration or litigation filed by the contractors directly pertaining to gas pricing covering such fields, this policy guideline shall be made applicable only on the conclusion/ withdrawal of such litigation/ arbitration and the attendant legal proceedings. All gas fields currently under production will continue to be governed by the pricing regime which is currently applicable to them.
The ceiling price in US $ per mmbtu (GCV) shall be the, lowest of the (i) Fuel oil import landed price (ii) Weighted average import landed price of substitute fuels (0.3 x price of coal + 0.4 x price of fuel oil + 0.3 x price of naphtha) and (iii) LNG import landed price, whichever is lower.
The landed price-based ceiling will be calculated once in six months and applied prospectively for the next six months. The price data used for calculation of ceiling price in US $ per mmbtu (GCV) shall be the trailing four quarters data with one quarter lag. Director General of Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (DG, PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas will notify the periodic revision of gas price ceiling under these guidelines.
Production Enhancement:
The decision is expected to improve the viability of some of the discoveries already made in such areas and also would lead to monetization of future discoveries as well. The reserves which are expected to get monetized are of the order of 6.75 tcf or 190 BCM or around 35 mmscmd considering a production profile of 15 years. The associated reserves are valued at 28.35 Billion USD (1,80,000 Crore) The country’s present gas production is around 90 mmscmd. Besides, these there are around 10 discoveries which have been notified and whose potential is yet to be established.
Employment Generation:
The decision is expected to result into monetization of the 28 discoveries mentioned above which can result into substantial investment by the contractors.
There would be substantial employment generated during the development phase of these discoveries and a part of it would continue during the production.
ONGC has estimated that in the development of discoveries in the block KG-DWN-98/2, there would be deployment of 3850 direct skilled labours. Besides, these there would be around 20,000 persons required during the construction phase. GSPC presently in the block KG-OSN-2001/3 is deploying around 690 personnel in the block.
Transparency and Minimum Government and Maximum Governance:
Government will not interfere in the price fixation for every block covered under the policy.
Provision of ceiling to balance the requirements of consuming sectors
Incentivize upstream investment and not getting into unnecessary details.
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30th Federation Cup 2016 – SECR Bilaspur women and IOB men remain undefeated; Chhattisgarh’s Poonam has another huge game
Bambolim, 11th March 2016: Entering the third day of the 30th Federation Cup 2016, South-east Central Railways, Bilaspur (SECR) women were high on confidence after pulling off two close victories on the first two days. Today morning, they took on a young Delhi team that did not have the services of the Singh sisters.
One of the top scorers in the women’s division, Seema Singh of SECR did not start today’s game, with the coach choosing to limit her minutes keeping in mind future battles. In a low scoring first half, Delhi managed to keep pace with SECR trailing only by 4 points (30-26) at halftime. Monika Vats contributed 12 points for Delhi, while Sahiba had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. But third quarter onwards, SECR switched to a higher gear, pulling away from the Delhi team. Almost all their points came from within the 3-point line, including 42 points in the paint. SECR’s Sangeeta Kaur (23 points) put her mid-range game on display, knocking down close jumpers and finishing at the basket. Akansha Singh pulled down 17 rebounds and contributed 13 points for SECR, who registered a comfortable 62-47 victory. Having won all three of their games so far, SECR have sealed a berth in the semifinals.
The North-western Railways, Jaipur (NWR) team took on Kerala police in the first men’s clash of the day. Both teams entered the game with sub-par records, fighting with Army Red for the second spot in Group B after IOB. It was a battle between evenly matched sides with the scores remaining neck-and-neck throughout. The starters for both teams played most of the game and, with little or no bench contribution, scored almost the entire points of their team. Jaipur relied on their bigger frontcourt to score 60 of their points in the paint. Kerala relied on their 3-point shooting, with a combined 9 triples coming from Anu Mohandas (17 points) and Jomon Jose (19 points). Shreejith Nair put up 21 points for Kerala and Jijo Thankachan had an excellent all-round game with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists. For NWR, Prashant Singh had 32 points, including 4 of 7 shooting from 3-point range. NWR’s Abdul Rahim Khan (20 points, 11 rebounds) and Jainesh Patel (16 points, 11 rebounds) both had double-doubles. The game came down to the final few possessions with little to separate the teams in the final minutes. Abdul Rahim Khan was big down the stretch for NWR knocking down clutch buckets including an and-1 play that gave his team a 3-point lead and the 91-88 victory, leaving Kerala Police winless in the tournament so far.
The second women’s game of Day 3 was a Group A clash between Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. Once again, Chhattisgarh centre Poonam Chaturvedi was the difference-maker between the two teams. Maharashtra had no answer for the 6 foot 9 inch centre, who was unstoppable in the paint. Chhattisgarh’s game plan was simple – lob the ball to Poonam and let her do the rest. They worked their plan to perfection today against the undersized Maharashtra squad. Poonam ended up scoring a whopping 65 points to go with a massive 23 rebounds. After the first five minutes, Chhattisgarh led in double-digits through most of the contest. For Maharashtra, Manish Dange (29 points) and Sruthi Menon (26 points) fought valiantly, but there was hardly any contribution from the rest of their team. Chhattisgarh’s Riya B and Saranjeet Kaur occassionaly peppered Poonam’s scoring with a 3-pointer or a transition bucket, helping Poonam and their team cruise to a 107-82 victory.
In a clash between the top two teams in Group B, Indian Overseas Bank, Chennai (IOB) and Army Red squared off early in the afternoon. Both teams had the size and speed to match up against each other in what was expected to be an enthralling affair. However, IOB turned the game into a one-sided match yet again, leaving Army in the dust right from the first quarter. IOB seemed like the more skilled and experienced unit using good ball movement to knock down open shots. Pratham Singh’s outside shooting was on-point yet again as he drained 5 triples off 9 attempts. IOB’s veteran centre Vineeth Mathew hurt Army on the inside, working in the post on his way to 17 points and 15 rebounds. Defensively, IOB managed to contain Army with active hands, close out on shooters and clogging the passing lanes. Siva Balan had 5 steals for IOB and finished with a decent all-round game that included 11 points and 5 assists. Mayur Bhat was the lone high scorer for the Army with 22 points in the losing effort. IOB achieved a third blowout victory 71-47, giving them an assured spot in the semifinals.
Late Evening Day 2- Goan teams outclassed
In the last two games on Day 2, the Goan women and men teams lost to Maharashtra and Army Red respectively. Goan women found the going tough against a fast paced Maharashtra team which kept leaking away for the break. Athletic point guard Shaheen Rebelo was the lone bright spot for Goa, scoring 21 of her team’s 32 points. For Maharashtra, Shruti Menon scored 21 points in just 20 minutes which contributed in her team increasing its lead through each quarter. The final score read 75-32 in favour of Maharashtra.
The final match of the day was between Don Bosco Oratory (DBO), Goa men and Army Red. Army was playing its second game of the day, but the side looked keen and fresh taking on the home side. Don Bosco’s Aaron Ferns, arguably one of the shortest players in the competition, showed his heart of steel, willing himself to 21 points that included some tough floaters in the paint. Shawn Soares had 13 points in the 51-74 loss.
RESULTS FROM DAY 3 (upto 3.00 pm)
Women:
Group A:
Chhattisgarh (Poonam Chaturvedi 65pts and 23 rbs, Saranjeet Kaur 15, Riya B 11) btMaharashtra (Manisha Dange 29, Sruthi Menon 26) 107-82 (33-16, 25-25, 28-19, 21-22)
Group B:
South-east Central Railways, Bilaspur (Sangeeta Kaur 23, Akansha Singh 13pts and 17rbs, Nikita Godamkar 9) bt Delhi (Monika Vats 12, Sahiba 10pts and 11rbs) 62-47(17-20, 13-6, 20-13, 12-8)
Men:
Group B:
North-western Railways, Jaipur (Prashant Singh 33, Abdul Rahim Khan 20, Jainesh Patel 16) bt Kerala Police (Jijo Thankachan 22, Shreejith Nair 21, Jomon Jose 19) 91-88 (22-17, 14-30, 34-18, 21-23)
Indian Overseas Bank, Chennai (Pratham Singh 22pts and 10rbs, Vineeth Mathew 17pts and 15rbs, Siva Balan 11pts 5asts 5stls) btArmy Red (Mayur Bhat 22, Ramesh K 10) 71-47 (18-9, 19-17, 20-7, 14-14)
LATE EVENING RESULTS FROM DAY 2 (10TH MARCH)
Women:
Group A:
Maharashtra (Sruthi Menon 21 pts, Neha Sahu 13 rbs) bt Goa (Shaheen Rebelo 21 pts, Saachia Nathan 6 pts) 75-32 [31-10, 14-10, 15-6, 15-6]
Men:
Group B:
Army Red (Sashi Kumar 19 pts & 13 rbs, Amal James 14 pts, Vivekananda Das 12 pts) bt Don Bosco Oratory, Goa (Aaron Ferns 20 pts, Shawn Soares 13 pts) 74-51 [24-10, 24-11, 15-11, 11-19]
PRESS INVITATION
7fireflies Production LLP cordially invites
You to attend the cover of Press conference and
To share with you the uniqueness of their latest Hindi Film
CUTE KAMEENA
To be addressed by:
Nishant Malkani (‘Bezubaan Ishq’ film fame)
Kirti Kulhari (‘Jal’ film fame)
Payal Dev (singer, sang in ‘Grand Masti’ & ‘Bajirao Mastani’)
Payal Dev (singer, sang in ‘Grand Masti’ & ‘Bajirao Mastani’)
Time : 2:30 P.M
Date : 12th March (Saturday)
Venue : F-Bar, Block N, Connaught Place
Date : 12th March (Saturday)
Venue : F-Bar, Block N, Connaught Place
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