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Southwest monsoon to be late by a week
Thiruvananthapuram: The southwest monsoon will be delayed by a week, but the overall rainfall is expected to be `near normal', according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The new forecast model suggests that the onset will take place on June 7 with a margin of error of three days on either side, IMD officials have indicated.

The seasonal weather system is normally known to make a landfall over South Kerala on June 1. There is no one-to-one correspondence between the onset date and the subsequent performance of monsoon during the season (June to September) over the country as a whole. In spite of the expected delay in the onset, the seasonal rainfall is expected to be `near normal' as stated in the first forecast by the IMD issued on April 20.

This long-range forecast had assessed the rainfall as 98 per cent of the long period average with a model error of plus or minus five per cent.
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UPA and Left parties review govt. performance
New Delhi: The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) held a marathon meeting with representatives of the four Left parties to take stock of the Government's performance during its first year in office.

The meeting lasted for more than eight hour.

Chaired by the UPA Chairperson, Ms Sonia Gandhi, the meeting, which was held at the residence of the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, discussed six broad themes. The Ministers who made presentations to the Left leaders include the Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, the Defence Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, the External Affairs Minister, K. Natwar Singh, the Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, the HRD Minister, Arjun Singh and the Labour Minister, K. Chandrasekhara Rao.

The Left leaders who attended the meeting include the CPI (M) General Secretary, Prakash Karat, the CPI General Secretary, A.B. Bardhan, the RSP General Secretary, Abani Roy, and the Forward Bloc General Secretary, Debabrata Biswas.
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NELP V attracts thirty two companies
New Delhi: Data worth Rs20 crore have already been sold under the fifth round of the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP V) announced on January 4, 2005. The bids are to close on May 31.

Data purchase is a prelude to the response to final bidding, and so far, 32 companies have bought data. The companies evincing interest are Total (France), Petronas (Malaysia), Statoil (Norway), ENI (Italy), Talisman (Canada), Petrobars (Brazil) and British Petroleum. Conventional buyers such as ONGC however are yet to buy the data being offered, sources have said.

The response has surpassed the previous rounds of NELP. Under the previous four rounds of NELP, production-sharing contracts (PSCs) have been signed for 90 blocks. The fifth round, which is underway, has been opened for inviting bids for 20 exploration blocks.

Out of these 20 blocks, six are in offshore areas along the eastern and western coast of the country and 12 are onshore.

The fifth round incorporate some new features such as an establishment of a single-window facility in the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas to facilitate investor interaction with other authorities concerned after the PSC is signed.
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