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India-Iran
gas pipeline project: International consortium company
likely
New Delhi: At the conclusion of the two-day first
India-Iran Special Joint Working Group, the Iranian Deputy
Petroleum Minister for International Affairs, M.H. Nejad
Hosseinian, has said that the framework of the proposed
pipeline outlining the roadmap for completion of the project
is likely to be finalised by December end.
The framework will also indicate whether each country
would go separately in the project or an international
consortium company would be floated for the purpose.
Agreeing that the project cost had gone up by 20 per cent
to 30 per cent from the initial estimates because of higher
steel prices, Hosseinian, however, reiterated that the
project was the cheapest and the best way for assuring
energy supplies to India and Pakistan. Optimistic about
meeting the time frame for commencement of the project,
he said gas supplies to both India and Pakistan could
commence within five years of signing of the pact between
the three countries.
"The designing of the pipeline would take 12-18 months
after the appointment of international consortium and
construction will take another four years thereafter,"
he stated. The proposed pipeline is expected to have a
capacity of 140-150 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas
per day. This would be shared between India and Pakistan.
While India has indicated it would buy 60 to 90 mcm per
day, Pakistan is looking at buying 10-60 mcm per day,
he added.
Meanwhile, India is planning to appoint a financial consultant
for the project and will follow it up by appointing two
separate legal and technical consultants, said Talmiz
Ahmed, Additional Secretary for International Cooperation,
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. He, however, clarified
that the financial consultant will play the main role
in framing the roadmap for the project. "GAIL (India)
Ltd and Indian Oil Corporation will appoint legal and
technical consultants to the project. Since our companies
have the technical expertise, we may not need outside
technical consultants," he added.
An Indian technical team would visit Tehran later this
month to review the pre-feasibility report on the project,
prepared by National Iranian Gas Export Co and BHP Billiton
Plc. "The next meeting of the India-Iran joint working
group will be held in Tehran in September," he added.
On the basis of the recommendations of the financial consultants,
there would be a preliminary understanding on the preferred
project structure by early November 2005. Once there was
agreement on the project structure between the three countries,
the trilateral framework agreement would be finalised
by the end of this year, he said.
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Cabinet
clears eight bills
New Delhi: With the Cabinet clearing eight bills yesterday,
Information and Broadcasting minister S. Jaipal Reddy
has said that special efforts would be made to pass the
modified Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Bill
of 2005 in the current session itself.
''The modifications will eliminate the possibility of
misusing the proposed law by relatives of the husband
to further victimise and harass the wife or the woman
living in a relationship like marriage,'' said a government
statement.
The other bills approved by the Cabinet were:
- Prevention
and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in
Animals that would help establish ''Controlled'' and
''Eradicated'' areas, where livestock development would
be done to encourage exports of livestock and livestock
products, including frozen semen and embryos of Indian
origin.
-
Food Safety & Standards Bill for an integrated food
law that would eliminate a ''multiplicity'' of laws
and regulators in the sector while ensuring safety and
standards.
-
Amendment to Banking Companies (Acquisition & Transfer
of Undertakings) Acts of 1970 and 1980, whereby the
number of government directors in the state-run banks
would be increased from two to four, while restricting
the number of shareholders' directors to three. It also
proposes to set up a financial restructuring authority
for potentially weak banks and make changes to enhance
the flexibility of the boards.
- Amendment
in the Indian Medical Council Act of 1956.
-
Amendment in Khadi and Village Industries Act of 1956.
-
Amendment to the Railways Act of 1989 to incorporate
a Rail Land Development Authority that would check encroachments
and put surplus railway land to proper use.
-
Amendment in the Hindu Succession Act of 2004 to ''correct
the inheritance rights of women'' under the Mitakshra.
The
Cabinet also approved the National Plan of Action for
Children that sets goals on all indicators relating to
survival, health, education, development and protection
of kids.
It gave its nod to a pact with Nepal on mutual legal assistance
in investigation, prosecution and suppression of crimes
related to terrorism, as well as, offences concerning
revenue and international transfer of currency, capital
or payments.
India has similar agreements with the US, the UK, Canada,
Russia, France and the UAE.
The Cabinet also gave ex-post facto approval to an accord
on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters
with China, whereby both will share information and intelligence.
It cleared the adoption and signing of the revised text
of the Bangkok Agreement as the ''Asia Pacific Trade Agreement''
that seeks to promote cooperation through trade liberalisation.
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Rs.7,500
crore fund for setting up 25 textile parks
Kolkata: The textiles ministry has set up a Rs7,500-crore
fund to build 25 textile and apparel parks in the country,
which will be completed in two years.
Secretary in the textile ministry R Poornalingam, at an
interactive meeting organised by the Bengal National Chamber
of Commerce & Industry (BNCCI) said the Centre has
initiated a number of promotional schemes to improve Indian
textile products so that they can become more competitive
and benefit from the withdrawal of the quota regime under
the multi-fibre agreement.
Poornalingam added the average expenditure for each textile
or apparel park on various subsidy accounts would be Rs300
crore, including Rs40 crore as grant for infrastructure
development and interest, subsidies on purchase of machineries,
raw materials, marketing and export initiatives etc.
The Infrastructure & Leasing Financial Services Ltd
(ILFS), will act as a nodal agency to monitor the entire
park project and also help individual entrepreneurs of
the parks get bank loans and help increase exports, he
said. Poornalingam added that the Jute Technological Mission,
with an outlay of Rs134 crore, is supposed to start operations
in 15-20 days.
Poornalingam said India's textile export target has been
fixed 25% higher at $15 billion for 2005-06, as against
US$13bn last year. He also said the government has set
a target to increase textiles exports to $50 billion by
2007.
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ISMA
and oil PSUs sign pact for sustained off take of ethanol
New Delhi: The Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC), on
behalf of all State-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs),
has signed an agreement with the Indian Sugar Mills Association
(ISMA) for sustained off-take of ethanol for blending
it with petrol.
"Under the MoU, we have agreed to buy 4,34,000 kilolitres
(kl) of ethanol from ISMA at a rate of Rs19 a litre. Of
the total quantity, initially 74,000 kl is being contracted
for Uttar Pradesh," N.G. Kannan, Director Marketing
of IOC, said.
Tenders are to be invited for ethanol supplies in Haryana
and Punjab shortly.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Union Petroleum
Minister, Mani Shankar Aiyar, said the assurance of supplies
at competitive rates would ensure sustainability of the
programme. With this, the Petroleum Ministry was hopeful
of rolling out petrol-blended with five per cent ethanol,
which is a green fuel used in several countries such as
Brazil, Australia and the US.
India had introduced blended petrol using ethanol derived
from sugarcane three years back. But due to erratic supplies
and issues of pricing, the OMCs had gradually petered
off the scheme of introducing ethanol-blended petrol across
the country in phases.
Initially, under the programme supplying ethanol blended
petrol is being revived in the nine sugarcane-producing
states and four union territories including Maharashtra,
Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa,
Uttranchal, Haryana and Punjab.
Under the new agreement ISMA members would have to commit
a fixed amount of ethanol for blending with petrol.
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