Cooking
gas, kerosene subsidies to stay
New Delhi: Subsidies on kerosene and cooking gas
will continue after a previously imposed March deadline,
and there are no plans to cut prices of the two fuels,
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said on Monday.
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ECS
approves award of 52 oil, gas blocks
New Delhi: The Empowered Committee of Secretaries,
comprising of top officials from petroleum, law and finance
ministries, on Monday approved awarding 52 oil and gas
blocks offered in NELP-VI, including 19 blocks under the
sixth round of New Exploration Licensing Policy.
Oil
and Natural Gas Corp and its partners emerged as the top
winner of NELP-VI with 25 blocks, including 12 deep-sea
blocks, while Reliance Industries will get seven deep-sea
blocks, officials said.
Santos
will get two deep-sea blocks. Of the six shallow water
blocks on offer, ONGC and its partners will walk away
with three blocks, while Focus-Newbury, Petronas and Petrogas
will get one each.
ONGC
and its partner are set to get 10 onland blocks while
OIL and partners have been recommended for seven blocks.
Essar, GSPC and Adani will get two each and Naftogaz-RNRL
one.
Although
ECS approved the award of blocks, it is not yet clear
whether the government will ask these firms to change
the government's share.
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Non-tariff
barriers will improve Indo-Russian trade
New Delhi: A report on `deepening India-Russia
trade relations' released by industry association CII
ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin's India visit
later this month, has pointed out that the proposed comprehensive
economic cooperation agreement (CECA) between the two
countries will work only if a viable and shorter route
for trade is worked out soon.
"The
greatest hindrance to trade between India and Russia is
the lack of trade routes and the North-South Corridor
needs greater attention from both countries the report
said.
The
agreement on India-Russia transport corridor may help
in reducing transport costs, the study added pointing
out that the present route, which passes through the Suez
Canal and enters into the Russian port of St. Petersburg
via Kotka (Finland) and Rotterdam (Netherlands), is long
and time consuming. The new route would comprise of sea
and land links across India, Iran and Russia and will
shorten travel time by as much as ten days. The new route
could extend from Mumbai- Bandar Abbas (Iran)-Astrakhan
(Russia), the study suggested.
India-Russia
trade grew by 41 percent at $ 2.76 billion in 2005-06,
over the previous year. The two countries have set a target
of touching $ 10 billion by 2010.
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Nashik
emerging as big IT destination
Pune: Nashik with its good human resource pool
and low real estate cost is emerging as an IT destination
with the opening of its first IT Park.
Kiran
Karnik, president of Nasscom at the launch of the IT Park,
said that as Bangalore, Mumbai and Pune are reaching saturation
levels, BPOs were looking to move to new destinations
and cities such as Nashik, Bhubaneswar and Mangalore should
aggressively market themselves. "Initially only back-office
jobs will move to these cities but there was scope to
move up the value chain in a few years time." He
said Nashik needed an international airport and good connectivity
to Mumbai through superfast trains that will take only
two hours to reach Mumbai.
Vascon
Engineers has set up V-Tech IT Park, the first private
IT park of Nashik in association with Nashik's Sanklecha
Constructions, R Vasudevan, chairman, Vascon Engineers
said. Nashik offered the advantage of low manpower cost
and lower real estate costs and at the same time.
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