Delhi Power Procurement Group set up
New Delhi: The Delhi Power Procurement Group (DPPG) has been set up which also involves private power distribution companies in the national capital in the purchase of power.

This DPPG formed in line with the advice given by the Union Power Ministry, will be headed by M P Aggarwal, general manager of state-owned Delhi Transco Limited and will begin operations from April two, according to an official release.

The power discoms NDPL, BRPL and BYPL, which have so far been getting power at subsidised rates from Transco, will now sign power purchase agreements directly with the generating companies, CPSUs and power utilities of other states.

They will work out the requirement of power and surpluses as per the load profile, which would be approved by the procurement panel for procuring as well as selling surplus power.

The distributing companies will be represented on the procurement panel by Sanjay Srivastav (BYPL), Sunil Kakkar (BRPL) and Devender Daruwala (NDPL).

The DPPG, that will have a tenure of four years, has been set up as the Central Electricity Act, 2003, does not allow any agency to simultaneously transmit and trade in the power sector, which Transco was doing till now.
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AEPC wants govt support for apparel exports
New Delhi: The Apparel Export Promotion Council wants support for apparel exports, on the lines given to the fisheries, leather and handloom sector, while expressing confidence that the 9.5 billion dollar target set by the Textiles Ministry for fiscal 2006-07 will be met.

The Ministry of Textiles has set 9.5 billion dollars as a fixed export target for the readymade garment (RMG) sector.

AEPC chairman Vijay Agarwal said government support is needed for the industry to maintain a steady growth rate and meet its targets. He added that apparel exports needed to be included for special support like fisheries, leather, handloom and handicraft products to boost the sector.

Exports stood at 6.57 billion dollars in 2004-2005 and 8.62 billion dollars in 2005-2006. The 9.5 billion target set for 2006-07 would be achieved as well, he added.

More than 75 per cent of the country's exports are to the US and EU and efforts are being made to explore new markets. While the industry's focus is on RMG (Ready Made Garments) cotton, the demand pattern in the world market reflects dominance of man-made fibre.
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India, China on top in Asian FDI list in Africa
New York: India and China have emerged as significant sources of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa even as the overall percentage of FDI from Asian countries targeted towards the continent remains low, the United Nations has said.

A UNCTAD-UNDP study estimates that outward FDI from developing Asian economies reached a record USD 90 billion last year, but Africa could claim only a small percentage.

FDI is a significant source of external finance and a means of integrating into the global marketplace, the study said, adding so far Africa has been left out of this process.

This may be attributed to small market size, poor infrastructure, weak regulatory framework, debt problems, and in some cases, political instability, it said.

The study said Africa has the potential to become an important investment location for Asian companies, in part because of the complementary nature of economic development between Asian and African countries.
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