Archive for June, 2007

Update on Ranchi-Vijaywada highway

PMGSY, Vijaywada-Ranchi highway 2 Comments »

New Indian Express reports on a response given in the assembly regrading the status of the Ranch-Vijaywada highway. Following are some excerpts:

Work on the Orissa part of the Visakhapatnam-Ranchi Highway would be started after the detailed project report (DPR) is cleared by the Centre, Works Minister AU Singhdeo informed the Assembly on Friday. … the Minister said that 1,219 km of the highway would pass through Orissa. The road would connect Motu, Malkangiri, Koraput, Aska, Boudh, Keonjhar and Tiring. Singhdeo said that 237 km of the road will be national highway, 106 km would be under the Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and 215 km would be constructed with World Bank funding adding DPR is being prepared for 610 km. … the Minister said that 167 km of the road would pass through Malkangiri, 138 km through Koraput and 127 km through Rayagada districts respectively. It would pass through tribal and backward districts in which the Naxalites have spread their base. Tenders have been floated for 64.3 km long Malkangiri-Jeypore road. Besides, work has already been started for 80 km-long Phulbani-Bhanjanagar road with Rs 20 crore estimate. SMEC International Private Limited has been entrusted the survey work for by-pass to Koraput town.

Telegraph describes the route as follows:

Vijayawada- Kodar- Khammam- Motu- Malkangiri- Jeypore- Koraput- Rayagada- Digapahandi- Aska- Phulbani- Boudhi- Deogarh- Keonjhar- Tiring- Hata- Chaibasa- Chakradharpur- Khunti- Ranchi.

PMGSY in Orissa.

IAY, PMGSY, Roads, highways and Bus stands, RURAL & SPECIAL PROGRAMS, SGRY Comments Off on PMGSY in Orissa.

Telegraph has reported on it. Following are some excerpts.

… the Union rural development ministry has released in one go Rs 466 crore towards Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), …

He told the media that Rs 1,684 crore had been sanctioned for Orissa under PMGSY, out of which Rs 466 crore has now been released.

“Under PMGSY scheme, roads for 12,539 km have been approved by the Centre for Orissa, of which construction on 6,656 km has been completed,” he added. …

Singh said the Sampurna Gramin Rozgar Yojana would be implemented in those districts not covered under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

A sum of Rs 46.91 crore had been sanctioned for Orissa under the SGRY for the current fiscal, of which Rs 34.25 crore had been released and Rs 3.60 crore utilised so far, he said. …

The minister also informed that the “below poverty line (BPL)” census for 2002 was over but clarifications have been sought from the planning commission on the number of BPL families in “adjusted share”.

The state government had requested the Centre that selection of Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) beneficiaries for 2007-08 be allowed from the permanent IAY waitlist prepared by the state on the basis of BPL census 1997 as, the state administration feels, the 2002 census is incomplete.

Singh said he has accepted the request.

CARE hospital to open a 100 bed hospital in Bhubaneswar in July

Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, HEALTHCARE and HOSPITALS, Khordha Comments Off on CARE hospital to open a 100 bed hospital in Bhubaneswar in July

Various news reports mention that CARE hospital plans to open a 100 bed hospital in Bhubaneswar in July.

Orissa at top after Hindi in non-filmi song production

Odia music, TOURISM, ENTERTAINMENT and SHOPPING Comments Off on Orissa at top after Hindi in non-filmi song production

Business of cinema.com web site says the following on this:

Apart from Hindi music, Orissa stands at top in production of album songs, which comprise non-filmy songs with a local flavor. In Orissa album songs are commonly known as devotional songs, and modern songs.

According to Chitralipi Magazine, every year more than 300 albums are being released by Oriya music industry. And more than 75 lakhs audiocassettes and CDs are being sold in Orissa market.

Interestingly, in the Orissa market, non Oriya singers like Sonu Nigam, Mohammad Aziz, Udit Narayan and Babul Supriyo are more popular. Recording of all the cassettes is done in Orissa’s studio and dubbing is done in Mumbai, Kolkatta and Chennai. Having seen the popularity of album songs, the singers have been featuring in the video of their songs.

New Indian Express on 93.5 FM in Bhubaneswar

Radio Stations 10 Comments »

Following is an excerpt from that report.

Promoted by the Chennai based Sun Network, the station promises to fill listners’ daily dose of entertainment with loads of superhit music and the best of RJs round-the clock.

“It would be witty, adventurous, cheeky and stylish,” said head, Operations and Programming, Nisha Narayanan talking to mediapersons here.

The station will position itself as a single source of contemporary entertainment, driven mostly by the choice and taste of listeners. “It would reflect the local flavour of the city and aim to pep up the spirit of youths as well as other age groups,” she said. The station can be heard at a radius of 60 km off Cuttack.

Unlike other stations, 93.5 SFM (where S stands for superhit) would be recognised as a “format radio station” with single and dual hour shows instead of four-hour block programmes to bring in an air of freshness and pace to establish a distinct style among the listeners.

The programmes would be interspersed with timely information on weather, traffic movement in the city and on highways and sports updates.

FM radio stations in Bhubaneswar

Radio Stations 1 Comment »

In the last few months several FM stations have started broadcasting from Bhubaneswar. Following is a list.

  1. Big 92.7 FM (Adlabs)
  2. Choklate 104 FM (Eastern Media Ltd.)
  3. 93.5 S FM (Sun Network)

This website has a list of radio stations in Orissa. With new FM stations coming up so fast, this list is not completely up-to-date as of writing this. But it would be a good future reference. This other list shows the FM channels all over India that have been allocated in phase II.

Medwrite BPO starts operation in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, IT, Back office, BPO, Khordha 15 Comments »

New Indian Express reports the starting of the BPO company Medwrite in Bhubaneswar. Following is an excerpt from that report.

MedWrite India, a Hyderabad based healthcare business process outsourcing (BPO) firm, launched its city operations on Wednesday.

The state-of-the-art centre will engage 200 trained professionals. Addressing mediapersons, chief executive officer Srinivas Rao said plans are afoot to raise the head-count to 500 professionals by the fall of 2008.

It handles medical billing and transcription services to a vast number of hospitals, clinics and physicians across the United States.

The firm would shortly be launching a free training programme for undergraduates and graduates to cater to the growing needs of skilled manpower in the industry. MedWrite is chosen as the international partner of MedQuist, a leading medical transcription company in the US …

ECOR Train timing changes from July 1st 2007

Railways 1 Comment »

Various news reports mention the following time changes in the ECOR schedule starting from July 1 2007. Following is based on the Statesman’s report.

  • One pair of tri-weekly Garib Rath Super Fast train between Bhubaneswar and Ranchi and a new Weekly Express train between Bhubaneswar and Rameswaram will be introduced shortly.
  • Khurda Road-Angul-Khurda Road Fast Passenger will be extended to Puri.
  • 2843/2844 Puri-Ahmedabad-Puri Tri-weekly Express will run four times a week instead of thrice a week.
  • Bhubaneswar-KoraputBhubaneswar Hirakhand Express will have new stoppages at Sikripoi and Boiguda.
  • Kharagpur-Bhubaneswar-Kharagpur Fast Passenger will have new stoppages at Baitarani Road.
  • Bhubaneswar-BolangirBhubaneswar Inter-city Express will have new stoppages at Hirakud.
  • 5CP & 7CP/6CP & 8CP Cuttack-Paradeep-Cuttack Passenger train will have new stoppages at Badabandha.
  • As part of the modernisation works being undertaken in Sambalpur, East Coast Railway has decided to close down Sambalpur Road flag station from 1 July.
  • The running days of Bhubaneswar–Chennai–Bhubaneswar Weekly Super Fast Express will be changed in the new time table from 1 July. Bhubaneswar-Chennai Weekly Super Fast Express will leave Bhubaneswar on every Thursday instead of Fridays. Similarly, Chennai-Bhubaneswar Weekly Super Fast Express leaving Chennai on Saturdays will now leave on Fridays.
  • 2421 Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express leaving Bhubaneswar at 11.10 am will leave at 11.25 am.
  • Bhubaneswar-Baripada Express will leave Bhubaneswar at 05.30 pm instead of its earlier departure time and will reach Baripada at 10.30 pm.
  • Puri-New Delhi Purushottam Express will leave Puri at 10.00 pm from 1 July instead of its earlier departure time at 9.45 pm.
  • Puri-Howrah weekly Super Fast Express will leave Puri at 9.45 pm instead of 10.00 pm.
  • The arrival and departure timings of Bhubaneswar- Howrah Dhauli Express at Jajpur-Keonjhar Road, Balasore and Kharagpur has changed.
  • The arrival timings for New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express in Bhubaneswar is changed to 5.35 pm instead of 5.50 pm.
  • Howrah-Chennai Mail, which is leaving Howrah at 11.30 pm, will leave Howrah at 11.45 pm.
  • New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Orissa Sampark Kranti Express will arrive Bhubaneswar one-hour-and-ten minutes earlier than its scheduled arrival.
  • Howrah–Puri Weekly Super Fast Express train now leaving Howrah at 9.35 pm will leave Howrah 40 minutes earlier ~ that is ~ at 08.55 pm.
  • Howrah-Vascodagama Amaravati Express, which is leaving Howrah at 11.45 pm, will leave Howrah 15 minutes earlier ~ that is ~ 11.30 pm.
  • Howrah-Bhubaneswar Dhauli Express will arrive Bhubaneswar 10 minutes earlier from its scheduled timing.
  • Bhubaneswar-Mumbai-Bhubaneswar Konark Express and Bhubaneswar-Chennai-Bhubaneswar Weekly Super Fast Train will be augmented with one AC-3 tier and one sleeper coach each from 1 July 2007.

***************************************************************************************

The site trainyatra.com is a nice site to find train schedules. For example, to find all trains that pass through Bhubaneswar click here and for Puri click here. Looking at both schedule one notices that 35 different trains start from either Bhubaneswar or Puri.

Organic cotton in Orissa

Organic cotton Comments Off on Organic cotton in Orissa

The news report mentions that:

Amit Spinning, which was a leading spinner in the country, has now moved into organic cotton farming with 10,000 acres of farmland under organic cotton in Gujarat and a similar size in Orissa.

Orissa Road Master Plan

PPP, Roads, highways and Bus stands Comments Off on Orissa Road Master Plan

New Indian express reports that a road master plan with focus on backward regions is in being finalized for Orissa.

Some projects which are worth mentioning are Motu- Jeypore road in the Viayawada-Ranchi corridor which will connect to the Vijayawada Ranchi corridor. Another project is the 82- km Cuttack-Paradip road estimated to cost Rs 218 crore.

Tender has been floated for the Khurda-Balangir road for which the Centre has provided Rs 76 crore.

Excerpts:

The Works Department will prepare the master plan jointly with the Rural Development and the Panchayati Raj departments, Works Minister AU Singhdeo informed the Assembly while replying to discussion on his department’s budget on Tuesday.More projects will be taken up under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode as huge investment is required for developing road connectivity and the State Government is unable to generate funds for all the projects. A PPP policy has been formulated which will placed before Cabinet for approval, he added.

Since economic growth of a State largely depends on the road infrastructure, the Government has to reach beyond budgetary support and go for alternative funding of road projects. The PPP mode is the best possible model to arrange private funds for investment in road sector, he said.

Some news on Vijayawada-Ranchi NH

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New Indian express reports that the CM wants assistance from the Rural development ministry for this project. It maybe noted the Mr. Subhas Pani who was the chief secretary in Orissa earlier has joined the rural development ministry as a secretary now.

Tathya had reported this news some time back.

Excerpts :

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has sought financial assistance from the Rural Development Ministry for construction of the proposed Vijayawada-Ranchi road.

Naveen met Union Minister for Rural Development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh in New Delhi on Tuesday before returning here. According to a release issued here, the Union Minister promised all support for the project.

The Chief Minister also requested the Minister that selection of Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) beneficiaries should be done on the basis of the 1997 below poverty line (BPL) list as the new list is yet to be finalised.

Mega water-park in between Bhubaneswar and Cuttack: opens in August

Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack- Kalinganagar, Cuttack, TOURISM, ENTERTAINMENT and SHOPPING, Waterpark 8 Comments »

Pragativadi reports that a mega water park is being built 6kms from Phulnakhara, in between Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. Following are some excerpts from that report.

The proposed water park will have several provisions such as several rides, interactive play area, fun slides, float slide, speed coaster, wave pool, splash water, swimming pool, kids pool, live music, concerts, DJ and rain dance. This apart, it will have an exclusive park for the people to roam about, different types of costumes, video games, indoor games, food & beverages, parking facility, advertisement & publicity, film shooting, special events, baby sitting facility, bus facility at select places and ATM facility. … The company has future project for establishing an Amusement Park with roller coaster rides etc. The park would provide highest level of service, quality, safety as far as construction, maintenance and operation are concerned. It would also boost the tourism industry of Orissa. One of the novel features of the park is the wave pool which is a replica of an ocean. The simulating waves created in the pool provide an exotic fun. One can either use a raft or choose to simply sweep off his feet at the shore. The pools are designed and manufactured to allow for gently swaying waves or powerful larger waves for fast paced body or boogie board surfing. It simulates a beach-like feeling inside the park.

Multiplay service in twin cities

Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, IT Comments Off on Multiplay service in twin cities

New Indian express reports that multiplay service will be introduced in Cuttack-bhubaneswar metro unit. Multiplay basically involves having a framework which will provide multiple services under a single network. The list of services include voice, data and internet protocol television (IPTV) services under one package. Once connected, the subscriber can avail various services like cable TV, phone, high speed internet and even watch videos on demand through a set top box acquired on hire or outright purchase basis. Following are excerpts from the New Indian Express report.

The public sector telecom company has firmed up plans to introduce its next generation service “Multiplay” in the Twin City as soon as it is able to cement association with content providers.

While the infrastructure is being spruced up to required levels, the company has sought expression of interest (EOI) from private content providers for the tie-up. …

According to Deputy General Manager (IT), BSNL Orissa, PK Chand, Multiplay would offer voice, data and internet protocol television (IPTV) services under one package. Once connected, the subscriber can avail various services like cable TV, phone, high speed internet and even watch videos on demand through a set top box acquired on hire or outright purchase basis.

And as the system takes roots, other features like gaming, TV-based education, audio, T-commerce, video telephony and personal video digital recording can be included in the wide array of interactive applications.

BSNL has commercially launched the Multiplay services for its broadband customers in Pune in March this year in collaboration with the Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Limited and Divinet as content provider.

Besides data, internet and voice services, IPTV and video on demand have been launched in the initial phase.

More than 100 free to air and pay channels are provided under the IPTV platform while the video on demand enables one watch movies of his choice at his own convenient time.

This is one of the pioneering technologies which underlies the potential of bhubaneswar as a desitination. Even cities like Bangalore and hyderabad dont provide this facility at this point…

Latest HRD roundup from Orissawatch.org

Berhampur- Gopalpur- Chhatrapur, Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, Bhubaneswar-Berhampur, Ganjam, HRD-n-EDUCATION (details at orissalinks.com), K-12, KBK Plus district cluster, Khordha, Koraput, Koraput- Jeypore- Sunabedha- Damanjodi, Marquee Institutions: existing and upcoming, Medical, nursing and pharmacy colleges, Odisha and Center, Vocational education Comments Off on Latest HRD roundup from Orissawatch.org

POSCO related road development

Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack- Kalinganagar, Bhubaneswar-Paradip, Cuttack, Iron Ore, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Paradip - Jatadhari - Kujanga, Ports and waterways, POSCO, Railways, Roads, highways and Bus stands, Steel, Thermal Comments Off on POSCO related road development

Economic Times reports  road development related to POSCO’s proposed operations. Following are excerpts from that report.

… the government has decided to develop 600 km of highways, to be called Posco roads, to provide connectivity for the 12 million-tonne capacity steel plant in Orissa. The Rs 4,000-crore highway would be constructed on built-operate-transfer (BOT) model and would be completed by 2010. 

The projects are part of phase-III of the National Highways Development Programme (NHDP). The Posco package consists of seven road stretches, including Panikholi-Keonjhar-Rimoli on national highway (NH)-215 and Chandikhole-Duburi on NH-200. The Cuttack-Paradip state road, jointly funded by the Orissa government, Paradip Port Trust and the roads ministry, will also help serve the transport of goods to and from Posco’s steel plant.

“NH-215 and NH-200 will be specifically geared to carry iron-ore traffic,” the official said. “The roads will serve Orissa’s industrial requirements for upcoming projects in the state, but Posco will be the biggest beneficiary,” he added.  …

Apart from road connectivity being provided by the Centre and the state government, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to link Haridaspur and Paradip by railways has been formed by Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) in which Posco has 10% equity,” a Posco spokesperson said.  …

Posco-India will also build a captive port at Jatadhari, 10 km from Paradip and a captive power plant with a capacity of 1300 mw.  …

The company will also lay pipelines for industrial water utilisation from Jobra barrage.

New multi-speciality hospital in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, HEALTHCARE and HOSPITALS, Khordha Comments Off on New multi-speciality hospital in Bhubaneswar

Financial Express reports the establishment of a new multi-specialty hospital in Bhubaneswar. Following are excerpts of that report.

The Orissa-based Ayush Hospital & Trauma Care Pvt Ltd (AHTC) is setting up a multi-speciality hospital in Bhubaneswar with an investment of Rs 13.5 crore.

“The hospital is ready and it will be thrown open for patients from the first week of July 2007”, the founder director of the hospital, Dr Ashok Acharya, told FE. …

Besides the cardiac facilities, the hospital will have to its credit an MRI unit and a critical care ambulance that can bring critical patients from any corner of the state.

Kolkata to Bhubaneswar in 5 hours

Balasore- Chandipur, Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, Jajpur Rd- Vyasanagar- Duburi- Kalinganagar, Roads, highways and Bus stands 1 Comment »

The Hindu has a nice short travelogue on driving on the GQ from Kolkata to Bhubaneswar in 5 hours.

(Thanks to Jibanendra babu for noticing the article and mentioning it in the Orissa Today group.)

MCL, Jobs, CSR and R & R: Should follow CCL

Coal, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), MCL, R & R 13 Comments »

On the ongoing tussle to make MCK comply with R & R policies MP Dharmendar Pradhan has compared MCL’s hirings with other similar companies hirings. New Indian Express gives a report on this and we give some excerpts from that report.

The average annual production of coal in Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) is 30 million tonne with a workforce of 1.02 lakh; with 95,000 manpower, the annual production of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) is about 23 million tonne, and Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) has nearly 90,000 workforce to produce 32 million tonne.

Similarly, the Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) has about 70,000 employees with an annual production of 42 million tonne. The South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) is the largest producer of coal with annual production of 88 million tonne and has 80,000 workforce.

On the other hand, MCL, the second largest producer of coking grade coal in the country with average annual production of 80 million tonne, has given jobs to 20,591 people. The company has been facing resistance from the locals for its poor policy on resettlement and rehabilitation.

MCL’s Chairman and Managing Director Aviram Sharma was caught on the wrong foot when Dharmendra Pradhan, MP, sought to know from him the manpower position in other subsidiaries of Coal India vis-a-vis their production at a high level meeting here on Thursday. The meeting was convened to discuss the contentious issue of R&R policy in MCL areas.

Pradhan told the meeting that there are nearly 5,000 rightful claimants for compensatory job in MCL. Besides, MCL is not doing a favour to them as they have already lost their land and livelihood, he argued.

Revenue Minister Manmohan Samal, who presided over the meeting, directed MCL and NTPC to implement the policy and report it every week on the progress.

Now, just because MCL employs less it does not become a bad guy. But, if must follow the R & R policies and also keep its promises. Moreover, it should consider the action by Central Coal Fields to set up an engineering college in Jharkhand. Following is an excerpt from the Business Standard article that reported on this.

The Jharkhand-based public sector Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) has established 68 schools in various parts of its working areas of different standards besides financial and other infrastructural help to 195 schools situated in and around CCL command area.

CCL has recently decided to establish on engineering college for the benefit of the people of Jharkhand.

CCL spent over Rs 1042 crore on social overhead onwards 1998. It had constructed over 160 km of heavy duty coal transportation roads. 300 km of approach road and equal length of colony roads, 6 major bridges on river Damodar, 59,455 permanent houses, 19 hospitals besides water supply schemes covering over a population of 5.02
lakh. CCL is also one of the major employers in Jharkhand.

It has 62,827 employees on the roll of which 35 per cent belonged to Schedules caste and Scheduled tribes.

The company is also one of the major contributors to state exchequer. The state has earned over Rs 2811.56 crore of royalty and other taxes from CCL?s mining activities after the constitution of Jharkhand state. …

In the financial year 2006-07, CCL has constructed/repaired 35 km new roads in nearby villages in its command area. Over and above, CCL is to organise 215 health camps for various specializations during this financial year.

Filing RTI in the USA

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The news item mentions that one can now file RTI in the US. The exact steps are given in the site http://rti.aidindia.org/content/view/263/78/ which we reproduce below.

1. Make the application:

All you need is one plain sheet of paper. You can type or hand-write your application with all the questions you want to ask, Address it to the PIO and sign underneath [yeah, that is all]. You can ask multiple question in same application. Please look at some sample applications

Few things to note:

Mention that you are exercising your right under RTI 2005
Frame the questions to best of your understanding as “precise” answers depend on precise questions.

2. Attach personal check for 24 Cents [equivalent to Rs. 10] and mention in your application that you have attached it. Checks should be made in favor of ” Embassy of India, Washington DC”.

3. Attach your passport first page copy(this is proof that you’re an Indian Citizen)

4. In the application give your return address where they can respond (including email)

5. Send the application and the check attached to:

The Public Information Officer,
2107 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
USA – 20008
Contact: Mr. George Kutty – georgek@indiagov.org

Orissa government gets tough on MCL

Coal, MCL, NALCO, NTPC, R & R Comments Off on Orissa government gets tough on MCL

Statesman reports that the Orissa government has asked MCL to provide jobs to displaced people. Following are some excerpts from that report.

The state government today directed Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd to provide jobs to all those affected or displaced persons within four weeks and also asked other PSUs ~ NTPC and Nalco ~ to furnish weekly progress reports on rehabilitation measures. The decisions were taken at a high level meeting convened by revenue minister Mr Manmohan Samal here today. …

Mr Samal today directed that all categories of land losers and affected persons ought to be provided with employment within four weeks. Interestingly, he is also believed to have told the Central PSU that they should go by the Land Acquisition Act and not the Coal Bearing Act. The implementation of Coal Bearing Act had created problems since much of the land was notified but lying unacquired physically for several years. In the process, the land owner was unable to either sell or do anything with the land. With regards to employment of affected persons, it is learnt that the contentious issue relates to what is categorised as “C” type affected persons. These were people who had lost their land practically and not their homestead land.

Finally center decides to revise coal royalty rates

Coal, Mining royalty Comments Off on Finally center decides to revise coal royalty rates

Coal royalty rates had not been revised in India since 2002. Financial Express in one of its earlier news item mentions that it is expected to be revised every three years. The delay in its revision resulted in big losses for states like Orissa and Jharkhand. Today’s news of the revised coal royalty rates is a big relief, albeit temporarily. Following are some excerpts from a report in Telegraph.

The cabinet committee on economic affairs today approved an average increase of 14 per cent in the coal royalty paid to state governments. …

“The producing states were demanding an increase in the rates as royalty on coal had not been revised since 2002,”Chidambaram said.

He added that the increase in revenues for the states, barring Bengal, would be 24 per cent for coal and 27 per cent for lignite. “The revenues of the coal-producing states will increase to Rs 3,718 crore from Rs 3,000 crore,” he said.

Following are excerpts from a Hindu report which mentions how much more states like Orissa and Kharkhand will get and the rationale behind the increase.

In a further explanation of the rationale for revision, Mr. Chidambaram said: “It is contended [by States] that while coal companies have been revising the prices frequently and since the royalty rates are fixed on tonnage basis, the benefit of higher prices has not been shared with the producing States. Consequently, the share of royalty as a percentage of coal prices has declined.” …

As for the increase in revenue for the coal producing States, it would be Rs. 152 crore for Jharkhand, Rs. 133 crore for Madhya Pradesh, Rs. 105 crore for Andhra Pradesh, Rs. 98 crore for Chhattisgarh and Rs. 90 crore for Orissa, Rs. 89 crore for Maharashtra and about Rs. 43 crore for Uttar Pradesh. In the case of Tamil Nadu which produces lignite, the State Government could expect the revenue from higher royalty to go up by Rs. 28 crore to Rs. 130 crore.

Although, this overdue increase is a welcome step, to address this for the long term the royalty calculation must change to ad valorem basis which automatically reflects the change in the market price and thus minimizes the need to depend on the center for an increase in the rates. In particular, ad valorem royalty rate of coal means that the royalty rates will move with world coal prices. Hindu Business line has an article related to this.

Power plant at Jharsuguda

Coal, Jharsugurha, Thermal 12 Comments »

Business Wire reports that Invensys Process Systems has been selected by Shandong No. 3 Electric Power Construction Corporation (SEPCO III) of China to implement Foxboro I/A Series distributed control systems (DCS) for a 3,600-megawatt generating station being built in Jharsuguda. Following are some quotes from that report.

Extensive Invensys experience in the power industry (including a large number of projects in China) and expertise in large-scale projects were important factors in the SEPCO III contract award to Invensys.

The DCS contract will encompass an advanced I/A Series automation infrastructure integrating more than 63,000 I/O points. The systems will be used to control the new plant’s boilers, turbines and generators utilizing Invensys’ Performance Plus coordinated control system (CCS) technology, well-proven in power plants worldwide. Subsystem applications will include data acquisition system (DAS), furnace safety supervisory system (FSSS), boiler and turbine sequence control system (SCS), turbine digital electro-hydraulic (DEH) control system, feed water pump mechanical electro-hydraulic (MEH) control system, and electric control systems (ECS).

In addition to I/A Series automation hardware and software, Invensys Process Systems China will also provide a range of installation services, engineering, training, and field service.

The plant is part of the “Power for All” initiative, an aggressive Indian government plan to sustain economic growth with significant additions of power generation capacity in the next few years. The new power plant project is one of the largest projects for SEPCO III, and comprises China’s largest export machinery and equipment order to India.

About Shandong No. 3 Electric Power Construction Corporation

Shandong No. 3 Electric Power Construction Corporation (SEPCO III) is part of Shandong Electric Power Group Corporation and is a leading power EPC contractor for thermal plants, nuclear plants, gas-fired and hydropower stations. SEPCO III was one of the first Chinese power contractors to enter the global market, and has more than 160 generation units of contract experience in China and around the world, including a range of public power and captive power projects in India. Capable of providing the full range of EPC services from its experienced professional staff, SEPCO III is headquartered in Shandong, China.

About Invensys

The Invensys Group (www.invensys.com) is headquartered in London and is listed on the London Stock Exchange, with approximately 30,000 employees working in 60 countries.

I think this is a part of one of the Power MOUs signed last october.

New Flyover at Cuttack

Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, Roads, highways and Bus stands, Uncategorized 1 Comment »

There are plans to connect the Pravat cinema area to Samrat Cinema area in Cuttack by a flyover. For people who are new in Cuttack ‘Pravat Cinema’ is close to two big landmarks. Rajatarangini Cinema Hall and Buxi Bazaar. Buxi Bazaar is the central point in Cuttack. Following are excerpts from a Pioneer report.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday held a review meeting on the progress of the upcoming over-bridge that would connect Pravat Cinema to Samrat Cinema. The projected cost of the bridge is estimated at Rs 144 crore.Later speaking to reporters, Cuttack MLA and Minister Sameer Dey said Finance department would release Rs 1.50 crore to the RITES organisation to prepare the detailed project report of the project.

It has not yet been decided whether the bridge that starts from Pravat cinema will touch the Malgodam area or not. The DPR of the project will be completed within five months.

As a byline I might add that there is a huge drain which runs from Pravat cinema till Samrat cinema. It would be a good idea to have a flyover over that. This will eliminate the need for land acquisition and improve sanitation in CMC.