Archive for the 'INVESTMENTS and INVESTMENT PLANS' Category

Status of various Vedanta projects in Orissa

Anil Agarwal, Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, Business Standard, Jharsugurha, Kalahandi, Khordha 3 Comments »

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

The Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta group has made substantial headway in land acquisition for its three projects in Orissa which entail a combined investment of over Rs 30,000 crore.

The group needed 11,700 acres for its university at Puri, an alumina refinery at Lanjigarh, and its smelter and power project at Bharkhamunda near Jharsuguda. It has already acquired about 7,515 acres.

The total land needed for the Rs 15,000-crore university is 6,000 acres. The company has to date acquired 3,155 acres and taken possession of 2256.49 acres, which includes 385.15 acres of government land and 1871.34 acres of private land.

… Vedanta Aluminium has acquired the 2,000 acres it needed in Lanjigarh in the economically-backward Kalahandi district for its one-million-tonne-per-annum (MTPA), Rs 4,000-crore alumina refinery. Besides, it has got 80 per cent of the 200 acres needed for a rail corridor for the project.

“About 80 per cent of the 200 acres needed for the railway link has been acquired. We hope to complete the process very soon”, said Mukesh Kumar, chief operating officer, Vedanta Aluminium.

In a relief to the company, the Supreme Court recently cleared the diversion of 660.749 hectares of forest land for mining bauxite in Niyamgiri hills in the Kalahandi district.

While the mining plan has been approved by the Indian Bureau of Mines, the company hopes to start operating the mine in the next four-six months. However, it will have to get clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Arcelor-Mittal aims for a captive port in Barunei Muhana, Kendrapada: Samaja

Arcelor Mittal, Barunei, Kendrapada (many interested), Kendrapada, Samaja (in Odia) Comments Off on Arcelor-Mittal aims for a captive port in Barunei Muhana, Kendrapada: Samaja

Update: See also http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/arcelor-mittal-plans-captive-port-in-orissa/354536/.

Orissa number three investment destination behind Gujarat and Maharastra

Investment ranking 2 Comments »

Following is  from a report in Economic Times.

Gujarat is still on top of the heap when to comes to the list of most attractive investment destinations in the country.

The state attracted maximum project investments in 2007-08, followed by Maharashtra, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, according to a study by the Reserve Bank of India on projects funded by banks and financial institutions. At the same time, the overall investments in the country are expected to moderate in 2008-09.

With a proposed investment of Rs 62,442 crore from 100 projects, Gujarat continued to occupy the top spot as far as investment intention is concerned.

Of the total investment intentions in 2007-08, the state accounted for 22% of the total proposals for the year, though the share dipped from the previous year’s share of 25.8%.

Maharashtra, which ranked second, had a share of 12.7%, envisaging investments worth Rs 36,202 crore. Orissa was third with 10.9% share, accounting for investments worth Rs 30,913 crore, followed by Andhra Pradesh (8.5%), Chhattisgarh (6.2%), Tamil Nadu (5.6%), Karnataka (3.7%), Uttar Pradesh (3.5%) and the rest sharing less than 3% each.

The study involves 910 projects that were sanctioned assistance by banks and financial institutions in 2007-08 with an aggregated envisaged project cost of Rs 2,84,371 crore.

Progress on Jindal Steel and power projects

Angul, Anugul- Talcher - Saranga- Nalconagar, Coal, Iron Ore, Jindal, Keonjhar, Pragativadi, Steel, Thermal 3 Comments »

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pragativadi.

Jindal Steel and Power Ltd is optimistic about commissioning the first phase of the proposed six MTPA steel mill in Orissa’s Angul district by October 2010.

… Briefing newsmen after the meeting, Jindal said that the work for the first phase of the project was progressing well.

The company had already spent Rs 4,000 crore so far for it and has placed an order for equipment for the purpose.

Of its total project cost of Rs 13,135 crore, JSPL had also spent a lot on land, construction, equipment and other activities, he said.

Jindal said JSPL has a small iron ore mine at Tensa in Keonjhar district and is hopeful of getting raw material linkage to its Angul project. 

We have been allotted coal block for the requirement of our captive power plant and the steel plant, he added.

He said that the company apprised the chief minister about the progress and made a presentation before him, while seeking the state government’s help in availing new raw material linkage early.

The JSPL which signed an MoU with the state government for setting up a beneficiation plant at Deojhar in Keonjhar district and the Angul steel plant on November 11, 2005, had progressed well besides tackling local problems, he said.

Orissa in Transition: From Fiscal Turnaround to Rapid and Inclusive Growth (Forthcoming World Bank Study)

Best practices, CENTER & ODISHA, INDUSTRY and INFRASTRUCTURE, INVESTMENTS and INVESTMENT PLANS, Odisha govt. action, World Bank 1 Comment »

The following is from http://go.worldbank.org/F6WBERON80. See  also this Telegraph report.

Orissa in Transition

From Fiscal Turnaround to Rapid and Inclusive Growth 

Forthcoming World Bank Study

 

Overview: Orissa has transformed from a seriously lagging state to a state on the move

 

From being the poorest state of India in the mid 1990s, Orissa has become a state on the move.  The state’s economy has shifted gear and is on a higher growth trajectory.  Gross state domestic product (GSDP) has grown at 8.5 percent on average during the Tenth Plan period (2002-07), compared to 5.5 percent during the previous plan (1997-2002) and even slower in the past. 

 

Public investments in infrastructure have begun to rise, and private industrial investment is booming. The finances of the state have improved remarkably, creating fiscal space for expanding public investments. 

 

Private investment is booming: Indian and foreign mega investments in the steel and power sectors and aluminum and chrome products are dominating the private investment boom. Industry has grown at 20 percent annually in 2002-07, compared to only 6 percent in 1997-2002.  This is fuelled, in part, by the rise in world metal prices. Since 2004, Orissa has ranked as the country’s premier investment destination, according to the Center for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIE).

 

Private investments under implementation in Orissa now total about US$125 billion – which is about seven times the state’s annual gross domestic product (GSDP).  Many of these investments are at an advanced stage and expected to start production before 2012/13. This makes it likely that Orissa will enjoy high double digit growth, faster than the rest of India, for several years to come.

 

Early signs of economic diversification: There are also some, albeit early signs of economic diversification. In the services sector for instance, Indian IT companies are entering Orissa as traditionally favored destinations become increasingly saturated. The services sector is now growing at a rapid clip, almost touching 10 percent. Even agriculture, traditionally beset by drought and floods, grew at 3 percent per year during 2002-07, which is better than the rest of India.

 

As a result, Orissa’s per-capita income, which progressively fell behind the rest of the country during the past five decades, has begun to catch up. Inequalities within Orissa have also narrowed.   The latest National Sample Survey data show that rural families in the southern region of the state – one of the poorest parts of the country without the mineral deposits of the north – are now spending up to 25 percent more on basic necessities like food, clothing, and schooling for their children, compared to just five years ago.  Although average spending in rural Orissa is still low, it is moving up more rapidly than ever before.

 

A great deal still remains to be done

 

Second poorest state in the country: Despite recent progress, however, Orissa is still the second poorest state in the country with one of the lowest levels of urbanization. Over 45 percent of its people live in poverty with the scheduled tribes (STs) – who make up a sizeable 22 percent of the state’s population – lagging far behind the rest of the population. Most STs live in tiny villages or remote habitations in the hills where their geographical isolation underlies much of their poverty. Rural electrification is among the lowest in the country; some 18,000 villages and 5 million households have yet to get electricity. Learning levels in schools are low, and the burden of ill health too high.

 

Capacity constraints in infrastructure: Capacity constraints in rail are increasing congestion on roads, and limited port capacity is diverting cargo from Paradip in Orissa to Haldia in West Bengal, and Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The state has yet to capitalize on its large coastline facing South East Asia.

 

Undoubtedly, much remains to be done. Given the state’s recent growth, the time is now ripe to consolidate the gains of the past and devote public resources to building infrastructure, and reducing the gaps between the people – between rural and urban, between the interior and the coast, and between the scheduled tribes and the rest of the population.



Policies will need to unleash the full potential of agriculture, fisheries and forestry on which an overwhelming 85 percent of the state’s people depend. Education and health will need urgent attention if the people are to benefit from the growing opportunities provided by the new economy. Roads, railways and ports will need major upgrades if the benefits of growth are to be spread more equitably and the state’s natural resources effectively utilized. And, for all this to happen, the accountability of the government in the delivery of basic services must be increased.

 

While Orissa seeks to industrialize on the strength of its rich mineral wealth, it is important to ensure that those who live on mineral-rich land benefit adequately from the advent of large mineral-based industries. While the Orissa government has adopted a progressive rehabilitation and resettlement policy for the displaced, and legislated to ensure that a share of company profits are earmarked for development, the challenge ahead lies in   the effective implementation of these promising policies.

 

As Orissa strives to build for the future and surpass average Indian living standards by 2020, it can take productive lessons from its recent successes. The open and consultative process that has served it well in the past will be necessary to deal effectively with the complex issues that lie ahead on the road to modernization.

 

Reforms Spur Faster Economic Growth

 

Since 2001,Orissa has achieved a remarkable fiscal turnaround. The ratio of the state’s debt burden to annual GDP has fallen significantly, helping it transform from being one of the most fiscally-stressed states of the country in the late 1990s, with a primary (non-interest) fiscal deficit of 6 percent of GSDP, to a surplus of 3.4 percent.

 

The turnaround has been triggered by a number of factors. Policy reforms at the central and state level have spurred the arrival of industry, the state government’s strong resolve has helped to complete long pending infrastructure projects despite a resource crunch, and its consultative approach has enabled it to reduce expenditures:

National level reforms: The central government’s elimination of the freight equalization subsidy – that prevented Orissa from becoming an attractive location for mineral based manufacturing in the past – paved the way for arrival of the metal industry in the state.

State government efforts to improve the investment climate: This was followed by a wave of well-sequenced state level reforms. In the first instance, from 2000 to 2003, the government mainly concentrated on raising its revenues through tax reforms and improving the investment climate by simplifying the regulations.

 

Between 2004 and 2006, it undertook significant measures to contain unproductive public expenditures. Through a consultative and transparent process, the state government took the people on board in its efforts to rightsize the civil service, retrench employees of loss making public enterprises, and rationalize grants to non-government high schools and colleges. The growing private sector presence that had already begun to open up new job opportunities for the people, helped gain their acceptance for the government’s efforts to downsize the public sector.

Improved connectivity: Strong resolve and a focus on outcomes rather than outlays helped the government to complete long-pending construction projects – roads, bridges and irrigation canals – despite constrained budgets. As a result, the number of bridges completed rose from 19 in 2004 to over 100 in 2006.

 

CHALLENGES AHEAD:

Over 45 percent of Orissa’s people still live in poverty with almost half of them belonging to the Scheduled Tribes, most of whom live in remote villages with little migration to the cities. There are large gaps in the delivery of basic services. The state still has large untapped potential for economic growth.

 

Improved transport and power connectivity: Almost half the villages in Orissa are small and isolated – with less than 500 residents. As geographical isolation poses a big challenge for connectivity, adequate road, rail, and port infrastructure is essential for inclusive growth as well as to benefit from the state’s mineral endowments.

 

Urban infrastructure: Although Orissa has one of India‘s lowest levels of urbanization – 15% – its urban centers are growing rapidly. With the growing advent of industry, tourism and IT services, the demand for urban housing, water and power services is likely to increase many times over. Massive upgrading of urban infrastructure is therefore needed to attract and retain the skilled labor force demanded by modern industry and services.

 

Agricultural and forestry growth: While some 85% of the state’s population remains dependent on agriculture, fisheries and forestry, these sectors are beset by low yields, excessive middlemen, poor connectivity, and lack of storage facilities. The ban on land leasing has resulted in informal and illegal share-cropping arrangements that are harmful to cultivators. To improve the rates of return from farming, the state has amended the agricultural products marketing act to permit privately run mandis and contract farming. The computerization of land records is ongoing. Yet, reforms in land tenure and land administration are needed so that small farmers can access bank credit and make productive investments in the land. For the mostly tribal populations that are dependent on forest produce, joint forest management practices can be a promising route to higher incomes.

 

Education: While school enrollment has risen, learning levels remain very low. While the state government has launched bold measures to improve teacher accountability, strong educational fundamentals from the earliest years, supplemented by some public and mostly private efforts in training and skill development are needed.

 

Health: Despite dramatic improvements in overall infant mortality rates in the past 5–10 years, the predominantly tribal districts lag behind. They have the poorest immunization rates and least access to antenatal care. While the state government’s health sector plan for 2005 envisages a decentralized and participatory approach to service delivery, innovative and flexible approaches will be required to reach geographically isolated villages. Importantly, systems of accountability will need to be strengthened before budget allocations to education, healthcare, and anti-poverty programs are increased.

 

Small and Medium Enterprises: With the arrival of new mega projects, the demand for a wide range of goods and services will rise, generating opportunities for small investors as well as new avenues for employment. To capitalize on these opportunities, an improved regulatory climate for SMEs is called for.  

Environmental considerations while tapping mineral rich areas: Given that mineral-based industries impact the environment, there is need to strengthen environmental institutions. Ongoing plans and current efforts of the government toward strengthening public consultation mechanisms will play a crucial role in determining the sustainability of mineral sector investments in Orissa.

 

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

 

 

1. How many people have been brought out of poverty in recent years?

 

Between 1999/00 and 2004/05, based on NSS data estimates using ‘mixed reference period’, the proportion of people in poverty in rural Orissa declined by 8 percentage points compared to 5 percentage points in rural India as a whole. Despite this progress, however, the level of poverty in Orissa remains significantly higher than the rest of India.

 

According to the latest calculation based on official figures released recently by the Planning Commission, the number of poor in Orissa has come down by about 1.5 million between 1999/00 and 2004/05.  This figure will feature in the final Bank report.

 

 

2. By how much has Orissa’s economy grown in recent years?

 

The rate of economic growth depends on the period one considers. According to the latest data released by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Government of Orissa, the state GDP grew at 10.5 percent annually on average during the most recent five years, that is 2003/04 to 2007/08.  During the Tenth Five-Year Plan period, that is 2002/03 to 2006/07, the average growth rate was 8.5 percent.  Clearly, Orissa, which grew much slower than the rest of India during the 1990s, has now caught up.  From about 2004 onwards, it has begun to overtake the national average.

 

3. What is the state’s current debt burden?

 

How the debt burden has moved can be appreciated by comparing not rupee figures but the ratio of the debt burden to annual GDP or annual revenue. As a proportion of revenue, Orissa’s debt has fallen from 343 percent in 2001/02 to 201 percent in 2007/08. As a proportion of GSDP, it has declined from 63 percent to 50 percent.  This is a major correction, and reflects responsible fiscal management to lift the state out of a crisis situation.

 

 

4. Has the government achieved a revenue surplus by curtailing capital expenditure and squeezing development expenditure?

 

The revenue surplus has been achieved as a result of 3 factors:  improved performance of the state’s own taxes, enhanced central transfers and external donor support, and curtailing of expenditure.  The capital budget was constrained during 2002-05, but still outcomes improved due to emphasis on project completion. As explained in the report, there was undoubtedly a lot of flab in the administrative machinery, and Orissa was more over-staffed than other states. The government undertook major surgery to trim the fat, and in the process some muscle also got cut, which needs to be rebuilt now.   The Government of Orissa has been hiring a large number of para-teachers, and the teacher-pupil ratio is 40 on average, ranging from 31 in the best served district to 60 in the worst.  This is far better than the situation in Bihar, Jharkhand, Karnataka Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

 

 

5. Has the signing of MOUs been interpreted as industrial growth?

 

The reported industrial growth in recent years is based on actual and officially estimated GSDP figures, not on MOUs.  Assessment of future prospects has been informed by CMIE’s projections using detailed information on the status of each investment project under implementation, and its likely date of completion based on historical experience and informed judgment in exceptional cases.

 

 

6. What is the evidence of crop diversification?

 

The report cites some signs of crop diversification.   For instance, the output of maize and cotton has increased in some areas; this is reflected in official agricultural crop statistics. 

Supreme court allows bauxite mining by Vedanta/Sterlite

Aluminium, Bauxite, ENVIRONMENT, Kalahandi, Pragativadi, Supreme Court, Vedanta Comments Off on Supreme court allows bauxite mining by Vedanta/Sterlite

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pragativadi.

The Supreme Court on Friday cleared the decks for Anil Agarwal promoted Vedanta Resources to mine bauxite from the ecologically fragile Niyamgiri hills for its proposed Rs 4,000-crore alumina project at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district.

Vedanta had sought clearance for diversion of 660.749 hectare of forest land for mining purposes to feed its alumina plant.

The special forest bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, Justices Arijit Pasayat and SH Kapadia allowed Sterlite to go ahead with bauxite mining.

The application of Vedanta is allowed, the Supreme Court bench said in a statement. 

However, it asked the ministry of environment and forest to proceed in accordance with law.

… Vedanta wants to dig open-cast mines in the Niyamgiri hills located in Kalahandi district near its project area. 

Vedanta promoted Sterlite Industries had sought clearance for diversion of 660.749 hectares of forest land for mining purposes to provide required raw material for its plant.

Supreme court comes in favor of POSCO

Iron Ore, Jagatsinghpur, Jatadhari port (POSCO), Paradip - Jatadhari - Kujanga, POSCO, Pragativadi, South Korea, Steel, Supreme Court Comments Off on Supreme court comes in favor of POSCO

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pragativadi.

The Supreme Court on Friday permitted South Korean steel major Posco to set up Rs 51,000-crore mega steel plant and captive minor port at Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district.

A special environmental bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan allowed Posco India Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of South Korea-based Posco, to go ahead with its plans.

With this order, the apex court has also cleared forest diversion proposal for the plant site which require 1253.225 hectares of forest land.

The court, while directing the Orissa government to dispose of all the Posco’s applications seeking prospecting licences within four weeks, also asked the state government to send its recommendations to the ministry of environment and forests that would proceed in accordance with law.

The bench also asked the state government to undertake implementation of compensatory afforestation plan under the supervision of a Supreme Court-appointed committee comprising top officials of the state government.

… Posco counsel Mukul Rohtagi contended that the state government-owned Orissa Mining Corporation had agreed to supply uninterrupted iron ore and other minerals for its steel project and had identified mines in the western part of the state, some 300 km away from its project site.

… The company can source raw materials on its own and can buy the same from the open market, he said, adding that the company is not dependent on prospecting licence.

Tata power and IOC join hands for a power plant in Paradeep

IOC, Jagatsinghpur, Paradip - Jatadhari - Kujanga, Petrochemicals, Refinery, Tatas, Thermal Comments Off on Tata power and IOC join hands for a power plant in Paradeep

Following is from a report in steelguru.

TATA Power Company & Indian Oil Corporation have decided to float a new company for jointly developing a 1,000 MW coal based power project at Paradip in Orissa. The shareholding pattern of the JV would be 74-26 for TPC and IOC, respectively.

As per report, the proposed project is essentially being set up as a captive project to meet the power requirements of IOC’s 15 million tonnes per annum integrated refinery cum petrochemicals complex at Paradip. The plant may also supply power to the proposed steel plant of the TATA group in Orissa as also other industries in and around the Paradip complex.

Under the JV agreement, Indian Oil is committed to source at least 51% power and the surplus generation can be traded by the JV company. The authorized share capital of JVC will be INR.1,200 crore and the capital will be increased to meet the requirement of further investment as and when called for.

Based on a feasibility study carried out by TPC & IOC the tariff for power supply to the Paradip complex has been estimated on annual levelised basis for 25 years operation at INR 2.46 per unit. The levelised power tariff on similar basis for captive generation within Paradip complex has also been assessed jointly with Foster Wheeler which indicates a significantly higher value of over INR 5 per unit.

3 Aluminum projects approved by SLSWCA

Aluminium, Multinationals, NALCO, Single Window Clearance (SLSWCA) 2 Comments »

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

The State Level Single Window Clearance Authority (SLSWCA) of the Orissa government, headed by Chief Secretary, Ajit Kumar Tripathy, today approved projects worth Rs 42,911crore mainly pertaining to the aluminium sector. It includes the Rs 16,345 crore investment proposal of the National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco), Rs 19,668 crore proposal of L&T-Dubal, Rs 6800 crore proposal of RSB Metaltech and Rs 98 crore investment proposal of Kanpur based Bajaj Steels and Industries Ltd.

Reliance to lease OSRTC land

Angul, Anugul- Talcher - Saranga- Nalconagar, Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Khordha, Modern Bus Stands, Mukesh Ambani group, New Indian Express, Indian Express, Financial express, PPP, REAL ESTATE, Sambalpur, Sambaplur- Burla- Bargarh- Chipilima 1 Comment »

Following is  from a report in New Indian Express.

The State Government will lease out unused land of Orissa State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) at Cuttack, Baripada and here to the Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) for commercial purpose.

The OSRTC has prime land at Master Canteen, Pala Mandap in Cuttack and Baripada town. The corporation will lease out the Master Canteen land to RIL for 33 years for Rs 20 crore. Reliance has proposed to open retail outlets and has agreed to pay a monthly rental of Rs 15 lakh.

The company has reportedly deposited Rs 6 crore with the Government for the OSRTC land at Baripada town. However, OSRTC will collect monthly rent from RIL for all the leased out plots. Rent will be revised every five years.

The proceeds from leased out land will be invested for procurement of more buses and modernisation of the Government bus stands.

In the first phase, five bus stands at Angul, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal and Sambalpur will be modernised under the public-private partnership.

While the bus stands of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Sambalpur will be renovated, two new bus stands will be developed at Angul and Dhenkanal.

The public utility has 230 on road buses and plans are afoot to add another 50 to its fleet. The corporation has submitted a proposal to the Government for pay revision of the employees, official sources said.

NGTech to invest 1200 crores in IT and BioTech in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, BioTech, Pharma, IT, Khordha, NROs 5 Comments »

Following is an excerpt from a report in Tathya.in.

New York based NGTech, a versatile group of IT professionals who offer wide array of consulting services, promoted by Dr.Namita Deo, Dr.Ramachandra Deo and Ms.Mymoona Shereen will invest in IT and Biotechnology sector.

NGTI Private Limited will install facilities like IT Development and Outsourcing Project Services, chemical & Biotech Research & Development, Medicianal Green House, Bioinformatics, IT& Biotech Training and Medical Research Centre, said sources.

According to the application presented to the Government of Orissa, the group will fund major part of the project from own sources.

While promoter’s contribution will be Rs.948 crore, loan from financial institutions will be Rs.240 crore and the company expects Rs.12 crore as subsidy from the Government.

NGTI has identified a patch of 100 acres of land at Deras, on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.

The group proposes to acquire land through IDCO for setting up the facilities.

There is huge potential for employment as these facilities will be requiring 25,000 man power.

Annually Rs.103 crore of revenue will be generated on account of VAT, other taxes and duties assuming cent per cent capacity utilization, said the sources.

Following is from Samaja.

Tatas, Reliance and ADAG after coal to diesel project in Orissa

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Following is from Sambada.

Vedanta’s R & R package in Lanjigarh, Kalahandi

Aluminium, Anil Agarwal, Bauxite, Jharsugurha- Brajarajnagar- Belpahar, Kalahandi, R & R 1 Comment »

Following is an excerpt from a report in the Statesman.

Vedanta Aluminium Ltd (VAL) offers the best rehabilitation package in the state, claimed company sources here recently. The company aims to reduce the impact of its activities on the environment, wherever feasible. The majority of the sites are certified by the international environmental management systems standard ISO 14001. This includes the requirement that environmental impacts are identified. There are ongoing programmes for improvement across key impact areas, they said.

Responding to the critics of its bauxite mining project at Kalahandi, Vedanta officials said that all 120 families that were displaced for the project have got pucca houses with round-the-clock electricity and water supply. Besides one youth from each displaced family has been trained and given a job in the refinery, adding that a total of 2,500 local people have found employment in the refinery project till date. “While about 2000 people had got direct employment at the refinery in Lanjigarh, over 2000 others were getting indirect income generating opportunities,” company sources said.

Vedanta has also started the ‘Sasya Silpa Abhijan’ an initiative of vegetable cultivation, run in collaboration with the Asian Institute of Sustainable Development to give a boost to agriculture in the area. “On an area of 550 acres of land, nearly 500 farmers are participating in the project as partners,” said a senior official. “Although we bear the expenses for irrigation through a diesel pump set by us, yet the training and support provided by Vedanta through this programme has helped us a lot,” said Mr Dinanath Pangi, a farmer.

Vedanta also offers various self-employment schemes for residents of the villages nearby and especially for the womenfolk. Women self-help-groups have been started under public-private partnership in collaboration with the district health department on the Swastha Parivar project. In a bid to widen its corporate social responsibility, the Vedanta group has also adopted 400 Anganwadi centres in Kalahandi district and will look after more than 40,000 children in some of the state’s most backward areas.

“Vedanta has signed an MoU with the state government and the Sterlite Foundation for the adoptions,” said Vedanta group spokesman Mr CV Krishnan. “As a part of the arrangement, every pre-school child aged between three and six years will be provided a cooked meal of 300 calories at noon. The company will also look after the health of the children through regular check ups and medicines,” he added.

He further said that the company is also undertaking the beautification of the Anganwadis by erecting green boundaries, whitewashing buildings and providing see-saws and slides for the children. Furthermore incentives are being provided to Anganwadi workers. While Anganwadi workers receive Rs 250 per month, each helper is given Rs 150 extra by the company. “The same exercise will also be replicated in Jharsuguda,” Mr Krishnan said. The total expenditure on child welfare activities in the two districts will be over Rs 15 crore, company officials revealed In order to ensure that everything goes as per plan, the process will be reviewed by a committee headed by the district collector, the local MLA and the chairman of panchayat samity, they said.

Mr Krishnan said that Vedanta further aims to improve the electricity network, construct roads and develop better educational and healthcare facilities.

Bhubaneswar ITIR of 40 sq km : IL & FS to prepare DPR

Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, IT, ITIR, Khordha 2 Comments »

Following is an excerpt from a news report in Financial Express.

The Centre has selected Bhubaneswar as one of the 40 ITIRs planned in the country. It will provide financial assistance for development of infrastructures required for the ITIRs.

The state IT secretary, PK Mahapatra, said the Centre has aksed the state government to prepare the DPR so that fund could be provided for developing the infrastructures of the ITIR.

The detailed project report (DPR) for the Bhubaneswar ITIR will be prepared by IL&FS Infrastructures Ltd in collaboration with the state-owned Industrial Infrastructure Development Corp (IDCO).

The Centre plans to set up the ITIRs in line of the Petroleum, Chemicals & Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIRs) in the country to attract investment into the IT sector.

Mahapatra said the government has decided to put in place a new Information & Communication Tehcnologies Policy (ICT) in the state. The last ICT Policy was announced in 2004. The new policy will be formulated after studying the ICT polices of IT-advanced states like Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, he said.

The chief minister, Naveen Patnaik, on Thursday reviewed the development taking place in the IT sector in the state at a high level meeting. The Infocity-II will come up at Jalna in the outskirt of Bhubaneswar over an area of 500 acres. A sum of Rs 150 crore will be spent for developing the new IT facility.

The government, meanwhile, has asked the IIT Kharagpur, which is preparing the master plan for the greater Bhubaneswar city, to ease the traffic for the Infocity-I. At the meeting it was told that the Software Technology Park (STPI) at Berhampur is going to be functional from the first week of September, 2008. Orissa has two STPIs at Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. Another STIP is coming up at Balasore.

Following is some additional information on this from a report in Telegraph.

In April 2008, the cabinet committee on economic affairs had cleared a policy to set up ITIRs over a minimum area of 40sqkm each. The Centre last month confirmed the identification of Bhubaneswar as one of the sites for the proposed ITIRs, he said.

The ITIRs have been conceptualised as magnets for investment creating employment opportunities and growth in the area. They are expected to reduce the pressure on existing urban centres by enabling growth of new townships and dispersal of industry. The regions would be a combination of IT, ITES and electronics hardware manufacturing units, public utilities, residential area, social infrastructure and administrative services.

Every state government is supposed to ensure provision of physical infrastructure such as power, water, road, transportation, sewerage and effluent treatment facilities, the Centre is supposed to facilitate development of national highways, airport and railway links for ITIRs.

Venezuala interested in a stake in IOC’s Paradeep refinery

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Following is an excerpt from a report in Times of India.

Venezuela’s national oil company PdVSA is in talks with IndianOil Corporation for taking up to 49% stake in a 15 million tonne refinery the flagship Indian refiner-marketer is building in Orissa’s Paradip at an investment of a little under Rs 30,000 crore.

“We have received interest from PdVSA. We are evaluating the offer,” a senior company executive, requsting anonymity, said on the sidelines of the 19th World Petroleum Congress here. “We want a partner not for money but for some value. In this case, PdVSA has said it can supply Venezuelan crude to the refinery. IndianOil would look at getting at least half, or 7.5 million tonnes, of Paradip refinery’s crude requirement from Venezuela.”

there are other factors that could work for the PdVSA deal. Venezuelan crude is one of the toughest to process and needs refineries with high complexity ratings. IndianOil has designed the Paradip unit to accept the toughest, heaviest and the dirtiest crudes. “Our refinery will have a Nelson Complexity Index of 15,” the IndianOil executive said. Reliance Petroleum’s upcoming export refinery at Jamnagar, which is billed the most advanced, is rated at 14. Besides, India offers strategic locational advantage from where exports can even happen to as far as the US.

… Build the first distribution park in the steel industry of Orissa …

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Following is an excerpt from a Reuters story.

“Relative to building the 10th new retail mall in a suburb of Mumbai … I’d much rather build the first distribution park in the steel industry of Orissa, where you’ve got great demand,” said Alastair King, CEO of UK-based India investor Eredene Capital, which owns a warehousing operation near Delhi.

Orissa attracts maximum investment in Q4

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NDTV reported the following.

"Orissa topped the chart claiming almost 30 per cent of the total investments announced during the last quarter of 2007-08 totaling to Rs 3,25,285 crore," a study named ‘Statewise Investment’ said. India Inc lined up investment plans of about Rs 92,035 crore in Orissa during Jan-Mar 2008, with Rs 45,000 crore flowing to steel sector alone, it added. According to the study, Orissa is followed by West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh with the capital expenditure of about Rs 67,361 crore and Rs 58,226 crore respectively. The mineral rich states are attracting huge investments in sectors such as oil and gas, steel and power, Assocham President Sajjan Jindal said in a statement in New Delhi.

NALCO’s 40,000 crore investment plan

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Following is an excerpt from a report in Statesman.

National aluminium company limited (Nalco), which was recently conferred with the prestigious Navratna status, has drawn ambitious growth plans involving massive investment of around Rs 40,000 crore in next five years.

… Sources said the second phase expansion is under implementation at an investment of Rs 4092 crore, which is scheduled to be completed by 2008 end. Even the plans are afoot for the third phase of expansion, which is likely to entail expenditure to the tune of Rs 6000 crore. Under this expansion,

  • the bauxite mining capacity shall be enhanced to around 90 lakh tons,
  • alumina refining to 30 lakh tons,
  • aluminium smelting to 6.3 lakh tons and
  • power generation to 1,700 MW per annum, sources said.

Among the green field projects,

  • a mines and refinery complex is being planned in Andhra Pradesh. The project will involve an investment of Rs 7000 crore.
  • Similarly, in Orissa, a smelter and power complex has been planned in Ib valley in Jharsuguda district at an investment of Rs 8,500 crore. This project envisages a smelter of five lakh tons capacity and a coal-based power plant of 1260 MW capacity. Pre-feasibility report has been finalised by EIL. Nalco has submitted an application for allotment of water resources to state government last month.

The new projects abroad included

  • the proposed five-lakh ton smelter and a 1250 mw captive power plant in Indonesia.
  • Besides, Nalco is exploring the possibilities of setting up a smelter and power plant in South Africa at an investment of around Rs 16,000 crore.

Also the company plans to set up

  • an aluminium park in Angul, as a joint venture with IDCO.
  • Similarly, it has entered into an agreement with Bharat Earth Movers Limited for the production of aluminium rail wagons. (Where ?)
  • This apart, cement plant being another new venture for the flagship PSU, expression of interest has been invited from competent parties to set up a cement plant based on fly ash of Nalco’s power plant at Angul

High level committee approves PCPIR and consents to state investment of 2700 crores

Chemicals, Fertilizers, Jagatsinghpur, Paradip - Jatadhari - Kujanga, PCPIR, Petrochemicals, Refinery 1 Comment »

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

The Centre had accorded provisional approval to five, proposed petroleum, chemical and petrochemical investment regions including the one being planned in Orissa and had asked if the state government would be investing in the project infrastructure.

The authority consented to invest Rs 2,700 crore on the infrastructure development, while the Centre and central public sector undertakings, including the Indian Oil Corporation, have already agreed to spend Rs 5,800 crore on this score.

In all, Rs 15,273 crore would be spent on the infrastructure development at the project site and on the periphery, official sources said.

According to the vision plan, the proposed region would be developed in an area spread over 250sqkm without any displacement. The areas concerned would be developed into modern “city villages”. The annual project turnover has been estimated at Rs 423,500 crore.

There would be a value addition of the petroleum-related products to the tune of Rs 43,000 crore and an equal amount in shape of export earnings. The total tax income has been estimated at Rs 42,000 crore, of which Rs 32,100 crore is expected to go to the state exchequer.

Infosys plans for a 500 crore investment in Bhubaneswar

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Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times.

IT major Infosys today said it would invest Rs 500 crore in Orissa for setting up an SEZ in IT and ITeS sectors and take care of children’s mid-day-meal scheme and healthcare services.

“We have proposed to set up an IT SEZ in Bhubaneswar. The project will require 50 acres of land”, T V Mohandas Pai, Director HR, ER and administration and member of board of Infosys, told reporters here.

… Pai who had been funding mid-day meal for 10,000 school children in Nayagarh district, also agreed to extend the programme to Gajapati and Kandhamal districts, official sources said. Besides, 30,000 children in Puri district were also getting midday meal in Puri district.

“We have been spending Rs 6.50 per child to provide quality food,” Pai said pointing out that Infosys had spent Rs 5.5 crore towards its corporate social responsibility.

Shetty, who had been providing health care service to BPO staff, urged Patnaik to allot five-seven acres of land in the city for setting up a 1,000-bed heart hospital.

As the city was gradually becoming a IT hub of Eastern India with almost all major players opening their development centres, employees required quality heath service, Shetty said.

“We have also requestedthe state government to help Shetty set up a heart hospital here”, Pai told reporters.

Tatas plan a rural BPO in Kalinganagar

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Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

The rural BPO centre will be established by the Tata Business Support Services (TBSS) — the BPO wing and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons — in partnership with Tata Steel Rural Development Society — a corporate NGO managed by the Tata Group for the last 60 years. To start with, it is expected to employ around 200 people.

Sources close to the development said the company has already recruited the first batch of the executives for the BPO unit, who are expected to undergo two months of training at TBSS’ headquarters in Hyderabad. TBSS has developed a specialised training programme in view the fact that most of the new recruits are not computer literate. It currently operates three rural BPO units that employ around 500 people in all.

A spokesperson from Hyderabad-headquartered TBSS confirmed the move. A senior official of the Tata group said the company was looking for graduates and under-graduates with some knowledge of English.

The centre aims at handling the Orissa region front-end and customer support works of group companies including Tata Teleservices and Tata Sky. The BPO unit will also provide services to other firms who have substantial operations in Orissa.

“Opening the BPO unit in Kalinganagar will provide us access to many educated but unemployed youths in semi-urban areas like Jajpur Road and Duburi which have a number of colleges and educational institutions in and around. The education level among the masses in these areas is comparatively high and the aspirations level of the local people is also very high,”said a Tata group executive in charge of human resources development.

“Although most youths in these areas are interested in higher-end and computer-related jobs, there were no opportunity in these places,” the executive added.

The group will initially run the BPO unit in the transit houses and rehabilitation set-up established by the company in Kalinganagar, before moving into a dedicated building in next few months. The centre will start as a voice-based BPO with focus on Bengali, Hindi and English languages other than Oriya.

Tehelka interview with Finance minister: some relevant excerpts

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Following is excerpted from a Tehelka interview. SC is one of the inerviewers Shoma Chaudhury.

SC: China has just six SEZs. But our Board of Control cleared more than 200 SEZs in its first sitting. I know that privately you…

It doesn’t matter what I think. We are not talking off the record, and I am reluctant to talk about it because I am bound by government policy. There is some consternation about the way the policy is operating. An empowered group of ministers has been asked to look into it. It’s taking more time than I would have liked, but hopefully some of the concerns expressed will be addressed.

SC: But our industrial projects, our growth centres, our cities have zero concern about environment, human life. Shouldn’t quality of life — a sense of well-being — be a factor in the growth story? France is revising what its GDP should mean to include the intangible but crucial idea of “well-being”.

Yes, but that’s after you reach a certain level of GDP, a certain degree of per capita.

SC: That’s the point. First we must arrive at the crisis, then we will look for the remedies.

Poverty is the worst polluter. If you are poor, you live in the most polluted world. The sanitation is poor, the drinking water is poor, the housing is poor, the air you breathe is poor. Everything is polluted. Poverty is the worst polluter. It’s our right, our duty, to first overcome poverty. In the process, yes, we will be sensitive to concerns expressed by other countries but not at the cost of our growth and our goal of eliminating poverty in our lifetime.

SC: The worrying thing is that on the ground the exact opposite of what you say is happening. Take the POSCO project or Vedanta or the sponge iron factories in Raigad. It is the poor who are suffering the most from the move towards industrialisation. Most of the unrest in the country today is over development projects that are anti-people — in terms of land takeover, resource usage, pollution of water and air. On the very things you talked about — air, water, basic health, basic living — the growth that is meant to alleviate poverty is adding to their misery. Do you call this inevitable collateral or would you admit the way we are going about things is wrong?

I think people are being deceived to believe that the existing state of life is an ideal state of life and development and industrialisation will make it worse. Here we talk about steel prices going up, but for three years we have stopped the world’s largest steel producer from producing steel in India. This could be categorised as a conspiracy of the socially-driven class to keep poor people poor. What is the quality of life we are talking about? They have no food, no jobs, no education, no drinking water. These districts of Orissa have remained poor since the world dawned. They live in abject poverty and you want me to accept the argument that if you set up a steel plant or mine the minerals there, they will become even poorer? What are we talking about?

SC: I am talking about the way it’s done. So what do we do?

We keep the minerals buried in Mother Earth? We keep the iron ore where it is, we keep the coal where it is and keep people poor? Is that what you’re suggesting? I’m telling you, we must develop those iron ore mines, we must mine that coal, we must build industries, we must give jobs to people. If this argument had prevailed there would be no Jamshedpur, and today the quality of life in Jamshedpur is better than in any other city in India. It has 24 hours water supply, electric supply, it has education for all its residents, and it has cleaner air than any other city. Had these people been around to advice Mr Jamshedji Tata in 1908, there would have been no Jamshedpur at all.

SC: There’s little evidence to go by. There was a culture of collective good and nation-building which no longer exists.

I don’t agree that the only ones with conscience and sensitivity to the environment are NGOs, and that business houses and entrepreneurs have no conscience and are totally oblivious to the larger good. I don’t agree at all. Just go to Neyveli and see. What was Neyveli? It was the poorest part of Tamil Nadu and today it is a humming, buzzing town and it has a school which has hundred percent pass results every year. The boys and girls from that school are toppers in competitive examinations. I sincerely hope you do not believe the poor enjoy a high quality of life.

SC: Our governments have been pretty derelict in regulating or nudging corporates to behave well. The Vedanta project in the Niyamgiri hills in Orissa is a good example. It earned international censure for its untenable behaviour in Orissa, a Norwegian fund even divested from it because of that. But here it took a PIL to stall the project. Would you agree that our government is failing to bat for the common good?

We have enough laws to take care of the issue. Apply those laws. If the Central or state government does not enforce environmental laws then blame that government. If the laws are inadequate, strengthen them, but in the name of the environment, for heaven’s sake, please don’t say that the poor should remain poor for the next five thousand years.

SC: Take Vedanta again. I’m asking what is the view from the other side, what is the government’s thinking on them? Even after they were stalled by the Supreme Court, the government asked it to reapply for the project under its Indian company. You argued as a lawyer for them when you weren’t Finance Minister.

In one of their excise cases. What has that got to do with this? Are you insinuating that my answers are coloured by the fact that I appeared for them? If a lawyer is pleading for a client in a murder case, does that imply that he has complicity in the murder? What is the relevance of your statement?

SC: Alright, I’ll withdraw it. I am asking, given their dismal track record in Orissa, why is the government defending their position instead of disqualifying them or pushing them towards better practices?

So do it. Who is preventing you? Apply the laws. But don’t stop the project. That’s the only way of rescuing those people from the clutches of abject poverty.

… SC: It sounds like a pipedream, because the experience on the ground is very different. Look at Gurgaon — emblem of India Shining, coming up on virgin land. It could have been a kind of urban utopia. Instead, there is no water, no electricity, no public transport, huge pollution, and absolutely no space or planning for the poor. Take any other B-town. Moradabad. Siliguri. Patna. Take the megalopolises — imploding under the weight of growth. The poor definitely don’t seem to be benefiting in these places.

So shall we leave people to live in these villages?

SC: I am asking is there a slower, deeper, more varied way of doing things that might not mean instant and insane wealth for a few of us, and yet ensure overall growth?

Apply the laws. Apply town-planning laws. The laws do not allow you to build without providing water and open spaces. You are passing off our collective failure to apply laws upon the model of development itself. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the model of development. It is just the unwillingness of the authorities to enforce rules and regulations. The answer is not to go back to the past and say, if we cannot apply the laws, let’s continue to live in our original state of poverty, neglect and despair.

SC: Let’s go back to national resources, like minerals. When you hand over natio – nal wealth to private corporations driven purely by the profit motive, what is the logic of usage? What’s to stop them cynically destituting a place before moving on?

Don’t hand it over to a private corporation. Set up an efficient PSU if you want.

SC: But you are against PSUs.

We are not, who said we are? We are putting more money in NTPC, SAIL, NMDC. We have revived 29 sick PSUs and put aside 13,000 crores in the last four years for this. So create a PSU. But why this old mental block that private is greed and therefore bad, and public is good.

SC: There are bad examples. Union Carbide, Enron.

If you want to continue with those traditional images of public and private sector you are welcome. The point I’m making is coal and iron ore is not meant to be kept buried under Mother Earth. They have to be put to use. As for your fears about environment and overuse, when we found that mining Kudremukh iron ore is highly polluting, we stopped mining it. But the argument that resources should not be used is an argument that must be rejected. Those who say that have a vested interest in perpetuating poverty.

I am with the finance minister on this.

Aditya Birla group confronted for lack of progress in Kashipur

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See details at http://tathya.in/story.asp?sno=1866. Following is an excerpt.

The meeting with the Chief Minister of Orissa on Thursday turned sour, when his company Utkal Alumina International Limited (UAIL) was blamed for the delay.

A senior mandarin in charge of a crucial regulatory department charged Mr.Birla of creating hurdle for him self.

“I take strong exception to it”, retorted Mr.Kumar Mmangalam.

But the no nonsense officer was clearly in no mood to relent.

He said that "the fact is fact and some body should call spade a spade".

The senior mandarin charged UAIL of turning pro-industry people as anti-industry in the area.

He said after 2004, UAIL take over by A V Birla Group, it has only erected a boundary wall and now asking for moon without doing any thing.

A V Birla Group is asking for more bauxite mines and coal linkage for their group.

… UAIL’s Managing Director Debu Bhattacharya was seen fuming over the allegations hurled against them in front of the Chief Minister.

But they were undone and agreed to go for value addition by setting up a smelter plant to use the alumina.