- PNGRB invites bids for retailing gas in 4 states
- Central Bank launches CentFast2India service for e-transfer
- 20 IIITs to come up on public-private partnership mode
- IGNOU inaugurates Agri programme at IAS
- NSE, London bourse ink cross-listing pact
Fresh from receiving full powers, oil regulator the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has invited bids for giving licences for retailing CNG to automobiles and piped cooking gas to households in eight cities in West Bengal, Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana. The PNGRB has invited bids for Asansol-Durgapur (in West Bengal), Bhavnagar, Ghandhidham-Anjar, Bhuj-Mundra and Jamnagar (all in Gujarat), Ludhiana and Jalandhar (in Punjab) and Panipat (in Haryana). According to the public notice, bids will close on December 3, 2010. Nearly three years after it came into existence, the Government this month notified a crucial section that now give the regulator explicit powers to issue city gas distribution licences. The Section 16 of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Act of 2006 was notified with effect from July 15, official sources said. The PNGRB, which is to regulate petroleum product and natural gas sector, came into existence in October 2007 but Section 16 of the Act was not notified by the Government. The section gives PNGRB powers to authorise companies to retail CNG to automobiles and pipe cooking gas to households. Sources said PNGRB, however, did not feel constrained by absence of Section 16 and held two rounds of bidding for giving city gas distribution rights. In March last year, it conducted the first round for six cities - Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, Mathura and Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, Kota in Rajasthan, Dewas in Madhya Pradesh and Sonepat in Haryana. GAIL Gas swept the round bagging five cities. Bhagyanagar Gas, an equal joint venture of GAIL and Hindustan Petroleum, got the sixth city of Kakinada. In the second round in August, PNGRB invited bids for seven cities, including Ghaziabad, Allahabad and Chandigarh. Indraprastha Gas, which claimed it had central government and Supreme Court authorisation for retailing CNG and piped gas in Ghaziabad, challenged in the Delhi High Court the PNGRB's authority to issue licences in absence of the Section 16. The HC in January ruled that PNGRB had no powers to issue city gas authorisation, leading to scrapping of second round. After the HC ruling, the authority to issue CGD licenses fell on the central government which authorised winners of the first round of auction conducted by PNGRB and explicitly gave the licence for Ghaziabad to IGL, they said. Armed with the Section 16, the regulator has now come out with a third round of auction. |
| Go to Top |
Public sector lender Central Bank of India has launched a channel “CentFast2India” for remitting funds online from the United States to India. "This facility offers a hassle-free funds transfer by remitters in the United States to beneficiaries in India through Internet banking," Central Bank's Chairman and Manging Director S Sridhar told reporters in Mumbai. It gives freedom to the remitter in the United States to remit money at his convenience from any bank account anywhere in the US to any account in India," Sridhar said. To start with, the maximum amount per remittance has been restricted at $5,000. Overseas Indian remittances were estimated to be around $55 billion by FY'10 and is expected to touch $100 billion by 2014, he said. Sridhar said the bank would focus more on the retail sector this fiscal by launching new products. "Our focus was on the corporate sector last fiscal. This year we will focus on retail. We expect to increase our retail growth to 25 per cent in FY'11 from 20 per cent last fiscal," he said. |
| Go to Top |
The HRD Ministry has prepared a public-private-partnership model for setting up 20 IIITs under which the expenditure could be shared in the ratio of 85 to 15 between the Government and industry. "The Government of India has a scheme of setting up new IIITs under PPP mode," Minister of State in the HRD ministry D. Purandeswari said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha recently. According to a note prepared by the Ministry for these projects, each Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) would be set up at an investment of Rs 200 crore and the government would bear 85 per cent of the expenditure. Of the 85 per cent spending, the Centre would provide for 50 per cent and the state government would bear 35 per cent of the expenditure. It means the Centre will provide Rs 100 crore while the state government will give Rs 70 crore and the industry will provide Rs 30 crore for setting up of each IIT. "The scheme is yet to be approved by the cabinet. The location and other details of the new IIITs will depend upon the schemes finally approved," the Minister added. At present, India has four IIITs at Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh), Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh), Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) and Kancheepuram (Tamil Nadu). |
| Go to Top |
The agricultural programme of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has started at the Institute of Agricultural Science (IAS), Banaras Hindu University (BHU). Prof DS Singh, head of department of farm engineering, has been made course coordinator of the programme. According to university spokesperson, the IGNOU programme includes PG diploma in food safety and quality management, diploma in value-added products in fruits and vegetables, diploma in production of value-added products from cereal, pulses and oil seeds and diploma in dairy technology. New building: The newly constructed administrative building of the Institute of Agricultural Science, BHU, and bio-fertiliser laboratory would be inaugurated on Thursday. Awareness rally: To create awareness among people about environment protection and pollution abatement, the NCC cadets carried out a rally from Lanka gate to Ravidas Ghat on Wednesday. These cadets of NCC Gp HQ A Varanasi, 28 Girls Battalion are taking part in the Combined Annual Training Camp from July 22 to 31. They also took part in the Ganga cleaning. Munshi Premchand Lamhi Mahotsava: To celebrate the birth anniversary of legendary novelist Munshi Premchand, a three-day function is going to be held from July 29 to 31. The celebration will begin with the painting exhibition and essay writing competition at the Cultural Complex, Chowkaghat, on Thursday. On July 30, a 'mushaira' and 'kavi sammelan' would be held at the Cultural Complex and, on the concluding day, a function would be held at Lahi, the birthplace of the great novelist, featuring seminar, stage show and folk music. |
| Go to Top |
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has inked a letter of intent with London Stock Exchange (LSE) to evaluate cross listing of index products as well as explore joint strategic opportunities. Both the bourses have explored the possibility of a cross-listing agreement of their flagship indices. The letter of intent was signed on Wednesday by Xavier Rolet, chief executive of LSE and Chitra Ramakrishna, joint managing director of NSE in presence of George Osborne, chancellor of the exchequer of the United Kingdom. “We are optimistic about India’s remarkable growth story and feel strongly that a business relationship with India’s leading stock exchange opens exciting investment opportunities for Indian investors in international companies as well as giving international investors greater opportunities to participate in India's growth,” said Rolet. While FTSE Group may license the FTSE 100 index to the NSE, the bourse would license the Nifty to LSE for trading option contracts. Initially, only Nifty options will be considered for listing at LSE as NSE already has licensed Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) for trading Nifty futures contracts. This will be the second international product that NSE is trying to bring into India. As per its previous agreement with CME, NSE received the exclusive license to trade futures contract of S&P 500 and Dow Jones indices in the Indian market. |
| Go to Top |
