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India replaces Japan as second top steel producer: worldsteel

India has replaced Japan as world's second largest steel producing country, while China is the largest producer of crude steel accounting for more than 51 per cent of production, according to World Steel Association (worldsteel). The global steel body in its latest report noted that China's crude steel output jumped 6.6 per cent to 928.3 million tonnes (MT) in 2018 from 870.9 MT in 2017. China's share increased from 50.3 per cent in 2017 to 51.3 per cent in 2018. "India's crude steel production in 2018 was at 106.5 MT, up by 4.9 per cent from 101.5 MT in 2017, meaning India has replaced Japan as the world's second largest steel producing country. Japan produced 104.3 MT in 2018, down 0.3 per cent compared to 2017," worldsteel said. Global crude steel production reached 1,808.6 MT for the year 2018 from 1,729.8 MT in 2017, a rise of 4.6 per cent, it said. Others in the top 10 steel producing countries include the United States, at the 4th position as the country produced 86.7 MT of crude steel in 2018, South Korea (72.5 MT, 5th place), Russia (71.7 MT, 6th), Germany (42.4 MT, 7th), Turkey (37.3 MT, 8th), Brazil (34.7 MT, 9th) and Iran (25 MT, 10th). Among other countries, Italy produced 24.5 MT of crude steel in 2018, France (15.4 MT) and Spain (14.3 MT), Ukraine (21.1 MT).

India replaces Japan as second top steel producer: worldsteel
928 Million Tonnes of steel!!??

Itna Kya karta hai Bhai..... How much steel does China export!?
 

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India exporting power to neighbouring countries: Minister
"The central government has made tremendous progress in production of energy in the last five years. Presently, extra one lakh MW power is being produced. It is more than our requirement, hence we are also exporting energy to our neighbouring countries," he said.
PTI@moneycontrolcom




Union Power Minister R K Singh on Wednesday said the Modi government has made tremendous progress on the electricity generation front and India has started exporting energy to neighbouring countries.


He said the country was presently producing one lakh MW of surplus power.

"The central government has made tremendous progress in production of energy in the last five years. Presently, extra one lakh MW power is being produced. It is more than our requirement, hence we are also exporting energy to our neighbouring countries," he said.


He was speaking on the sidelines of foundation stone laying ceremony of the regional instument testing laboratory of the Central Power Research Institute (CPRI) at Shilapur in the district.



He said the laboratory will boost employment opportunities in the region.

Maharashtra Energy Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, CPRI director V S nandkumar and others were present on the occasion.

Bawankule said under the Soubhagya scheme, 12.58 lakh families were given electricity, while 7.58 lakh farmers have been given power connections for the agri pump sets..
 

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India becomes world's 2nd largest LPG consumer after govt's Ujjwala push

Speaking at the Asia LPG Summit, he said active LPG consumers have grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15 per cent - from 14.8 crore in 2014-15 to 22.4 crore in 2017-18.

PTI@moneycontrolcom









The government's push to provide clean cooking fuel to every household has turned India into the world's second largest LPG consumer whose demand is projected to rise 34 percent by 2025, Oil Secretary M M Kutty said on February 5.

Speaking at the Asia LPG Summit, he said active LPG consumers have grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15 percent - from 14.8 crore in 2014-15 to 22.4 crore in 2017-18.

"Rapid increase in population combined with LPG penetration in rural areas has resulted in an average growth of 8.4 percent in LPG consumption, making India the second largest consumer of LPG in the world at 22.5 million tonnes.


"As per (oil) ministry's projections and forecasts, LPG consumption is expected to grow to 30.3 million tonnes by 2025 and 40.6 million tonnes by 2040," he said.

The government, he said, has taken a number of initiatives to promote usage of LPG across the country especially in rural households which otherwise depend on traditional fuels that are hazardous to health and polluting in nature.

Under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) of providing free cooking gas (LPG) connection to poor, over 6.31 crore connections have been provided since the launch of the scheme on May 1, 2016.

"Before March 31, 2020, we will provide LPG connections to 8 crore households under PMUY," he said, adding that "LPG connection is issued in the name of the women member of the household."

Speaking at the summit, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana was launched in May 2016 with the objective of providing free LPG connections to 5 crore women belonging to poor households over a period of three years.

"With the successful implementation of this programme, this scheme has been revised to target 8 crore LPG connections by the financial year 2020. With the revised targets, the scheme now covers all the vulnerable and disadvantaged sections of the society having no LPG connections," he said.

He said the coverage of LPG in the country has now reached close to 90 percent, rising from about 55 percent in 2014. "We are confident to meet our target of 8 crore connections in the pursuit of tackling health and environmental problems and driving social change through women empowerment."

LPG is supposed to replace traditional cooking fuels in rural kitchens such as firewood and cow dung which not only contribute to environmental degradation but also have serious health implications on users.

"With estimated imports of above 12 million metric tonnes in the financial year 2018-19, India stands as world's second largest importer of LPG, after China. The country's LPG imports have registered remarkable trend in the last five years, growing at a healthy CAGR of 12.5 percent, surpassing import volumes of Japan in the financial year 2017," he said.

Also, the government has started transferring the LPG subsidy directly into bank accounts of the beneficiaries, thereby eliminating duplication and fake users. "So far, more than Rs 96,625 crore has been transferred into the bank accounts of consumers," he said.

Under the Direct Benefit Transfer, rather than supplying LPG cylinders at subsidised rates, the government now supplies cylinders at market prices and transfers the subsidy amount into bank accounts.

"This has helped to cut subsidy leakages by curbing diversion of subsidised LPG and ensuring that the actual intended beneficiaries receive the benefits of subsidies. Through this scheme, the government has generated savings of about Rs 50,000 crore," he said.
 

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India Considers Prepaid Power as $5.7 Billion of Unpaid Dues Pile-Up.

Rajesh Kumar Singh Feb 05 2019, 2:48 PM Feb 05 2019, 5:17 PM (Bloomberg) --

India’s power retailers may need to start paying in advance for their electricity purchase in a bid to ease financial stress at generators. Concerned over delayed payments to generators, the federal power ministry has formed a panel to examine if distribution companies should pay generators in advance for electricity purchases, according to a power ministry document reviewed by Bloomberg. A power ministry spokesman confirmed the development. India’s power producers, among the biggest holders of soured loans in the country, have cited mounting dues from retailers as a key reason for their financial stress. That impedes debt repayments and force generators to borrow working capital, worsening their debt profile. Outstanding payments owed to generators rose almost 29 percent from a year earlier to 412 billion rupees ($5.7 billion) at the end of November, according to the latest official data. NTPC Ltd., the country’s largest generator, said its trade receivables rose to 127.8 billion rupees as of Sept. 30, an increase of almost 69 percent

The panel, headed by the Central Electricity Authority’s chairperson, has been asked to submit its report by the end of the month, according to the Jan. 31 document. “Steps to secure timely payments to generation companies need to be complemented with structural distribution reforms, such as timely subsidy payments by states and bridging the gap between cost of power and revenue earned from sale", said Rupesh Sankhe, an analyst at Reliance Securities Ltd. in Mumbai. “Without addressing these key problems, it is difficult to find a sustainable solution to payment delays.” Indian power retailers don’t get paid on average for a fifth of the electricity they supply, mainly because of theft, sloppy billing and revenue collection, and leakages through old cable networks that haven’t been upgraded for decades for lack of money. On average, these utilities lose out 0.34 rupees on the sale of every kilowatt hour of power, government data show.
 

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India unlikely to achieve 100 GW solar power target of 2022
India's grid-connected power generation capacity rose 4% from Jan to Oct 2018 to reach 347 GW
By PTI | Updated: Feb 08, 2019, 10.55 PM IST
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    Renewables accounted for 9.7 GW of the total increase of 13 GW, highlighting the significant investment flowing into the sector
    India is unlikely to achieve its target of 100 gigawatt (GW) solar electricity capacity as it faces short-term uncertainty due to imposition of various taxes, research and consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie said. India's installed grid-connected power generation capacity increased 4 per cent from January to October 2018 to reach 347 GW.

    Renewables accounted for 9.7 GW of the total increase of 13 GW, highlighting the significant investment flowing into the sector, it said in a note adding that India is, and will be, the third largest solar market globally in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
    Cons of the richer millennial

    "As bid prices stabilise and costs continue to drop, long-term development remains positive but still not sufficient to meet the 100-GW solar target by 2022," said Rishab Shreshta, solar analyst at Wood Mackenzie.

    "India faces short-term uncertainty due to the imposing of various taxes & levies on solar products, the cancellation of tenders and tariff renegotiations," he added.

    The year-on-year growth rate of annual solar install capacity is expected to reduce from 63 per cent in 2017 to just over 1 per cent in 2018 before rebounding to over 12 per cent in 2019.

    "Despite strong domestic demand and safeguard duties on imported solar modules, domestic solar manufacturers still struggle to compete with foreign suppliers," it said.

    Wood Mackenzie said India's power sector is going through substantial changes with the government focusing on attaining 'power for all' and restructuring distressed distribution companies and power plants.


    In September 2018, a draft amendment to the Electricity Act, 2003 was introduced to separate content and carriage, directly transfer subsidy benefits, obligate 24x7 power supply, penalise power purchase agreement violations, and set up smart prepaid meters along with regulations related to these matters.

    "If implemented, these policies would change the structure of the power sector and bring much-needed efficiencies into the system," it said. "We may not see full benefits accruing in 2019, but the amendment is long overdue and has been delayed several times. It is a crucial step towards strengthening power sector reforms."

    The 7.2 per cent annual growth in grid-connected power demand helped improve the capacity factor for all fuels in 2018.

    Gross domestic produce (GDP) and industrial production growth continue to drive electricity demand in India, and Wood Mackenzie expected electricity generation to grow 5 per cent year-on-year in 2019.

    "There is an upside risk to our forecast as the election year can increase electricity demand from distribution companies as they would aim to maintain regular power supply," it added.
 

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928 Million Tonnes of steel!!??

Itna Kya karta hai Bhai..... How much steel does China export!?
A total of 69.34 million tonnes of Chinese finished steel were exported last year, down 8.1% from 75.43 million tonnes in 2017, according to preliminary Chinese customs data released on January 14-2019.
 

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Russian GLONASS launches service for India's transport sector
The operator for GLONASS based system Platon received a contract for the introduction of a system in India
By Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, ET Bureau | Feb 11, 2019, 10.55 PM IST
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    According to RTITS, work on the deployment of the Platon system on the New Delhi-Mumbai highway with a length of 1.419 thousand km began in January of this year.
    NEW DELHI: Russian GLONASS or Global Navigation Satellite System is providing a key service in Indian transport sector being introduced on New Delhi-Mumbai Highway.

    The operator for GLONASS based system Platon received a contract for the introduction of a system in India. Platon began introduction of a fare payment system based on the GLONASS on the New Delhi - Mumbai highway. Its operation in India can bring up to $ 2-3 billion per year.
    Case load bogs down NCLT

    The company RT-Invest Transport Systems (RTITS), co-owned by Igor Rotenberg, won the tender for the introduction of a toll-based satellite navigation system GLONASS in India and has already begun its implementation on the New Delhi-Mumbai highway.

    The Russian company signed a contract with India in late December 2018.

    According to Maxim Khudalov, director of the group of corporate ratings of ACRA, the refinement and adaptation of Platon for India can cost about 10–15% of the development cost, that is, 2.9–4.4 billion rubles.

    At the same time, RTITS will earn not only on the installation of the system, but also on its maintenance.

    The contract for the supply of transport monitoring and control systems based on satellite navigation systems GLONASS and GPS to India was signed in 2010. The fact that India is also interested in the implementation of the Platon system, in November 2017, was highlighted by Yevgeny Dietrich, at that time the first deputy minister of transport.


    In April 2018, the head of the Ministry of Transport, Dietrich, informed that an agreement with India on the use of the Russian toll system could be signed before the end of the year.

    In addition to RTITs, this contract was claimed by other foreign toll systems operators - Skytoll from Slovakia, National Toll Payment Services from Hungary, and the Indian subsidiary of the Austrian company Efkon.

    According to RTITS, work on the deployment of the Platon system on the New Delhi-Mumbai highway with a length of 1.419 thousand km began in January of this year.

    The vehicles will be equipped with onboard devices based on the GLONASS / IRNSS satellite system, which have been developed specifically for this project.

    GLONASS, or "Global Navigation Satellite System", is a space-based satellite navigation system operating in the radionavigation-satellite service. It provides an alternative to GPS and is the second navigational system in operation with global coverage and of comparable precision.
 

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The details of location and the quantum in-place accretion of oil and natural gas identified during the last four years are as under: -

State/Location


Oil.jpg


This information was given by Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha today.
 

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Government Approves Financial Support Worth ₹118 Billion for Rooftop Solar Program
Central financial support will not be available for institutional, educational, social, government, commercial, industrial categories





The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its approval for the second phase of grid-connected rooftop solar program with central financial support to the tune of ₹118.14 billion (~$1.66 billion) to achieve a cumulative capacity of 40 GW projects by the year 2022.

The central financial assistance (CFA) for the residential sector has been restructured in the phase-II of the rooftop solar program. For the rooftop systems of up to 3 kW, 40 percent of CFA will be available, whereas for rooftop systems beyond 3 kW and up to 10 kW, 20 percent of CFA will be available.

In case of group housing societies or residential welfare associations, the maximum capacity eligible for the assistance is 500 kW and CFA will be limited to 20 percent for rooftop solar projects for supply of power to common facilities.

The CFA under residential category will be provided based on benchmark cost or tender cost, whichever is lower, for 4,000 MW capacity. However, central financial support will not be available for other categories such as institutional, educational, social, government, commercial, industrial, etc.

The government intends to increase the involvement of DISCOMs in achieving the 40 GW rooftop solar projects by the year 2022. Therefore, under the phase-II program, performance-based incentives will be provided to DISCOMs based on rooftop solar capacity achieved in a financial year. These incentives will enable DISCOMs to create a supportive environment for faster implementation of the rooftop solar program in their area.



The incentives to the DISCOMs will be available only for the initial capacity addition of 18,000 MW under the program.

The program is expected to cut carbon emission by 45.6 tons per year and about 9,39,000 jobs for skilled and unskilled workers.

Recently, CCEA approved the proposal for the implementation of setting up 12,000 MW of grid-connected solar PV power projects under the Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) Phase-ll program by government producers.

In June 2018, CCEA had approved phase three of the Off-grid and Decentralized Solar PV Application Program to provide 300,000 solar street lights across India.

Recently, Mercom reported that in total, the government has released around ₹35 billion ($505 million) in CFA for renewable energy projects across India during 2018-19 (until February 5, 2019). Approximately ₹23 billion ($327 million) was released to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). Gujarat – ₹2.8 billion ($39 million), Andhra Pradesh – ₹1.3 billion ($18 million) and Telangana – ₹989 million ($14 million) were the top three CFA recipients of the year.
 

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Incase people have not realised why the focus on expressways(latest being Delhi Mumbai), it has to do with lowering the transportation costs. In India’s case we can’t reduce the fuel cost, but we can try to make the goods travel faster. Almost all of Nitin gadkari’s plans fall in this category, I.e increasing more efficiency in transportation.

India has some of the highest transportation costs in the world...
 

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upload_2019-4-11_13-25-3.png

Progress of Mumbai-Vadodra expressway
Date: 8/4/2019, near Bharuch
Seen here is construction of Narmada bridge and cloverleaf interchage outside Bharuch.
But not sure what is the construction next to the cloverleaf is of. It could be Mumbai-Ahmedabad new bullet train line.
 

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upload_2019-4-11_13-32-41.png

Mumbai-Vadodra expressway:
Connection to Vadodra-Ahmedabad expressway
(Image of 8/4/2019)
 

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Why entire new expressway instead of NH 48?
Yes, this will be part of larger Mumbai-Delhi expressway, Mubai-Vadodra will join present Vadodra-Ahmedabad expressway. NH48 already seems to be congested.. traffic will only increase in future.
 

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India to install 54.7 GW wind capacity by 2022: Fitch Solutions
The country has set an ambitious target of installing 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by the year 2022.


The agency also said it believes that concerns about the economic viability of low tariff projects from India's wind capacity auctions raise the risk that investor appetite will weaken and auctions will be postponed.
New Delhi: India is likely to install 54.7 GW of wind capacity by 2022 against the 60-GW target set by the government, Fitch Solutions Macro Research has said in a report.
The country has set an ambitious target of installing 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by the year 2022, which includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydro-power.
"We remain cautious on India meeting its ambitious 2022 targets for wind power capacity growth, as land acquisition issues and grid bottlenecks will lead to delays to project implementation in the sector... We forecast India to install 54.7 GW of wind capacity by 2022, compared to the 60 GW government target," Fitch Solutions Macro Research, unit of Fitch Group, said in its outlook for the country's renewable energy sector.
The agency also said it believes that concerns about the economic viability of low tariff projects from India's wind capacity auctions raise the risk that investor appetite will weaken and auctions will be postponed.
"The combination of several challenges in the country's wind power sector will hit near-term growth momentum, including land availability hurdles, grid access bottlenecks and concerns over the viability of low tender bids. This informs our view that India only will add on average 4.5 GW of wind capacity annually between 2019 and 2022, with the aforementioned risks highlighting further downside risk," the report said.
According to an year-end review released by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in December 2018, the country seeks to tender a total 20 GW of wind capacity by March 2020, with two year implementation deadlines, in order to facilitate enough growth to meet the expansion targets.
However, delays to the implementation of tendered projects and more muted interest in new auctions will present a substantial hurdle to fulfilling these envisioned expansion plans, the report said.
"Of a total of 2,943 MW tendered by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu over 2017 - where 42 per cent of total installed wind capacity is located in India as of end-March 2019 - only 825 MW was commissioned as of March 2019," it noted.
Concerns over the viability of low tender bids and land acquisition issues in Gujarat were key contributors to the slow implementation of the projects, which initially were expected to be commissioned within 18 months, Fitch Solutions said.
Further, the grid connection issues have been also plaguing developers of wind power projects.
"In addition, should the facility not be able to sell electricity, the project's loan interest could start to pile up and alter project economics. As such, grid connection bottlenecks represents a key risk to project developers.
"In particular, the expectation for developers to launch low bids, despite substantial project implementation challenges, is set to remain a hurdle to India deploying enough renewables projects to meet ambitious expansion plans," the report noted.
 

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Namami Gange STP projects

Furthermore, the 50 MLD STP being constructed in Ramana will bolster the existing sewage treatment capacity of the city and take it to 412 MLD which is adequate to meet the sewage treatment demand till 2035 and stop untreated sewage from entering the Ganga in Varanasi.

Apart from inspecting the Ghats, he also observed the Ghat pumping stations and tapping of drains. Out of 23 drains, 20 drains have already been tapped. The remaining 3, including Assi are being tapped through Ramana STP project, which is to be completed during this year.

http://pib.nic.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1574878
 

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