Infrastructure and Energy Sector

Pintu

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...H-17-widening-project/articleshow/6056992.cms

Hyderabad-based company bags Rs 3,100 cr-NH 17 widening project
TNN, Jun 17, 2010, 05.02am IST

PANAJI: The project for the four- and six-laning of the 136-km long NH 17 from Patradevi to Pollem in Goa has been awarded to the Hyderabadbased IVRCL group at a cost of around Rs 3,100 crore. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) accepted IVRCL's tender for the project which will be constructed on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) pattern, with a concession period of 23 years.

Official sources said that the construction of the Zuari bridge will be accorded top priority, while the bridges at Talpona and Galgibaga will be taken up on a war-footing. Sources also said that the project can begin only once 80% of the land is in possession of NHAI. Presently, only about 50% of the land has been acquired and land acquisition proceedings in North and South Goa are under way.

The project, however, has to begin within six months of acceptance of tender, sources said. Details provided by IVRCL reveal that the highway project constitutes six-laning for 32.96km and four-laning for 89.10 km, besides the building of several major structures including a new and iconic six-lane cable stay bridge over river Zuari (similar to the WorIi Sea Link bridge) for a length of 900m. The Zuari bridge will comprise a main span of 500m supported on 130m high pylons, adjacent spans of 200m on either side and an approach viaduct of 300m on either side (10 x 30m), totaling to an overall length of 1,500m. The four- and six-laning of NH 17 in Goa is expected to usher in accelerated industrial growth while easing the present traffic congestion in the state. It is scheduled for completion in 36 months for the highway portion and 48 months for the Zuari bridge. This corridor forms the preferred road connectivity between Panvel (Maharashtra) and Mangalore (Karnataka) through Panaji (Goa). Toll will start after completion of the highway portion which is scheduled in 36 months. Although the road alignment has been "almost finalized" by NHAI in consultation with the local PWD, the contentious issue of demolitions is creating problems among the Goan public.

Sources said the widening project will require demolition of about 480 structures along NH 17 in Goa. These include about 287 residential houses and a majority of the structures to be axed are in Porvorim, Bambolim, Siridao, Agassaim, Cortalim and Cuncolim. NHAI has earmarked around Rs 800 crore for the rehabilitation of those affected by the demolitions, for the shifting of utilities and similar concerns. All affected will be rehabilitated within one 1km of their present location. For example, the doctor's quarters in Bambolim will be rebuilt on the opposite side of the road on land being developed by the Goa housing board. PWD will provide estimates and facilitate the rehabilitation work, but NHAI will bear all costs, sources said.

The highest number of 40 structures, both commercial and residential, to be demolished are in Porvorim. There was a proposal earlier by NHAI to build a bypass via Socorro in order to prevent these demolitions. But the proposal was dropped because of several constraints like topography of the area, environmental concerns (huge number of trees were required to be cut) and prohibitive costs in land acquisition and construction. Although some prominent Porvorim residents are now objecting to the widening, official sources said that these very people gave written undertakings on stamp paper that they will voluntarily demolish their structures when the widening project begins.
 

ajtr

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Crude storage facility for Kuwait on agenda

R. SURYAMURTHY

Strategic move
New Delhi, June 17: India is likely to offer to Kuwait a storage facility for its crude oil in return for assured supplies in the long term from the Gulf nation. The proposal may be put before Kuwait's oil minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah al Sabah when he visits New Delhi later this month.

"We expect to hear some positive response during the visit. It is a win-win offer for both nations," a senior oil ministry official said.

The proposal, if accepted by Kuwait, would help India to strengthen its emergency oil reserves and reduce its vulnerability to supply disruptions. For Kuwait, it ensures an assured market and a new hub for venturing into other east Asian countries.

Officials said India had made similar offers to other Gulf nations such as Oman, Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia. India depends on imports to meet its oil needs, and West Asia holds the key to its energy security.

According to provisional data of the petroleum ministry, cumulative crude oil imports for 2009-10 are up 19.6 per cent year-on-year at 153.2 million tonnes.

The crude storage facilities will be developed as joint ventures with the national oil companies of Gulf countries, which are traditional suppliers of crude, officials said.

The Gulf-based crude oil suppliers to India include Saudi Aramco, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co and National Iranian Oil Company.

If the Gulf countries accept the offer, India can emerge as a regional hub in crude oil trade. The country is already a major exporter of refined petroleum products.

India imports over 80 per cent of its crude oil. Its oil storage infrastructure can meet the requirement for less than 30 days, while developed countries maintain reserves for 90 days.

"Given the volatility in crude prices, the storage terminals are intended as a buffer for the economy. This should ideally be done when oil prices were at their lows," D. K. Joshi, principal economist with rating agency Crisil, said.

State-owned Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL) is building three storage facilities in Mangalore, Visakhapatnam and Padur in Kerala.

The first terminal being built at Visakhapatnam with a capacity of 1.33 million tonnes will be ready by the middle of next year. The other two terminals will take the total storage capacity close to 5 million tonnes.

India plans to increase its strategic petroleum reserves to 8.5 million tonnes by 2012. The country has an existing reserve of 3-3.5 million tonnes, held by BPCL, HPCL and IOC.

The three facilities are being built at a cost of about Rs 2,400 crore (at September 2005 prices), according to ISPRL.
 

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Iraq wants direct flights to India


NEW DELHI: Exactly two decades after Indian carriers stopped flights to Iraq following the Gulf war in 1990-91, the country wants resumption of direct flights with India. Officials from Iraq's embassy recently approached the foreign affairs and aviation ministries and impressed upon them the need for direct connectivity as there is a huge flow of visitors between the two nations looking for education, healthcare and even religious tourism.

Currently, almost the entire traffic between Iraq and India is routed via Gulf on their carriers. The aviation ministry will now see the existing bilateral agreements to see if there are adequate flying rights or fresh ones need to be signed. Already, Naresh Goyal's Jet Airways is learnt to be toying with the idea of having charter flights to Najaf in Iraq for religious tourism. Karbala is close to Najaf. Iraq Air and Air India used to have flights between the two countries.

AI had started flights to Baghdad in April 1976 when a Boeing 707 used to fly there once a week via Kuwait. Iraq Air officials also accompanied the Iraqi team that met aviation ministry officials recently. ''Almost 4,000 Iraqi students are studying in India. A large number of patients also come regularly to India. Karbala is one of the most important pilgrim places for Muslims. So there is enormous traffic potential on India-Iraq route, which is currently being tapped by Gulf carriers.
 

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RIL to pay $1.35b for 45% stake in Pioneer field: Report


Reliance Industries, building its presence in the U.S. shale gas industry.was close to

announcing a deal to pay $1.35 billion for a stake in a field controlled by Pioneer Natural Resources, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Reliance, India's largest listed company, will buy a 45 percent stake in the Eagle Ford shale gas field in south Texas, the people said, according to the newspaper. The deal would be the second of its kind in recent months for Reliance, which is controlled by the world's fourth-richest man, Mukesh Ambani.

In April, his energy-based conglomerate agreed to pay $1.7 billion to Atlas Energy to form a joint venture and own a 40 percent stake in Atlas' Marcellus Shale operations in the eastern United States. A Reliance official declined to comment when reached by Reuters on Tuesday.

Ambani said last week Reliance was looking to build up its presence in the U.S. shale gas business. Reliance is also making a push into the power and telecoms sectors now that it is no longer constrained by a pact that forbade it from competing in industries where Ambani's long-estranged brother, Anil Ambani, is also present.

Earlier this month, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Reliance was in talks to buy a stake in Pioneer's shale gas assets, and was also in talks with several other firms to acquire similar assets.

Reliance was represented by Barclays and UBS, while Pioneer was advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the Financial Times reported. The newspaper said on its website that the deal would be announced after the close of business in New York on Tuesday.

Shares in Reliance, the biggest constituent in the Sensex index, were down about 0.5 percent as of late morning, roughly in line with the 0.7 percent drop in the benchmark.
 

RAM

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India surprises with big new coal ports

LONDON/NEW DELHI, March 24 (Reuters) - The speed with which large, private, fully-mechanised ports are springing up in India is making coal producers and traders think again. Suppliers had until recently doubted India could import the coal it will need because most of its ports were small and shallow, and government port expansions were running late.

The international perception of India's coal ports has been of a collection of mostly small, old, terminals which cannot take standard coal 150,000 tonne capesize vessels but are mostly limited to 50,000-75,000 tonne panamaxes or handysizes. These small ports can take up to a week to discharge, are plagued by delays and have poor road and rail links to end-users. But the slew of private ports under construction or expansion and their sheer size has taken the international coal market by surprise. "We're going to have to revise our projections for Indian coal imports and look at the impact of the ports being built," said John Kearsey, head of research at ship brokers Simon Spence & Young. India will need more imported coal to make up for its domestic shortfall for the next 20 years. In 2010-2011 India will import 81 million tonnes. "Indian and Chinese coal demand is a significant driver behind our forecast for dry bulk demand growth over the next few years," said Will Fray, shipping analyst with London-based consultants Maritime Strategies International (MSI). "Together we expect them to account for over 50 percent of global incremental seaborne coal imports over this period."


India is fully geared up to handle its coal import requirements by 2012, said a spokesman for the Adani Group, India's largest coal importers. "Adani Group itself will have fully-mechanised capacity to handle close to 90 million tonnes of coal at various ports, including its Mundra terminal which will take 60 million tonnes alone," the spokesman said. "Wow, if that's how much they're gearing up for imports we have to look at that market," a European utility source said. Krishnapatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh is one of the new state-of-the art cape ports and will be able to take in more coal than South Africa's total 2009 exports by end-2011. Gangavaram, also on the east coast, is already taking capes and will soon be able to import 35 million tonnes coal. "The long-held dream of capesize discharging at India has now become a reality and volumes will continue to increase," said Stuart Frost of ship brokers Lorentzen & Stemoco.

NEW POWER PLANTS
"It's astonishing. Breathtaking. We went to Gangavaram in March and just could not believe it. They can already discharge capes and will eventually take in 35 million tonnes of coal a year -- just one port," one South African producer said. These are two on a long list of ports being built by private firms in partnership with government, which will dramatically speed up India's ability to import coal open up the market to suppliers who need efficient logistics on the demand side

"All the Indian ports are getting a facelift but there are a lot of excellent new ports such as Mundra, Reva, Gangavaram and Krishnapatnam which have worked their logistical connections right," said ports consultant Poul Jensen. "Nobody believed they would do it but it's one of the reasons I think the coal market should be looking more at India and China - India needs coal, it's not just arbitrage," said one European economist and coal expert. India is also building a host of state and private coal-fired power plants plus private merchant power plants which sell power to local industry on a spot basis and could need as much as 200 million tonnes of imported coal within the next several years to feed these. "India is one of those markets where the projections going forward are not just empty projections," said Anjali Bhasin, a
director of ship brokers Braemar Seascope India.

"Coal has to come in. There is a certain amount of power that has to be generated and these are power projects that are on track. Steel plants which are on track," he added. India infrastructure is changing radically, said Ajay D'Souza, head of Mumbai-based CRISIL Research. "The industry which was stagnating with no new investments or technological breakthroughs saw a radical change in the last couple of years and it will pick up more speed," D'Souza said. The Indian government's aim is to expand major state ports to handle 1.5 billion tonnes of total cargo by 2012 but plans are behind target -- a gap being filled by the private sector

http://in.reuters.com/article/idINLDE62M1NO20100324
 

ajtr

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India records highest rise in gas production worldwide


NEW DELHI: India recorded the highest rise in natural gas output worldwide in 2009 after Reliance Industries' eastern offshore KG-D6 field came into production, global energy giant BP Plc said.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-run RIL began gas production from the Krishna-Godavari basin in April, 2009, and its 60 million standard cubic metres per day output led to a 75 per cent jump in natural gas availability in the country to 140 mmscmd.

"Last year, India had the highest increase in production of natural gas worldwide. And I just checked, it also had the highest corresponding increase in consumption in natural gas worldwide," BP Plc Group Chief Economist Christof Ruhl said.

The jump in natural gas production in India was possible because the government allowed private sector firms to take a lead in exploration for hydrocarbons.

"When you look at countries where gas production is heavily government-controlled, like Russia, they had the biggest decline in gas production and consumption," he said.

"When you look at countries where new technologies have been developed like unconventional shale gas in the US... it was because they have an investment environment which is very competitive," he said.

Shale gas, trapped in sedimentary rocks, is said to hold the potential of doubling gas output in US.

Ruhl said that it was very clear who was left behind, as countries where natural resources were tightly controlled were less flexible.

Ruhl said the recent Supreme Court ruling in the Ambani gas dispute will help investment in the sector.

For investors, "rule of law" and "sanctity of contracts" they sign is important, he said.

The court in May upheld the provisions of the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) an explorer enters into with the government for oil and gas prospecting. It said the PSC gives the government the right to approve a gas price and fix its users, rejecting Anil Ambani Group firm RNRL's claim for gas from RIL at subsidised rates.

"That (judgment) has certainly improved stability and the sanctity of contract," he said. "That was a step into the right direction."
 
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ajtr

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Why Small-Scale Wind Turbines Make Sense in Rural India, But Not So Much in Indiana




A number of sources have outlined new plans of India's Tata Power Company to help electrify rural India through deployment of small-scale wind turbines, the same general type that are marketed throughout the US for rooftop and backyard usage. It's a great idea in India, where rural electric grid access is spotty and energy usage low, less so elsewhere.

Earth & Industry sums up the Tata plan:
The Tata Power Company, a subsidiary of the Tata group, plans to test a 2 kW wind turbine which would generate enough electricity to meet the basic demands of an small rural home. With several thousand villages still not connected with the national grid this micro turbine could prove highly beneficial.
The 2 kW turbine which can be mounted on rooftops would be enough to power multiple ceiling fans (rated 60 W) and bulbs/lights (rated 40 W). Even more appliances if battery systems are coupled with the wind turbines.

Tata's also experimenting with a 35 kilowatt wind turbine mounted to a blimp that will float about 1000 feet above the ground, and generating power from rice husks in rural areas as part of program to "establish a model for rural Indian that can have mass usage at low cost." (Business Standard)Small Amounts of Electricity Life-Transforming in India
Now, more decentralized power generation is a good idea pretty much anywhere, but the deployment of small-scale wind turbines makes far more sense in the Indian context than pretty much anywhere in the US, where the energy demand is so much greater.

Here, a rooftop or backyard wind turbine is much more a fashion statement than something which actually will offset a significant portion of energy usage--especially in urban or semi-urban conditions. You'd be better off just signing up for a green power program with your utility, or buying or leasing solar panels, if you want to reduce the environmental impact of your electricity use.

In India however, the amount of power generated by them though could make a very real difference in people's lives. Those 70 kilowatt-hours per week (very roughly) generated by these small wind turbines simply means much more there than it does here.
 

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Lighting up lives: Tatas plan to do a Nano with power

P B Jayakumar / Mumbai July 2, 2010, 1:14 IST
From micro wind turbines to rice husk, low-cost solutions are being tested to drive the huge market hunger for energy

First they came up with the Tata Nano. Then Swach, a water purifier. Followed by a low-cost housing programme. Now the Tata group is planning to repeat the success in the power sector.Tata Power, India's largest private sector power company, is considering several low-cost solutions to the severe power shortage experienced across the country.
The company is set to test a 2 kwh (kilowatt per hour) micro wind turbine that is one of the smallest in the world. A 60 watt light bulb for one hour consumes 0.06 kilowatt hours (kwh) of electricity and the wind turbine will have the capacity to power a small home for the entire day. To top it, the turbine can be mounted on rooftops.

If that doesn't sound innovative enough, how about generating power from rice husk as fuel? Tata Power will instal a 250 kw power generation system that will run on rice husk at the Tata hydro power plant near Karjat in Maharashtra. The company hopes to get this pilot project up and running by the end of the year.

"Our objective is to establish a model for rural India that can have mass usage at low cost. We still feel that decentralised biomass-based solutions are a good option to power rural India," said Prasad Menon, managing director of Tata Power. "However, aggregation of biomass remains a challenge that needs to be effectively addressed."

"That is the reason why Tata Power is looking at hydro, waste gases, wind, solar, and geothermal as the future green power avenues," he said. The company is also looking at green technologies like enhanced geothermal systems and coal beneficiation to use on a large commercial scale.

Like the 'micro' wind turbine project, the company will also experiment with a 35 kw wind turbine mounted on a blimp that will float 333 metres above the ground. The concept of a high altitude wind turbine is to catch the winds that are more intense and sustained at that height.

Tata Power, which holds 49 per cent stake in the joint venture Tata BP Solar, which is India's largest solar company in India, is setting up a concentrated photo voltaic (C-PV) 13.5kw pilot unit on the Walwhan lake in Maharashtra.

In this technology, sun rays are concentrated on PV cells and are cooled to generate power. If successful, this technology can be scaled up across all lakes that provide hydro power to Tata plants in west Maharashtra, generating about 1,000 mega watt (Mw), said company sources.

India has about 50,000 telecom towers which are run on diesel gensets that provide power to their antennaes. So far, Tata BP Solar has successfully implemented solar powered telecom towers in about 25 installations, replacing diesel powered gensets. The company has also electrified about 500 remote rural bank branches across several banks, including Bank of Baroda, Bank of India and at many rural co-operative banks.

The Tatas are also planning a mega solar initiative, to start from within the group itself. Tata Power has installed about 20 Mw of solar power, utilising the roof tops of other Tata Group companies. Group companies, numbering over 100 and with numerous plants and offices worldwide, may switch over to solar power.

"Our preliminary study shows that there is substantial potential to exploit this opportunity from within the group itself and are currently working on it and implement the same as soon as the overall policy framework is in place," said Menon.

The company is in the process of setting up a 3 Mw photovoltaic grid connected plant in Mulshi in the Western Ghats. This will be one of the largest grid-connected solar plants in Maharashtra. Further, it is also implementing a 50 Mw plant in Mithapur in Gujarat, which will be the largest single solar photovoltaic installation in the country.

Tata Power terms these initiatives as part of its sustainability agenda, as the company has set an ambitious target of cutting its carbon footprint by half within 15 years and turning carbon neutral by 2050.
 

ajtr

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He is lighting up villages with rice husk!​


For the villagers of Tamkuha, a dusty hamlet in rural Bihar, Gyanesh Pandey is the modern day alchemist who transformed piles of discarded rice husk to light up their lives.

Today, every household in Tamkuha has been literally lifted out of darkness with an uninterrupted, self-sufficient power supply, which many towns and cities in India still have not been able to achieve even 60 years after Independence.

Tamkuha, however, is not alone in this matter. Around 50,000 villagers in 120 villages across Bihar and 3 villages in Uttar Pradesh have been benefited by these 'green' power plants.

For villagers, this cheap and eco-friendly model of generating electricity is a miracle that has transformed their lives. No wonder Gyanesh Pandey, the 33-year-old Non-Resident Indian has won the hearts of many poor villagers. "Aap Bhagwan ho (you are God!)!" said a poor villager to Gyanesh Pandey, when he first saw his house lit up.

After relinquishing a successful career in the United States, Gyanesh returned to his native home state in 2007. A mind-altering Vipasana session reaffirmed his desire to come back to Bihar.

He teamed up with his friends Ratnesh Yadav, Manoj Sinha and Charles W Ransler to set up Husk Power Systems, three years ago. Gyanesh, Ratnesh and Manoj had borne the burnt of the power crisis and many problems while growing up and studying in rural Bihar.

Their idea was simple: to provide power to villagers who depended on agriculture as their main occupation in a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly manner. After six years of research and experiments, the team decided that the most feasible way would be making electricity from rice husk.

Many were skeptical about its success. But today, HPS owns and operates 40 mini-power plants (35-100 kw) across Bihar. Through this unique green technology, villages get uninterrupted power for up to 6-12 hours by setting up a plant, which burns rice husk to generate gas to run generators.

"After 60 years of independence, we got the real azadi (freedom) now," Rambalak Yadav, an excited school teacher from Tamkuha, said.

Gyanesh admits he never liked anything about Bihar. So it was a conscious decision to move to the United States. However, years later, he felt India calling him back. Although he kept away from his native place for years, deep within, he knew that one day he needed to come back and work for the upliftment of these villages.

"Becoming an entrepreneur was an evolutionary process. I had a good life in America. I did not face any problems there, but I always had the feeling that I must do something for our villages. I do not feel I have made any sacrifice. Today, there is hardly anything I do other than work. It gives me the satisfaction no job can ever give," says Gyanesh, who feels India's acute power crisis must be solved efficiently with renewable resources.

The company is set to make profits by the end of this year and plans to light up villages in other states like Maharastra, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Providing electricity to villages across India is just the beginning of Gyanesh's ambitious plan to transform rural India. The company has already taken up the initiative to educate 200 children from Tumkuha.

An optimistic and determined Gyanesh is chalking out a grand vision to build an integrated network to upgrade health, education and energy needs of India's poorest people. He shares the excitement, the trials and tribulations of bringing light in the lives of hundreds of poor people.

Why did you decide to become an entrepreneur? How did you get the idea of making electricity for rice husk?

I always dreamt of making life livable for people in the villages. I did not have a concrete idea as to how I should go about doing this. I was working as a senior project manager in International Rectifiers in the United States. From 2002, I have been thinking of a strategy that could help solve the two major problems in India -- water and energy crises.

Finally, we decided to go ahead to with energy solution. Providing a reliable and efficient source of electricity could help people the most. It took us six years of trial and error method, research and hard work before we could zero-in on making this a viable business plan.

The process of gasification by converting farm waste to produce electricity was known. But no one had actually implemented such a low-cost model anywhere in the world. Many people thought we were stupid to do this. However, a scientist at the Ministry of Renewable Resources supported our plan.

It was not difficult to get funds. In fact, funding poured in from all quarters; so it was an easy start. We had to start and see how it runs. Once it got it running, it was like getting a magic lamp. You rub it and get things done.

How is rice husk converted into electricity? How much of rice husk is required for this process?

The process of gasification involves controlled burning of the biomass to produce a particular cocktail of gases, called the producer gas. This gas is a mixture of carbon monoxide, nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide and a little bit of methane.

Producer gas is a combustible gas. It is fed into a gas engine, which drives an alternator to produce electricity. About 2 kg of rice husk is required to produce 1 kilowatt of electricity.

How are the houses connected and how is the metering done? What would be the monthly usage charge?

Households are connected to our mini-distribution grid, which is formed by laying out double-insulated cables on bamboo poles. The baseline charge is Rs 80 for two compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) and mobile charging per month. Consumers pay discounted prices for higher consumption.

How cost-effective is the power generation compared to a conventional power supply?

We charge Rs 40 for a 15 watts CFL (25-30 W, considering the power factor), besides Rs 80-100 to take a connection. This is cost-effective and non-polluting. There are no fixed charges (i.e. meter charges, et cetera as in a conventional electricity bill). A household with one fan and one CFL would pay about Rs 120 per month. (At many places like Patna consumers pay about Rs 250 in fixed charges alone).

How many villages have husk power? How many hours will each house get power?

Besides 123 villages in Bihar, we provide electricity to 3 villages in eastern Uttar Pradesh. One plant can cater to 1-5 villages depending on the number of households. Currently, we provide power for up to 12 hours. We can scale this up to uninterrupted connectivity but there is no demand. We are working in the remote villages where people have just started realising the benefits of electricity.

Most of the people live in small huts and they need just one light fixture. Many houses do not have fans or any other electrical appliance. So it will take time to scale up operations.

What kind of positive changes have come about in villages after husk power?
This is certainly a welcome change in the villages. People can work longer if they wish to at night. Children who used kerosene lamps are able to study better. Women can do the cooking at a convenient time instead of rushing during the day time.

Snake bites and burglaries have also decreased. Shopkeepers do business for a longer time. Electricity will also help set up small-scale units in the villages.

How long does it take to set up a plant? What is the cost of setting up a plant?

Each plant takes about 3 months to get started. This can go up to5 months depending on how many houses need to be connected. We work on a build-own-operate-maintain basis. We have hired local people and trained them to run these plants.

We have also set up a HPS University curriculum to train these workers. We have set up 40 plants so far. Each plant costs less than Rs 15 lakh (Rs 1.5 million) for generation as well as the distribution grid, and generates about 32 kilowatts of electricity. We follow the '3 Rs' -- Reliable, Renewable, and Rural.

How much has the company invested so far? Did you face financial constraints?

The company has already raised about $2.5 million from various institutions. The World Bank's International Finance Corporation approved a $1.5 million financing plan. It received another grant of $75,000 grant from Royal Dutch Shell's Foundation, besides equity investment, grants and subsidies from the government.

How do you see India's power crisis? What role can husk power play in solving India's power woes?

India faces an acute power crisis as more than 125,000 Indian villages still do not have electricity. There is a total misuse of electricity in cities and big factories.

At many places, there is mismanagement in supply and distribution of electricity. Many villages have been identified by the government as economically unviable to reach though a conventional method. There is a need for decentralisation to reach out to more villages. We must switch over to non-conventional resources.

Other power options like kerosene lanterns and diesel generators are uneconomical and inefficient. Electricity is the first step in transforming these villages. Our company has identified 25,000 villages as feasible sites within India's rice-producing area for its projects.

There has to be a paradigm shift in the way we manage the power supply and distribution. Besides, impacting the lives of hundreds of villagers, we are also creating many jobs at the local level for money collectors, training workers to maintain plants and the network, etc.

How is the experience of working in Bihar?

Working in Bihar has its advantages and disadvantages. People are quite unpredictable here. The development is not uniform. There is no quality of work here. Life is tough, but I had some pleasant surprises here. Till now our company did not have to bribe anyone to get anything done, which I feel is a positive thing.

Dealing with the government has been easy. The state is plagued by several problems. There is not a single metro city in the state. The lack of development and lack of opportunities have resulted in mass migration. Our efforts are to stop this and bring about opportunities for people in the state.

What kind of difficulties did you face initially?

This is the best thing I ever did. There were not many difficulties as this was a unique project and the result would benefit many villages. It took some time to convince villagers. But they do no have large needs. To make them realize what they were going to get was difficult.

They had never dreamt of getting electricity. However, Charles W Ransler, one of our co-founders, had health problems after he came here and had to leave.

What kind of sacrifices did you have to make to take on a challenging job?
I did not really make to make any sacrifice. Life is tough here but I opted it as my vision is big. I have big dreams in terms of improving the lives of villagers across India. I am determined to work against the odds to make this mission successful. My work is like painting on a big canvas. The work has started and am confident it will turn out to be a beautiful painting.


How supportive was your family?

My family was not too keen on me taking this risk. Just like all other parents, they had apprehensions about this venture. They wanted to me to continue with the job. But I was determined to work on what I really wanted to do and I am happy it has worked well so far.

People here have a different way of thinking. They cannot relate to new ideas. I had already spent 6 years on various experiments and I had to make this work. But as a good gesture, my father helped me financially when I started working.

Do you find it difficult to find people to work with you?
Not at all. We have some of the best employees which include IIT-ians and MBA graduates from foreign universities, like Wharton. They are excited about working for a project like this. We pay them at par with the industry standards. For them it is a rare opportunity. It is amazing to have them work with us.

Is this a profitable business? When will you break even?

This is definitely a very profitable business. We are working on a margin of 46 per cent at the unit level, which is considerably good. We will start generating profits by the end of this year.

What kind of challenges do you face in this project?

The biigest challenge always is to get the right people for the right job. Besides, convincing villagers about the need to bring about a change in their lives was tough. We need a continuous supply of machines and manpower to effectively implant our plans.
What is the response from the people?

I have been getting a lot of compliments from government authorities and local people. These are truly motivating. Some times I do brickbats. If by any chance power goes off, instead of calling the person in-charge they call me up and scream at me.

Our systems have a running efficiency of up to 99 per cent but there are times when a circuit breaks and people get furious, which I think is their way of showing appreciation for electricity.

After going abroad, people hardly think about their own country? What made you think differently?

Yes, that's true. I did not like India. After I went to the US, I came back only after 4 years. I was not happy with the way people worked and the pace of development here. But the good thing is I had the drive, a motivating factor from within, to work in India. No one pushed me to do this.

The attitude among the NRIs is gradually changing. I had grown up in West Champaran, one of the most backward regions in Bihar. So I knew the problems of the people. After I finished my electrical engineering course from IIT-Varanasi, I decided to go abroad for further studies.

I did my MS from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Though I enjoyed my work, I was not really comfortable because I knew this is not exactly I wanted to do. I was not really looking for a luxurious life. I knew my canvas was much larger. There was a lot I could achieve in my homeland.

Were you always studious? How important is education for an entrepreneur?

Education is definitely an important factor. It is essential to be diligent in your studies though I always lived by my whims. I did not score high grades during my school days.

We did not have much choice when we were studying. The pressure was always to become an engineer or a doctor or join the civil services. This was the mentality. After 12th standard, we just had three options, either take Maths, Biology or Commerce. I was forced to take Maths. I finally joined a college in Delhi and wasted a year as I did not enjoy the college life there.

Then I decided to go to IIT as someone said it is lot of fun. I got through the IIT-JEE and joined IIT-Varanasi. At the end of 4 years, I knew I was not prepared to work. So I decided to go the US for further studies.

What are the reasons for your success at such a young age?
It is all about efficient management. There is hardly anything else I do apart from work. Most of the time, I am travelling from one village to another. There are times when I have to take 30 decisions t the same time. And they have to be right and quick decisions. Very rarely do I get an opportunity to talk about something other than work. My mind is working 24 hours a day.

How important is innovation for an entrepreneurship to succeed?

Innovation is essential to build a sustainable solution. It is often driven by a necessity. The answer to the necessity has to be sustainable and cost-effective.

How can India become an innovation powerhouse?

Entrepreneurs must be respected and promoted. Entrepreneurship and innovation must be encouraged right from the school level. The nation's middle class needs to get out of the 60s mentality of pursuing a career of a secured job.

The country needs to generate its own streams of financing. Our nationalised banks need to grow up with modern times and start financing projects.

Do you believe India needs more entrepreneurs like you? Why don't more IIT-ians work for the development of our country?

India definitely needs more entrepreneurs. There is a huge opportunity to explore in India now. Earlier, we had four or five options but now there is lot of change. You have an opportunity to study what you like to and excel in many fields.

You must be bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and the motivation to create a beautiful solution must come from within. It is much easier for an Indian to dream today than it is for, say, an Ethiopian. It has become a breeding ground for so many ideas.

Many of our rural innovations are ignored. What should be done? Why does the US lead in terms of innovations?

In India, there is a total disconnect between innovators and the society. People look at innovators from 20-storeyed buildings. They are not willing to step out of their office to understand real needs and solutions. No one really goes out to the filed and sees what is really happening.

If you have an idea here, no mater how brilliant it is, it takes a lot of time to implement it. People do not take you seriously. Whereas in America, if you discuss an idea, the immediate response is to see how this idea can immediately converted into a business.

Everything is possible if people care. In the US, people value your work and your efforts. India and China will have the maximum number of innovations if we give more attention to convert these ideas into business opportunities.

What are the most important things that entrepreneurs must have to succeed?

Patience, perseverance, long lasting hope, hard work and confidence are the most important.

What's your target in terms of providing electricity to villages? What are your company's future plans?

We are at the juncture of an explosion in terms of electrifying villages. By the end of this year, we plan to connect 200 villages in Bihar. We will also be starting power plants in rural areas of Maharashtra

We plan to have 2,014 plants by 2014. Besides, electrifying other villages across India, we also plan to make a foray into countries like Nepal, Indonesia, Cambodia and Ethiopia in the near future.

In India, our vision will be rural development with focus on education, healthcare, power and women's empowerment. In the coming years, we will implement programmes to address the most critical needs of rural people.


http://www.huskpowersystems.com/
 
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The day of the oil diatom

By Raja Murthy

India on a national strike over rising fuel prices, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster, and other oil-related woes could be worries of the past if diatom "oil cows" deliver expectations of billions of gallons of fuel annually.

Indian scientist T V Ramachandra, Canada-based Richard Gordon and their colleagues have upgraded the increasing global interest in harvesting fuel from algae, the small organisms found widely in water, from oceans to the yucky, green slime on ponds.

The Ramachandra-Gordon plan uses solar panels to mass-cultivate genetically modified diatoms - one of the smallest and oldest type of algae - that secrete a gasoline type of oil. The diatoms can be "milked" regularly, as cows for milk, for their oil to use as fuel.

The diatom milking process promises billions of gallons of fuel



annually, according to Gordon. "It's a distributed production of gasoline (worldwide), and I have estimated that 10 square meters per person of diatom solar panels may suffice," he said in an e-mail to Asia Times Online. "Diatoms can generate oil independence, is sustainable, and have no net atmospheric carbon dioxide production."

World demand for oil is about 87 million barrels a day, according to the International Energy Agency. Algae-based sources could become front runners as an alternative fuel supply. Governments and leading companies worldwide are starting to invest billions of dollars in researching and developing algae, or oilgae as it's being hailed, as a cheap, environment-friendly fuel. It's being called the third-generation biofuel.

On June 28, the US government delivered a high-profile testimony to oilgae, with the Department of Energy (DOE) releasing a study, "National Algal Biofuels Technology Roadmap". The report included a year of public feedback.

The DOE also announced US$24 million in research funding for the Arizona-based Sustainable Algal Biofuels Consortium, the San Diego-based Algal Biofuels Commercialization and the Hawaii-based Cellana LLC Consortium.

India is already exploring algae for fuel self-sufficiency. In July 2009, Minister for Power Jairam Ramesh told the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit that his ministry was focusing on using "super-critical technology" to producing micro-algae for oil. Kolkata-based Sun Plant Agro is running a pilot project to produce micro-algae fuel from carbon emitted by the Kolaghat thermal power plant.

Also in July last year, ExxonMobil, the world's largest oil company, announced a $600 million investment to research and develop algae-derived oil. Related algae technologies like diatom solar panels could find bigger backers.

"We're trying to find an investor in the long term prospect of diatom solar panels," said Gordon, who does his research at the University of Manitoba, Canada. "I would estimate that five to 10 years of research and development are needed, but at much lower cost than the $600 million that Exxon says in TV ads that it has invested in algal fuels."

Exxon, of course, would find the $600 million a cheaper, wiser investment than the billions of dollars in clean-up bills that BP faces in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

A month before Exxon announced its investment, Ramchandra, Durga Madhab Mahapatra, and Karthick Band, from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and Gordon published their paper "Milking Diatoms for Sustainable Energy: Biochemical Engineering Versus Gasoline-Secreting Diatom Solar Panels" in the Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research journal.

Diatoms, estimated to be 250 million years old as a species, have been considered as possible biofuel since the 1940s. More than 200,000 species of diatoms, not at all fussy about their residential addresses, thrive in a wide range of habitats from seas, rivers, deserts and also clouds.

Their name originates from the Greek word meaning "to cut in half". They are a single cell organism with two parts enclosed in a silica wall. Since they consumes carbon dioxide, diatoms are also seen as a big solution to global warming. Researchers estimate that diatoms remove as much carbon from the atmosphere as rain forests combined. Some call diatoms "trees of the ocean".

The solar panel route to milking diatoms for abundant environment-friendly oil is actually a back-to-the future process. Scientists say much of the world's petroleum originated from diatoms and their oil glands. The solar panel process helps speed up the oil production from millions of years as a fossil fuel to a day or even hours.

Diatoms are estimated to double in quantity in a few hours, offering 100% to 200% oil yields, more than the same quantity of other biofuels such as soya bean, maize and palm oil. So diatoms escape being blamed for gobbling up agricultural land, unlike other biofuel sources such as jatropha, and for diverting food such as soya, maize, beet and corn from dining tables.

Not everybody is convinced about diatoms and algae being 21st century fuel gods. Pioneering Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, for instance, dismissed algae fuel as a unfeasible pipe dream. He said his company, Khosla Ventures, had studied two dozen algae business plans and did not find one that was viable.

Dr Gordon, however, feels the algae-fuel turnaround can happen suddenly. "In World War II, the USA achieved independence from natural rubber, embargoed by the Japanese invasion of the South Pacific," he points out. "The US took one month to decide what to do, established 51 production plants for artificial rubber, and achieved full production within 1.5 years, before stockpiles gave out."

Gordon's more immediate grumble is of fluctuating oil prices affecting consistent investment in algae-fuel research. Investors pump in funds for alternative fuel research when crude prices soar, and back out when oil prices fall.

"I don't know if ultimately algal fuels will outperform other alternative transportation energy sources," Gordon says. "What is certain at present is that fluctuating crude oil prices alternately raise and dash the hopes of those working on alternative fuels, because investors want their cash returns in short order, and are not willing to invest in oil independence." In the 1990s, Japan buried a $132 million algae project when oil prices dived to $10 per barrel.

But nearly two decades later, Japan is again rushing into algae fuel research. Toyota and 40 other Japanese companies and institutions are participating in a $16 million national study of algae as fuel and chemicals. Bloomberg news agency reported that more than 70 major players worldwide are developing algae as fuel.
 

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Is India too late for the Asian oil-guzzling party?

Posted By Eric Lukas Monday, July 12, 2010 - 3:54 PM Share

India -- tired of losing bids for oil assets around the world to China -- is turning to a more aggressive, state-backed approach. One wonders, however, if it's a bit late in the game.

As Bloomberg's Rakteem Katakey and John Duce write, China's national oil companies outbid Indian firms in some $12.5 billion worth of contracts over the last year. The bidding rivalry -- and China's superiority in it -- goes back as far as 2005, when for example China National Petroleum Corp. twice beat out India's state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp., acquiring the lucrative oil assets of PetroKazakhstan and Calgary-based EnCana Corp.'s oil and pipeline assets in Ecuador. That has stymied India's efforts to satisfy projected demand that, according to the International Energy Agency, will double to 6 billion barrels a year in oil-equivalent energy by 2030. The two Asian giants are not in a death grip -- each is pursuing its own interests. But there's clearly tension, at least on the Indian side.

New Delhi is fighting back. This year, Oil Minister Murli Deora (above right, with Hugo Chávez) has launched a worldwide charm offensive, traveling to Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Uganda, and Venezuela in order to chat up local oil ministers and their staffs. The national oil firms, ONGC and Oil India Ltd., have been authorized to spend up to $1.1 billion on investment or acquisitions without government approval.

The most decisive action may be the creation of a sovereign wealth fund to back overseas energy investments. In March, the oil ministry proposed such a fund, to draw on India's foreign currency reserves, and last week the government advanced the idea by forming a task force to draw up a more specific plan.

Yet the still-unnamed sovereign wealth fund comes long after China -- as well as the petrostates of the Middle East -- launched their own such vehicles. Beijing already has a $300 million energy sovereign wealth fund, earmarked out of $2.4 trillion in total foreign currency reserves; India's total foreign currency reserves, by comparison, are $277 billion. That is quite a bit of money in India's paws, but you get the picture -- the country could still face trouble in the bidding process.
 

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India oil reserves to meet 78 days' needs


India's plans of protecting itself against disruptions in energy supplies by setting up three strategic crude oil reserves will increase their level to 78 days of consumption.

Strategic crude oil reserves are a country's answer to counter short-term supply disruptions. They are state-funded and meant to tackle emergency situations. India—the world's fifth largest energy consumer—imports 80% of its requirements and accounts for around 3.5% of global consumption. A country that is a net importer of oil must maintain emergency reserves equivalent to at least 90 days of consumption to be eligible for International Energy Agency (IEA) membership.

"We are building extremely efficiently the capacity of 5 million tonnes (mt) of reserve capacity," said petroleum secretary S. Sundareshan. "They are the largest excavation work being done in the country and are likely to be completed before the end of 2011. This will support (an additional) 15 days of India's consumption."

While the country currently has crude reserves to support 74 days of consumption, Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd, a subsidiary of the Oil Industry Development Board, is constructing three strategic storage facilities at Visakhapatnam, Mangalore and Padur with a combined capacity of 5 mt. They individually will have a capacity of 1 mt, 1.5 mt and 2.5 mt, respectively. The crude oil from these reserves will be released in situations where there is a short-term supply disruption, natural calamity or global event such as a war that may lead to an abnormal increase in prices.

"We presently have 74 days storage. With the additional capacity being built, we would have 89 days of storage. But this will not translate into 90 days for the reason that there will be an increase in demand by that time. So, we would expect that we would have around 80 days storage by that time," Sundareshan added.

India's consumption of petroleum products has been increasing considerably. Its petroleum consumption is expected to rise to 135 mt per annum by 2012 from 112 mt now, according to IEA. The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the Japanese National Oil Co. also maintain huge reserves.

Countries such as India that are dependent on imports to meet their oil needs are particularly vulnerable to price volatility. Extreme volatility has marked the crude oil price, which reached a record $147 (Rs6,894.3) per barrel in July 2008, but has since fallen to around $74. India has also been inviting oil-producing West Asian nations to set up storage facilities on the country's coastline to help them serve their energy markets in Asia such as Japan.

Mint had reported on 21 April about a joint response mechanism being considered by countries such as India, Japan, China, South Korea and the US based on their combined strategic crude oil reserves. The five nations together account for 44% of global demand.

In a related development, India is also looking at setting up additional such locations in structures such as hard rock caverns, salt caverns, concrete storages and even depleted hydrocarbon fields. "We are looking at new locations to increase the country's strategic crude oil storage capacity. Various sites are being inspected," said a government official involved in the process who did not want to be identified.
 

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Soleckshaw – India's First ever solar powered postal vehicle


Last Friday, saw the launch of the first ever solar powered postal vehicle in New Delhi by the Minster of State for Communications and Information Technology, Sachin Pilot. Called the Soleckshaw, this vehicle is one of the first major efforts of the Indian Government to modernize and digitize the postal service with green, eco friendly technology.
The solar powered vehicle will be in operation in about 15 days in just one area at first to see how things go. Based on the results, Pilot will advise how many more are to be commissioned as part of the Project Arrow program. The district of Rajasthan will be the area to get this solar postal vehicle on its debut run.
During this time postal workers will report to the Department of Post regarding any adjustments and recommendations which will be taken under advisement before being mass produced for the entire country. Currently the vehicle travels at 30km per hour on a battery time running 50km or 6 hours on one charge. This zero carbon emitting vehicle is a battery assisted rickshaw and basically combines pedal power with solar power.
 

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Ajtr,

please explain this map, what are phase I, II, III signifying? is this all strategic storage capacity to be created in phases?

its slightly confusing for me, is it trying to say that total storage capacity will be 600 m b by 2018 in addition to existing storage capacity and along with crude in various stages of transportation?
 
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http://money.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=7929083

India considers iron ore export ban
By James Lamont in New Delhi , Financial Times, 13 Jul 2010

The Indian government has proposed a ban on exports of iron ore to secure the country's mineral wealth for its fast-growing domestic economy.

"It will be good to completely ban iron ore exports, as these are non-renewable resources," said Atul Chaturvedi, secretary in the steel ministry.
 
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http://news.alibaba.com/article/detail/metalworking/100359446-1-india-may-ban-iron-ore.html

India may ban iron ore exports

SteelOrbis - The Indian Steel Ministry has announced its position in favor of a total ban of iron ore exports with the country's steel minister on July 12 calling for the preservation of India's non-renewable mineral resources.

According to Indian news sources, Steel Minister Atul Chaturvedi told a news agency, "It will be good to completely ban iron ore exports as these are non-renewable resources; once you exhaust them, you won't get them. How are coal, gas and petroleum products different from iron ore? Why don't we export them? You can't have double standards."


During the last fiscal year, India exported almost half of the 230 million mt iron ore it produced, mainly to China. As SteelOrbis previously reported, India has been gradually increasing its export tax on iron ore, with the tax level on lumps standing at 15 percent and the tax on fines standing at five percent. Recently, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) recommended imposing a 20 percent duty on exports of iron ore fines as against the current five percent.
 

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Ajtr,

please explain this map, what are phase I, II, III signifying? is this all strategic storage capacity to be created in phases?

its slightly confusing for me, is it trying to say that total storage capacity will be 600 m b by 2018 in addition to existing storage capacity and along with crude in various stages of transportation?
RT,
following figure displays the various phases of it....



For further details on the project you can also refer to the following link..
[B]http://www.indiandefencereview.com/2008/05/democracy-and-security.html[/B]
 

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ONGC in BP talks over Vietnam assets

By James Fontanella-Khan in Mumbai and Leslie Hook in Hong Kong
Published: July 21 2010 17:13 | Last updated: July 21 2010 22:40
India's largest oil group is in talks with BP to buy its Vietnamese assets as the UK company works towards the $10bn of sales it has targeted in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.



R.S. Sharma, chairman of the state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp, told the Financial Times that he would be in Hanoi on Thursday with Murli Deora, India's oil minister, to discuss the deal with the Vietnamese authorities and PetroVietnam, the state oil company. He said the matter would also be discussed with David Cameron, the UK prime minister, on his official visit to New Delhi next week.

"BP has given its intention that they want to sell their stake in the Vietnam oilfield and we are discussing with them a way to reach a deal," said Mr Sharma. "We will be talking with Cameron and his team ... the [Indian] government is fully backing this deal."

BP intends to sell all of its assets in Vietnam and Pakistan, except for its lubricants business, in its drive to raise $10bn to help pay for the Gulf oil spill clean up and compensation.

The Vietnamese assets are valued at about $966m and the Pakistan business at about $690m, according to UBS. ONGC said it was only interested in Vietnam, where it already has interests.

BP has been operating in Vietnam for more than two decades and its flagship asset is the Nam Con Son gas project in the South China Sea, in which it has a 35 per cent interest in two fields, with ONGC holding a 45 per cent stake and PetroVietnam owning a 20 per cent stake.

BP has a minority stake in the 371km Nam Con Son pipeline connecting the field to onshore terminals, and controls a third of the Phu My power plant.

"We would welcome interest from any parties and we'll work towards a deal hopefully by the end of the year," said BP, which declined to comment on ONGC's interest
 

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ONGC will spend $5b to boost gas output 60% in six years

Revelation follows government decision to double retail gas price
BloombergPublished: 00:00 July 27, 2010
New Delhi: Oil & Natural Gas, India's biggest energy explorer, plans to spend a record $5 billion (Dh18.4 billion) to develop gas fields to boost output by almost 60 per cent in six years, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The New Delhi-based explorer sought permission from the country's oil and gas regulator on July 16 to invest the funds in nine natural gas discoveries off India's east coast to produce 35 million cubic metres a day by 2016, one person said, declining to be identified before the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons approves the plan.
The amount is triple ONGC's planned spending on its largest oil field and follows the government's decision in May to double the price at which the explorer sells gas.
India is ramping up gas output at the fastest pace in the world, according to BP's 2010 Statistical Review of World Energy, after companies including Reliance Industries discovered new fields.
"ONGC has been discovering new reserves for a while but the concern is being able to convert them to production," said Rohit Ahuja, a Mumbai-based analyst with Centrum Broking in Mumbai.
Good discoveries
"The company is looking to address this with the very good discoveries they have in the east coast."
The producer of almost 25 per cent of the crude oil used by India, Asia's third-largest energy-consuming nation, is starting new fields at home as output declined at aging areas off the west coast.
Reserves added in fields operated by ONGC in the year ended March was the equivalent of 82.98 million metric tonnes, the highest in the past 20 years, the explorer said April 26. ONGC made 21 discoveries in the year, according to a May 28 statement on its website.
Gains
The shares fell 0.4 per cent to close at Rs1,255.25 in Mumbai trading. The stock has gained 6.4 per cent this year compared with the 3.2 per cent increase in the benchmark Sensitive Index of the Bombay Stock Exchange.
The state-run explorer produced 61.6 million cubic metres a day of gas from its fields in India in the year ended March 30, according to data on the oil ministry's website.
ONGC plans to produce gas from the discoveries for 10 years, the person said.
D. K. Pande, director of exploration at ONGC, and S. K. Srivastava, the director general of hydrocarbons, couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
 

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