Success in my Habit

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Tata Steel, RIL, SAIL shortlisted for corporate governance award

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 18:
Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Steel Authority of India and ONGC are among 26 companies shortlisted for national awards for excellence in corporate governance by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).

However, before finalising the awards, the ICAI has sought the Central Provident Fund Commissioner’s help to “confirm the credentials” of these short-listed companies and ensure that there are no complaints or prosecutions pending against them.

In a letter to the CPFC, posted on EFO’s website, Sutanu Sinha, Officiating Secretary and & Chief Executive, ICAI, has sought the information before November 20, so that it could be placed before the jury, headed by Justice M N Venkatachaliah, former Chief Justice of India.

The other companies in the short-list include Canara Bank, Bharat Petroleum, Central Depository Services, Dabur India, GMR Infrastructure, M&M, Housing Development Finance Corp, Rashtriya Ispat

TUV Rheinland commissions testing facility near Chennai

CHENNAI, NOV 18:
Germany-based TUV Rheinland has commissioned its solar photovoltaic modules testing facility at Sriperumbudur near here.

TUV Rheinland is a service provider in the technical, inspection and certification industry.

The 5,000 sq. ft. facility established under the project ‘PV Klima’ has been undertaken by TUV Rheinland in collaboration with the German Government to study the climatic factors that have an impact on energy yield of solar photovoltaic modules, the company said in a statement.

TUV Rheinland has also proposed to set up such facilities in Italy, the United States and Saudi Arabia.

“Sriperumbudur will be the latest testing facility under PV Klima to take comparable measurements of energy yields and develop methodologies to forecast and increase the energy yields of solar photovoltaic modules,” TUV Rheinland India Vice-President, Business Stream Products, Kalyan Varma, said.

The features of various solar photovoltaic technologies would be analysed with regard to climate effects, seasonal effects, low-light behaviour and temperature behaviour, he added.

Aurobindo Vice-Chairman attacked by miscreant; escapes unhurt

HYDERABAD, NOV 19:
Aurobindo Pharma Ltd' s Director and Vice-Chairman, K Nityananda Reddy, escaped unhurt in an attempt on his life on Wednesday morning.

A 30-year-old miscreant, armed with an AK-47 gun, confronted Reddy when he boarded his car after his morning walk at the KBR Park here.

Since Reddy was alert, he pushed him back after which he opened the fire. However, Reddy escaped and the miscreant ran away leaving the weapon.

The police is investigating into the incident and the motive of the attack and the identity of the attacker are yet to be established.

The KBR Park in the posh Jubilee Hills here is a favourite spot for morning walk for the city elite and industrialists.

When contacted, one of the directors of the company told BusinessLine that Reddy was completely safe.

In 2012, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had also included Reddy as one of the accused in its chargesheet in the illegal assets case of YSR Congress Party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy.

Aurobindo Pharma scrip lost 1.03 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange and was trading at Rs. 1,130.50.

The company posted a 58 per cent increase in net profit at Rs. 372 crore in the second quarter ended September 30, 2014 on a 50 per cent growth in revenue at Rs. 2,881 crore compared to the year-ago period.

Shale Oil: All you wanted to know about

November 10, 2014:
In an unexpected stroke of good luck for you, me and the country, the price of crude oil has fallen from $115 a barrel in June all the way down to $84. This has meant cheaper petrol and diesel, and a lower subsidy bill for the Government. One big factor responsible for this price fall is the unexpected increase in oil produced from shale in the US.

What is it?
Shale oil is essentially crude oil but an unconventional one at that. While the conventional fuel is usually found in porous rocks such as sandstone, shale oil is trapped in shale rock formations that are not easily permeable and hence is tougher to tap. So though its existence has been known for long, shale oil wasn’t being extracted in large quantities.

But technological advancements — horizontal drilling and fracturing (fracking) — introduced and honed since the early part of the century have enabled shale oil exploration and production on an industrial scale.

Most of the action in shale oil so far has been in the US where explorers have struck copious quantities of the black gold. It has not been smooth sailing though. Environmentalists and local communities have been up in arms against the pollution caused to land and water bodies by the chemicals used in the fracking process.

Nevertheless, shale oil produced in the country has grown by leaps and bounds over the years. So the dependence of the US — the largest oil consumer in the world — on imported crude oil has fallen sharply. And this has added to the weakness of global crude oil price in recent months.

Conventional crude oil producers such as Saudi Arabia have been cutting prices to maintain their market share and to drive some of the high cost shale oil producers out of action.

But whether this will have the desired effect remains to be seen — technological improvements are expected to push down the cost of shale oil production.

Also, while Saudi Arabia might have the financial muscle to sustain low prices for quite some time, other conventional producers such as Venezuela and Nigeria may likely find it difficult to hold out.

Why is it important?
Shale oil has the potential to be a massive game-changer in global energy supply and pricing — with enormous geopolitical implications. It’s not just the US; countries such as Russia, China and Argentina are also believed to have vast stores of shale oil. India too is taking baby steps to find and explore its shale assets potential.

Progress in other nations has been quite slow so far. But there’s no saying when the inflection point will be reached. If production continues to expand, countries such as the US could start exporting oil in a few years.

Why should I care?
For starters, more shale oil means lower petrol and diesel prices. So you spend less on travel.

Cheaper crude oil also reduces India’s current account deficit and subsidy bill and will also give a boost to the country’s GDP — that means more and better-paying jobs, and more profitable businesses. But shale oil production in India in the future could also mean more environmental challenges. So the right trade-off needs to be made.

No official notice yet on alignment change, says L&T Metro Hyderabad

HYDERABAD, NOVEMBER 18:
L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Limited has informed that they have not received any official communication with regard to change in alignment suggested by the Telangana Government.

Speaking on the sidelines of an event hosted on infrastructure at Fapcci, VB Gadgil, Chief Executive of L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Limited, said so far they have not received any letter from the State Government on the alignment change.

This statement is significant in the backdrop of an announcement made by the Telangana Government that L&T has agreed to alignment change. A statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office on Saturday after a meeting with AM Naik, Chairman, L&T, Shankar Raman, CFO, L&T and VBGadgil, with the State Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, mentioned the Government’s keenness to bring about changes in the alignment and also the Government’s resolve to increase the length of the metro project from the present proposed 72-km stretch across three corridors to 200 km.

Responding to queries, Gadgil said, “It is not impossible to make changes and everything would depend upon the technical feasibility. In any case, if there are changes that need to be taken up, the State would have to bear additional costs involved on the changes in alignment.”

According to sources, a meeting of the Prime Minister’s Monitoring Group, which closely tracks the progress of large projects, is slated for November 30.

RBI chief Rajan wants focus on sustainable growth

PORT LOUIS: India will focus on sustainable economic growth and developed economies should do the same, Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan said on Tuesday.

The RBI is under corporate and government pressure to bring down interest rates and boost economic growth.

"We have to make sure that across the world we focus on sensible, sustainable sources of growth," Rajan told reporters in Mauritius on Tuesday.

Cheated Indian tourists return home from Bangkok - Tv9