Central Government approves ten water supply projects for Chennai city

New Delhi: The Central Government has approved a proposal for 10 new projects for providing comprehensive water supply to various areas of Chennai city. These projects were approved at the meeting of the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) of the Union Ministry of Urban Development in New Delhi recently. These projects include water supply scheme for Pallikarani, Chinnasekkadu, Puzhal, Surapattu, Puthagaram, Kathirvedu, Vadaperumabakkam, Theeyambakkam, Edayanchavadi, Sadayankuppam, Kadapakkam, Palavakkam, Mugalivakkam, Manali, Kotivakkam, and Perungudi. These projects have been sanctioned at an approved cost of Rs. 27114.11 lakhs. The Central Government will contribute 35% towards the total cost.

The highest amount of Rs. 6959.90 lakhs has been sanctioned to Puzhal, Surapattu, Puthagaram, and Kathirvedu.

Borewells is the primary source of water in many of these areas. At other places, majority of the existing distribution systems in these areas are very old and not sufficient to carry the required water to the population. Water connections are also not metered. Also, there is prevalence of high water loss in the distribution network. The projects aim to improve the quality and quantity of service, water metering, reduction in leakages and energy consumption and enhancement in customer satisfaction and revenues to water supply organizations.

The projects will also ensure that the distribution pipeline network reaches out to the maximum population. Also, since the population for these areas is increasing there is a demand for an increased supply of water, which is aimed to be provided through these new water supply projects sanctioned by the Ministry of Urban Development.

Isro clears launch of GSLV-D5

Chennai: Indian Space Research Organisation’s (Isro) Mission Readiness Review (MRR) team and the Launch Authorisation Board (LAB) have given the go-ahead for the launch of GSLV-D5 on January 5, 2014. The 29-hour countdown will commence at 11 hrs (IST) on January 4. The spacecraft will be carrying advanced communication satellites.

“Things are progressing well,” said Isro Chairman K Radhakrishnan. Clearance by MRR and LAB came on Saturday, with the launch time fixed at 16:18 hours (IST) on January 5, 2014. The vehicle was moved from the vehicle assembly building to the umbilical tower (the launch pad) in the morning of December 28.

It is after three continuous failures that GSLV (geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle) is getting ready for its new mission. Isro, which has successfully concluded the crucial stages of Mars Orbiter Mission, is confident the GSLV launch will be successful.

GSLV-D5’s mission would be to carry the advanced communication satellite GSAT-14 in orbit. The GSAT-14 will be used for telecasting and telecommunication purposes. Its mission life is 12 years.

The vehicle carries Indigenous cryogenic engine, which will be used for the second time in the GSLV. It was developed by Isro’s Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) at Mahendragiri near Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu. The first flight which used Indian-made cryogenic stage had failed in April 2010.

This would be the eighth flight of GSLV and the second flight of GSLV with indigenous cryogenic upper stage (CUS) developed by the LPSC.

It may be noted that the GSLV-D5 was scheduled for launch at 16.50 hrs on August 19, 2013 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. However, it was called off at the last minute after a leak was found, during the pre-launch pressurisation process, in the fuel system.

The GSLV was first launched with GSAT-1 on April 18, 2001, which was a successful mission.

Out of the seven GSLV launches earlier, three were unsuccessful. The GSLV-F02 launched with INSAT-4C on July 10, 2006; GSLV-D3 launched with GSAT-4 on April 15, 2010; and, GSLV-F06 launched with GSAT-5P on December 25, 2010 were unsuccessful, according to the Isro website.

In the first mission, the GSLV-D1, using a Russian cryo engine, underperformed and in 2007, in the GSLV-F04 mission, one strap-on control failed though both the missions were successful.

Tesco proposal to invest in Trent Hypermarket gets DIPP nod

New Delhi: The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has approved Tesco's application to invest in Tata-owned Trent Hypermarket, paving the way for the clearance of the first foreign investment proposal in multi-brand retail by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) at its upcoming meeting on Monday.

"We have recommended the Tesco application for clearance," a senior DIPP official told ET. The DIPP vets all foreign investment proposals in the retail sector before they are sent to FIPB, the inter-ministerial body that clears foreign direct investment in sectors where government permission is required.

The DIPP approval means that it has found the proposal to be compliant with India's foreign investment policy for retail.

The FIPB has separately circulated the proposal for comments from departments of economic affairs and revenue within the finance ministry, ministry of consumer affairs and ministry of small and medium enterprises.

A senior finance ministry official said the FIPB will examine the proposal to see if it fulfilled all requirements of the country's policy for the sector, and not go into the structuring of the Tesco investment.

"We need to encourage foreign investment in the country. It's up to foreign investors what structure or route they wish to adopt to meet the policy conditions," the official said.

India had opened the retail sector to foreign investment but waited impatiently for almost 15 months before Tesco became the first foreign company to apply for permission to invest in the country. Industry minister Anand Sharma has already welcomed the proposal and it is unlikely that too many obstacles will be put in its way.

Tesco in its proposal has stated that it wishes to take a 50% stake in Trent Hypermarket, which is currently totally owned by the Tatas. The company plans to initially invest $110 million and will put at least 50% of the first tranche of $100 million in back-end infrastructure, as required by the multi-brand retail policy. It has said it will also use this infrastructure for wholesale activities as well.

The company may be asked by the government to give details of existing back-end infrastructure to ensure proper monitoring of the fresh investment. Tesco has also promised to comply with the 30% local sourcing condition in the FDI policy.

The UK retailer will invest $90 million, of its total $110 million investment, to subscribe to equity shares of Tent Hypermarket Ltd while $20 will be employed to acquire existing equity from Trent. Both Trent and Tesco will hold 50% each in the venture after the induction of foreign equity.

World’s biggest fish satellite-tagged in India

Veraval (Gujarat): As the year comes to an end, India took another small step towards learning more about the world’s biggest fish when a female whale shark was successfully satellite-tagged on Saturday in order to learn more about the movement and preferences of this gentle giant, known as “Vhali” or Gujarat’s Daughter, in the Saurashtra region.

The tagging, second-ever in the country, was done this morning by the Whale Shark Conservation Project team members with the help of the fishing community in Sutrapada, under a project supported by Tata Chemicals Ltd.

A joint initiative of the Gujarat Forest Department and International Fund for Animal Welfare – Wildlife Trust of India (IFAW-WTI), the project works to gather more information on the species to help develop effective conservation strategies.

Whale sharks, an endangered species, usually travel a distance of over 20,000 km from Australia to the Indian coast in Arabian Sea every year in winter. Alka Talwar, Head, Community Development, Tata Chemicals, said, tagging will aid in exploring new facts and data on whale shark’s habitat and provide information on their migratory pattern, breeding, and survival on the Gujarat coast. Aradhana Sahu, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Junagadh, said, “Gujarat has been leading the way in conservation of whale sharks in the country, with the fishing community coming forward to save the species over the past decade.”

B.C. Choudhury, Project Advisor, WTI, added that the project would be tagging more fish in the coming days, applying modified methodology to ensure minimal stress on the fish. The female whale shark tagged this morning was around 18 feet long, said WTI biologist Prem Jothi, who implanted the tag. It was caught in fishing net, and was released post-tagging.

Whale sharks were once brutally hunted in Gujarat for their liver oil used to water proof boats. In 2001, the whale shark became the first fish to be listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Following the successful Whale Shark Campaign launched by the Forest Department, IFAW-WTI and Tata Chemicals, in 2004, the fishing community of Gujarat began releasing whale sharks accidentally caught in their nets.

Five More Port Projects Appraised

New Delhi: The Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC-a high level committee of the Government of India) has appraised five proposals in the Port Sector. These projects as listed below will now be recommended for grant of final approval by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). The Ministry of Shipping will submit a Cabinet Note to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs for the purpose.

(i) Development of 4th Container Terminal at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) on DBFOT- Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer basis.

(ii) Development of Container Terminal at Ennore Port Limited (EPL) on DBFOT.

(iii) Development of Multipurpose Cargo at Mumbai Port Trust (MPT) on DBFOT.

(iv) Development of Mega Container Terminal at Tuna Tekra at Kandla Port (KPT) on BOT.

(v) Development of Container Terminal at Diamond Harbour at Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) on BOT.

These projects are proposed to be awarded in the current financial year by various Major Ports for implementation under Public Private Partnership mode. The proposed projects are to create an additional capacity of 150 MMTPA with an investment of about Rs. 17630 Crores.

This year, the Ministry of Shipping has so far conveyed approval for 16 projects against a target of 30 and the Major Ports have already awarded these projects. These already awarded projects include six under PPP and 10 under non-PPP mode and they are expected to add a capacity of 89 MMTPA with an investment of about Rs.4200 Crores.

UK begins to woo students from smaller Indian towns

Mumbai: Following a 25 per cent decline in Indian students heading to the UK in the last two years, the British Council has embarked on a 20-city roadshow in non-metro cities such as Jaipur and Nagpur to reach out to new students.

The campaign follows the recent controversy over the UK visa bond, where visitors were required to cough up £3,000 for a visa. Though it was scrapped later, the issue dented the international image of that country.

Richard Everitt, British Council’s Director Education (India), said the number of Indian student applications to the UK has fallen to 30,000 from 40,000 over the last two-three years. “Fall in the rupee significantly reduced the share of household income spent on education abroad. Rumours about visa and access and increasing awareness about education options in competing countries such as Germany, Australia and Canada have all contributed to the decline,” he said. The UK attracts an average of four lakh international students every year of which 30,000 are from India.

“The idea of the 20-city tour is to raise awareness, reach out to a wider network of students and help bring back the numbers that have declined since the last few years. We want to dispel rumours of the UK having become an unfriendly destination for Indian students. There is no visa issue for them and they are free to work during study and after study based on certain conditions,” he added.

According to Everitt, Indians can work up to 20 hours a week during study and fulltime after study for a period of three years provided it is a high value job earning over £20,000.

“The only change from two years ago is the change in post study work options for Indian students from low value jobs earlier to high value jobs now,” he added.

The British Council plans to increase scholarships for Indian students in the UK. It plans to offer a microsite on UK’s education that can be accessed even from a handheld device, to cater to the tech-intensive generation.

In November, the British Council announced scholarships worth Rs 10 crore for Indian students, covering 260 post-graduate and under-graduate courses across 36 universities in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for semesters starting in September 2014 and January 2015.

PM asks industry to invest in education, research

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on Saturday, urged the country’s private sector and industry to invest in enhancing education and research in the country as India looks to increase its gross enrolment ratio from a meagre 18 per cent to 30 per cent by 2020.

“Today, our universities depend largely on grants for undertaking research. Greater support from industry will not only lead to better research outcomes but also enable industry to utilise these outcomes for meaningful practical application. It may be worthwhile on the part of our university academics to make a detailed study of how this interface works in other countries so that we can replicate the international best practices”, Singh said during the diamond jubilee celebrations of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Singh’s request for funding comes at a time when a number of bills proposed by the Human Resource and Development Ministry are pending in Parliament including the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority Bill and Foreign Educational Institutions Bill. In addition, proposals to amend the AICTE Act and setting up a regulator for distance education has been pending at various stages.

The Prime Minister also expressed concerns about the lack of quality of education at India’s premier institutes and the shortage of faculty in the country. “This brings me to the related issue of shortage of faculty in our institutes of higher education. This problem is likely to become even more acute with the expansion that is planned in the coming years,” PM added. The government is currently in the midst of rolling out the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) which will create 278 new universities and 388 new colleges in addition to converting 266 colleges to model degree colleges by the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan.

Singh also hinted at the need to create new models of financing for the higher education sector as the funding from the central government has declined in real term over the past years. “Although the demand for higher education has increased enormously over the years, the central and state governments’ financial support to institutions of higher education has declined in real terms. New models of financing higher education, based on well established norms, and improvements in the existing system of funding by the central and state governments, therefore, are critical concerns”, the PM said.

Higher educational institutes in the country had come in the line of fire after none of them could figure themselves amongst the Top 200 institutes in the world.

Haryana to have nuclear university

AMBALA, DEC 28:
A Nuclear University will be set up in Haryana soon at a cost of Rs 2,200 crore, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda announced on Saturday.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will lay the foundation for the institution on January 3, Hooda said, while addressing the Platinum Jubilee function of Atmanand Jain (Post-graduate) college here.

Hooda said he would give Rs 21 lakh from his contigency funds for the construction of multipurpose gymnasium hall at the college. He urged people to educate their children.

Referring to the special attention given to education in the state, Hooda said Haryana would become an international hub for education in the next five to seven years.

ESIC opens medical college in Kerala

KOLLAM, DEC. 22:
Employees State Insurance Corporation will complete all its projects of renovating and constructing modern dispensaries, hospitals and offices in Kerala on a priority basis, Minister of State for Labour Kodikunnil Suresh said here on Saturday.

The ESIC Medical College Hospital was inaugurated at nearby Paripally by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.

Suresh said such medical colleges would begin functioning from this academic year in Chennai, Gulbarga in Karnataka and Kolkata. The modernisation is part of the ESI’s ambitious Rs 480-crore programme to upgrade its hospitals, dispensaries and offices nationwide to adapt to the changing health delivery scenario.

Chandy applauded ESIC’s efforts for its services to the working classes of the State and promised the government’s full support to the Corporation.

Official sources said ESIC Medical College Hospital at Paripally would initially have 300 beds and later be upgraded to 500 beds with modern facilities.

AirAsia India set to begin with 5 aircraft, in first quarter

Just as Ratan Tata had dreamt of making the Nano a family car, especially for families compelled to travel on two-wheelers, the Tatas’ low cost aviation venture, AirAsia India, a joint venture between Air Asia Bhd (49 per cent), Tata Sons (30 per cent) and Telestra Tradeplace (21 per cent), will target “first-time travellers”, AirAsia India Chairman S. Ramadorai told Business Line in an interview.

Compared to the Tatas’ other aviation venture, Tata-SIA, this budget airline, which will operate point-to-point flights mainly from Tier-II Indian cities, has been slower on the takeoff. “But the moment the clearances come, we have done all the background work and will be ready to take off immediately.”

This budget airline, he says, should be ready to operate flights by the “first quarter of 2014, or even by February or March if the clearance comes”. The airline is yet to get the operating permit from the DGCA.

Asked if the Tata ethos of not paying speed money had slowed down the venture, he said, “Let it slow down; the moment the approval comes, we’ll take off. In the first year, we will operate five aircraft.”

The main objective of this airline, said Ramadorai, is to make air travel affordable to people… families, particularly first-time (air) travellers.”

Asked if it is possible to be low-cost and profitable he said, “Yes, our hubs will be there only in smaller cities as bigger cities are more expensive. And we are already in talks with various State Governments and have requested them to consider certain things.”

These include lower fuel taxes, “a State subject, and certain other facilities at the airports from where we’ll operate.”

On the likely numbers the fledgling airline will handle in the first year of operations, Ramadorai said: “Our goal is clear, we want to provide affordable air travel, bring in first-time travellers and we want families to travel by our airline. How or what this scales up to, we’re not worried about.”

The point to point flight will be relatively short haul “60-90 minutes, max”, he added.

On why the Tatas would choose an IT man (he retired as TCS CEO in 2009 after a stint of 37 years in the company and continues to be its Vice-Chairman), Ramadorai said: “As in everything else, they wanted somebody they can trust… somebody who would be suitable, not necessarily somebody who knows the business. That, you can pick up anyway, but somebody who could be counted upon for ethical conduct…to present the right face and a clean image.”