July 1, 1996

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) proposes to obtain the green signal from the Finance Ministry for roping in a new partner for its west coast refinery, if the stalemate with the Oman Oil Company (OOC) is not resolved soon. The Rs. 4,000-crore refinery project is hanging fire since the Finance Ministry is not convinced about the OOC’s financial commitment to the project and the Oman Government is not extending any reassurance on the subject.

Planning Commission may be reconstituted

The new Planning Minister Mr. Y. K. Alagh today said he would talk to the Prime Minister Mr. H. D. Deve Gowda and other concerned officials for reconstitution of the Planning Commission at the earliest. “The Planning commission should reflect the aspirations of the people,” Mr. Alagh told PTI in an interview shortly after taking over the charge of his Ministry. Commenting on the formulation of the ninth Five-Year Plan, scheduled to commence from April I, 1997, Mr. Alagh said basic thrust of the new Plan would be more or less on the lines of the Common Minimum Programme announced by the United Front earlier this month.

Asianet switching to Intelsat

Asianet, the Madras-based Malayalam satellite channel, is to shift to the Intelsat satellite soon from the Russian-built Gorizont. According to sources, negotiations are on between Intelsat representatives and Videsh Sanchar Nigam officials in Mumbai and a contract hiring the transponder is expected to be signed soon. Once that happens, Asianet will be the second satellite television channel to shift to Intelsat in the past months.

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