Private power prospects dim

Although the Ministry of Power has put together a list of 195 private proposals for nearly 77,700 MW in fresh capacity involving a total investment of Rs. 2,86,404 crores, more than 80 per cent of these are destined to remain on paper, according to industry experts. The main reasons for such pessimism are that while most of projects have been allocated on the basis of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to private sector promoters who have no knowledge of the power sector and are still groping in the dark on how to go about it, nearly 40 per cent of the projects are based on feedstocks which are neither cost-economic nor easily available.

Centre moots refinery in each State

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is considering setting up of at least one refinery in each State under the long-term strategy to combat petro-product shortage. The proposal, still at a nascent stage, envisages both public and private sector participation. Companies would be encouraged to set up refineries in States where no such facility exists. A refinery in each State, say sources, would not only increase the refining capacity, but also leads to an even distribution of facilities. The proposal has been prompted by the petroleum and diesel shortage in the north, which led to crisis last fortnight.

Inflation falls to 8.6%

The annual rate of inflation continued its downward trend, declining marginally by 0.14 percentage points to 8.6 per cent for the week ended April 29 based on wholesale price index (WPI) movements. The official WPI for all commodities during the latest week stood at 286.6 (provisional) as against 286.3 the previous week.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW