Double-digit gas price will reduce domestic demand: Oil Minister

Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily has said that the government’s move for doubling of natural gas prices will halve the demand of gas in the country. At present, most of the domestically produced gas is sold at $4.2 per million British thermal unit (mmBtu) and delivered up to price $6.5, which generates an additional demand of 204 million standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) over and above present consumption of 145.7 mmscmd.

Moily, quoting a recent study on the gas sector, said that total gas demand would increase to around 260-350 mmscmd, if delivered gas prices continue at $5.8-6.5 per mmBtu. By adding further he said that in case the prices rises to $10-12 per mmBtu, potential domestic gas demand would be lower at around 180 mmscmd, generating additional demand of only 72 mmscmd, whereas at prices above $12 and up to $18 per mmBtu, the potential demand would be limited to 38 mmscmd only. High natural gas prices would neither benefit the buyers nor the producers/suppliers and there is no doubt that high prices would drift the demand away from LNG to other competing fuels. At present, the share of natural gas in the total energy consumption in the country is at 11 percent, which is expected to increase 20 percent by 2025.

As per the study commissioned by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), domestic gas production, which was 101.1 mmscmd in 2012-13, is projected to rise to 156.7 mmscmd in 2016-17 and to 182 mmscmd in 2021-22 on back of desired policy support and correct pricing signals.

Earlier, in June, the government had approved the pricing of all domestically produced gas at an average of international hub rates and cost of imported LNG, which will translate into a price of $8.4 per mmBtu, while, the delivered price will be over $10 mmBtu. However, the gas price hike has been opposed by user industries and a petition has also been filed in the Supreme Court saying that rate increase will benefit only a single corporate.

Sadbhav Engineering soars on emerging successful bidder for two projects

Sadbhav Engineering has been declared successful bidder (L1) for the two projects/works worth Rs 456.92 crore. The company emerged as the successful bidder for project worth Rs 428.00 crore in respect of the bid invited by Water Resources Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh for Bahuti High level canal from KM 18 to KM 74 with full canal network to irrigate irrigable command area of 65000 hectares with all in-line structures on the canal system can turnkey basis with defect liabilities period of three year reckoned from issuance of completion certificate.

Meanwhile, the company is also emerged as the successful bidder for project worth Rs 28.92 crore in respect of the bid invited by Narmada, Water Resources Water Supply and Kalpsar Department, Gandhinagar for Improvement to KRB MC Ch 30750 to 39277 M, Ta : Mandvi, Dist:- Surat.

Sadbhav Engineering (SEL) is one of the largest BOT developers in the road sector in India with good project execution skills. SEL operates in the four distinct business areas in the infrastructure sector viz. BOT road projects, cash contract-based road projects, irrigation projects and mining.

Piramal Enterprises gains on plan to invest $11 million in UK facility

Piramal Healthcare is planning to invest $11 million at its Morpeth, UK facility to triple the production capacity for hormonal products, including contraceptive pills and hormone replacement therapies. The expansion, which has been commissioned in response to customer demand and new business gains, will see the Morpeth site’s production capacity increase by around 2 billion tablets per annum.

Work on the new suite, which will house formulation, packaging coating and tableting equipment, will commence at the end of 2013, with mechanical completion anticipated within 12 months and full operations expected to begin following a 6 month validation period.

Piramal Enterprises is one of India’s largest diversified companies, with a presence in pharmaceutical, financial services and information management sectors.

Sensex down 157 points in early trade on profit-taking

The BSE benchmark index Sensex on Wednesday fell nearly 157 points in early trade on profit-booking by funds and retail investors after recent gains amid a mixed trend in the Asian region.

The 30-share index fell by 156.98 points, or 0.79%, to 19,840.11 in early trade with shares of Infosys, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank leading the fall. Sensex had rallied over 1,757 points in the previous four sessions.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty declined by 42.85 points, or 0.73%, to 5,853.90.

Brokers said emergence of profit-booking by funds as well as retail investors at prevailing higher levels amid a mixed trend in Asian region mainly attributed fall in stock prices.

In the Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell by 0.38%, while Japan's Nikkei Index was up by 0.62% in early trade.

Jindal Steel surges on inking MoU with the Liberian Government

Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) has entered into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Liberian Government to set-up (175x2) 350-MW power project in Liberia. The agreement will be positive for a separately proposed iron ore mining project in the African country.

At present, JSPL is in negotiations with Liberian authorities for the iron ore asset there. It proposes to acquire the exploration and mining rights of the Wologisi asset, located in Lofa County. A Chinese miner is also reportedly in the fray.

JSPL is a part of Jindal Group and is a leading player in Steel, Power, Mining, Oil & Gas and Infrastructure. The company produces economical and efficient steel and power through backward integration from its own captive coal and iron-ore mines and passes on the benefits to its customers.

TCS wins Goa police project

Tata Consultancy Services is believed to have bagged a five-year e-governance deal to electronically link up all police stations and provide real-time crime and criminal information in Goa.

TCS shares were trading up marginally at Rs 1,995 on the BSE in afternoon trade.

TCS has received the letter of intent to become the systems integrator responsible for implementing the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems project, which is part of a larger e-governance that aims to electronically connect 14,000 police stations throughout the country.

A formal contract is expected to be signed between Goa Police and the country’s largest software firm within the next few weeks, sources said.

TCS’s subsidiary company CMC and Tech Mahindra were the other players in the race for this project. TCS and CMC had bid separately for this project.

Database on crime & criminals

The systems integrator will assist the police in creating and maintaining a digital database on crime and criminals, according to the Department’s Request for Proposal (RFP).

The system, which will cover all 27 police stations in the State, can also be accessed by citizens to file their complaints and track the status of their applications.

Once fully operational, the project is expected to make the State’s police force more effective, thereby reducing the crime rates.

The winning bidder will have to procure and deploy an execution management system that will administer all applications, infrastructure and network-related components related to the project.

M&M’s Scorpio crosses milestone sales of 4 lakh vehicles

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), the country’s leading SUV manufacturer, has crossed yet another milestone with over 4 lakh sales of its iconic SUV, Scorpio.  With sales of over 50,000 units for the past two years, the Mighty Muscular Scorpio has ruled the roads for 11 years, moving from strength to strength and transforming the SUV space in the country.

The Scorpio outsells all SUVs and MUVs in key states such as Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and the North East.  The Scorpio’s online community on Facebook is one of the largest online auto communities on Facebook India. The brand’s popularity is also evident on the Scorpio YouTube channel which has garnered over 4 million views.

Launched in 2002, the Scorpio is one of the most awarded brands in the industry with nearly 40 awards, the latest being a bronze at the 2012 EMVIES. The Scorpio also has a distinguished achievement to its name in the form of a Harvard Business Case Study. It has been a recipient of some of the most prestigious awards in the motoring world, including Car of the Year, Best SUV of the Year, Launch of the Year, etc.

TCS enters into partnership with Scandinavian Airlines

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the leading IT services, consulting and business solutions organisation, has been selected by Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), Scandinavia's leading airline, to help transform and optimise its IT processes, applications and infrastructure. TCS will implement its proprietary cloud-based solutions to simplify and standardise the SAS IT landscape.

This Five-year deal is part of the SAS’4 Excellence Next Generation’ strategy aimed at improving the competitiveness of the SAS Group. Through this partnership, SAS will also tap into TCS’s aviation and digital innovation labs to develop solutions addressing the needs of the new digital consumer.

Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organisation that delivers real results to global business, ensuring a level of certainty no other firm can match. TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT, BPO, infrastructure, engineering and assurance services.

NSEL defaults again, by a huge margin

The exchange announced a total pay-in of Rs 0.695 crore from its members until September 6, the last day of the fourth pay-in schedule

In its fourth default, the crisis-ridden National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) on Tuesday announced the disbursal of Rs 13.45 crore to investors, against the total commitment of Rs 174.72 crore.

Acting according to the process directed by the Forward Markets Commission (FMC), the exchange realised Rs 7.77 crore by auctioning underlying commodities in members’ warehouses. The remaining amount was received from members. The exchange announced a total pay-in of Rs 0.695 crore from its members until September 6, the last day of the fourth pay-in schedule, as announced by NSEL last month.

Alok Churiwala, vice-chairman, BSE Brokers’ Forum, said, “Investors’ nerves remained frayed, with NSEL defaulting for the fourth time on the revised settlement plan. There is little patience left for excuses, for not getting their dues as committed and seething anger on the repeated defaults. Expectations of government stepping in strongly and taking concrete steps run high.”

In the first three pay-out schedules, the exchange had received Rs 120.10 crore from its 24 registered members and recorded a total deficit of Rs 409.56 crore.

NSEL is pursuing the recovery of dues from members with pay-in obligations. It has initiated civil and criminal proceedings against defaulting members, besides taking action under the rules of the exchange. So far, 19 members had been declared defaulters and legal proceedings have been initiated against them, said an NSEL statement. While 13 defaulters have met exchange officials during the last two weeks, six are yet to do so. Legal notices against 14 defaulters have been issued under the Negotiable Instruments Act for bouncing of cheques for settlement.

So far, five defaulters, with a liability of Rs 1,328.48 crore, have committed to providing their properties as collateral for recovering the dues. The value of the collateral stands at Rs 1,458 crore, according to the defaulters. NSEL was yet to carry out an independent assessment of this, the exchange said. With the auctioning process underway, the realisation is set to rise in the coming days.

Chartered accountants Sharp and Tannan Associates (STA) confirmed the total liability of defaulting members stood at Rs 5,574.25 crore, as on August 12. STA also conducted a physical audit of gold, silver, platinum and base metals in respect of e-series contracts and found the stocks in order.

India's trade deficit shrinks to $10.9 billion in August

Giving some more respite to the Indian currency, India's trade deficit narrowed sharply for the month of August, as slowing gold demand limited imports; while the government's efforts to encourage exporters tap newer markets drove merchandise exports higher for the month. The country’s exports registered a double-digit growth of 12.97% for the second consecutive month in August 2013 to $26.14 billion, while imports declined during the month, narrowing the trade deficit to $10.9 billion from $14.17 billion a year earlier.

Country’s imports during the month declined 0.68% to $37.05 billion, with gold imports declining to just $0.65 billion compared with $2.20 billion in the previous month. The lower gold imports were mainly due to the steps taken by the government and the Reserve Bank of India to check demand in the world's largest consumer of the precious metal. The government has increased the import tax on gold, while the central bank has tightened rules to reduce speculative purchases by bullion dealers and taken other steps as well to curb demand.

The country’s wide trade gap is one of the biggest worries that has driven a sharp rise in India's Current-Account Deficit (CAD), thereby raising concerns that the country may find it difficult to finance the gap, if the US Federal Reserve begins scaling back its easy-money policies and FIIs consequently pulling their investments out. Meanwhile, the Commerce Minister has warned that with the international prices of crude oil rising over the past ten days, the import bill may go up in the coming months.