will government's massive surge in investment ... - Myiris.com

Apr-Jun 2013 Earnings Preview
then moves through the ministry concerned to the PMG and is to be sorted out by all
the Ministries involved. So far 83 projects have been registered with the PMG and 21
Ministries & Departments have appointed Nodal officials of the Joint Secretary rank
to be part of the process.
Domestic Gas pricing revised to
$8.4/mmbtu from 1st April 2014, quarterly
revisions based on formula suggested by
Rangarajan Committee
Move to help catalyze domestic
exploration efforts & reduce dependence
on costly LNG imports
India’s rising share of costly LNG imports as a percentage of total domestic
consumption of gas impacting an already precarious Balance-of-Payments problem
as well as the plummeting domestic production due to current prices acting as a
strong barrier to catalyze domestic exploration efforts have made it unavoidable for
the government to look into the long standing issue of ‘right-pricing’ domestically
produced gas. The present gas pricing policy is due for revision from 1st April 2014.
CCEA decided to adopt the recommendations of the Committee constituted under
Dr. C. Rangarajan on Production Sharing Contract (PSC) mechanism in the petroleum
industry. The new pricing policy would meet the twin objectives of incentivizing
production in the upstream sector so that production reaches optimum levels and all
exploitable reserves are put to production expeditiously. Consumer interest will be
protected by ensuring that producers do not cartelize due to huge unmet demand.
The revised gas price at $8.4/mmbtu from $4.2/mmbtu will come into effect from
1st April 2014, will be revised every quarter and will be the simple average of the
prices arrived through the following two methods. The first input would be the
netback price of Indian LNG imports (excluding spot imports) at the wellhead of the
exporting countries while the second input would be the weighted average of pricing
prevailing at three major global hubs- US Henry Hub, NBP of UK and netback price at
sources of supply for Japan.
Input prices for power & fertilizer units to
be decided by a Committee before 1st April
2014, relief in the form of lower prices
expected‐ Government may bear extra
subsidy
The formula of output prices to be paid to gas producers has been decided while a
Committee has been formed to arrive at suitable input prices for key sectors like
fertilizers and power. Power Ministry had vehemently opposed the hike in gas prices
stating that it would lead to increase in cost of generation from Rs 2.93/unit to Rs
6.40/unit while additional burden on fertilizer players would have been
approximately Rs 30 bn for every $1 rise in gas price i.e. Rs 120 bn for a $4 increase
in gas price announced. To allay the apprehensions of both the Ministries, the
Committee would arrive at a suitable lower price for power and fertilizer units with
the difference being borne by the government.
Phase‐IV of UIDAI launched‐ 200 mn
enrolled, 400 mn more to be covered by
March 2014‐ Benefits of Inclusive growth,
providing identity to marginalized, better
delivery of services and effective
governance
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI or Aadhar) project launched in
2009 is aimed at ensuring inclusive growth by providing a form of identity to those
who do not have identity and enabling better delivery of services and effective
governance. Having successfully enrolled 200 mn residents through multiple
registrars, built technology platform & other supporting infrastructure for creation,
storage and maintenance of data and services for leveraging Aadhar through first
three phases, the government has approved its Phase-IV with an estimated cost of
Rs 34.36 bn to enroll an additional 400 mn residents by March 2014.
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