The decline in Steel Price Index continues for the 15th consecutive day, since August 5th 2008, with the fall in long products being 85 points whereas flat products remained stable. However the overall Indian Steel Price Index fell by 41 points.

LPPI – Long Product Price Index
FPPI – Flat Product Price Index
ISPI – Indian Steel Price Index

Long products

Flat products

To know more about these indices please visit
http://steelprices-india.com/spi_services/spi.html

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BL reported that the foundation stone laying ceremony for Steel Authority of India Limited’s Salem Steel Plant expansion project will be held in the first week of September 2008. The schedule will be announced soon.

Mr Veerapandi S. Arumugam agriculture minister of Tamil Nadu said that Dr Manmohan Singh prime minister, Ms Sonia Gandhi president of Congress, Dr M Karunanidhi chief minister of Tamil Nadu and other ministers will attend the function.
Approval

The union government had given approval for the establishment of a steel melting shop and various other facilities as a part of the SSP expansion project, which will be executed at a cost of around INR 2,000 crore.

The downtrend in prices of input material continued yesterday at major trading centers. It is likely to put further pressure on long product prices in coming days

Melting scrap
80:20
HMS

Change is on August 22nd as compared to August 21st
Change is in INR per tonne

Sponge iron

Change is on August 22nd as compared to August 21st
Change is in INR per tonne

Pencil ingot

Change is on August 22nd as compared to August 21st
Change is in INR per tonne

If you want to know the prevailing prices and changes across the week on daily basis, please subscribe to services of www.steelprices-india.com

Kolkata

Change is on August 22nd as compared to August 21st
Change is in INR per tonne

Mandi

Change is on August 22nd as compared to August 21st
Change is in INR per tonne

Kanpur

Change is on August 22nd as compared to August 21st
Change is in INR per tonne

The Jakarta Post reported that TATA Steel is considering investing in electricity generation in Indonesia.

Mr Oo Soon Hee TATA Steel director for Southeast Asia after a meeting with Mr Jusuf Kalla vice president in Jakarta told reporters that the company would carry out a feasibility study for investing in power plant projects here as suggested by the vice president.

He said that the plan was part of TATA’s goal to invest in many sectors in Indonesia. The company, he said, had other expertise besides steel production such as chemical engineering and power generation.

So far, TATA has invested in Indonesia's coal industry and is also keen on investing in the country's largest steel manufacturing company, PT Krakatau Steel, which is owned by the state.

IANS reported that Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited has won INR 650 million contract for supply of 650 high tension motors for Essar Steel and Essar Oil's Hazira refinery, against stiff global competition from multinational giants.

Mr SR Prasad GM of BHEL told IANS that
"The order is valued at Rs.650 million and we will start delivery from November."

BHEL's scope of work in the contract includes design, engineering, manufacturing and supplying HT Motors and support during installation. BHEL is required to execute the project within 24 months.

BL reported that with the prospects of India’s access to global nuclear reactor technology brightening, Westinghouse Electric Company, GE Hitachi, Areva and the Russia’s atomic energy agency Rosatom are among the frontrunners for new projects planned across the country.

State owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited cited the monopoly nuclear power generator has tentatively short listed these 4 major reactor manufacturers based on suitability of technical parameters for placement of orders that will form the first phase of the Center’s plan to build 40,000 MW of nuclear capacity by 2020.

NPCIL hopes to set up Nuclear Parks or reactor clusters for which 4 coastal sites have been identified across Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal. These parks are being envisaged with a capacity of housing up to 8 reactors of 1,000 MW each at a single location. The orders would initially be placed for around 2 reactors of 1,000 MW at each of the locations following which more reactors could be added.

An official said that “The model would be on the lines of the Koodankulam project where two 1,000 MW reactors were initially set up and subsequently the site is being expanded to accommodate more reactors.”

Officials hinted at the preference for Russian and French reactor technology since the Indian Government has already been engaging.

The Electricity Act 2003 recognizes trading as a separate licensed activity. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission promulgated inter State trading regulations in the year 2004 and which were amended once in 2006.

With the introduction of new inter State Open Access Regulations and operationalization of power exchange, it had become necessary to align the trading regulations with these changes. Since several changes have been proposed in most of the regulations, it has been felt to go for new regulations i.e. inter state trading regulations 2008 rather than going for amendment to the existing regulation 2004.

The present definition of inter state trading does not cover transactions involving import from or export to any other country for resale of electricity. In order to provide regulatory framework for such cross border transactions through power trading, the definition of inter State trading has been modified in the proposed regulations.

Important changes proposed in the draft regulations 2008

1. Definition of inter state trading has been revised to bring in cross-border trading of power within its purview.

2. Net worth definition has been revised to discount the loans and advances given to the associates.
3. Net worth has been increased keeping the price of traded power in view.

4. New requirements of liquidity i.e. current ratio and liquidity ratio have been introduced.

5. Definition of associate has been rationalized.

6. Payment security mechanism has been rationalized.

7. A provision is made that licensee shall not purchase electricity from the entities which are defaulting in payment of UI charges, transmission charges, charges of NLDC/RLDC/ULDC etc.

Livemint reported that set to play a much bigger role in Japanese auto major Suzuki Motor Corp's global operations, Maruti Suzuki India plans to export 0.2 million cars annually by 2010-11 to be led by international model A Star.

The company which had announced that it aimed to sell 1 million cars in the domestic market by the same time frame is also planning to introduce more fuel efficient next generation engines in three to 5 years time.

Mr Shinzo Nakanishi MD & CEO of Maruti Suzuki India said that "When we exported about 53,000 cars in 2007-08 that was the highest ever in our history. But we now want to take it to 200,000 cars annually by 2010-11." He added that the company's effort would be led by Suzuki's fifth World Strategic model A-Star which will be manufactured exclusively by Maruti Suzuki.

Mr Nakanishi said that "It will be exported mainly to Europe but also to other markets in the world. He added that while Europe is important, we need not be confined to it. Suzuki operations in South Asia, South East Asia, the Middle East and Africa can also gain from the experience and expertise of Maruti Suzuki."

He said by focusing on India alone, MSI had become a major contributor to Suzuki's global turnover and profit and it was time for the company to strive for the next level. He said that "Let us now channels it to the next level, where we become the exclusive base to manufacture small cars for Europe. The A-Star model will become a reality."

It is reported that ABG Shipyard proposes to set up a Greenfield shipyard at Hazira near its present facility entailing an investment of INR 1,200 crore. The new shipyard is expected to be operational in 3 years.

Mr Dhananjay Datar ABG Shipyard official said that the proposed shipyard will cover 300 acres and will be the largest of its 2 other existing facilities at Surat and Dahej in Gujarat. He said that "The new shipyard will cater to larger ships and offshore vessels. It will have a capacity of building 6 to 8 ships a year."

AS per report, the company hopes the new shipyard will generate revenues of over INR 2,000 crore a year.

BL quoted real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield’s report as saying that Indian logistics industry is expected to grow annually at 15% to 20% reaching revenues of approximately USD 385 billion by 2015.

As per report, the market share of organized logistics players is also expected to double to approximately 12% in the same period. Mumbai is the preferred location for the development of logistics parks with an investment of approximately USD 200 million planned towards the development of 7 to 8 logistics parks on about 600 acres around Mumbai.

The report said that 110 logistics parks spread over approximately 3,500 acres at an estimated cost of USD 1 billion are expected to be operational and about 45 million square feet of warehousing space at USD 500 million investments to be developed by 2012.

Mr Sanjay Dutt MD of Cushman & Wakefield India said that almost one-third of the total realty development in the sector is expected to take place in emerging locations. He added that “Many tier 2 and tier 3 cities and peripheral locations that offer good connectivity to multiple markets will witness increased activity from logistics players, providing a thrust to the real estate market.”

The report added that established locations include Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad, besides Mumbai. Good port, rail and road connectivity, significant investment in infrastructure, high concentration of organized retail, established manufacturing hubs and proposed SEZ developments make these cities attractive.

The report further added that while several initiatives such as rationalization of taxes and investment in infrastructure have been undertaken in India, a lot remains to be done as far as organizing and modernizing this sector is concerned. Granting an industry status to the logistics and warehousing sector, efficient implementation of infrastructure projects, simplification of the regulatory structure and availability of skilled manpower are critical to the growth of the Indian logistics industry.

It is reported that the Central Electricity Authority has rejected the Karnataka government's proposal to set up an UMPP at Ghataprabha near Belgaum and instead, suggested a site either at Tadri near Karwar or near the Almatti dam.

A team of CEA & PFC officials who visited Ghataprabha last month to identify a suitable site for the UMPP rejected it as the movement of coal from port to site would be a problem as it was 150 kilometer away from the coastline. Availability of water and agitation by the locals were seen as other impediments.

The CEA has asked the state government to reconsider the feasibility of setting up the UMPP at coastal Tadri or near the Almatti dam, if water can be allocated from its reservoir.

Amidst the currently prevailing volatile and speculative steel price scenario in India, SteelGuru.com has started the much needed barometer to track and measure the price movements on daily basis.

Steel prices being an issue at the forefront in the context of inflation, drawing significant government attention, making up for about 4 per cent in the Wholesale Price Index(WPI), has been media's most favorite and hot topic at the moment. Unfortunately, the facts are misrepresented very often due to complexity in the structure and the dynamics of the steel market, leaving the users of the information mostly in a state of confusion.

In order to provide an index for steel prices, we call it SENSEX for steel, SteelGuru.com decided to work on both long products and flat products for respective category indices as also a composite one for steel. We call them LPPI, FPPI and SPI and have started releasing these indices with effect from July 1st 2008, after taking June 30th 2008 as base.

LPPI is based on daily market prices of three benchmark products rebars, wire rod and sections in 4 metros, whereas FPPI is based on HRC, plates, CR and HDG. These indices have been built considering their respective weights in the composite categories as also in the shares of sales in the regional markets.

The pricing input is from www.steelprices-india.com, which publishes market transaction prices of benchmark products among select locations 5 days a week.

These price indices outline the way domestic steel market is moving day by day and will help producers, agents in the supply chain, steel buyers, bankers and analysts in their respective businesses.

To know more, please visit
http://steelprices-india.com/spi_services/spi.html

Project monitor reported that automobile giant General Motors is expected to sign a MoU with Maharashtra government to set up a power train manufacturing facility near its Talegaon plant in Pune. The INR 1,200 crore unit will manufacture engines and gear boxes with a capacity of 200,000 units per year.

Meanwhile, GM is scheduled to begin commercial operations at its new car manufacturing facility at Talegaon in September. Set up with an investment of INR 1,400 crore, the plant will manufacture 140,000 small cars including Chevrolet Spark. Trial production began in March this year.

As per the report, work on Talegaon plant began in late 2006 following an MoU signed with Maharashtra government in August that year. The Talegaon project is one of the largest Greenfield investments Maharashtra has attracted in recent history.

The report added that once Talegaon facility goes fully commercial, GM which began Indian operations in 1996 will have a total capacity of 225,000 cars per year. GM's only other manufacturing unit at Halol in Gujarat recently underwent an expansion in capacity from 65,000 cars to 85,000 cars per year.

BL reported that the Steamer Agents Association in Kochi port convened an urgent meeting to discuss issues pertaining to the shifting of long standing import boxes from the terminal to a private Container Freight Station to reduce congestion.

After discussions, the association has agreed to shift the import boxes, lying in the terminal for more than 7 days to the private CFS suggested by the terminal operator after making an agreement with the CFS operator on lines with the agreement made by shipping companies in other terminals.

According to the report, it was also agreed at the meeting to shift some of the boxes to the nearby Concor Yard in the Willingdon Island to ease the situation. However, all the expenses in the shifting of boxes will have to be borne by the consignee.

Meanwhile, the congestion has also affected the productivity of the terminal which is now at 50:55 moves a shift as against 120 moves.

Project today reported that the Union government's Central Sanctioning & Monitoring Committee under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission on August 19th 2008 granted INR 511 crore for Pune Municipal Corporation and INR 121 crore for Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation.

As per the report, PMC has received a sanction of INR 37 crore for Alandi road, INR 269 crore for the Bus Rapid Transit System Phase I, INR 40 crore for BRTS pilot project and INR 165 crore for infrastructure projects for the upcoming Commonwealth Youth Games. Additionally the PCMC has also been sanctioned INR 121 crore for the implementation of sewage projects.

It is reported that ABG International is planning to foray into cement industry by setting up cement plants with an aggregate capacity of 4.6 million tonne per annum in Gujarat.

The proposed cement plants to be set up under the subsidiary company ABG Cement would likely to be commissioned by 2010. ABG International is primarily into shipping business and is the first shipping company in the country to diversify into cement business.

BL reported that Kamdhenu Ispat has forayed into paint manufacturing and has set up its first plant with an initial investment of INR 30 crore at Bhiwadi in Rajasthan. The company is entering the home decor sector with its luxury paint brand Colour Dreamz.

Mr Satish Kumar Agarwal chairman of Kamdhenu Ispat said that “We have strategically invested into paint segment with a view to harness the immense opportunity that the booming construction sector is offering. The project is being financed with a combination of bank credit and internal accruals.”

Mr Agarwal said that our company is targeting decorative or architectural segments of paint. The Indian paint industry is growing at the annual rate of around 18% to 2%. The company had also entered the housing sector earlier this year.

Mr Lalu Prasad minister of Railways has congratulated Mr Sushil Kumar who won Bronze Medal in the Men’s Freestyle 66 Kilogram class Wrestling at the Olympics 2008 in Beijing.

Mr Lalu Prasad said that Mr Sushil Kumar being the first ever Railway man winning an Olympic medal has brought glory to India and to Indian Railways in particular.

On this remarkable achievement, the minister has rewarded Mr Sushil Kumar with a promotion to the post of Assistant Commercial Manager from his present post as Chief Ticket Inspector, Delhi division, Northern Railway and also announced a cash prize of INR 5.5 million to him.

BL reported that union government has approved the proposal of the Cochin Shipyard for the creation of a Small Ship Division in the yard. The project to be set up at an investment of INR 98 crore is expected to be completed by mid 2009.

Cochin Shipyard said that equipment required for the project has already arrived and on completion, it would help the shipyard to undertake concurrent construction of small commercial ships with the aircraft carrier for the Indian Navy, which is at present under construction.

Nagarjuna Construction Company Ltd announced that it has secured three new orders aggregating INR 474 crores.

Nagarjuna Construction in a statement said that it has received first order worth INR 252 crore from Engineers India Ltd, New Delhi for development of Sports Facilities & Associated Infrastructure Development works for Common Wealth Games 2010, New Delhi. The work is to be completed in a period of 18 months.

The second order worth INR 114 crore is from the Executive Engineer, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation, Bangalore for the construction of Traffic and Transit Management Center under JNNURM scheme. The work is to be completed in a period of 24 months.

The third order worth INR 108 crore is received from the Executive Engineer, KSRTC Civil Engineering Division, Mysore for the Development of Transport Infrastructure Facilities for Mysore under JNNURM scheme. The work is to be completed in a period of 18 months.

BS reported that Reliance Industries the largest Indian private company is in talks with Brazilian energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro to set up 2 petrochemical JV. Both Greenfield projects will require a total investment of around USD 6 billion.

Mr Paulo Roberto Costa, refining and supply director for Petrobras said the companies have discussed possible petrochemicals ventures in the north-eastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco and in the south-eastern state of Rio de Janeiro.

He said that “Talks regarding the Rio de Janeiro Petrochemicals Complex are preliminary,” and added that the Pernambuco talks are in a more advanced stage. He did not disclose the size and nature of investment.

RIL sources said that “The possibility is for 50:50 JV.’’ The Indian refiner plans to set up 2 JV in Brazil to export petrochemicals to Latin American countries. RIL spokesperson declined to comment on the development.

Report in Brazilian newspapers said Petrobras is interested in RIL’s experience in the petrochemicals segment in India. Petrochemicals, which encompass wide range of polymers, synthetic rubbers and chemicals have been the second growth platform for RIL.

BS reported that GMR group plans to offload 5% to 10% equity in its energy business to increase INR 2,600 crore to fund the completion of its power plant projects.

GMR Energy quoted the power generation subsidiary has already initiated talks with a slew of investors for private placement of the equity. The decision to offload the stake comes after the company reportedly deferred its earlier fund raising plan of offering shares to the public after the stock market slump.

Highly placed sources said that “GMR Energy has already earmarked INR 13,000 crore worth investments for building about 3,300 MW power generation capacity in the country. About 80% of the investment will be funded through debt while the rest will come through private placement of 5% to 10% equity.”

GMR which has 800 MW power capacity under construction is building a 1,050 MW coal fired plant each at Kamalanga, Orissa and Chattisgarh and a 300 MW hydel project in Badrinath, Uttaranchal. Its 160 MW and 180 MW hydel projects are coming up at Talong in Arunachal Pradesh and Bajoli Holi in Himachal Pradesh respectively. In Nepal, the company is setting up 550 MW hydel capacity. Additionally, the company had proposed to build a 1,980 MW imported coal based power plant in Maharashtra.

The group which recently acquired 50% stake in Netherlands based power firm InterGen is scouting for acquisition of 3 more power assets abroad. Last year, the company failed in its attempt to acquire Tuas Power in Singapore. For fuel security, the company has picked up 10% stake in Homeland Mining and Energy, a South African subsidiary of the Canada based Homeland Energy Group for USD 15 million. The company is now planning to increase its stake to 50% which will require a USD 155 million investment. It is also looking at opportunities in Indonesia and Mozambique, besides South Africa.

Since mine acquisitions are not easy to come by, the company does not want to lose any opportunity even though credit markets are tight and interest rates are high. GMR Energy may look at the refinancing option later but for now are not averse to dilute promoter's stake. They might later come up with a public issue too but with the sluggishness in markets at the moment, the management does not deem that fit.

GMR is looking at expansion in the home markets too with huge capacity addition being planned in power generation in the 11th five year plan to the tune of 78,000 MW, the total investment is pegged at USD 100 billion in the sector by 2012. There are opportunities for the private sector participation. As the per capita consumption of power is around 1 KW hour per year for India is very low at a total capacity of 135,000 MW currently.

It is reported that Power Finance Corporation has set up 2 special purpose vehicles, Sakhigopal Integrated Power Company Limited and Ghogarpalli Integrated Power Company Limited to facilitate the development of additional ultra mega power projects in Orissa. This will be in addition to one UMPP in Sundargarh district for which a shell company, Orissa Integrated Power Limited has been formed and for which land acquisition is under way.

PFC has asked the Orissa government to identify the sites for the projects and forward the details to PFC and Central Electricity Authority. Senior CEA officials visited Bhubaneswar in May 2008 to discuss the project details. The state government has also been asked to confirm the availability of water for the projects.

PFC has also taken up the issue of coal block allocation for the projects with the coal ministry. Ghogarpalli, Dip side of Ghogarpalli, Sakhigopal-B, Alaknanda and Bankhui are the coal blocks earmarked for the projects. The blocks are expected to produce a total of 2,240 million tonne per annum of coal. Adequacy of these blocks for meeting the requirement of the UMPPs will be taken up for examination by the SPVs in consultation with the ministry.

ET reported that Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren has decided to increase the capacity of its pipe plant by 75% to 1.75 million tonnes to meet growing demand for oil pipelines.

Mr Akhil Jindal president of Welspun Group said that the expansion is estimated to cost the company INR 1,100 crore which will be funded through a mixture of debt and internal accruals. He said that “About INR 800 crore will be through debt while the rest will come from our accrual.” He added that their borrowing cost has been pegged at about 10%.

Prices of line pipes have grown sharply over the past year to USD 1,900 per tonne from the previous USD 1,600. Even the rates of steel plates, which the company recently started producing has gone up to USD 1,600 per tonne from USD 1,300 over the past year. Mr Jindal said that “Our current order book, which is worth INR 7,700 crore has been decided on previous steel prices. So, our current order book will not be affected this year.”

The company expects to temporarily shut its plate production in October & November for 15 to 20 days to start production of coils.

Welspun Gujarat had invested INR 1,600 crore in 2007 for a plate and power plant of which INR 1,250 crore was taken as debt at 9% while INR 450 crore came via equity. Mr Jindal said that “We will break even in plate and coil production by the end of the current fiscal year.”

The report further added that the company will export 40% of its plates to Europe due to growing construction demand, while the rest would be used for internal purposes. Out of the total capacity of plate and coil production at Anjar in Gujarat, 80% will be used for plates and 20% will be used for coils.

It is reported that the second generation TATA Indica will be called Indica Vista. The car that was previewed for the public at the Auto Expo, New Delhi this year will carry the new tag to differentiate itself from the Indica that is currently in production.

TATA Motors had indicated that the current and new models of the Indica will co exist and that the new Indica might be positioned higher to take on the Maruti Suzuki Swift and Hyundai Getz and i10.

Built on an all new platform, the Indica Vista will be slightly larger than the original Indica. For the first time, the car will feature engines from partner Fiat.

A new 1.2 liter petrol engine called Saffire and the 1.3 liter common rail diesel called Quadrajet will be part of the lineup apart from TATA’s own 1.4 liter turbo diesel engine. A total investment of INR 4,020 crore is being made by the 50:50 combine in Ranjangaon, Maharashtra. The Indica Vista will be launched at the dealer level on Saturday followed by a market launch in the coming weeks.

The Quadrajet is also called the multijet and is also being produced by Maruti Suzuki Powertrain for the Swift and Swift Dzire models. The engines along with the cars will be assembled at TATA-Fiat’s Ranjangaon facility that boasts of an annual production capacity of 200,000 cars and 300,000 engines.

It is reported that Mr Thiru TR Baalu union minister of shipping, road transport and highways has approved road improvement works on 3 different stretches of NH-45 A in the State of Puducherry at a cost of INR 75.45 million.

Mr Baalu said that INR 42.423 million has been approved for Improvement of Riding Quality from Madagadipet to Ariyur in NH-45A and similarly an amount of INR 33.027 million has been approved for Improvement of Riding Quality from Ariyur to Villianur in the same National Highway.

The National Highways stretch of NH 45A originates from Villupuram runs through Puducherry region and terminates at Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu. After declaration of the road as National Highways, the volume of traffic has increased manifold on the stretch of Puducherry-Villupuram road. It also provides main access to the surrounding town of Villupuram. A large number of people including the workers, traders, officials as well as school childern coming to the Puducherry town from Villupuram side regularly use this road. Therefore, the approval has been granted to improve the riding quality on the dilapidated stretches to make the journey comfortable for people of the area.

IANS reported that Indian government ruled out any upward revision in the prices of steel products in the near future, in line with the situation in the global markets.

Mr P K Rastogi Steel Secretary said that “Since the global price of steel is softening, we do not see any immediate reason to go for any upward revision. Instead, the companies should think in terms of further reduction in the prices of steel.”

Agreeing with him, Mr SK Rungta chairman & MD of state owned Steel Authority of India said that the company would maintain the current price. He told reporters that “We will maintain the current prices.” He added that there was no immediate plan to hike the prices.

Steel manufacturers at a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here May 7 agreed to reduce prices of flat steel products by INR 4,000 a tonne and that of structural steel by INR 2,000 per tonne. They also agreed not to revise prices for the next three months.

BS reported that aiming to become the largest integrated zinc lead producer in the world, Hindustan Zinc recently cited the company will invest INR 3,600 crore for its expansion projects.

HZL in a statement said that the total investment in phase III expansion plan is estimated at INR 3,600 crore and would be funded from internal accruals to keep the company debt free.

The board of directors of the company recommended a total dividend of INR 5 per share for the year ended March 2008 during the annual general meeting. Under the phase III expansion, the company has announced a 210 kilo tonnes per annum zinc smelter, 100 kilo tonnes per annum lead smelter and 160 MW captive power plant with fully integrated mining capacity.

It added that the commencement of these plans will increase the company’s total integrated zinc lead capacity to 10.65 lakh tonnes per annum making it the largest zinc lead producer.

BL reported that the State Cabinet has approved the report on the restructuring of the Kerala State Electricity Board prepared by a committee constituted for the purpose and headed by the Secretary for Power.

Mr VS Achuthanandan CM of Kerala told newspersons after a Cabinet meeting on Thursday that the Power Department had been entrusted to take the necessary steps to implement the recommendations contained in the committee’s report.

As per the report, the board will be converted into a company and reforms will be carried out in the power sector. However, the company will remain in the public sector.

Mr Achuthanandan said that referring to the fuel surcharge imposed by KSEB on the consumers it was necessitated by the crisis in the power sector in the wake of weak monsoon rains. The Government was unable to provide any subsidy to the board to tide over the crisis.

Mr Achuthanandan in a reply to a question he said that the question of giving permission for establishing special economic zones in the State would be referred to the central leadership of CPI and would also be discussed with the partners within the ruling Left Democratic Front.

BL reported that Tulsyan NEC Limited the flagship company of INR 680 crore Tulsyan group signed a JV agreement with Budhrani group in Nigeria to set up a steel making and rolling mill. Tulsyan will hold 51% in the JV.

Tulsyan in a statement said that the proposed plant in Nigeria would manufacture long products. The plant would have an annual capacity of 60,000 tonnes of steel at an investment of INR 68 crore. The turnover for this venture is expected to be around INR 350 crores.

Budhrani Group has interests in various segments such as commerce, automobiles, constructions, electronics and exports while Tulsyan NEC manufactures Thermo Mechanically Treated bars and billets.

Mr Sanjay Tulsyan MD of Tulsyan NEC’s said that “We chose Nigeria as it has shortage of steel and surplus of raw materials.”

Project Today reported that Raheja Developers is planning to set up an engineering SEZ in Gurgaon with an investment of INR 4,500 crore. The proposed SEZ will spread over an area of 255 acres of land.

As per report Raheja SEZ will be implemented in several phases, with the first phase being expected to be completed within three years. The engineering SEZ will cater to both international and domestic engineering companies.

BL reported that the country’s largest cargo handling port, Kandla port has been without a full time chairman since February 2008.

The operations of the port are being looked after by the Chairman of Mormugao port as an additional charge. Kandla port recently got a new Deputy Chairman, but again as an additional charge. He is the full time Deputy Chairman of New Mangalore port. Which means Gujarat’s premier port is being headed by acting Chairman and Deputy Chairman and each of them is being required to divide their time between the two ports, one of them outside Gujarat.

The position of Chairman of Chennai port will fall vacant this month. However, inquiries reveal that the present Chairman might get an extension.

It might be interesting to note that from time to time the Chairman of Chennai port was also required to handle, as an additional charge, the operations of the ports of Ennore and Tuticoirn.

It is learnt that the present Chairman of Visakhapatnam port will complete his term towards the end of next month. The process has been initiated to locate his successor. In all probability an Indian Administrative Service officer belonging to Andhra Pradesh cadre will be selected for the post.

International Iron and Steel Institute have released the production figures for direct reduced iron for the month of July 2008. The global production of DRI in July 2008 was 5.105 million tonne up by 21.58 % YoY.

India retained the top slot with 1.470 million tonne production.