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G-4 nations will bring in resolution on UNSC expansion
Brussels: Foreign Ministers of G-4 countries - India, Brazil, Japan and Germany - have ended their summit in Brussels with a joint statement declaring that they will bring in a resolution at the UN General Assembly for UNSC expansion.

They have called for the Security Council's expansion in both permanent and non-permanent categories on the basis of equitable representation with the inclusion of both developed and developing countries.

The resolution will be brought in after the African Union and Caricom Summit meetings in July.

China, a permanent member of the UNSC, has however indicated that it will veto the G-4 resolution.
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Dabhol battle comes to an end
New Delhi: The Dabhol power plant in Maharashtra is heading for a quick revival of operations after the lenders to the project reached a settlement with 85 per cent equity holders GE and Bechtel. The parameters of the settlement with GE and Bechtel have not been disclosed.

A joint venture special purpose vehicle, to be formed by NTPC, GAIL, MSEB and the financial institutions, is expected to file application for registration by the end of this week and an integrated company would be formed with a CEO. The 2,184 MW utility would be further expanded by 2,500 MW at the same location and the overall capacity of the station would go up to 5,000 MW, according to sources.

The SPV would own, operate and maintain the plant and expand its capacity. In the light of the power shortage in Maharashtra, the State Government has agreed to lift the entire 5,000 MW from the plant.

GE executives, along with NTPC, GAIL and BHEL officials, who conducted an inspection of the plant, have submitted a report to the Government stating that the plant was in "good shape" and that after opening of the stations, it would not take more than six to eight months to operationalise it.

According to sources the financial engineering has been done in such a manner that the tariff from the plant would be around Rs2.30 per unit, and in any case not exceed Rs2.50 per unit. The supply of fuel to the LNG plant is targeted to be achieved by July 2006, when both phases of the plant would be made operational.

While MSEB would hold a 15 per cent stake in the joint venture SPV, the balance 85 per cent would be equally shared by NTPC, GAIL and the financial institutions led by IDBI. Other financial institutions such as SBI, ICICI, Canara Bank and Punjab National Bank are among the major lenders.

According to sources, the venture, which would be registered in the next couple of weeks, would be an integrated company taking care of both the phases of the plant, as also the LNG terminal block. The composite board of the company would take care of both responsibilities and NTPC workers will handle the power station operations, while GAIL staff would look after the LNG terminal. Both these groups would be accountable to the CEO.

According to sources, officials from GAIL and NTPC have already been identified for running the plant and they have started work on their assigned responsibilities.

The LNG terminal would have a potential of five million tonnes and would, therefore, be able to take care of almost 5,000 MW of capacity.

The ownership of the SPV would be totally within the purview of the board of the joint venture company. The company would not be privatised.
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3G spectrum proposals: DoT says TRAI exceeded brief
New Delhi: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in a note to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has said that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had exceeded its brief while giving its recommendations on issues related to 3G spectrum. The DoT note to the PMO says, "Our reference to TRAI did not seek views on 3G issues which Trai has included in their recommendations."

TRAI had recommended that mobile operators not be charged any entry fee. It also recommended that the frequency for 3G operations be allocated in the 2GHz band.

In a further indictment of TRAI's ruling, the DoT has also questioned the relevance of TRAI'S recommendations as they were received after eighteen months. The DoT had sought Trai's views on efficient spectrum utilisation, spectrum allocation procedure and spectrum pricing in November '03. Trai's recommendations were sought in view of the urgency for a unified access service licence (UASL) regime at that time. "In view of the urgency then, Trai's views were required in a short period. However, Trai's recommendations have been received now after a period of eighteen months," the note says.

Trai's proposal to offer 3G spectrum without any entry fee became controversial as Ratan Tata offered to pay Rs1,500 crore as entry fee. If the DoT accepts the Tata offer, the government could earn revenue up to Rs9,000 crore, assuming the other five big operators, apart from Tata Teleservices, pay the same licence fee for spectrum.
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Qatari team scouts Kerala projects
Thiruvananthapuram: A Qatari delegation has expressed interest in partnering the setting up of an international convention centre at Akkulam and developing the third phase of the Technopark, both in the State capital of Kerala.

The Qatari delegation, led by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, H E Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud, visited the two sites and conveyed its interest. A concrete expression of interest however will be available only after the delegation discusses the schemes back home.

The delegation will have a look at projects worth $3bn drawn up by the state government at Kochi today.

The delegation that arrived in New Delhi on Sunday visited Kerala on the basis of the talks the Chief Minister had had with the Emir, H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, during his recent visit to the country. Chandy had also held talks with Qatari authorities during his visit to Doha a couple of months ago.

Kerala government has drawn up the blueprint for a $35m convention centre on a 46-acre land adjacent to the Akkulam Lake as a public-private partnership on build-own-operate-transfer basis. The centre will have a minimum of 1,500-seat capacity along with exhibition spaces and a four-star or above category hotel or resort.

A government release a few weeks back said the third phase of Technopark involves development of 100 acres of land mainly for IT/ITES companies. The government has already begun the work on the second phase involving construction of 600,000-sq.ft centrally air-conditioned building costing Rs500m.

The second phase will see the establishment of software development centres by Infosys on 50 acres of land, US Software (36 acres) and Tata Consultancy Services (25 acres). The expansion plans aim at an investment target of Rs10bn and generation of around 20,000 employment opportunities.
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Planning commission targets 22 per cent growth in tax collections for 2004-09
New Delhi: The Planning Commission has set an ambitious target of 22% growth in tax collections over a period of 2004-09.
The National Development Council (NDC) headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is slated to meet on June 27-28 to revise the 10th Plan target and take corrective steps in various sectors, including fiscal policy, official sources have said..

To meet the twin objective of adhering to FRBM schedule and improving state finances, the mid-term appraisal (MTA) report of the 10th Plan has set a target of 22% growth in tax collections annually during 2004-09.

The MTA report has suggested setting a target of increasing the tax-GDP ratio from 10.6% in 2005-06 to 11.1% in 2006-07 and further up to 12.6% in 2007-08 and finally to 13.7% in 2008-09.
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