Of last year's blackouts....

UP was identified as one of the main states that had overdrawn from the northern grid and sparked one of the world’s biggest blackouts on July 30 and 31 last year.
The grid collapse had plunged the entire northern, eastern and the northeastern regions into darkness for up to 24 hours.
The Centre had read the riot act to the states that were held responsible. Since then, the states are reported to be largely sticking to grid discipline. Unable to pay for additional power from merchant plants, UP has been regulating power supply in the state for 6-8 hours a day.

Another Rhino killed !

The carcass of a rhinoceros, shot and stripped of its horn, was found in Kaziranga on Friday, the ninth to be killed in the national park since January.
The anti-poaching measures taken by the forest department are clearly not helping. On Thursday night, a group of poachers shot a rhino and cut off its horn in the Arikati area of Agoratoli forest range in the eastern part of the park. The carcass was found on Friday.
Nine rhinos have been killed in Kaziranga and 12 in the state since this January.
The forest department deployed two battalions of the newly raised Assam Forest Protection Force in Kaziranga last week. However,this did not stop poachers from killing the rhino and escaping with its horn. The two battalions, comprising about 300 personnel, were deployed to assist the forest guards in vulnerable areas, including Agoratoli, Burapahar and Bagori forest ranges.
On Thursday, soon after gunshots were heard from Arikati, forest guards cordoned off the area and fired at the poachers holed up there. The exchange of fire lasted almost an hour, but the poachers managed to escape with the horn.
Rhino horns are usually smuggled through the porous India-Myanmar border in Manipur’s border town Moreh. The horns are used in traditional Chinese medicine and are in high demand in China and Vietnam. But the items have no medicinal properties.
In the backdrop of the rise in poaching, Asian coordinator for International Rhino Foundation Bibhab Kumar Talukdar said it is high time the forest department reviewed anti-poaching strategy and put in place a stringent and effective mechanism.

Petrol price hiked

State-run fuel retailers have raised petrol price by Rs 1.40 a litre, excluding state tax. The second hike in a month made clear the Centre’s determination to prune subsidies by pushing through fuel pricing reforms. The new price in Mumbai will be Rs 77.66 a litre, up from Rs 75.89.
Though petrol was off the subsidy bucket after the Centre deregulated it in June, 2010, the government had so far been pulling strings from behind to keep fuel retailers in check. The frequent changes in the fuel’s pump price in recent days indicates the government’s hands -off policy.

Motown musings

Months after losing the No. 3 spot among passenger car makers in India, Tata Motors slipped further to the fifth position last month, as Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp edged past it to become the country’s fourth-biggest vehicle maker.
Tata Motors, which was beaten by fellow Indian manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra last year, suffered a new low when sales crashed by 70% in February, as compared with the same month last year. Tata sold just 10,613 units during the month, lower than Toyota’s 12,756 units.
While Toyota’s lead in a single month can be dismissed as an aberration, Tata Motors has been clearly struggling in recent months.
Overall, the car market remains in a tight spot as high interest rates, dearer petrol prices and slowdown in the economy continues to hit demand. Maruti, the country’s top car maker, suffered a 9% decline in volumes in February at 97,955 units against 1.07 lakh units in the same month last year.

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Looking East to Myanmar

The Union budget has given a fillip to India’s Look East policy, which holds immense strategic importance for the country besides giving a leg-up to the economic prosperity of the northeastern states of the country.
P Chidambaram said “combining the ‘Look East’ policy and the interests of the northeastern states, I propose to seek the assistance of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to build roads in the north-eastern states and connect them to Myanmar,” India’s Look East policy begins with Myanmar, which is coming out of international isolation.
New Delhi is keen on the India-Myanmar-Thailand highway, which would go a long way in East Asia integration.
India is also working on road and other connectivity projects in Myanmar that would connect it with the northeastern parts of India.

Bengal, AP to get new ports

Focussing strongly on infrastructure development, the budget has proposed setting up of two ports in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, which would increase the cargo handling capacity in the country.
“Two new major ports will be established at Sagar in West Bengal and in Andhra Pradesh to add 100 million tonne of capacity,” finance minister P Chidambaram said, while announcing the budget.
In addition, a new outer harbour will be developed in the VOC port (VO Chidambaram Port Trust, formerly Tuticorin Port at Thoothukkudi, Tamil Nadu) through the PPP at an estimated cost Rs.7,500 crore.
“Once completed, this will add 42 million tonne of capacity,” said the finance minister.
At present, there are 12 major ports in India. These are at Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Kolkata (with Haldia), Chennai, Cochin, Paradip, New Mangalore, Marmagao, Ennore, Tuticorin, Kandla and Visakhapatanam.
“The location of the Andhra Pradesh port is yet to be finalized,” a shipping ministry official said.
The finance minister has also proposed the exemption of excise duty for ships and vessels.
The ministry of shipping has estimated investments of Rs.2.87 lakh crore in major and non-major ports and Rs.1.65 lakh crore in the shipping sector by 2020.