In a boost to the domestic tea vending industry, the Government has allowed export-oriented units (EoUs) to sell more ‘instant tea’ in the domestic market to meet the growing demand in the country. There is a strong demand for instant tea due to increased consumer preference for convenient, instant food and beverage products.
The Commerce Ministry has now increased the cap on EoU sales of ‘instant tea’ in the domestic tariff area (DTA) from the existing 20 per cent of free-on-board value of exports to 30 per cent. This will improve availability of ‘instant tea’ for tea vending industry, which has been importing (instant tea) from Sri Lanka and other foreign markets, say industry players. The domestic tea vending industry, valued at about Rs 400 crore, has been growing at 35 per cent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in the recent years, say industry observers.
This is a progressive welcome step. The cap should have been raised to 50 per cent as available for a number of products. Generally at present, EoUs are permitted to sell up to 50 per cent of their free-on-board (f.o.b.) value of exports in the DTA. Government has taken this supply side measure to control domestic inflation in food and food products. This will give Tea companies the flexibility in selling its products in the market which fetches highest price.
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State-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has bagged a Rs 1,150 crore turnkey contract for setting up an energy-efficient 153-MW captive power plant at the upcoming Guru Gobind Singh Refinery at Bhatinda in Punjab. The Rs 1,150 crore order has been placed on the company by HMEL, a joint venture of HPCL and Mittal Energy Ltd.
The company won the contract under international competitive bidding (ICB). The designing, engineering, manufacturing, supply, erection and commissioning work of the captive power plant in addition to complete civil works would be done by BHEL. The 153-MW gas turbine-based combined cycle power plant to be commissioned in a period of 30 months would meet the power and process steam requirement of the upcoming refinery.
The equipments for the project would be supplied by BHEL’s plants in Tiruchi, Ranipet, Bhopal, Jhansi and the Electronics Division in Bangalore. The civil works, erection and commissioning of the plant would be carried out by BHEL’s Power Sector-Northern Region. BHEL has so far supplied and commissioned more than 700 steam turbine and gas turbine-based plant for industries such as metal, paper, sugar, cement and process industries like refineries, petrochemicals, fertiliser in both domestic and overseas market.
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RIL is set to be the first oil and gas private major to develop an oil and gas market in the country. It will be inviting price quotes from oil refining companies. This would also set the first benchmark for market-driven prices in the crude oil sector. RIL has had initial round of talks with refinery companies such as Hindustan Petroleum Corp for its Vizag refinery, Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals and Chennai Petroleum Corp, to name a few.
RIL would float the tender in a few days when the company would set an indicative benchmarked price based on the quality of the crude. Initial tests have shown the crude to be sweet and light in nature, which is a premium crude. Refinery companies bidding for the crude oil will have to quote a price that is a discount or a premium to the indicative price. Although a final decision is yet to be taken, RIL which has two refineries, including the one being developed by Reliance Petroleum will not bid for the crude. This is aimed at keeping the price discovery process as fair and transparent as possible.
The company is planning to produce 40,000 barrels of oil from the MA field, which is a part of RIL’s D6 block. The government has approved $2.2-billion field development plan (FDP) of the MA field. The production is likely to commence in the second half of 2008.
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