Cleaner petrol, diesel to cost more from April 1

Cleaner -- but costlier -- Euro-IV standard petrol and diesel will be available from April 1 in 13 cities across the country, Petroleum Secretary S Sundareshan said in New Delhi on Wednesday.

At a function to mark the launch of the cleaner fuel, he said: "From April 1, Euro-IV standard fuel will be available in 13 cities in India". These cities will include Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore.

Sundareshan noted that the oil firms had made an investment of over Rs 40,000 crore to upgrade their refineries to produce the cleaner grade of petrol and diesel. This was likely to be on passed to the consumer, he indicated.

The secretary said the Euro-IV petrol will cost 46 paise per litre more than Euro-III, while Euro-IV diesel will be 26 paise costlier.

Sundareshan added that oil firms were already facing a loss of Rs 70,000 crore this year as auto fuels and cooking gas were sold at highly subsidised rates.

Tata refuses power to Reliance

As the summer temperature continues to rise in Mumbai, suburban power consumers will have to brace themselves to pay more for electricity.

Tata Power Company (TPC) told the state government on Tuesday that its decision to stop the supply of 500 mega watts (MW) of power to suburban supplier, Reliance Infrastructure, from April 1 this year is legal.

TPC officials conveyed this to Chief Secretary, J. P. Dange, in the presence of officials from Reliance. Neither company was available for comments.

The TCP is expected to reiterate its stand when it meets a Cabinet sub-committee headed by the Chief Minister later this week. Representatives of Reliance Infrastructure have also been called to the meeting, which is likely to be held on March 26 or 27.

The meeting was held following Energy Minister Ajit Pawar’s assurance to the Legislative Assembly that the government will intervene to avoid a power deficit in the suburbs where over 26 lakh consumers may face a steep hike in tariff if Reliance spends Rs 600 to Rs 700 crore from sources other than TPC.

Power from Reliance costs more than any other utility in the state. Reliance asked the government to convince Tata so that consumers are not burdened further.

Reliance needs about 1,400 to 1,500 MW daily of which it generates 500 MW and buys the rest from other suppliers.

Tata supplies to bulk consumers and has recently started retailing in distribution areas of Reliance and Brihanmumbai Electric and Suburban Transport undertaking.

Reliance has been buying 500 MW of power from Tata at cheaper rates for several decades, but since it did not enter into an official power purchase agreement (PPA) with TPC, the Supreme Court ruled in Tata’s favour last year. Reliance had agreed to sign an unconditional PPA for 500 MW after the court verdict.

A senior government official told Hindustan Times on the condition of anonymity that TPC officials told government that it was Reliance that started an unnecessary legal battle.

800 universities, 35,000 colleges needed in next 10 years

India will need at least 800 more universities and another 35,000 colleges in the next ten years to increase the percentage of students going for higher education from the present 12.4 per cent in the country, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said in New Delhi on Wednesday.

"India has about 480 university and about 22,000 colleges. If we were to increase that figure of 12 per cent to 30 per cent, we will need another 800 to a thousand universities in the next ten years. We will need another 35,000 colleges in the next ten years...We are still below 40 per cent which I think is critical," he said.

Sibal was speaking at the first contact group meeting of Parliamentarians for Education of the UNESCO South Asia Cluster, in which delegates from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka and other south Asian countries participated.

Highlighting the importance of human resource development, Sibal said, "When the global economy is doing well and the stock market is in the up swing, the developed nations share their prosperity with us." But it is not the case when global economy is not doing well and the stock market is on decline, he said.

"And I think that if we in this part of the world recognise the facts, we will realise how important education is for a developing economy," he said.

Sibal said the energy of a nation ultimately depends on its youth. "The energy of a nation does not depend on parliamentarians who are over 60 years, he said.

He said that in the 21st century, acquisition of physical or tangible assets will not be the wealth of any country but it will be the acquisition of intangible assets which are created not in the stock market but in the university system of nations.