BPCL to invest Rs 900 cr to set up new LPG pipeline

Kochi: Bharat Petroleum Corporation will invest Rs 900 crore to set up a new LPG pipeline from its Kochi refinery to Coimbatore and to enhance the storage capacity at its Irumpanam installation.

The 229-km pipeline, at an investment of Rs 600 crore, will not only minimise transportation of gas through road but also connect the company’s bottling plants in Palakkad and Coimbatore, thereby improving the distribution network, Prasad K. Panicker, Executive Director, BPCL Kochi Refinery, said.

The company would invest another Rs 300 crore at its Irumpanam unit near Kochi Refinery to increase the storage capacity by four million tonnes, Panicker told Business Line.

The storage capacitywill be increased to 8 million tonnes with the completion of Integrated Refinery Expansion Project (IREP), he said.

The funds for both these projects will be in addition to the Rs 14,225-crore investments set apart by the company for IREP, which envisages increasing the refining capacity to 15.5 mmtpa from 9.5 mmtpa.

According to Panicker, the company intends to launch both these projects simultaneously with the IREP project scheduled to be commissioned by September 2015.

LPG requirement in Kerala is estimated at 60,000 tonnes a month and BPCL produces 45,000 tonnes. On completion of the project, Kerala will have surplus LPG, he said.

There are also plans to extend its Cochin-Coimbatore-Karur (CCK) pipeline to Bangalore to move various auto fuel products.

Once the work is complete, more products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene can be moved via the pipeline to Karur, Coimbatore and Bangalore.

It may be recalled that BPCL had recently commissioned a 35-km ATF pipeline to Cochin International Airport from Kochi refinery at an investment of Rs 41 crore. Earlier, ATF used to be supplied by tanker trucks.

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Natural gas output will rise by 66% in 4 years: Moily

New Delhi: Gas output from all sources is expected to be around 105 million metric standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) in 2013-14. By 2016-17, this is expected to touch 175 mmscmd, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister M. Veerappa Moily told media-persons here on Friday. Moily also said the increased production of domestic gas and higher availability of imported gas was bound to result in a reduction in gas prices.

The additional gas sources also include ONGC’s block in the KG basin (KG-DWN 98/2), where it has projected to pump out 29 mmscmd of gas in 2016-17.

“One of the remarkable features is the finding in North East. Jubilant Energy had already declared the discovery of 0.7 trillion cubic feet (tcf) in Tripura. There are huge prospects in Manipur, which can go up to as high as 7 tcf,” Moily added.

However, the exploration is yet to take place due to unapproachable terrain. “I am taking this up with the Manipur Government and the Planning Commission to ensure that a few bridges are constructed to enable the rig to reach to the gas field,” the Minister said.

Last month, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its go-ahead for a gas pricing formula suggested by the C. Rangarajan panel. This would come into effect from April 2014 and is expected to offer the explorers nearly double the price for natural gas than at present.

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Private equity investment gaining traction in agri-business

Chennai: Private equity and venture capital firms invested $126 million across nine Indian agri-business companies during the first six months of 2013, 75% more than the $72 million (invested across six companies) during the same period last year, as per data from Venture Intelligence which specializes in private company financials, transactions and valuations in India.

The largest private equity investment in the industry during H1 2013 was Multiples Private Equity's Rs 250 crore ($43.24 million) investment in Bangalore-based Milltec Group which develops technology and machinery for rice milling, roller flour milling, maize (corn) milling and agro processing plants.

Another buyout focused PE firm, India Value Fund, has committed $40 million to pick up a majority stake in Kochi-based spices firm VKL Seasoning. VKL, a spin out from the Vallabhdas Kanji Group, provides seasonings and flavors to customers - typically quick service restaurants (QSR) - in India, the Middle East and Africa.

In February, Qatar-based Hassad Food had acquired a 69% stake in PE-backed rice exporter Bush Foods Overseas for $135 million, fetching StanChart PE a 2.5 times return on its investment. And just last week, the publicly listed rice exporter Kohinoor Foods agreed to sell a 20% stake for almost Rs 113 crore ($18.8 million) to Al Dahra Holdings, an Abu Dhabi-based agriculture focused investment firm.

"The rising appetite for such companies among overseas investors and also the higher prices being enjoyed by agri commodities in recent years could continue to sustain private equity interest in the industry," Arun Natarajan, chief executive officer, Venture Intelligence said.

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U.P. to focus on economic infra in Rs 69,200-cr Plan outlay

New Delhi: The Plan outlay for Uttar Pradesh for 2013-14 was on Thursday finalised at Rs 69,200 crore, including Central assistance of about Rs 11,225 crore. The Plan size was finalised at a meeting between Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav.

In addition, Rs 18,000crore is likely to flow from the Centre to the State through various Centrally-sponsored schemes.

Briefing the Commission on the State’s development strategy, Yadav said infrastructure and industrial policies were being implemented to attract private investment and all district headquarters are being connected by four-lane roads. By the end of the Plan, all 500 plus habitations will be connected with all-weather roads in two years, Yadav said.

The Chief Minister said the State Government will earmark more than 20 per cent of the outlay for economic infrastructure. On social infrastructure, the State Government proposed to spend 32 per cent of the outlay.

Ahluwalia complemented the State Government for restoring economic activity and focusing on the development of social and physical infrastructure. He said the State needed to further encourage private participation by creating an atmosphere conducive to investment. Education and health should be given priority while working out the development strategy, he added.

Ahluwalia drew attention to the share of manufacturing sector/industry in gross state domestic product and pointed out that it was declining due to unfavourable macro-economic conditions. The proposed new industrial policy aimed at creating investor- friendly environment was a step in the right direction, but private investment had to be incentivised to revive the industrial, he added.

Regarding the State Government’s proposal to connect all district headquarters by four-lane roads and construct 300 bridges, Ahluwalia suggested that State may use PPP (public-private partnership) mode for these projects so that they could avail of benefits under Viability Gap Funding Scheme.

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Lupin to market MSD’s pneumococcal vaccine in India

New Delhi: US-based drug maker MSD has tied up with Mumbai-based Lupin to market MSD’s 23-valent Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine in India. Under the agreement, Lupin would have a non-exclusive licence to market, promote and distribute the vaccine under a different brand name.

After the announcement, the Lupin stock touched an all-time high of Rs 904.95 in morning trade on the BSE. It closed at Rs 890.1, up 1.9 per cent.

Currently, MSD India operates in various therapeutic segments, including metabolics, cardiovascular, vaccines, critical care and oncology and accounts for a product portfolio of about 75 brands in India.

Pneumococcal disease kills more patients worldwide than any other vaccine-preventable disease. Globally, 1.6 million people die of pneumococcal disease every year — three people die every minute.

“Adults with comorbid conditions such as chronic lung disease, diabetes, chronic heart diseases, chronic liver diseases and immune compromised diseases, as well as adults aged more than 65, are at increased risk of pneumococcal disease, compared to healthy adults,” stated a Lupin release.

KG Ananthakrishnan, managing director, MSD India, said, “It is a perfect amalgamation, as MSD brings the research and scientific excellence for Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccines and Lupin brings its marketing excellence and significant reach among key clinician categories to drive product access.”

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PM clears additional funds for Railways and Power sectors in the North East; Directs Planning Commission to call a meeting of all NE Chief Ministers

New Delhi: The Prime Minister chaired a meeting to review the status of infrastructure development in the North Eastern region. The meeting was attended by the Finance Minister, the Civil Aviation Minister, the Railway Minister, the Minister for Road Transport and Highways, the Telecom Minister, the Minister for Power, the Minister for DONER and the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission.

The review covered the railway, road, airport, power, and telecom projects in the region. The focus was on speeding up implementation of ongoing projects and also fill-in gaps to ensure full physical and electronic connectivity to and in the North Eastern region. The Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission emphasised that on the Prime Minister's direction a special section was for the first time included in the XI Plan document on North Eastern Region which has accelerated the growth process in the North Eastern States. This section is continued in the XII Plan. He reported the eight states of the region grew at 9.95% during the XI plan period, well above the national average of 8%.

At the meeting, it was agreed that the Finance Ministry will provide an additional Rs. 400 crores to complete three critical rail projects before March 2014. These are i) the Harmati- Naharlagun project to provide the first rail connectivity to Arunachal Pradesh. ii) the Dudhnoi- Mendipathar project to connect Meghalaya and iii) the Rangapara- North Lakhimpur gauge conversion project. The Ministry of Railways committed that the first trial runs will begin on these lines in January 2014. The Finance Ministry will also provide upto Rs 200 crore for two more projects i) the Lumding – Silchar gauge conversion and ii) the Bogibeel bridge.

It was also decided to provide additional funds from the NLCPR for Intra- State Transmission line networks in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. The Ministry of Power will expedite work on many hydro-projects which are held up due to various reasons. Priority will be given to building strong transmission capacities to transmit power from this potential power rich region, both in hydro and gas based power.

An Empowered Committee will be set up to monitor progress on all infrastructure projects in the North East region.

The Prime Minister has also directed the Planning Commission to call a meeting of all the Chief Ministers of the North Eastern States to improve inter-state coordination for speedy completion of the Infrastructure projects.

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IIM-C sets up business incubation centre

Kolkata: The Indian Institute of Management – Calcutta has signed an agreement with four enterprises to set up a business incubation centre in its campus. The incubation unit is a part of Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation of the Institute. The incubation centre, as the name suggests, will be used to promote entrepreneurship.

According to a release issued by the IIM-(C), the institute has entered into agreements with SAARC-award winning non-governmental organisation Doctors For You, a hybrid social enterprise start-up called SwitchON-ONergy, an IT-based tuition centre enterprise Edelwell Solutions and social enterprise Utopia.

These social enterprises have been chosen from the ventures which had qualified for the final rounds of the Tata Social Enterprise Challenge, a joint initiative of the Tata Group and IIM – C. Professor Ashok Banerjee, who is the Dean of new initiatives and external relations, will be the principal mentor of the incubation unit.

"The incubation facilities at IIM Calcutta will include mentorship support of faculty and alumni. We have developed a unique model of mentorship to ensure better monitoring and effectiveness of the programme," Banerjee was quoted in the release.

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