What’s next in the data-driven world – A vivid picture at the #DellTechForum 2021

Dell Technologies is truly pulling out all stops to enable its customers and partners navigate towards the digital future. And this message was brilliantly delivered at the Keynote Sessions at Dell Technologies Forum, today.

It was very inspiring to hear Dell Technologies’ leaders at the keynote sessions, as they shared vivid pictures of what the digital future is going to look like, and how businesses can accelerate forward with the right technology at the right place. The President and Managing Director of Dell Technologies India, Alok Ohrie, had the audience hooked at the very beginning with his inspiring statement on how humanity can thrive under any circumstance. Some of the statistics from Mr. Ohrie’s session that were really inspiring were ‘how 52% of Indian firms adopted digital ways of working practices in 2020, 138,000 new hires were brought into the IT industry in India during the FY22, and how India’s ICT spend is expected to be $111 billion by 2024’ – These numbers really amazed me!

It was also quite invigorating to hear Mr. Ohrie elaborate upon how Dell Technologies has been relentlessly innovating to empower its customers and partners across industries – even during the most challenging times in the history - with its end-to-end portfolio of technologies and solutions. And not just that. The technology giant also invests in collaborations and program to empower the youth of the country with tech skills. Together with NGOs and Government bodies, they have set up workshops, labs, programs and much more – everything aimed at helping the youth to become digitally empowered.

But…What truly grabbed my attention were the sessions by Amit Midha, President, Asia Pacific & Japan and Global Digital Cities, Dell Technologies and Jeff Boudreau, President and General Manager, Infrastructure Solutions Group, Dell Technologies – on the role of data in defining the digital future. The leaders elucidated the criticality for businesses to build a data-first mindset and a business model.

Few statistics that I would like to highlight from Jeff Boudreau’s session are how consumers across the globe had spent $900 billion on retail during 2020 and the prediction that 52% of global GDP will be driven by digitally transformed enterprises by 2023 – leaves high hopes for businesses. The insights also reflected how businesses need to adopt the right technology and solution to leverage the huge volumes of data that is being generated everywhere and drive value out of the same.

“The economy now moves on a current of data & data is everywhere - It's on-prem, in the cloud & in the co-located datacenter”  -- Jeff Boudreau, President and General Manager, Infrastructure Solutions Group, Dell Technologies

 

Another interesting highlight that Amit Midha had mentioned is the present day data paradoxes that businesses are facing.

Reiterating the data paradoxes:

Paradox #1: Businesses believe they are data-driven yet many are not treating data as capital - they do not prioritize data uses across the business

Paradox #2: Businesses constantly need data more than their current capabilities can provide and yet they are gathering data faster than they can analyze and use

Paradox #3: Many businesses recognize and believe in the benefits of as-a-Service model, which gives them agility, scalability - yet only a few have made the transition to integrating it

The insights by Amit Midha also reflected how Dell Technologies is constantly innovating to enable businesses to overcome these data paradoxes with its comprehensive portfolio of solutions and derive real data value, regardless of where it resides.

With all these insights, I now look forward to the breakout sessions that will focus on the future of IT, Work and Data, and how businesses can leverage Dell Technologies’ solutions portfolio to catapult their digitalization goals.

I also can’t wait to be a part of the startup session and the session on women in technology. It will be interesting to know how Dell is enabling startups to stay resilient. And like every year, I am sure the celebrity chat session with a renowned sportsperson will also be invigorating this year. I am surely betting on some memorable moments to take back and eagerly awaiting the next.

If you want to know what’s next, do follow Dell Technologies on Twitter and Facebook and catch all the action. This is where you will get you know what lies ahead in the digital future! 

ADNOC, Adani, BASF and Borealis sign MoU for Chemical Complex in Mundra, Gujarat.

ADNOC, Adani, BASF and Borealis vow to invest $4 billion for Propane DeHydrogenation Unit at Mundra, Gujarat.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Adani Group, BASF SE and Borealis AG have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to engage in a joint feasibility study to further evaluate a collaboration for the establishment of a chemical complex in Mundra, Gujarat, India. This is the next step of BASF’s and Adani’s investment plans as announced in January 2019. With the inclusion of ADNOC and Borealis as potential partners, the parties are examining various structuring options for the chemical complex that will leverage the technical, financial and operational strengths of each company. The total investment is estimated to be up to $4 billion.

The collaboration includes evaluating a joint world-scale propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant to produce propylene-based on propane feedstock to be supplied by ADNOC. Propylene will be partially used as feedstock for a polypropylene (PP) complex, owned by ADNOC and Borealis, based on proprietary state-of-the-art Borealis Borstar technology.

The PP complex will be the first overseas production joint investment by ADNOC and Borealis as part of a strategic framework with their current joint venture Borouge. Furthermore, propylene will be the key raw material for the previously announced acrylics value chain complex comprising glacial acrylic acid (GAA), Oxo-C4 (butanols and 2-ethyl hexanol), butyl acrylate (BA) and potentially other downstream products as part of a joint venture of BASF and Adani in which BASF holds a majority.

The chemical complex in Mundra is intended to be entirely supplied from renewable energy resources. The partners are evaluating co-investment in wind and solar park with the plans at an advanced stage of development. If realized, this would be the world’s first CO2-neutral petrochemical site to be fully powered by renewable energy, fully in line with the partners’ commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency.

Commenting on the MoU signing, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO, said: “This exciting collaboration is in line with ADNOC’s strategy to foster mutually beneficial partnerships. As a value-adding partner, ADNOC will play a crucial role as the propane feedstock supplier to this project. As the fastest growing global energy market, India is crucial to  our international growth ambitions in the downstream sector. As such, this project allows ADNOC  and its partners to capture the promising growth in the Indian polyolefins market.”

Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group, stated: “We are very pleased to collaborate with our international partners to establish a Chemical Manufacturing Complex at Mundra Port. We stand committed to the ‘Make in India’ initiative and serve the larger purpose of aligning growth opportunities with creation of goodness for the nation.”

“BASF remains committed to investing in India’s growth. We will play a key role in driving this joint collaboration which is also pioneering in terms of sustainability.  We look forward to working together with our partners in establishing a chemical cluster in Mundra and to supplying the Indian market with high-quality downstream products,” said Dr. Martin Brudermueller, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE.

Alfred Stern, CEO of Borealis, added: “This partnership is a unique opportunity to strengthen our PP presence in India with proprietary Borealis Borstar PP technology and to create value and tangible benefits through innovation for customers across multiple industries.”

The partners aim to finalize the joint feasibility study by the end of Q1 2020. Production is intended to commence in 2024. Adani has allied infrastructure like sea port, airport and highway connectivity near the proposed unit. The designated site is planned at Mundra port in Gujarat, India, and the products are predominantly for the Indian market, serving a wide range of local industries, including construction, automotive and coatings.

France's Total acquires 37.4% stake in Adani Gas to supply and market Natural Gas in India.

With this announcement of Total’s Acquisition of 37.4% Stake in Adani Gas, Adani and Total join to create one of India’s largest Downstream Energy Partnerships.

As part of its strategy to develop new gas markets, Total, the world's second-largest LNG player, expands its partnership with the Adani Group; the largest energy and infrastructure conglomerate in India, to contribute to the development of the Indian natural gas market.

The Indian natural gas market represents a substantial growth perspective. It is currently only 7% of the energy consumption but has grown over the last 3 years by more than 5% per annum, supported by an active policy of the Indian Government that aims to diversify its energy mix and develop domestic use of gas in cities and as fuel for vehicles. India has set the ambitious target of increasing the share of natural gas in its energy mix to 15% by 2030.

The partnership between Adani (50%) and Total (50%) includes several assets across the gas value chain notably two imports and regasification LNG terminals: Dhamra in East India and potentially Mundra in the West, as well as Adani Gas Limited, one of the 4 main distributors of city gas in India of which Adani holds 74.8% and of which Total will acquire 37.4%.

Adani Gas shall also pursue fuel retail business in India and target to setup 1,500 fuel stations offering top of the line products in the coming years.

Adani Gas Limited aims to expand its distribution of gas in the next 10 years through its 38 concessions covering 7.5% of the Indian population and market natural gas to industrial, commercial and domestic customers, targeting 6 million homes as well as through 1,500 CNG retail outlets across 71 districts, 68 towns across 15 states in India.

Speaking on the occasion, Adani Group Chairman, Mr. Gautam Adani, said, “Adani is delighted to deepen its strategic partnership with Total, a global energy major, to one of the largest downstream gas partnerships in India. Total’s investment in Adani Gas reinforces India’s natural gas and demand potential. The partnership will derive significant synergies between Adani’s capabilities of developing world-class assets and Total’s global best practices as well as leveraging business synergies across LNG, Fuel Retail and City Gas distribution. We look forward to working together towards delivering India’s vision for clean and green energy”

As part of this partnership, Total will bring its LNG and retail expertise and will supply LNG to Adani Gas Limited. Total and Adani will also establish a joint venture to market LNG in India and Bangladesh.

“Energy needs in India are immense and the Indian energy mix is key to the climate change challenge. Firmly investing to develop the use of natural gas in India is in line with Total’s ambition to become the responsible energy major. The natural gas market in India will have strong growth and is an attractive outlet for the world's second-largest LNG player that Total has become. Adani will bring its knowledge of the local market and its expertise in the infrastructure and energy sectors. This partnership with Adani is the cornerstone to our development strategy in this country.”, said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total.

Disclaimer: Shareholder of Adani Gas.

TVS launches India's first Ethanol based Motorcycle - Apache RTR 200 Fi Ei100 at Rs 1.2 lakhs.

A #MakeInIndia products which runs on #MakeInIndia fuel.

TVS Motor Company, a reputed manufacturer of two-wheelers and three-wheelers in the world have created a benchmark in the industry by launching India’s first Ethanol based motorcycle – TVS Apache RTR 200 Fi E100. The motorcycle was launched by Shri. Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Hon’ble Minister for Road Transport and Highways of India & Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri. Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog, and Shri. Venu Srinivasan, Chairman, TVS Motor Company.

TVS Motor Company first showcased the TVS Apache RTR 200 4V Ethanol concept in Auto Expo 2018 held in Delhi. TVS Apache is the flagship brand of TVS Motor Company with over 3.5 million happy customers across the globe.

Commenting on this launch, Shri. Venu Srinivasan, Chairman, TVS Motor Company, said, “We are delighted to launch the TVS Apache RTR 200 Fi E100 in the presence of Hon’ble Minister for Road Transport & Highways of India; & Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Shri. Nitin Jairam Gadkari who has created a roadmap for the implementation of future mobility in the country.”

Shri. Srinivasan further added, “Today, the two-wheeler industry is looking at green and sustainable future mobility solutions spanning across electric, hybrid and alternate fuels. TVS Motor Company believes that Ethanol-based products are an important option for our customers. This is due to the easy compatibility in the transition to Ethanol and its sustained positive impact on the environment without compromising on performance and total cost of ownership. TVS Apache RTR 200 Fi E100 is a breakthrough in the two-wheeler space that will set the trend for a green future in India.”

Ethanol will be domestically produced by the farmers of this country. It is cost-effective, import free and environmentally sustainable fuel.

Ethanol is domestically produced from renewable plant sources. It is non-toxic, biodegradable, as well as safe to handle, store and transport. An oxygenated fuel that contains 35% oxygen, Ethanol reduces nitrogen oxide emissions from combustion. Apart from this, Ethanol also helps reduce carbon monoxide emissions, particulate matter, and sulphur-di-oxide. Use of Ethanol as a fuel will also reduce dependence on the import of petroleum and increase energy security.

The TVS Apache RTR 200 Fi E100 sports a vibrant interplay of green graphics seamlessly woven with the ‘Ethanol’ logo. It is equipped with a Twin-Spray-Twin-Port EFI technology. This ensures better drivability, faster throttle response and reduction in emission levels. It delivers better usable power under varied ambient conditions. This motorcycle boasts of impressive peak power of 21 PS @ 8500 rpm with a torque of 18.1 Nm @ 7000 rpm and has an ascending top speed of 129 kmph.

Promising consistent performance coupled with a sustainable green solution, the TVS Apache RTR 200 Fi E100 is a winner for both the rider and the environment. This special edition would be available in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka at an attractive price of Rs. 1,20,000.

- Press Release.

Morocco to inaugurate Africa's Largest Seawater Desalination Plant by 2021.

Desalination Plant in Sorek, Israel.

India has a coastline of 7500km and yet it struggles to provide unlimited water to its citizens, farmers and industries. In the words of Socialist Dr. Lohia, 'India's Shakti (here women) are capable to solve innumerable problems of themselves and Bharat Bhoomi in whole but first, we need to provide them with toilets and water'. India's newly formed Jal Shakti Ministry has released the target to provide potable tap water to every household by 2024. 

Despite having such a huge coastline and massive rivers like Ganga, Godavari and Brahmaputra, we Indians suffer due to lackluster planning and low investments in Water Technology. Israel, the land with no river provides 24x7 potable water to its citizens and farmers, thanks to the adoption of scientific Sea Water Desalination technology. 

It's not that desalination tech is something new to India. Reliance Industries produces desalinated water for its Jamnagar refinery and even provides additional water to Jamnagar Municipal Corp at a fee. Chennai drinks desalinated water from one of its desalinated plants on East Coast Road. In fact, Indian companies like VA TECH WABAG, Essel Infraprojects and L&T have been awarded works to set up desalination plants in abroad and India. City nations like Singapore, Qatar, Kuwait are using Desalination for decades. Recently, Morocco has awarded a contract to a Spanish firm to build 'Africa's Largest Seawater Desalination Plant' in the city of Adagir.

In 2017, Spain's Abengoa signed contracts to develop a desalination and irrigation project in the Agadir region. The project, valued €309 million, involves the construction of a desalination plant with a 275,000 m3 total production capacity of desalinated water per day which will be the largest plant designed for drinking water and irrigation. The contract also provides for the possible capacity expansion to up to 450,000 m3/day.

The project involves increasing plant capacity to 150,000 m3/d of drinking water. And the second project calls for the additional production of 125,000 m3/d of irrigation water as well as the construction of the corresponding irrigation network for a total of 13,600 ha. Project operations can be powered on renewable power with a focus to meet the demand for water for domestic use in addition to irrigation water needs in the area of Agadir.

Farmers have also contributed MAD 10,000 (1 MAD - INR 7.24) to the financing of the station. The government has promised them desalinated water for irrigation at a low price of MAD 5 per cubic meters in exchange for the investment in construction.

As of now, the world's largest sea water desalination plant is located in Saudi Arabia. The Ras Al Khair plant has a desalination capacity of 1,036,000 m3/day.

Cashkrupt Pakistan receives $6 billion bailout from International Monetary Fund.

Security at China owned Port of Gwadar, Balochistan.

Failed economic policies, sponsorships for Islamic terror, high inflation and active corruption at all stages of government has taken down India's enemy neighbour, Pakistan at its knee. Pak PM Imran Khan has put the onus of degrading economic position on former PM Nawaz Shariff. The much touted economic corridor of prosperity, CPEC, has turned into an economic nightmare for taxpaying Pakistani citizens. For instance, the Chinese owned Gwadar Port in Balochistan rarely has any shipping calls. China has assured continuous economic help for the fulfillment of CPEC, as of now. After personally escorting Saudi King, Pakistan has received moratorium for deferred oil payments for one year. But this was not enough to save Pakistan's depleting economic reserves.

In April 2019, the finance minister of Pakistan requested the 13th bailout since the 80s from International Monetary Fund (IMF). In response to a request by the Pakistani authorities, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Mr. Ernesto Ramirez Rigo visited Islamabad, Pakistan from April 29 to May 11 to discuss IMF support for the authorities’ economic reform program.

The Pakistani authorities and the IMF team have reached a staff-level agreement on economic policies that could be supported by a 39-month Extended Fund Arrangement (EFF) for about US$6 billion. This agreement is subject to IMF management approval and to approval by the Executive Board, subject to the timely implementation of prior actions and confirmation of international partners’ financial commitments. The program aims to support the authorities’ strategy for stronger and more balanced growth by reducing domestic and external imbalances, improving the business environment, strengthening institutions, increasing transparency, and protecting social spending.

At the end of the visit, the IMF representative Mr. Ramirez Rigo made the following statement:

"Pakistan is facing a challenging economic environment, with lackluster growth, elevated inflation, high indebtedness, and a weak external position. This reflects the legacy of uneven and procyclical economic policies in recent years aiming to boost growth, but at the expense of rising vulnerabilities and lingering structural and institutional weaknesses. The authorities recognize the need to address these challenges, as well as to tackle the large informality in the economy, the low spending in human capital, and poverty. In this regard, the government has already initiated a difficult, but necessary, adjustment to stabilize the economy, including thorough support from the State Bank of Pakistan. These efforts need to be strengthened. Decisive policies and reforms, together with significant external financing are necessary to reduce vulnerabilities faster, increase confidence, and put the economy back on a sustainable growth path, with stronger private sector activity and job creation."

"The EFF aims to support the authorities’ ambitious macroeconomic and structural reform agenda during the next three years. This includes improving public finances and reducing public debt through tax policy and administrative reforms to strengthen revenue mobilization and ensure a more equal and transparent distribution of the tax burden. At the same time, a comprehensive plan for cost-recovery in the energy sectors and state-owned enterprises will help eliminate or reduce the quasi-fiscal deficit that drains scarce government resources. These efforts will create fiscal space for a substantial increase in social spending to strengthen social protection as well as in infrastructure and human capital development. The modernization of the public finance management framework will increase transparency and spending efficiency. Provinces are committed to contributing to these efforts by better aligning their fiscal objectives with those of the federal government."

"The forthcoming budget for FY2019/20 is a first critical step in the authorities’ fiscal strategy. The budget will aim for a primary deficit of 0.6 percent of GDP supported by tax policy revenue mobilization measures to eliminate exemptions, curtail special treatments, and improve tax administration."

What Next?

The State Bank of Pakistan has assured the IMF that it will focus on reducing inflation, which disproportionately affects the poor, and safeguarding financial stability. A market-determined exchange rate will help the functioning of the financial sector and contribute to better resource allocation in the economy.

While a $6 billion bailout comes as a breather for tumbling Pakistan. The question arises that till when will this $6 billion help last. Will Pakistan stop the financing of Jihad for the moment at least to avoid the hanging sword of Paris based FATF? Any adventure with the world's fastest growing economy, India could spell doomsday for Pakistan at this very moment.

- Chaitanya Kulkarni

Source: IMF.

BRICS funding agency New Development Bank plans to double its loan book to $16 billion

The New Development Bank (NDB), a multilateral finance institution established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) in 2014, plans to almost double its loan book to USD 16 billion this year and increase its impact, as the Bank seeks to broaden its global development partnerships and mobilise more institutional and private capital. These announcements were made at the 4th Annual Meeting of the NDB in Cape Town, South Africa which brought together senior government officials from BRICS countries, leaders of multilateral and national development institutions, distinguished scholars, prominent commercial bankers, captains of industry and representatives of civil society organizations.

NDB is headed by renowned Indian banker Shri KV Kamath. In his keynote speech, he mentioned that in the year 2019 New Development Bank will build on the strong momentum in its operations with an aims to double its loan approval book to about USD 16 billion. The Bank will ramp up its hard currency financing from the international capital markets.

The NDB was established to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in member states as well as other emerging economies, and the Bank is strongly committed to supporting the sustainable development agenda of its member countries.

In 2018, the NDB approved 17 loans totaling about USD 4.6 billion, building on its base of 13 loans worth USD 3.4 billion as of the end of 2017. That brought the total loan book of the bank to 30 projects worth approximately USD 8 billion by the end of last year.

The NDB has approved five additional projects with loans aggregating to approximately USD 1.2 billion, two in China and three in South Africa, taking its total loan book to USD 9.2 billion as of today. These five new projects include RMB 825 million (USD 123 million) for the Shengzhou Urban and Rural Integrated Water Supply and Sanitation Project (Phase II); USD 300 million for the Guangxi Chongzuo Urban Water System Ecological Restoration Project; USD 480 million to Eskom for the Environmental Protection Project at Medupi Thermal Power Plant; ZAR 1.15 billion (USD 80 million) to the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) for its Renewable Energy Sector Development Project; and ZAR 3.2 billion (USD 220 million) to South Africa's Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) for work on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (Phase II).

In India, the New Development Bank has financed an ambitious Mumbai Metro Line 2B (DN Nagar - Mankhurd) prItst. It's loan book to India include Rural Road, Bridges and Water Supply projects in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan. NDB has also approved a Renewable Energy Financing Scheme of USD 250 million with Canara Bank.

New Development Bank has principally approved a loan to Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority for the financing of Mumbai Metro Line 8 (Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport - Navi Mumbai International Airport), Line 10 (Gaimukh - Shivaji Chowk) and Line 11 (Wadala - GPO). Other proposed loans to India include USD 224 million for 8km Brahmaputra bridge in Guwahati, Assam.

"The share of the BRICS countries in world GDP in PPP terms has grown from 30% to 36% since 2010. This growth has put increased pressures on natural resources and the environment. Fortunately, however, our members have explicitly recognized these pressures and are increasingly investing in undoing some of the past damage. Our members are also focusing on implementing development strategies aimed at minimizing adverse impacts in the future. In both these endeavours, the Bank is being called upon to assist," said Mr. Kamath in his keynote speech.

The NDB now plans to open additional regional offices in Brazil and Russia and is considering opening an Indian regional office in due course.

- Chaitanya Kulkarni.

Indian Oil and Bharat Petroleum consortium wins ADNOC deal.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) signed agreements awarding the exploration rights for Abu Dhabi Onshore Block 1 to a consortium of two Indian oil companies, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Indian Oil Corporation Limited. The award has been endorsed by Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) and represents a further deepening of the fast-growing UAE-India energy relationship as well as the continued expansion of ADNOC’s strategic partnerships with those who can provide access to key growth markets for the company’s crude oil and products.

The consortium will hold a 100 percent stake in the exploration phase, investing up to AED 626 million (US 170 million), including a participation fee, to explore for and appraise oil and gas opportunities in the Block. Following successful exploration activities and appraisal of the existing discoveries, the Indian consortium will be granted the opportunity to develop and produce any discoveries. ADNOC has the option to hold a 60 percent stake in the production phase.

H.E. Dr. Al Jaber of ADNOC said: “This award highlights the important role of energy cooperation in strengthening the strategic relationship between the UAE and India. It also underlines ADNOC’s 2030 smart growth strategy and our targeted approach to engage with value-add partners who can contribute the right combination of market-access, capital and technology, as we reinforce our position as an essential energy provider to the world. 

“The consortium of Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Indian Oil Corporation, both of whom ADNOC already partners with offshore, was selected after a very competitive bid round. The open bidding process represents a major advance in how ADNOC is accelerating the exploration and development of Abu Dhabi’s substantial untapped hydrocarbon resources as we continue to maximize value, in line with the UAE leadership’s directives.”

The exploration phase will see the Indian consortium leverage, and contribute financially and technically to, ADNOC’s mega seismic survey, announced last year. The survey is deploying industry-leading technologies to capture high-resolution 3D images of the complex geology up to 25,000 feet below the surface and will be used to identify potential hydrocarbon reservoirs.

The award of Onshore Block 1 concludes Abu Dhabi’s first-ever competitive block bid round, which saw very competitive proposals submitted for the geographical areas initially offered in April 2018. ADNOC has awarded Offshore Blocks 1 and 2 to a consortium comprised of Eni and PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited; Onshore Block 3 to Occidental Petroleum; and Onshore Block 4 to INPEX CORPORATION.

Indian Oil Corporation, India’s largest commercial enterprise, caters to nearly half of India’s petroleum consumption with 11 of India’s 23 refineries and a 13,000-km pipelines network. Bharat Petroleum Corporation also has a number of major refineries in India. Both companies operate across the full hydrocarbon value chain.

- Press Release.

Bamboo to Bio-Fuel: Finland's Fortum to invest Euro 13.5 million in 2nd generation Bio-Refinery at Numaligarh, Assam.

PradhanMantri Modi has laid the foundation stone for Assam Bio-Refinery project. Fortum brings in biggest FDI to the North East, in a single greenfield project.

Fortum 3 BV, 100% subsidiary of Fortum Oyj, Finland with Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL), an Indian state-owned oil refinery company, and Chempolis, a Finnish technology company, had signed a joint venture for building and operating a bio-refinery in Assam, India. PM Modi along with key officials from Numaligarh Refinery Ltd, Fortum and Chempolis performed the Bhoomipoojan ceremony for the upcoming bio-refinery. The construction of the refinery is expected to be completed by June 2021. 

As part of this venture, Fortum and Chempolis will invest in 50% equity stake, while Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) holds a majority 50%. The first-of-its-kind bio-refinery will be based on formico-technology developed by Chempolis. The key raw material of the bio-refinery is bamboo. The main product bio-ethanol will be sold to NRL who will blend it to petrol. In addition, bio-refinery produces other biochemical and biocoal. Biocoal will be used in CHP plant to produce heat and power to the bio-refinery. Excess power will be sold to NRL's oil refinery where it will replace fossil electricity production. Fortum commits to invest Euro 13.5 Million in a Project of Euro 160 Million.

Bio fuel generated from biomass will save approximately 60 Million US Dollars annually.

The usage of bio fuels aims to solve many critical issues like saving foreign exchange, waste management and providing domestic & clean energy sources. We are living in a world with diminishing natural resources, and we aspire to be one of the forerunners in resource efficiency. For the world's future, biomass is a valuable raw material that can be used to produce many more products of value than today. India has decided to set-up 12 bio-refineries across India which will produce ethanol from bamboo, sugarcane and rice bran. The move towards sustainable development will also help farmers to increase their income. Years to come, the farmer of this country will become an oil producer.

Fortum's Bio2X programme investigates new business opportunities with fractioning-based technologies and end-products of the process. Fortum is currently testing several different fractioning methods. The company has also co-operation projects with different companies to test the end products of different methods.

- Chaitanya Kulkarni.

Delhi Metro Phase III gets Rs 3300 crores ODA loan from Japan's JICA.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed an agreement with the Government of India to provide Official Development Assistance (ODA) Loan of 53,675 million Japanese Yen (approximately INR 3,300 crore) for the ‘Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System Project Phase 3 (Tranche III)'.

The objective of the Project is to cope with the increasing traffic demand in Delhi by expanding mass transit systems, thereby mitigating traffic congestion, reducing air pollution, minimizing road accidents and making travel smoother for the people in New Delhi. The scope of the Phase 3 includes the construction of Pink Line and Magenta Line and the extension of Yellow Line, Blue Line, Green Line and Violet Line. The Phase 3 will add 159.7 kilometers to the existing Delhi Metro Line and will connect 109 metro stations.

The ODA loan agreement was signed between Shohei Hara, Director General, South Asia Department, JICA and Mr. Sujan R. Chinoy, Ambassador of India to Japan on October 29, 2018 at Tokyo.

The Executing Agency for the Project is Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited. The Project envisages building of an efficient transportation system for the city, catering to the growing population. With high growth in transport demand, congestion on roads has been increasing and the mode of travel in favor of public transportation has remained around 50%. It is expected that the mode of travel in favor of public transport will increase to 60% upon commissioning of the Project, while the mode of travel in favor of Delhi Metro will increase to 19% from the current 15%.

"With the signing of Tranche-III of Delhi Metro ODA Loan, JICA has continued to fulfill its commitment of improving the mobility in the capital city. We are pleased to support the network of Delhi Metro which has now reached a cumulative length of 349.7 kilometers. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) shares an over two-decade-long association with JICA, and with the signing of this ODA loan agreement, our bond is only going to grow stronger." - Mr. Katsuo Matsumoto, Chief Representative, JICA India.

JICA has extended a cumulative total of 705,206 million Japanese Yen (approximately 45,000 crores) in ODA loans for the Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System Project since 1997. With the signing of the loan agreement for Delhi Metro Project Phase 3, the cumulative loan amount provided by JICA for Metro projects in India (including Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Ahmedabad Metro) exceeds 1.2 trillion Japanese Yen (approximately 77,000 crores).

Source - JICA.

BRICS established New Development Bank deploys TCS BaNCS for treasury management.

Pic Courtesy - Russia Today

Global enterprise tech giant Tata Consultancy Services has announced that New Development Bank (NDB), a multilateral development finance institution set up by the BRICS nations and headquartered in Shanghai, has gone live with TCS BaNCS for Treasury.

New Development Bank is a multilateral development bank established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa in 2014 with an initial authorized capital of USD 100 billion. The Bank is mandated to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries, complementing the efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global growth and development. Since the launch of its operations, NDB approved projects in its member countries with loans aggregating over USD 5.1 billion. The Bank’s headquarters is located in Shanghai, China and is headed by renowned Indian banker KV Kamath.

NDB selected TCS BaNCS for its risk and treasury operations for the solution’s support for an impressive array of asset classes, and advanced features such as real-time position keeping, risk analytics, and a single product configurator that supports complex debt structures for their issuance programs. The cloud-based offering of TCS BaNCS reduces the time taken for customer on-boarding to a fraction of what it takes in conventional on-premise implementations, as the need to procure and invest in internal infrastructure is eliminated, along with the complexities involved in replacements.

The go-live at NDB, which was achieved in 12 weeks, deployed TCS’ market-proven methodology for cloud on-boarding that leverages enabler toolkits for all project activities – from solution configuration and alignment, to migration, training and testing. TCS also demonstrated its capability with ISO/IEC 27001:2013 cloud services with this deployment, enabling responsive and resilient operations for the bank. TCS BaNCS will now support all market operations linked to NDB’s investment and liability portfolio consisting of global bond issuances, including managing inherent risks.

“Technological change will continue to transform the economic landscape and open new opportunities for citizens of BRICS nations. For a bank to develop conventional infrastructure as well as to take maximum advantage of transformative technological developments as they happen at high speed and large scale, a flexible and digital backbone is essential. TCS BaNCS was selected not only for its extensive product capabilities but also for its compelling and relevant implementation footprint across the globe.” - Leslie Maasdorp, Vice-President & Chief Financial Officer, NDB.

TCS BaNCS for Treasury is an integrated, cross-asset-class solution for front-, middle-, and back-office operations in treasury and trade, encompassing cash and derivatives on foreign exchanges, money markets, fixed income, equities and hybrid structures. It is a multi-entity, multi-currency trading, risk management, processing, settlements and accounting solution that drives innovation, agility and efficiency in markets worldwide.

Source - Press Release.

Indian Navy to get 111 utility helicopters at Rs 21,000 crores. DAC approves defence equipments of nearly Rs 46,000 crores.

MH 60 Romeo Naval Utility Helicopters by Sikorsky Lockheed Martin.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Raksha Mantri Nirmala Sitharaman, met on 25 Aug 2018 and accorded approval for procurement for the Services amounting to approximately Rs. 46,000 crores.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), in a landmark decision today, approved procurement of 111 Utility Helicopters for the Indian Navy at a cost of over Rs. 21,000 crores.  This is the first project under the MoD’s prestigious Strategic Partnership (SP) Model that aims at providing a significant fillip to the Government’s ‘Make in India’ programme.

SP Model envisages indigenous manufacturing of major defence platforms by an Indian Strategic Partner, who will collaborate with foreign OEM, acquire niche technologies and set up production facilities in the Country. The model has a long-term vision of promoting India as a manufacturing hub for defence equipment thus enhancing self-sufficiency and establishing an industrial and R&D ecosystem, capable of meeting the future requirements of the Armed Forces. The contract when finalised, would result in a vibrant and wide-spread Defence industrial eco-system in the Indian Aviation Sector with the Private Industry and MSMEs as major stakeholders.

The RFI has been floated on the same and it has found that the 111 helicopters will have anti-submarine torpedo aversion capabilities. The new helicopters will be in addition to KA 28 and Dhruv helicopters. As per LiveFistDefence, the likely contenders in the Naval Utility Helicopters fight include the Airbus Helicopters AS565 Panther, Bell 429, Lockheed Martin-Sikorsky S-76D and, perhaps the AgustaWestland AW 109.

In the further quest for modernisation of the Armed forces, the DAC also granted approval to a few other proposals amounting to approximately Rs. 24,879.16 crores, which included approval for procurement of 150 numbers of Indigenously Designed and Developed 155 mm Advanced Towed Artillery Gun Systems for the Indian Army at an approximate cost of Rs 3,364.78 crores. These guns have been indigenously designed & developed by DRDO and will be manufactured by production agencies, as nominated by DRDO. They are likely to be the mainstay of Artillery in the near future. A nod to these major schemes will provide a fillip to the ‘Make in India’ push by the Government, will help create self-reliance in the Country in Defence manufacturing sector and has the potential of making the Defence Industry as a major engine of India’s economic growth.

 To enhance the capability of Navy at sea, approval has also been granted for procurement of Anti-Submarine capable, 24 American MH 60 Multi-Role Helicopters, which are an integral part of the frontline warships like the Aircraft Carriers, destroyers, frigates and corvettes. Availability of MRH with the Navy would plug the existing capability gap.

In addition, procurement of 14 Vertically Launched Short Range Missile Systems was also cleared by the DAC. Of these, 10 systems will be indigenously developed. These systems will boost the self-defence capability of ships against Anti-Ship Missiles.

Source - Ministry of Defence, LiveFist Defence.

NHAI plans to raise Rs 8,000 crores from Toll Operate Transfer model.

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has invited bids for Second Bundle of national highways under the TOT(Toll Operate Transfer) model. The bundle consists of 8 stretches of national highways in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar and West Bengal. The total length of the project is 586.5 km. There are 12 Toll Plazas on these 8 road stretches. The Bid Due Date is 5th Nov 2018.

Concessionaires have to quote Bid Concession Fee against NHAI's estimated Initial Estimated Concession Value (IECV) of Rs. 5362 crore. TOT bundle-II also involves an initial construction cost of Rs 929 crore. The total contract period of TOT is for 30 years, which may increase/ decrease by 10/5 years based on an increase/ decrease in traffic. The concessionaire would be required to maintain and operate the stretch during this period.  In Lieu of this, the concessionaire would get the rights to collect user fee for this period, in accordance with prescribed fee rates under NH Fee Rules.

As per Bharatmala, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways plans to build 34,800km of highways from a budgetary outlay of Rs 5,35,000 crores. These will have 9 greenfield expressways projects including the ambitious Mumbai - Delhi Expressway.

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is borrowing from the market through the Internal Extra Budgetary Resources (IEBR) route. In 2017-18, NHAI has raised Rs 8,500 crore from LIC and Rs 10,000 crore from EPFO through taxable bonds. Further, NHAI issued rupee denominated Masala Bonds of Rs 3,000 crores through the London Stock Exchange. 

In addition, NHAI is in the process of raising funds through monetization of operational National Highway assets through the Cabinet approved Toll-Operate-Transfer (TOT) model. It may be recalled that for TOT Bundle-I of 648 km, Macquarie had quoted highest as 1.5 times against the NHAI IECV of approx 1 billion USD (Rs. 6258 crores). The highest bid of Macquarie was approx 1.5 Billion USD (Rs. 9681 crores).

Source - PIB.

Bank of China to open office in Mumbai

Bank of China office in New York.

Reserve Bank of India has issued scheduled commercial bank license to the Bank of China. Bank of China is one of China's largest banks which is set to open its first branch in Mumbai.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made a commitment to Chinese President Xi Jinping to allow Bank of China to set up branches in India when they met on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Chinese city of Qingdao last month. Bank of China will be the second Chinese bank to enter India after Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

As China’s most internationalised and diversified bank, Bank of China provides a comprehensive range of financial services to customers across the Chinese mainland as well as 51 countries and regions. The Bank’s core business is commercial banking, including corporate banking, personal banking and financial markets services.

"By the end of 2017, Chinese investments into India added up to more than $8 billion, as India has become an important market for infrastructure cooperation among Chinese companies and a major investment destination," Gao Feng, Ministry of Commerce, People's Republic of China.

China had permitted Indian banks to open seven branches in China since 2006. The State Bank of India was the first to start operations in China where it has two branches. The Bank of India, the Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank have one branch each.

- Chaitanya Kulkarni

India becomes 69th member of Europe's EBRD Bank

India’s membership will pave the way for more joint investment in EBRD regions.

Shareholders of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have agreed to India becoming the Bank’s 69th member, setting the stage for an increase in joint investment with Indian companies in the EBRD’s regions.

The Indian government applied for EBRD membership on 18 December 2017, saying the step would benefit both the Bank and India. India will take a shareholding in the EBRD but it will not be a recipient of EBRD financing. The EBRD’s Board of Governors, which represents all of the existing shareholders, voted in favour of India’s application.

With India’s impressive economic growth over the years and enhanced international political profile, it was considered appropriate that India should expand its presence on the global developmental landscape beyond its association with the Multi-lateral Development Banks (MDBs) such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and African Development Bank. The decision to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the New Development Bank (NDB) was taken earlier in this backdrop.

“This is an important step in the relationship between the EBRD and India, allowing us to build further on already very close ties.” – Suma Chakrabarti, President, EBRD.

The EBRD has long worked with top-class Indian companies on investments in the EBRD’s regions, which comprise 38 economies across three continents. The Bank has cooperated with Indian enterprises on joint projects worth nearly €1 billion, including investments with Tata, SREI and Jindal.

Impact:

• Membership of EBRD would enhance India’s international profile and promote its economic interests. Access to EBRD’s Countries of Operation and sector knowledge.
• India’s investment opportunities would get a boost.
• It would increase the scope of cooperation between India and EBRD through co-financing opportunities in manufacturing, services, Information Technology, and Energy.
• EBRD’s core operations pertain to private sector development in their countries of operation. The membership would help India leverage the technical assistance and sectoral knowledge of the bank for the benefit of the development of private sector.
• This would contribute to an improved investment climate in the country.
• The membership of EBRD would enhance the competitive strength of the Indian firms, and provide an enhanced access to international markets in terms of business opportunities, procurement activities, consultancy assignments etc.
• This would open up new vistas for Indian professionals on the one hand, and give a fillip to Indian exports on the other.
• Increased economic activities would have the employment generating potential.
• It would also enable Indian nationals to get the employment opportunity in the Bank.

The total value of joint India-EBRD investments in EBRD economies currently stands at €982 million, with the majority of the transactions in the private sector.

The EBRD also works closely with leading Indian chambers such as the Confederation of Indian Industry, and the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India. It recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

In 2017, the EBRD signed an accord to strengthen ties with the International Solar Alliance, which was launched during the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference in Paris at the initiative of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former French President François Hollande as a platform for cooperation among solar resource-rich economies.

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Also published on InfraStory.com

Dubai's Relam Investment pumps $250- 300 million in India.

Relam Investment LLC, a new international joint venture formed by UAE-based Vault Investment and Vietnamese MIG Holding officially made entry into Indian markets. The company, headquartered in Dubai is set to focus on investments across multiple sectors including real estate, technology, energy, oil & gas, trading, healthcare, F&B, retail and agriculture. The company looks to invest USD 250-300 million in the Indian market with an initial focus on real estate and technology.

The company announced two new technology-led investment projects. The first would serve the real estate sector through the crowdfunding platform and the second, a trade hub platform, which will move small and medium enterprises into a different paradigm. Relam Investment LLC has allocated an investment portfolio of $50million to fund companies innovating in emerging technology like blockchain, AI, Big Data and another $200 million into the real estate sector, where India stands as one of its main hubs.

Relam Investment LLC also signed a cooperation agreement with RRP S4E Innovation Pvt. Ltd in order to set up renewable energy plants using CIGS, one of the most cutting-edge Nanotechnologies in the renewable domain. The partnership will also lead to setting up of a unique Electro-Optics park, as a part of its programme.

“The partnership between the two companies will bring together proven expertise into multiple sectors, which we aim to replicate in the Indian market. Our strategy is aligned with Dubai’s vision for globalized growth via effective investments. India is a developing region and its ‘Made in India’ project has made the country a global hub for investments. Through Relam Investment LLC, we aim to give a boost to the Indian start-up ecosystem.” - Sultan Ali Rashed Lootah, Chairman & MD, Relam Investment LLC.

Apart from India, Relam Investment LLC will focus its operations in the UAE, Vietnam, GCC countries, United Kingdom, Turkey, South East Asia and Egypt in the initial years, before expanding to other countries and regions around the world.

Source - Press Release.

Saudi Arabia invests to develop World's largest Oil refinery in Ratnagiri.

RIL's Jamnagar Refinery is currently the world's largest.

An Indian Consortium consisting of IOCL, BPCL and HPCL and Saudi Aramco signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) here today to jointly develop and build an integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex, Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. (RRPCL) in the State of Maharashtra.  Saudi Aramco may also seek to include a strategic oil partner from other Gulf countries to co-invest in the project.  

The strategic partnership brings together crude supply, resources, technologies, experience and expertise of these multiple oil companies with an established commercial presence around the world. A pre-feasibility study for the refinery has been completed, and the parties are now finalising the project’s overall configuration. Following the signing of the MoU, the parties will extend their collaboration to discuss the formation of a joint venture that would provide for joint ownership, control and management of the project.

The Ratnagiri refinery in Konkan region of Maharashtra will be the World's largest Oil refinery with the capacity of processing 1.2 million barrels of crude oil per day (60 million metric tonnes per annum, or MMTPA). Reliance's Jamnagar Refinery, which is currently the world's largest, has a maximum capacity of 34 MMTPA. It will produce a range of refined petroleum products, including petrol and diesel meeting BS-VI fuel efficiency norms. The Refinery will also provide feedstock for the integrated petrochemicals complex, which will be capable of producing approx. 18 million tonnes per annum of petrochemical products.

In addition to the refinery, cracker and downstream petrochemical facilities, the project will include associated facilities such as a logistics, crude oil and product storage terminals, raw water supply, as well as centralized and shared utilities.

Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. (RRPCL) will rank among the largest world refining and petrochemicals projects and will be designed to meet India’s fast-growing fuels and petrochemicals demand. The project cost is estimated at around $44 billion.

This a joint partnership between the consortium from India consisting of IOCL, HPCL and BPCL and Saudi Aramco & an additional strategic partner on a 50:50 basis. This project, with an estimated investment of over Rs. 3 lakh crore, would bring huge benefits to the Region, the State of Maharashtra and the entire country in terms of large-scale employment generation, direct and indirect, as well as the all-round economic development of the Region.  This project is in line with the vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister of India and His Highness the King of Saudi Arabia. - Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Govt of India.

Investing in India is a key part of our company’s global downstream strategy, and another milestone in our growing relationship with India. The signing marks a significant development in India’s oil and gas sector, enabling a strategic joint venture and investment partnership that will serve India’s fast-growing demand for transportation fuels and chemical products. Participating in this mega project will allow Saudi Aramco to go beyond our crude oil supplier role to a fully integrated position that may help usher in other areas of collaboration, such as refining, marketing, and petrochemicals for India’s future energy demands. - Amin Nasser, CEO, Saudi Aramco.

The refinery will be situated in two villages namely Nanar and Babulwadi. Activists and local political party are protesting the upcoming project over land acquisition issues and alleged 'destruction of the environment'. A fear among locals is created as the mega refinery and petrochemicals complex is just 14km away from World's largest nuclear power plant at Jaitapur. The project is expected to give 40,000 direct and indirect jobs in the Konkan region. These two projects are important to turn around the financial fortunes of the Konkan region. Among this political slugfest, the Union government and Maharashtra government has clarified that it will go-ahead with Ratnagiri mega refinery project.

- Chaitanya Kulkarni

Source - Saudi Aramco, PIB.