Tuesday, October 23, 2018
writingonblog uncensored: Tender for Chennai Command and Control Centre unde...
writingonblog uncensored: Tender for Chennai Command and Control Centre unde...: C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI: The tender to implement and manage Command and Control Center (CCC), one of the core initiatives under the Chen...
Tender for Chennai Command and Control Centre under smart city initiative sparks row
C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:
The tender to implement and manage Command and Control Center (CCC), one of the core initiatives under the Chennai Smart City, sparked a row after Larsen and Toubro alleged discrepancies by Tender Evaluation Authority stating that Tamil Nadu Tender Transparency Act was not followed.
After the Letter of Award has been placed on Keltron, Larsen and Toubro has alleged that TN Tenders still show the status of financial evaluation and award of contract still in progress.
“The Tender Evaluation Authority did not follow the Tamil Nadu Tender Transparency Act by not mentioning the Letter of award to Keltron to other bidders without declaring the technical scores of the qualified bidders,” Larsen and Toubro has alleged.
Interestingly, state government officials said that the website now has all the details pertaining to bids and rejected the allegations of Larsen and Toubro. “The tender was awarded as per Tender Transparency Act. Larsen and Toubro has quoted more than 100 per cent of what Keltron has quoted as such they would not have got the tender,” the official on condition of anonymity stated.
It is learnt that Larsen and Toubro has written letters to various departments in both Centre and state and sources say that they have yet to get any reply.
Interestingly, while Larsen and Toubro has alleged that Keltron’s bid was incomplete and non-compliant, Greater Chennai Corporation official rejected the allegations and said it does not hold ground.
Interestingly, the Centre plays a pivotal role in seamlessly synthesizing various departments’ data and dissemination of predictive & real-time analytics leveraging Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data management.
Taking inspiration from the Rio de Janeiro’s Centro de Operacoes (Operational Control Centre), this has become a central project in smart city plans throughout the country.
Rio has elicited widespread private participation, especially from tech giant IBM to bring this system online, which is being emulated elsewhere too.
Some of the projects to be taken up include the integration of traffic management, disaster management and e-governance under one roof which will create greater efficiency.
Other projects like the smart signalling, intelligent transport system, disaster management, parking management system and city surveillance will be connected on the single-platform established in the Greater Chennai Corporation. Additionally, the mapping of underground utilities will further assist the construction of a real-time three-dimensional map of various networks in the city.
What is Chennai Control and Command Centre:
--- 24 civic agencies of Chennai, including Chennai Corporation, Metrowater, Meteorological Department and the Police, will come together for setting up of an integrated command and control centre.
--- The centre will be build at a cost of Rs 180 crore and will provide effective delivery of services.
--- It will be similar to that of 911 helpline implemented in the United States.
---- The centre will be a confluence point for data to facilitate such coordination under smart city projects.
---- The city will also have its own surveillance system with 100 locations with 400 fixed box camera, 100 PTZ camera, and facial recognition system.
--- A solid waste management system covering 50 locations will soon be commenced.
writingonblog uncensored: Uzbekistan launches its first nuclear power plant ...
writingonblog uncensored: Uzbekistan launches its first nuclear power plant ...: Chennai: Uzbekistan has commenced the exploration studies to select the construction site for its first nuclear power plant project. ...
Uzbekistan launches its first nuclear power plant project with Russia
Chennai:
Uzbekistan has commenced the exploration studies to
select the construction site for its first nuclear power plant project. It envisages
the construction of two latest Generation III+ VVER-1200 power units of Russian
design.
The President of Uzbekistan ShavkatMirziyoyev and the
President of Russia Vladimir Putin participated in the event via a video
conference from Tashkent. The Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan AlisherSultanov
and Director General of Russia’s ROSATOM State Atomic Energy Corporation Alexey
Likhachev were present at the ceremony.
“The latest development in the nuclear power sector, initiated by the decision of the President
Shavkat Mirziyoyev, marksthe beginning of a new era for Uzbekistan’s energy industry and
stimulates stable economic
development and increased quality of life for the citizens,” said AlisherSultanov.
“We are proud that Uzbekistan chose Russian
technologies for the construction of its first nuclear power plant. We will
build the most advanced Generation III+ nuclear power plant with two VVER-1200
power units that meet all the international safety requirements,” said Alexey
Likhachev.
On December 29,
2017 Uzbekistan and Russia signed an Agreement on the use of atomic energy for
peaceful purposes. The first nuclear power unit in Uzbekistan is scheduled to
be commissioned in 2028.
Monday, October 22, 2018
writingonblog uncensored: Chennai residential yield higher than Delhi, Mumba...
writingonblog uncensored: Chennai residential yield higher than Delhi, Mumba...: C Shivakumar @ Chennai: Chennai's residential yield, a component of net return a landlord can get by investing in property, is muc...
writingonblog uncensored: TN among top 10 priority states for Australia
writingonblog uncensored: TN among top 10 priority states for Australia: Chennai: Tamil Nadu is among the top 10 priority states for Australia in India for increased engagement as Australia charts out a strategy ...
TN among top 10 priority states for Australia
Chennai: Tamil Nadu is among the top 10 priority states for Australia in India for increased engagement as Australia charts out a strategy to invest $100 billion in India in the next two decades.
Australian High Commissioner to India, Harinder Sidhu while launching a roadmap for deepening Australia-India economic ties for the next two decades, said that the report ‘An Indian Economic Strategy to 2035: Navigating from Potential to Delivery’ was prepared as Australian business making decision was based on outdated information.
She said that the report asks Australians not to look India as another China as India’s economy is different from that of China and is consumption driven one. “India should be treated on its own terms and not as next China,” she said.
Highlighting the report’s recommendation to deepen Australia-India research and innovation partnership, she said that Tamil Nadu provided a strong base for further growth. “This included 83 active institutional partnerships between Australian and Tamil Nadu Industries, 21 Australian-India strategic Research Fund (AISRF) grants, and two Centres of Excellence at IIT (Deakin and Swinburne).
V Arun Roy, additional secretary, industries and Special Officer for Global Investors Meet who was present on the occasion along with Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan and G S Sameeran, director of Fisheries department, urged the Australian High Commissioner to ask Australian businessmen to invest in Australia. Former Coast Guard Commander (East) S P Sharma, in his new avatar as director of Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce along with IIT director Bhaskar Ramamurthi were also present.
This comes as Australian government has stated to engage actively with Tamil Nadu at the upcoming Global Investors Meet to be held on January 23-24 to pursue sectoral opportunities in education, road safety technology, urban infrastructure, fisheries and agribusiness.
Australian High Commissioner to India, Harinder Sidhu while launching a roadmap for deepening Australia-India economic ties for the next two decades, said that the report ‘An Indian Economic Strategy to 2035: Navigating from Potential to Delivery’ was prepared as Australian business making decision was based on outdated information.
She said that the report asks Australians not to look India as another China as India’s economy is different from that of China and is consumption driven one. “India should be treated on its own terms and not as next China,” she said.
Highlighting the report’s recommendation to deepen Australia-India research and innovation partnership, she said that Tamil Nadu provided a strong base for further growth. “This included 83 active institutional partnerships between Australian and Tamil Nadu Industries, 21 Australian-India strategic Research Fund (AISRF) grants, and two Centres of Excellence at IIT (Deakin and Swinburne).
V Arun Roy, additional secretary, industries and Special Officer for Global Investors Meet who was present on the occasion along with Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan and G S Sameeran, director of Fisheries department, urged the Australian High Commissioner to ask Australian businessmen to invest in Australia. Former Coast Guard Commander (East) S P Sharma, in his new avatar as director of Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce along with IIT director Bhaskar Ramamurthi were also present.
This comes as Australian government has stated to engage actively with Tamil Nadu at the upcoming Global Investors Meet to be held on January 23-24 to pursue sectoral opportunities in education, road safety technology, urban infrastructure, fisheries and agribusiness.
writingonblog uncensored: TN to amend Industrial Township Act to pave way fo...
writingonblog uncensored: TN to amend Industrial Township Act to pave way fo...: C Shivakumar @ Chennai: Tamil Nadu government will amend the Tamil Nadu Industrial Township Area Development Authority Act, 1997 (TNIT...
TN to amend Industrial Township Act to pave way for Chennai Kanyakumari Industrial corridor project
C Shivakumar @ Chennai:
Tamil Nadu government will amend the Tamil Nadu Industrial Township Area Development Authority Act, 1997 (TNITADA) within the next one month to pave the way for implementation of the Rs 6,448 crore Chennai Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor Project, according to a state industry department official.
“Currently, the only hitch is to amend the Act to create the special purpose vehicle,” the official said.
Once the act is amended then the industrial townships will be notified and a dedicated authority will be established for each proposed nodes, the official said.
The project has six nodes. They include Madurai-Virudhnagar-Dindigul-
The official told Express that once the act is amended then project will be put before Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion when is then pass it on to Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC) to prepare a masterplan, the official said.
To a query on whether German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) will prepare masterplan for CKIC, the official said that it will be decided by DMICDC.
The proposed Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor project is likely to generate more than 4.7 million additional jobs driven by annual manufacturing output of $222 billion, according to a Comprehensive Development Plan prepared by Asian Development Bank.
The first phase of Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor (CKIC) project, which will have Madurai-Virudhnagar-Dindigul-
The corridor influence area, which will cover 23 of 32 districts of Tamil Nadu accounting for 64pc of Tamil Nadu’s area and 70pc of total population. The focus of the corridor will on manufacturing. he urban strategy for CKIC will be combination of anchor cities and growth centers. Anchor cities are the crucial initial-state requirement to attract targeted industries.
Thoothkudi, Tirunelveli, Madurai, Trichy, Cuddalore, Thanjavur, Pudukottai, Manaparai Premabalur and Kariakudi have been earmarked as anchor cities.
Factfile:
1. Tamil Nadu Industrial Township Area Development Authority Act, 1997 (TNITADA) within the next one month to pave the way for implementation of the Rs 6,448 crore Chennai Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor Project
2.The proposed Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor project will generate more than 4.7 million additional jobs.
3. Manufacturing sector output in CKIC is estimated to increase from about $41 billion to between $163 billion and $222 billion by 2035.
4. The 23 districts in the corridor influence area cover 58% of all registered manufacturing enterprises in state.
5. The entire project has investment requirement of $43.19 billion (Rs 281,000 crore)
writingonblog uncensored: Chennai residential yield higher than Delhi, Mumba...
writingonblog uncensored: Chennai residential yield higher than Delhi, Mumba...: C Shivakumar @ Chennai: Chennai's residential yield, a component of net return a landlord can get by investing in property, is muc...
Chennai residential yield higher than Delhi, Mumbai, says report
C Shivakumar @ Chennai:
Chennai's residential yield, a component of net return a landlord can get by investing in property, is much higher than cities like Delhi and Mumbai, according to a report by IDFC Institute, an independent, economic development-focused think tank to investigate the political, economic and spatial dimensions of India's ongoing transition from a low-income, state-led country to a prosperous market-based economy.
According to the Institute’s India Infrastructure Report 2018: Making Housing Affordable, which uses data available on Numbeo, a crowd sourced data platform of the costs of living in cities around the world, states that Chennai’s residential yield is 2.38 which is higher than Delhi (2.28) and Mumbai (2.18).
According to the report, Indian cities have residential rental yields between 2 to 4% which is much lower when compared to cities across the world. Interestingly, cities like Hyderabad (4.37), Ahmedabad (4.33), Bengaluru (3.47pc), Kolkata (3.33pc) and Pune (2.83pc) have better rental yields than Chennai.
The report states that higher the house price, the lower is the rental yield for that city.
“Low rental yields contribute to overall low returns on property investments, especially relative to alternative market investments with similar risk profiles,” the report states.
Citing pro-tenant legislations that have prevented market based increases in rent, the report states that in 2016, 66.2 per cent of all civil litigation in India was related to land and property matters
“Landlords choose to hold onto their real estate assets primarily for capital appreciation rather than steady rental incomes. At the same time, landlords also face substantial hurdles in evicting tenants and securing property rights for their house. The slow pace with which tenancy disputes are redressed creates strong disincentives for owners of vacant properties to rent them out,” it adds.
Interestingly, the State Urban Housing and Habitat Policy (SUHHP) being drafted by German agency GIZ along with the state housing board, states that Tamil Nadu is facing a shortage of 1.5 million homes in the urban areas and there is an urgent need to regulate and streamline private urban rental housing to enable access to urban poor.
It is learnt that through the new policy, the policy and government subsidies towards housing will undergo a significant change with focus being more on streamlining private urban rental housing.
The state will be looking at housing supply intervention in the state as an integrated market rather than sub-markets for different income groups as failure in any sub-market will have ramifications across the city.
Residential yields of Indian cities:
1. Hyderabad (4.37)
2. Ahmedabad (4.33)
3. Bengaluru (3.47pc)
4. Kolkata (3.33pc)
5. Pune (2.83pc)
6. Chennai (2.38)
7. Delhi (2.28)
8. Mumbai (2.18).
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
writingonblog uncensored: 30 TN departments have 6,170 audit inspection repo...
writingonblog uncensored: 30 TN departments have 6,170 audit inspection repo...: C Shivakumar @ Chennai: Thirty Tamil Nadu government departments have high pendency of 6,170 audit inspection reports, including 26,140 ...
30 TN departments have 6,170 audit inspection reports, 26,140 paras pending
C Shivakumar @ Chennai:
Thirty Tamil Nadu government departments have high pendency of 6,170 audit inspection reports, including 26,140 paras, dating as far back as 1991-92, according to data from Principal Accountant General (General & Social Sector Audit), which functions under the control of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.
According to information available with Express, Revenue department has the highest pendency of 1525 audit inspection reports, which includes 5714 paras (observations made by principal accountant general) ranging from as far as 1991-92 which is more than 25 to 26 years.
Top officials from the revenue department could not be contacted for their response. Similarly, the health department is ranked second and has 686 pending inspection reports, which include 3,148 paras dating as far as 2004-05 followed by rural development department having 521 pending inspection reports, including 2,425 paras since 2009-10.
It is learnt that the state finance (audit) department is now seeking a detailed note from all the departments for a discussion at the state level apex committee meeting.
Usually, all audit observations are sent to concerned ministry, department or Public Sector Units or state government companies for a response. The ministry or state government departments has to respond to such ‘draft paragraphs’ as each observation is called, within a fixed time frame and may also discuss them with officers of the CAG.
Following the response, unresolved issues are included in an inspection report issued to the head of the audited entity (as well as the administrative head) with the most important issues being compiled into the audit report released to the public.
The final audit reports are then submitted to the Finance Ministry (or the state finance department) which then submits it to Parliament or the Governor of the State. All CAG reports are public documents. All state departments are also required to prepare ‘action taken’ notes on the various observations and recommendations made by the CAG and submit them to the Public Accounts Committee (a parliamentary committee which oversees government finances) or the Committee on Public Undertakings (which oversees the finances and functioning of government companies).
However, 30 state departments have high pendency of inspection report and paras or observation made by the Principal Accountant General (General & Social Sector Audit).
It is also learnt that a total of 1,250 action taken notes (ATNs) are pending from eight departments as on March 31, 2018. It is learnt that Public accounts committee (PAC) recommendations are awaiting finality due to want of ATNs from the departments. The highest pendency is from Revenue and Disaster management (182) followed by Finance department (175) and health and family welfare department (152).
Factfile:
Inspection reports (IRs) pending:
1. Health: 686
Paras pending: 3,148
Earliest year of pending: 2004-05
2. Revenue: 1525
Paras pending: 5714
Earliest year of pending: 1991-92
3. Rural Development: 521
Paras pending: 2425
Earliest year of pending: 2009-10
4. Education: 506
Paras pending: 1806
Earliest year of pending: 2007-08
5. Municipal Administration: 404
Paras Pending: 2,044
Earliest Year of Pending: 2010-11
Monday, October 1, 2018
DRI seizes cigarettes worth Rs 4.23 cr smuggled from Dubai
CHENNAI:
Foreign origin Cigarettes worth Rs. 4.23 Crore, which were smuggled in three containers from Dubai, were seized at a Container Freight Station here and four persons were arrested in this regard by sleuths of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.
Working on a tip-off that foreign origin Cigarettes are being smuggled by a syndicate in an import consignment of “Calcium Carbonate”, DRI sleuths intercepted that consignment imported in three 20 feet containers after it was transshipped to Container freight station from Kattupalli Port.
On examination of the consignment on Thursday, the DRI officials found carton boxes concealed inside the declared “Calcium Carbonate” bags which contained “Gudang Garam” cigarettes of Indonesian origin. A total of 30.24 Lakh sticks of cigarettes were found upon inventorization.
The market value of the seized cigarettes is about Rs. 4.23 Cr., and these cigarettes do not bear statutory health and pictorial warnings mandated under Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Rules, 2008 as amended effective from September 1, 2018.
The cigarettes, calcium carbonate bags and the three containers were seized under provisions of Customs Act, 1962 and four persons including the importer who permitted the syndicate to import through his firm are arrested.
Cigarettes fall under Section 123 of the Customs Act, 1962 by which burden is cast upon the persons who are in possession of cigarettes to prove that those cigarettes are not smuggled in to India.
Earlier in January 2018, about 70.56 Lakh sticks of same brand of cigarettes were seized at Chennai Port by Special Intelligence and Investigation Branch (SIIB) of the Chennai Sea Port Customs Commissionerate.
writingonblog uncensored: Hollande’s statement could impact international re...
writingonblog uncensored: Hollande’s statement could impact international re...: Chennai: Defence Minister Nirmala Sithraman rejected a joint parliamentary committee probe into inter-governmental agreement with France ...
writingonblog uncensored: Hollande’s statement could impact international re...
writingonblog uncensored: Hollande’s statement could impact international re...: Chennai: Defence Minister Nirmala Sithraman rejected a joint parliamentary committee probe into inter-governmental agreement with France ...
Hollande’s statement could impact international relations, says Defence minister
Chennai:
Defence Minister Nirmala Sithraman rejected a joint parliamentary committee probe into inter-governmental agreement with France in 2016 to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of Rs 58,000 crore and said that former French president Francois Hollande’s allegations that that the Indian government had recommended Reliance Defence as an offset partner could have an impact on international relations.
“Why should I order a probe. The statement is given in parliament,” the defence minister told a press conference while answering a flurry of questions on the Rafale deal.
This comes in the wake of Congress demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Rafale deal.
On former French president Francois Hollande’s allegations that that the Indian government had recommended Reliance Defence as an offset partner, Sitharaman said the statement will have an impact on international relations.
She also said that former president is facing an allegation that his associate having received funds for some purpose. “I am not in a position to elaborate on the allegations. In such a situation, he is saying this,” she said.
Hitting out at Congress President Rahul Gandhi, she said that everything the former French president was to say was predicted by the Congress president.
On reports that joint secretary-level officer in the Ministry of Defence objected to the deal's benchmark price and had written a dissent note that was overruled.
Sitharaman said that the same officer was a signatory to the final note on the agreement that was sent to the Cabinet.
Under the UPA's deal, India would get 18 Rafale jets in a fly-away state while the remaining would be manufactured in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
That deal wasn't completed by the UPA government. “There is now working agreement with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Dassault,” she said.
Under the offset rules, it is for the original equipment manufacturer (Dassault in this case) to decide whom it wants to partner within India for its offset obligations, Sitharaman said.
On the 2016 “surgical strikes”, Sitharaman said such an action will deter Pakistan from training and sending terrorists. “My action will continue at the border irrespective of whether they have learnt a lesson or not,” she said.
On the negotiation on the S-400 air defence systems, she said is at a stage where it can be finalised. “We have a big legacy of buying defence equipment from Russia,” she said.
The S-400 is a military system comprising radars, command post, different types of missiles and launchers that can track several dozen incoming objects simultaneously from hundreds of kilometres away and launch counter-missiles.
Hitting out at the Congress, she said the party was restless because it could not make money. She accused the previous Congress government of negotiating with "brokers" and not buying important equipment required for the defence forces.
"With brokers and dalal they were still buying time, not buying important equipment. But we are buying now and that's where I think the Congress is being restless as they couldn't make money," she said.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sithraman rejected a joint parliamentary committee probe into inter-governmental agreement with France in 2016 to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of Rs 58,000 crore and said that former French president Francois Hollande’s allegations that that the Indian government had recommended Reliance Defence as an offset partner could have an impact on international relations.
“Why should I order a probe. The statement is given in parliament,” the defence minister told a press conference while answering a flurry of questions on the Rafale deal.
This comes in the wake of Congress demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Rafale deal.
On former French president Francois Hollande’s allegations that that the Indian government had recommended Reliance Defence as an offset partner, Sitharaman said the statement will have an impact on international relations.
She also said that former president is facing an allegation that his associate having received funds for some purpose. “I am not in a position to elaborate on the allegations. In such a situation, he is saying this,” she said.
Hitting out at Congress President Rahul Gandhi, she said that everything the former French president was to say was predicted by the Congress president.
On reports that joint secretary-level officer in the Ministry of Defence objected to the deal's benchmark price and had written a dissent note that was overruled.
Sitharaman said that the same officer was a signatory to the final note on the agreement that was sent to the Cabinet.
Under the UPA's deal, India would get 18 Rafale jets in a fly-away state while the remaining would be manufactured in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
That deal wasn't completed by the UPA government. “There is now working agreement with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Dassault,” she said.
Under the offset rules, it is for the original equipment manufacturer (Dassault in this case) to decide whom it wants to partner within India for its offset obligations, Sitharaman said.
On the 2016 “surgical strikes”, Sitharaman said such an action will deter Pakistan from training and sending terrorists. “My action will continue at the border irrespective of whether they have learnt a lesson or not,” she said.
On the negotiation on the S-400 air defence systems, she said is at a stage where it can be finalised. “We have a big legacy of buying defence equipment from Russia,” she said.
The S-400 is a military system comprising radars, command post, different types of missiles and launchers that can track several dozen incoming objects simultaneously from hundreds of kilometres away and launch counter-missiles.
Hitting out at the Congress, she said the party was restless because it could not make money. She accused the previous Congress government of negotiating with "brokers" and not buying important equipment required for the defence forces.
"With brokers and dalal they were still buying time, not buying important equipment. But we are buying now and that's where I think the Congress is being restless as they couldn't make money," she said.
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