Prologue
11th chapter is about infrastructure
Infra related to | Example | Comment |
Transport |
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I’ve already covered this content under Ch.10 (and its 5 sub-articles) |
Communication |
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Energy |
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Urban infra |
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Infra
- India is the fourth largest consumer of energy in the world after USA, China and Russia but it is not endowed with abundant energy resources
- 12th FYP Wants 1 trillion dollar investment (~56 lakh crore rupees) in infrastructure. This is nearly double of the investment made during the Eleventh Five Year Plan
- Infrastructure projects take a long time to plan and implement.
- Delays in land acquisition, municipal permission, supply of materials, tender process/award of work, operational issues, etc. continued to drag down implementation of these projects. here are some numbers to show the gravity of the situation.
Sector | Total infra projects | Pending |
Coal | 51 | 21 |
Petro | 71 | 37 |
Power | 98 | 45 |
Railways | 127 | 40 |
Roads | 146 | 86 |
Performance / production
Sector | Performance compared to previous year |
Coal, cement, petroleum refinery | marginally higher |
steel and power-sector production | lower |
Fertilizer, crude oil, and natural gas production | lower |
Among the infrastructure services,
Service | Growth |
Railways (freight) | Positive |
Civil aviation | Negative |
Cargo handling | negative |
Performance / production
- coal, cement, petroleum refinery was marginally higher than previous year.
- steel and power-sector production was comparatively lower
- Fertilizer, crude oil, and natural gas production also declined during the first nine months of this financial year.
- Among the infrastructure services,
- growth in freight traffic by railways has been comparatively higher so far,
- civil aviation sector=negative growth
- cargo handled at major ports=negative growth
India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL)
- was set up in 2006 for providing long-term financing for infrastructure projects that typically involve long gestation periods.
PPP initiatives
- Public private partnership helps bringing private-sector efficiencies in creation of economic and social infrastructure assets and delivery of quality public services
- According to a World Bank Report on Private Participation in Infrastructure (PPI), India has been the top recipient of PPI activity since 2006
- By end December 2012 there were 900+ PPP projects in the infrastructure sector with total project cost (TPC) of more than 5 lakh crore rupees.
- These projects are at different stages of implementation, i.e. bidding, construction, and operational.
Elasticity of energy use
- defined as the amount of energy consumed (Kwh) for generating one unit of gross domestic production (GDP) (rupee)
- Its unit= Kwh per rupee.
- Another unit = Kilograms of oil equivalent/US$
- for India, the Elasticity of energy use =less than 1.
Consumption pattern
- Out of the total consumption from all primary sources of energy
- Electricity > Coal > crude oil
Energy Pricing
- At microeconomic level, when Government provides subsidy on petrol, diesel, LPG=underpricing of energy
Underpricing of energy leads to
- This reduces consumer’s incentive for being energy-efficient,
- Increases fiscal deficit
- Leakages (e.g. diesel is subsidized for farmers but even drunk rich brats with SUVs also enjoy the benefits.)
- Inappropriate use e.g. Rickshawllas blending subsidized kerosene with petrol = more pollution.
- Increased reliance on imports = Trade deficit, CAD, BoP problems.
In recent years, Government has taken several initiatives for rationalizing the energy prices in different sectors
Petroleum products pricing
2002 |
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2010 |
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Sept 2012 |
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January 2013 |
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1st Oct 2013 |
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Gas pricing
- Pricing of gas is presently done under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP).
- The Government provides the operator freedom to sell the gas produced from the NELP blocks at a market-determined price , subject to the approval of pricing formula.
- The Government is reviewing pricing under the price sharing contract (PSC) to clarify the extent to which producers will have the freedom to market the gas.
- For more on this go through Rangarajan Committee article click me
Coal Pricing
Under Integrated Energy Policy
Earlier=Before 2012 | Now (from 2012) |
On basis of useful heat value (UHV) | on gross calorific value (GCV) basis |
This even included heat trapped in ash content. | No |
- This “price-reform” is likely to increase the prices of domestic coal to some extent
- but this is a desirable adjustment because domestic thermal coal, continues to be underpriced.
Now let’s looks at the topics in segments: 1) coal 2) oil n gas 3) electricity 4) renewable
Coal Sector
Types of Coal
In ascending order of their quality (and price)
SING-rauli vs reni
Coalfield | Singrauli | Singareni |
State | MP | AP |
PSUs under Coal Ministry
- Coal India Limited (CIL)
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited (NLC)
- Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SSCL)= a joint sector undertaking of Union + Andra state govt.
- Coal deposits are chiefly located in Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Fuel Sharing Agreement
- Why? To ensure fuel security to coal-based thermal power plants
- When? Aug 2012
- How? Indian Government issued a presidential directive to Coal India Ltd, asking them to sign fuel supply agreements (FSAs) with power companies.
FSA highlights
- Fuel sharing agreements
- Signed between coal India ltd (seller) and thermal power companies (buyer/customer)
- Duration: The FSAs will be signed for a period of 20 years and will be reviewed after every five years.
- If coal India doesn’t provide 80% of the assured supply, then they’ve to pay penalty to buyer.
- If CIL cannot meet demand through domestic supplies, it can meet the shortfall through imported coal.
- But, if a customer does not accept imported coal, CIL doesn’t need to pay any penalties.
TCI
- The Children’s Investment Fund Management
- UK-based hedge fund TCI, the biggest foreign investor in Coal India ltd (CIL)
- It is a minority stakeholder in Coal India. (although largest investor in Coal India after Government of India)
Charges made by TCI
- TCI accuses that Coal India doesn’t protect the interest of minority stakeholders, they just do things to please their political masters (after all Government of India owns the majority shares). It had initiated legal action against CIL in Kolkata High Court.
- Politically connected companies are receiving fuel supply agreements (FSAs) at half market price or a third of market price for coal.
- It is a system that encourages corruption because not everybody can get coal at half price. So obviously there is a massive incentive for companies to pay bribes in order to get FSA contracts.
- The thermal power companies that get cheap coal from Coal India (under FSA)- they don’t sell electricity at cheap rates. So the benefits are not trnasfered to the final consumer (aam admi).
- These thermal companies just extract monopoly and profit margins from the benefit of the cheap coal.
In case you wonder why should a UK based investor worry about all this?
Ans. Because TCI is a minority shareholder in Coal India. And recall the debt vs. equity article = Since TCI is a shareholder, they will get more money (dividend) only if Coal India makes more profit. But coal India is a mess, just like Air India.
Coal Mining: Open pit vs underground
Open pit mining |
Underground |
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As the name suggests: underground, via tunnels. |
no | Require complex ventilation systems, structural support, lights, other safety measures = expensive. (and dangerous also for the laborers/miners) |
Leads to more ecological degradation. | Less |
85% of India’s coal produced from open mines. (imagine the damage!) | In China, 90% of the coal is digged from underground mines. |
Coal washing
- coal contains lot of dirt and incombustible material. This leads to increased transport cost (due to additional weight of those waste material) + pollution (due to the smoke)
- In coal washing process, the coal is mixed with a liquid to separate and settle the impurities. The “washed” coal produces less pollution.
- Coal washing= example of clean coal technologies.
12th FYP: Coal
- Coal and lignite will continue to dominate the energy scenario
- Therefore, Energy exploration, clean energy alternatives, energy conservation, and energy sector reforms will be critical for energy security.
- 11th Five year plan wanted to augment domestic coal production from captive mines.
- but there were problems like delays in forest and environmental clearances, land acquisition
- In 12th FYP, Coal India ltd (CIL) will continue to play a major role for coal supply.
- but CIL production alone will not be enough to meet the rising demand.
- So need to ensure that additional captive coal blocks start producing in Twelfth
- plan for larger imports of coal
- setting up independent coal regulator
clean tech
- Increase Underground mining of coal.
- Encourage Coal washing
Investment
- Coal Mines (Nationalization) Act, 1973 does not allow private companies to mine coal for sale to third parties
- although it allows captive mining for specified end use sectors
- hence coal sector doesn’t attract big investment.
- There is need for large (foreign) investment and technology in the coal sector.
- Because a host of small (desi) players would not increase coal production to desired levels.
Petro and Natural Gas
- The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is looks after the matters related to
- of exploration and production of oil and natural gas
- import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG),
- petroleum products: refining,marketing,distribution,import,export and conservation.
- Government of India approved the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) in 1997 and it became effective in February, 1999.
NELP
To attract private investment into oil and natural gas. There have been nine rounds of bidding, starting with a first in 1998
Government has prioritized allocation of gas produced from NELP blocks in the following order:
- Fertiliser plants producing subsidised fertilisers
- LPG plants
- Power plants
- City Gas Distribution (CGD) for CNG and domestic PNG
- Steel, petrochemicals, refinery, captive power plants and CGD for industrial and commercial customers
Assets abroad
- We also have oil n gas assets in Russia (Sakhalin, Magadan), Sudan, Brazil, Syria, Vietnam, Venezuela and Colombia.
- Production from overseas oil and gas blocks is presently about ~10 per cent of India’s domestic production
Refineries in India
Public sector | 17 |
Private sector | Three:
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Joint venture | Two
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Total | 22 |
Reliance is largest refiner at any single location in the world. (capacity=~1.2 million barrels per day (MBPD).
Alternate Sources of Hydrocarbons
Important are four: CBM, Oil Shale, Gas hydrate, Shale gas
Coal bed methane (CBM)
- The primary energy source of natural gas is a substance called methane (CH4).
- Coal bed methane (CBM) is simply methane found in coal seams.
- CBM is generated either from a biological process as a result of microbial action or from a thermal process as a result of increasing heat with depth of the coal.
- Potential sites in India: Jharia and Raniganj coalfields
Oil Shale
- from sedimentary rocks that contains “kerogen” (a type of fossil fuel).
- Pyrolysis : under this process, above rocks are heated at extreme temperature without oxygen. Thus kerogen is released. It is further refined and thus we get shale oil.
- Oil shale can be mined and processed to generate oil similar to oil pumped from conventional oil wells;
- Challenge: extracting oil from oil shale is more complex than conventional oil recovery, hence more expensive
Gas Hydrate
- also known as clathrate hydrates (methane ice, fire ice)
- it is solid ice-like form of water.
- it contains (methane, ethane etc.) gas molecules in its cavities
- they are essentially natural gas in a “frozen” state.
- Some estimates suggest that the total amount of natural gas bound in hydrate form may exceed all conventional gas resources – coal, oil and natural gas, combined.
- Challenge: When gas hydrates are brought to the surface the pressure is reduced and the temperature rises. This causes the ice to melt and the methane to escape. Hence drilling, extraction, commercial use = difficult and expensive.
Shale gas
- Basics of Shale gas already covered under https://mrunal.org/2012/07/enb-shalegas.html
- India has several shale formations
- In the sedimentary basins of Cambay, Gondwana, Krishna-Godawari and Cauvery.
- USA and India have signed MoU for giving training to Indian geo-scientists and engineers for exploring shale gas.
TAPI pipeline
- A 1680 km pipeline from Turkmenistan – Afghanistan – Pakistan – India (TAPI)
- It’ll become operational by 2018.
- It will carry 90 million metric standard cubic meters a day for a 30 year period.
- India has to pay a transit fee to Pakistan and Afghanistan as the pipeline passes through these nations.
- More on https://mrunal.org/2012/07/diplo-tapi.html
The Auto Fuel Policy
- Approved by the Government,
- for upgradation of the quality of auto fuels (Petrol and Diesel)
- to Bharat Stage (BS) IV in 13 identified cities
- to BS-III in the rest of the country.
- During 2011-12, BS-IV fuels have been introduced in seven cities, namely, Puducherry (UT), Mathura (UP), Vapi (Guj), Jamnagar (Guj), Ankaleshwar (Guj), Hissar (Haryana) and Bharatpur (Raj) between January to March, 2012.
- Efforts are being made to progressively expand coverage of BS-IV fuels with introduction of these fuels in 50 more cities by 2015.
Rajiv Gandhi Gramin LPG Vitaran Yojna
- LPG ‘Vision-2015’: wants to raise LPG population coverage in rural areas and in the areas where LPG coverage is low.
- 2009: Rajiv Gandhi Gramin LPG Vitaran Yojana (RGGLVY) for small-size LPG distribution agencies.
- Under this scheme 75 per cent population is to be covered by 2015 by releasing 5.5 crore new LPG connections.
Gas flaring
- When the drilling company burns the natural gas that cannot be processed or sold= this is known as Gas flaring.
- Gas flaring is also done during emergencies like power failures, equipment failures etc. to prevent any accident.
- Currently ~3% gas produced by ONGC and OIL is flared.
- 12th FYP seeks zero flaring of gas and use it for commercial purpose.
12th FYP: Oil n Gas
- Explore Alternate Sources of Hydrocarbons such as coal bed methane, gas hydrate, shale gas, oil shale
- National Gas Hydrate Programme
- 0% Flaring of Natural Gas
- Phasing out subsidies on domestic LPG and PDS kerosene.
- Reduce Kerosene supplies because RGGVY and LPG connections are being given in the rural areas.
- Rationalise tax structure in sales of petroleum products considering its thermal value for its use in transport, industry, power, households and other sectors.
- Give ‘Declared Goods Status’ for natural gas/ LNG so that it is available at uniform price in most of the States.
Mock Questions
- Elasticity of energy use means
- Amount of GDP spent for producing one unit of energy.
- Change demand of energy with change in price of energy.
- Amount of energy consumed for generating one unit of GDP.
- Change in the consumption pattern of energy with rise in income.
- At present, Coal pricing mechanism is based on
- useful heat value
- gross calorific value
- net calorific value
- none of above
- in terms of quality, which of the following is lowest?
- peat coal
- brown coal
- black coal
- hard coal
- in terms of price, which of the following is most expensive?
- brown coal
- lignite
- black coal
- hard coal
- Correct statements about fuel sharing agreements (FSA)
- they are to be signed between ONGC and fertilizer companies.
- Under the agreement, ONGC is liable to pay penalties for shortfall in supply of gas.
- both
- none
- Correct statements
- Singrauli mines are located in Andhra
- In India, majority of domestic coal supply comes from opencast mines.
- Reliance is the only private sector refinery in India.
- None of above
- which of the following reduces air pollution?
- Gas flaring
- Coal washing
- Both
- none
- Oil shale is obtained from
- coal bed methane
- Metamorphic rocks containing clathrate hydrates
- sedimentary rocks containing kerogen
- None of above
Great work…
1 C
2 B
3 A
4 D
5 D
6 B
7 B
8 C
u r very fast Manuzha :).. nice.. going good..
Answer Keys
C B A D
D B B C
Thanx Bro…!
1.c
2.b
3.a
4.d
5.d
6.b
7.b
8.c
1 C
2 B
3 A
4 D
5 D
6 B
7 B
8 C
great work….. very helpful for us…..
Well much has been said about the articles of mrunal(the great).
So I won’t comment much on that (but you definitely know what I wanted to).
Anyone who spends more than 10 minutes on this site readily comes to know about the fact that, it would be too injurious for him/her to miss these articles.
That said, one thing on which I specifically want to comment is about his mock questions. They truly seems like the real ones. The way he sets the options is truly remarkable for a single man to achieve that. The options given in the questions become confusing quite a few times and that happens when we have read the article just now. Imagine what would happen with these questions when we attempt it after reading so many things in the syllabus. They would definitely become challenging then. What one more thing it shows is mrunal’s continuous and consistent grasp on diverse areas. He brilliantly relates the question with different confusing answers. This thing always alerts us from being complacent. This tells us,”don’t get relaxed just after knowing one or two or all topics individually but try to relate and distinguish all such topics which could be confusing”. This constant alert really does help us in putting different things altogether.
At last I must THANK YOU(well, it might seem customary but I feel it compulsory).
Well said Bipin. Thanks.
You stole words from my mouth(i mean keyboard)
He is Mota Bhai Mrunal
mrunl sir ur post are most valuabale….sir what is APM dismantling of petro prices?? please explain in lucid way
Mrunal …..PAX stands for production sharing contract and not price sharing contract.pls correct me if I m wrong
1c
2b
3a
4d
5d
6b
7b
8c
Thank You Mrunal….
Can any one please elaborate on “Declared Goods Status”?
kindly explain the concept of declared goods? has it been covered by Mrunal earlier?can somebody pls give a link of the same?
Declared goods consists of commodities on which a uniform tax of 4% is levied across the nation irrespective of states. This is used to reduce the price of fuel. Another demand to include ATF as declared good was raised by min. of civil avaiation to reduce its price as it contributes most of the burden of cost by airlines.
Declared goods means goods which are of special importance to society because of inherent utility.Article 286(3)(a) of Constitution of India authorizes Parliament to declare some goods as of ‘special importance’ and to impose restrictions on power of States, in regard to levy rates and other incidence of tax on such goods.Such goods includes rice,steel and iron,cereals etc
Hey Thanks Veer..
I Think, I read this already in Lk or somewhere else.. Ur reply helped me to recollect…
thanks sir for nice explainatn but ANSWER ME RTI IS A LEGAL RIGHT OR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT RTI IS INCLUDED IN ART19 (4) IN CONSTN BUT SO MANY PERSONS SAYS IT IS NEITHER FR NOR LR
SHED SOME LIGHT FRIENDS
RTI is an implied right in a similar manner such as right of dignity. In a literal sense, it is not expressively stated in the provisions of the constitution as other rights are stated and is only implied from Art 19(4) as freedom and access to information.
MRUNAL SIR PROVIDE SOME CURRENT AFFAIRS AND ENB FOR PRE
Really these article are awesome mrunal
Thanks a ton…….
masth. thanks
c
b
a
d
d
b
b
c
plz verify gross calorific value (GCV) and useful heat value(UHV)
For India, the Elasticity of energy use = less than 1. So, isn’t it a good thing showing that less energy was used to produce 1 unit of GDP?? Please shed some light on this. Thanx.
Kindly read it – “energy consumed (Kwh) for generating one unit of gross domestic production (GDP) (rupee)”
That means even after consuming the required energy, we are not able to produce GDP of Rs 1.
Hence, the elasticity of energy use is less than 1
Having energy elasticity less than 1 means we are able to increase GDP with less energy use. Less energy elasticity is desirable.
Draft Integrated Energy Policy aka Parikh Committee considers lowing of energy elasticity to 0.67 by the start of next decade 2021-22
Reference: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/to-power-78-gdp-growth/article1733150.ece?ref=archive
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_elasticity
ryt…thanx
@RKS A valuable Value addition :)
1.c 2.b 3.a 4.d 5.d 6.b 7.c(gas contains methane which pollutes atmosphere so flaring reduces pollution) 8.c
@ RKS….wrong info on elasticity of energy use.
@sristi & Shandev….actually It is “the percentage change in energy consumption to achieve one per cent change in national GDP”.
India’s national Integrated Energy Policy of 2005 noted current elasticity at 0.80, while planning for 7-8% GDP growth. It expected to be able to reduce this to 0.75 from 2011 and to 0.67 from 2021-22. source – Wiki.
whereas, china has it more than 1%.
the lesser is the value, the better it is for the sustainable development. and we actually are planning to reduce it even further.
hope this helps.
nice article sir…
thanx.
Hey ! plz tell me the answer. I dont knw exact answer…
How much favour need for acquisiton of land in new bill ? Is it 80% or 66% ?
80% consent required from all affected project stakeholders not just Land Owner/(s). You can read the summary of such bills from PRSINDIA.ORG
1 C
2 B
3 A
4 D
5 D
6 B
7 B
8 C
SIR HOW HELPFUL IS “”INDIA INFRASTRUCTURE REPORT 2012″” TO PREPARE FOR GS PAPER-3 ???
Great effort, Mrunal !! Its really refreashing to unravel so much of data in Eco survey, so lucidly. Thanks for simplifying this Economic Behemoth. Wishing you the very best
Mrunal, cn you give a list of polity topics, other than those in lkshmknt, for pt. Eg, 14 th finance comm, pesa etc.
can u suggest any books for science n tech part of new mains syllabus