The feasibility studies for Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), Light Rail Transit System (LRTS), Traffic and Transportation Policies and Strategies completed so far are, Delhi MRTS, extension of Calcutta Metro Railway from Tolly Ganj to Garia, LRTS in Hyderabad (locational survey), Noida-Greater Noida-Gaziabad by-pass Project, LRTS in Bangalore , MRTS in Jammu, LRTS in Chennai, transportation studies of Nagpur, Vijayawada, Jaipur and Lucknow (partly financed by the Ministry of Urban Development and partly by the Ministry of Surface Transport), Circular Railway Calutta, and study of twin cities of Cuttak-Bhuneshwar.

    Five cities where feasibility studies for efficient urban transportation are in progress are study of Lucknow, Kanpur and Lucknow-Kanpur Corridor, integrated multi-modal public transport plan for Calcutta, MRTS in Shimla, Transport Plan for Hawrah Municipal Corporation Area and transport study in Agra Taj Trapezium area.

    The proposals received from State Governments for funding by the Centre in the Ministry of Urban Development are MRTS in Greater Kochi Development Area, Thane, Nagpur and Pune with grant from German Government through German Agencies for Technical Cooperation (GTZ-KFW)—case for Thane and Nagpur already recommended to the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. For Pune ,details are awaited. Traffic and Transportation studies for Bhubneshwar, Indore and Gwalior are proposals from the Government of Madhya Pradesh. The Ministry of Urban Development has sent the observations of the Government of India to the Government of Madhya Pradesh in this regard. The reply of the Madhya Pradesh Government is awaited.

    As for MRTS in Greater Kohci Development Area, comments on revised financial single offer of M/S Rail India and Technical Economic Services Ltd. (RITES) are awaited from the Government of Kerala.
 
 

    Inaugurating the Annual Conference of Relief Commissioners of States and Union Territories, here today, Shri Barua called for using modern information technology as a tool for an effective early warning system and for the mitigation of the disaster. Upgradation of technology relating to forecasting, detecting early warning signals, making effective preparations and being in complete readiness when calamities strike are important dimensions of the entire gamut of natural disaster management and need to be accorded due priority, he said.

    Stating that unrelenting alertness is the best preparation for natural disasters, Shri Barua urged the relief commissioners to create a hard core and effective data system for successful disaster management. The country should be able to prevent heavy losses to lives and property by natural disasters through a meticulous system of weather forecasting. Considering that two-thirds of the population of India resides in villages, it is all the more important that our efforts should be directed towards their betterment and providing relief to them in the fateful event of a natural calamity, he added.

    Observing that a perfect system for providing relief and rehabilitation to the masses affected by natural calamities is not yet in place, the Secretary called for changes in the modality and working of the system at the time of occurrence of such events, so that it can be operated with swiftness and accuracy in handling natural calamities.

    Addressing the gathering, Central Relief Commissioner and Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Shri Bhagat Singh emphasised the need for preparing and updating of relief manuals and codes which work as guide books for the persons engaged in the relief and rehabilitation work. He said that quick flow and exchange of information holds the key to the success of any management system and more so in the management of natural disasters.

    Speaking on the occasion Director, Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), Shri M.C. Gupta said that disaster and relief manuals should be prepared and updated at the district levels and each district should be networked with the specialised institutes engaged in the task of disaster management.
 
 

    The main features of the revised LISS are:

• The scheme will be applicable to vessels plying/to be plied in National Waterways. The categories of vessels covered under this scheme are mechanization of existing craft; acquisition of new dumb barges; mechanized vessels; high powered tugs; indigenous/imported second hand vessels; indigenous/imported second hand dumb barges; indigenous/imported second hand tugs; new dredgers and new or second hand amphibian craft.
• Public sector undertakings of Central and State Governments, municipalities and private entrepreneurs will be eligible for interest subsidy on loans under this scheme.
• It will be necessary to get the inland vessel registered under Inland Vessels Act, 1917 (i of 1917) or equivalent State Acts or Rules after mechanization for claiming the interest scheme.
• LISS will not be granted for acquisition of second hand vessels of any type if the vessel was originally procured by availing subsidy under this scheme.
• Vessels for whose acquisition, interest subsidy has been availed under any other scheme will not be eligible for this subsidy.
• The lending institutions will be responsible for taking necessary steps to safeguard the repayment of the loan.

    The lending institutions will charge from the loanee, interest on loans advanced under this scheme at the rate of 5.5 per cent per annum for repayments within stipulated time. The difference between the rate of interest chargeable under this scheme by lending institution from the loanee i.e. 5.5% and the rate of interest normally chargeable by banks/financial institutions from such category of borrowers in accordance with the guidelines issued by Reserve Bank of India from time to time, will be subsidized by the Central Government under this scheme.

    The Chairman, Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) will be the competent authority to sanction loan to the lending institutions under the scheme. The scheme has taken effect from the 21^st of this month and will be in force till 31^st March, 2000.

    LISS was introduced for the first time in 1983 for acquisition of new inland vessels at subsidized interest rate of 5.5% from commercial banks and financial institutions. In 1987, the responsibility for processing and disbursing of interest subsidy was entrusted to the Inland Waterways Authority of India. In the course of operation of the scheme, several problems and shortcomings were noticed and it was considered necessary to make appropriate changes in the eligibility parameters for availing the benefit under this scheme. The Government appointed a Committee headed by the Joint Secretary in-charge of Inland Water Transport (IWT) of the Ministry of Surface Transport to go into the scheme in details and make recommendations for modifying the scheme. The revised scheme now announced has been formulated based largely on the recommendations of the committee.
 
 

    Similarly, Acharya degree of the Sampurnanand Vishwavidyalaya, Varanasi has been recognised as equivalent to M.A. degree in the general set-up of education.

    This has been done in clarification to a query as to whether these degrees awarded by the said Vishwavidyalaya, without English will be treated as equivalent to BA/MA Degrees.
 
 

    U.P. tops the list in receipt of the Central Assistance with the allocation of Rs.168.5 crore followed by Bihar with Rs.110 crore.

    Funds allocation for the other States is given below:

1.     Maharashtra                 Rs.98 crore

2.     Madhya Pradesh           Rs.96 crore

3.     Tamil Nadu                   Rs.79 crore

4.     West Bengal                  Rs.75 crore

5.     Andhra Pradesh             Rs.72 crore

6.     Rajasthan                       Rs.71 crore

7.     Karnataka                      Rs.63 crore

8.     Gujarat                           Rs.58 crore

9.     Orissa                             Rs.56 crore

10.    Kerala                            Rs.46 crore

11.    Assam                            Rs.42 crore

12.     Punjab                           Rs.25 crore

13.     Haryana                         Rs.21 crore

14.     Himachal Pradesh           Rs.17 crore

15.     Jammu & Kashmir          Rs.16 crore

16.     Tripura                            Rs.06 crore

17.     Manipur                          Rs.05 crore

18.     Meghalaya                       Rs.05 crore

19.     Mizoram                          Rs.03 crore

20.     Nagaland                         Rs.02 crore

21.     Sikkim                             Rs.02 crore

22.     Goa                                 Rs.02 crore

23.     Arunachal Pradesh           Rs.01 crore

    In addition to this, the National Capital Territory of Delhi has been allocated Rs.88 lakh and the Union Territory of Pondicherry has been allocated Rs.22 lakh for implementation of Family Welfare Training Programme, Rural and Urban Family Welfare Services during the year 1999-2000.
 

• Lucky draw to win a free holiday for two in Goa, Delhi, Jaipur and Agra.
• Distribution of Explore India Millennium caps, flags, badges and T-Shirts, distribution of tourist literature, posters etc. Advertising boards on key television locations and hospitality to important dignitaries.

    Production levels of important minerals in March,1999 are: coal 340 lakh tonnes, petroleum (crude) 28 lakh tonnes, natural gas (utilised) 13660 lakh cu.m., iron ore 67 lakh tonnes, lignite 2032 thousand tonnes, manganese ore 136 thousand tonnes, chromite 152 thousand tonnes, bauxite 747 thousand tonnes, copper ore 350 thousand tonnes, gold 263kg., lead (conc.) 5668 tonnes, zinc (conc.) 29700 tonnes, limestone 101 lakh tonnes, apatite and phosphorite 122 thousand tonnes, dolomite 220 thousand tonnes and magnesite 25 thousand tonnes.

    During March,1999 production of important minerals has increased in comparison to the previous month. The output of coal increased by 31%, copper ore by 13%, lead (conc.) by 12 percent, manganese ore by 11%, petroleum (crude) by 8%, bauxite, chromite and iron ore by 7% each, lignite by 4% and magnesite by 3%. However the output of apatite & phosphorite decreased by 19%, dolomite by 9%, natural gas and gold by 7% each and zinc (conc) by 1 per cent.

    The index number of mineral production (Base 1993-94=100) in March, 1999 works out to 135 as compared to 120 in February,1999 showing that the mineral production as a whole in March,1999 increased by 13% compared to February, 1999.
 
 
 

    According to Indian Oil Chairman Mr. M.A. Pathan, the Corporation’s net profit went up to Rs.2214 crore from 1706 crore in 1997-98. The earning per share (EPS) went up to Rs.56.85, an increase of 30% over the previous year’s EPS of Rs.43.83. The earning per share has registered a compounded annual growth rate of 20% during the past five years. The book value per equity share of Rs.10/- has gone up to Rs.315.12 from Rs.272.62 last year.

    Indian Oil’s sales turnover went up by more than 17% to Rs.69.430 crore as compared to Rs.59.176 crore during 1997-98. The Board of Directors at their meeting today recommended raising the dividend from 50% to 130%. This will absorb an amount of Rs.506 crore as compared to Rs.195 crore during the previous year. Indian Oil has been consistently paying dividend since 1966-67 and Rs.1050 crore have been disbursed to shareholders till 1997-98.

    At the end of fiscal 1998, according to Mr. Pathan Indian Oil’s fixed assets, including work in progress, went up by 25% to Rs.21,646 crore as compared to Rs.17,314 crore at the end of 1997-98. About 83% of these have been financed through internally generated resources. Indian Oil’s net worth at the end of 1998-99 was Rs.12,269 crore as compared to Rs.10,614 crore in the previous year registering an increase of 16%. The Corporation’s net worth during the past five years has registered a compounded annual growth rate of about 17%.

    The liquidity position of the Corporation improved substantially during fiscal 1998 with the redemption of Bonds of Rs.5047 crore issued by the Government of India. The Bonds of Rs.6478 crore had been issued to the Corporation in March 1998 against recoverables from the Oil Coordination Committee.

    During 1998-99, Indian Oil’s six operating refineries at guwahati, Barauni, Gujarat, Haldia, Mathura and Digboi achieved over 100% capacity utilisation for the sixth year running. The seventh refinery at Panipat was commissioned during the year. The refineries together processed 30.4 million tonnes of crude oil as compared to 27.5 million tonnes in the previous year. The Corporation’s pipeline network transported 34.1 million tonnes of crude oil and petroleum products surpassing the previous best of 31.0 million tonnes during fiscal 1997. The network has been expanded to 6268 km. with the commissioning of the 500 km. Haldia-Barauni crude oil pipeline in December 1998, six months ahead of schedule and within budget.

    Indian Oil sold 46.2 million tonnes of petroleum products during 1998-99 registering a growth of 6.5% over the previous year’s sales of 43.4 million tonnes. As a customer friendly organisation, it continued to expand its marketing network and introduced new and innovative services and facilities for market leadership. Indian Oil pioneered the concept of ‘Jubilee Outlets’, petrol and diesel stations on highways with multiple associated facilities, and 22 such outlets have been commissioned. Five LPG bottling plants and a bulk storage terminal were also added to the infrastructure. The year 1999 is being observed as "Customer Service Year" with a major thrust on providing value added services to customers.

    As a result of outstanding performance in all areas of operations, the Corporation earned for the 10^th year in succession an "excellent" rating, which is the highest performance rating according to laid down criteria, in the MOU with the Government of India.

    Indian Oil’s Research & Development Centre developed 80 new product formulations during 1998-99 including marine oil technology for the first time in the country. A catalytic converter for two and three wheelers was also launched during the year.

    During 1998-99, Indian Oil acquired 10% shares held by the Government of India in ONGC to establish a strategic alliance and form a national oil entity which will have all the characteristics of a vertically integrated oil major of global standard. Several projects have been identified by both companies for joint cooperation to secure shared growth and profitability. The Corporation has also acquired 5% of Government holding in GAIL. Indian Oil has also signed a five year marketing agreement with Cochin Refineries Limited and ten-year marketing agreements with BRPL and Reliance Petroleum. Several strategic initiatives have been taken including setting up of power plants at Panipat, Savli in Gujarat and Bhatinda in Punjab. A joint venture company Indian Oil Petronas Private Limited has been incorporated with Petronas of Malaysia to set up LPG import facility at Haldia. Several value addition projects have also been taken up for better utilisation of various refinery streams. Offices have been set up in Malaysia, UAE and Kuwait and consultancy services are being offered abroad in various areas of operations including training and development.