Press Information Bureau
Government of
*******
PM's opening remarks at the Press Conference at
After the conclusion of two-day visit to Kashmir, Prime Minister,Dr. Manmohan Singh addressed the media in
"I have come to the end of a productive and fruitful visit to
I had very good discussions with the Chief Minister, Shri Omar Abdullah and his cabinet colleagues yesterday. We took stock of the development efforts in various sectors and discussed ways and means of expediting the implementation of various central projects.
I had wide ranging discussions with all major political parties in the State and various sections of civil society. I made an appeal yesterday for dialogue and I hope that it will be reciprocated in the spirit in which it was made. We have to carry all stakeholders with us to achieve a permanent and peaceful reconciliation in Jammu & Kashmir so that we can concentrate on an ambitious development agenda that will lead to a full economic revival and reconstruction and create lot more jobs for the young people of
I am particularly happy that I was able to inaugurate the rail link between Anantnag and Qazigund. This was a longstanding aspiration of the people of J&K and I am confident that this link will open new horizons in the development of this beautiful State.
Earlier this month, following my directive, the Union Cabinet Secretary accompanied by thirteen Secretaries to the Government of India visited the State. The first priority is to tone up the administrative machinery so that development projects can be effectively implemented on the ground and the fruits of development reach the common man.
The power sector is critical for the development of the State. The Union Power Ministry will set up a special monitoring group for the power sector in J&K, involving the Union Ministry of Finance, the Planning Commission and the State Government. I have assured the State government that the Government of India would allocate up to 500 MW of power in the winter months to J&K depending on the load pattern and the emergent requirements of the State. The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has prepared a Renewable Energy Plan for Ladakh region to minimize the use of kerosene, diesel and firewood.
I spoke yesterday about the enormous possibilities of making the State into one of the world's top tourist destinations. We have decided to commit additional funds of more than Rs. 350 crores for the rehabilitation of the Dal and
I also made an appeal to the youth of the State to lend their hand in the development of the state.
We have decided that the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs will enroll and deploy around 8,000 young persons as volunteers on an honorarium basis. They can engage productively in public service, such as in the conservation of
We will continue to give priority to developing the physical infrastructure of the State. We will provide additional funds to ensure the timely completion of the Mughal road at a revised cost of about Rs.640 crores. We have earmarked Rs.125 crore to upgrade urban infrastructure in important towns in the Valley like Baramulla, Anantnag, Kupwara, Ganderbal and Sopore during the current year.
Industrial revival is critical for the revival of the economy and to increase employment opportunities for our youth. Dastakari, Handicrafts and Textiles are at the core of J&K's economy. The Government of India will favourably consider the request of the State Government to provide financial assistance for the replacement of 40,000 carpet looms in the State over a period of five years.
I had a very good interaction with the officers and men of the paramilitary forces and the J&K police. The responsibility for maintaining law and order in the State will increasingly devolve on the J&K police. I commend the brave and heroic efforts of the security forces under very adverse circumstances. We have raised the standards of accountability and transparency in their working in order to enhance public trust and confidence.
I return today to
AKT/LV /spandey
Press Information Bureau
Government of
*******
Memorandum of Agreement between Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Government of India and Government of West Bengal to set up a Petroleum Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR)
In pursuance of the PCPIR policy of the Government of India and the approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in February 2009, the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Government of India entered into a Memorandum of Agreement today with the Government of West Bengal to set up a PCPIR at Haldia. The PCPIR policy is a window to ensure the adoption of a holistic approach to the development of global scale industrial clusters in the petroleum, chemical and petrochemical sectors in an integrated and environment friendly manner. The idea is to ensure the setting up of industrial estates in a planned manner with a view to achieve synergies and for value added manufacturing, research and development.
The Government of West Bengal proposed to host a PCPIR in Haldia in Purba Medinipur district covering the existing Haldia Municipal Area and the adjoining areas of Haldia Development Authority (including
The Govt. of West Bengal proposes to notify the WBPCPIR under Section 9 (3) of
State Government has estimated a total investment of Rs. 93,180 crore in the proposed PCPIR, including a committed investment of Rs. 48,180 crore. The total employment generation from the WBPCPIR is expected to be 10 lakh persons, which includes direct employment to 4 lakh persons.
The proposal envisages development of physical infrastructure such as roads, rail, air links, ports, water supply, power etc. at a cost of Rs. 18,031 crores. The State Government has sought support from Government of India of Rs. 2108 crore involving road works, port facilities and a submarine cable landing station.
The major processing activities in the region at present are in the petroleum, petrochemical and chemical sectors. The leading among them are IOCL, Haldia Petrochemicals, MCCPTA India Corp Pvt Ltd, Tata Chemicals Ltd, Exide Industries Ltd, Shaw Wallace and Co. Ltd etc. The investment in the region from the existing units is about Rs. 12,872.5 crores. The State Govt has identified Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and CALS Refinery Ltd. as the anchor tenants. IOCL has taken up expansion of its existing refinery from 6 MMTPA to 7.5 MMTPA with installation of a new hydro cracker unit as its matching secondary facilities at a cost of Rs. 3000 crore. IOCL also plans to initiate a techno economic feasibility study for setting up a grassroot refinery of 15 MMTPA capacity at Haldia, integrated with downstream petrochemical facilties. IOCL has already laid a dedicated crude pipeline from Paradip to Haldia. The State Govt has also signed an MOU with CALS Refinery Ltd. for setting up a crude oil refinery complex in the PCPIR with a capacity to process 5 MMTPA of blend crude in Phase I of the project and will consist of process units, utilities and offsites. These facilities will be installed by transplanting a Bayer Oil refinery at
The State Government has carried out a Preliminary Environment Impact Assessment (EIA). The State Government also proposes to carry out a comprehensive EIA for the PCPIR in accordance with the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. The detailed EIA study will require a time frame of about 12 months beginning with the approval of Terms of Reference for this study by the guidelines of Ministry of Environment and Forests. All existing labour laws of the country would be applicable in the PCPIR and SEZs, in the region, if any, would be governed by special laws, as approved by Government of India.
DNM/PKM/SB /spandey
Press Information Bureau
Government of
*******
Defence Procurement Procedure amended to Encourage Indigenous Defence industry
RFI MADE MANDATORY FOR ALL PROCUREMENT CASES
OFFSET PROVISIONS LIBERALIZED
AMENDMENTS TO COME INTO EFFECT FROM NOVEMBER 01, 2009
Encouragement to the indigenous Defence Industry to play a major role in meeting the needs of the Armed Forces, ensuring transparency and accountability in all procurement cases and liberalizing offset provisions to enable vendors to fulfill their obligations are some of the highlights of the amended Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP), which were issued here today. These amendments are incorporated to the existing DPP – 2008 and will take effect from November 01, 2009.
A new category of "Buy and Make (Indian)"
Under the existing procedure, if an item is categorized as 'Buy and Make', a production agency is identified by the government for transfer of technology. The process requires negotiations by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) with the foreign Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). Negotiations are carried out both for the "Buy" component as well as the "ToT" component. Past experience has shown that this has not helped in building up higher technical capabilities. The technology transfer has been essentially transfer of engineering skills for production of some of the non critical components. The critical items are invariably obtained from the foreign OEM. This method has also not encouraged formation of Joint Ventures (JVs) or alliances for co-production with Indian companies.
The amendment in DPP-2008 introduces a new category named, 'Buy and Make (Indian)' to overcome the above situation. If a project is selected by the Defence Acquisition Council to be categorized as 'Buy and Make (Indian)', Indian firms, both public and private, will play a lead role in negotiating and obtaining technology and co-production arrangements with the foreign OEMs. As such, the RFP will be issued to the Indian firms and not to the foreign OEM.
Indian firms identified to have requisite technical and financial capabilities would be required to submit project proposals indicating detailed roadmap for development and production of the items over its life cycle. They will also be required to spell out the proposed production arrangement with the foreign OEM along with the content of the T0T. The product so manufactured and supplied by the Indian company must have 50% indigenous content.
The approach under this category is more akin to 'Make' procedure; albeit, the development and production would not be through indigenous R&D but through transfer of technology from the foreign OEM. This change in DPP-08 would enable pro-active participation of Indian industry in manufacturing defence products through co-production arrangements, such as JV, with foreign manufacturers and through transfer of technology.
Sharing information with private industry
A major impediment in the growth of defence industry in the country has been lack of information with the domestic industry on defence requirements. Such information has generally been treated as classified. Consequently, the indigenous industry is unable to plan R&D technology, upgradation or joint collaboration with associated foreign industries. Under Amendment 2009 to the DPP-2008, a public version of the Long Term Perspective Plan of the Armed Forces outlining technology perspective and capability roadmap covering a period of 15 years will be widely publicized and made available on MoD website. Further, to facilitate active participation of domestic industry in acquisition planning, representatives of companies and Industry Associations will be invited for presentations and consultations in procurement meetings before decisions on the source of procurement are taken.
Role of Independent Monitors in Integrity Pact
An 'Integrity Pact' is presently required to be signed between government and the vendors for all procurement schemes over Rs. 100 crores. This is a binding agreement between the government department and bidders for specific contracts in which the government promises that it will not accept bribes during the procurement process and bidders promise that they will not offer bribes. The existing provision provides for appointment of Independent Monitors (IM) in consultation with the Central Vigilance Commission. The role of Independent Monitors was, however, very limited and undefined.
The Amendment-09 defines and enlarges the role of IMs to enable them to scrutinize complaints with regards to violation of Integrity Pact. The amendment explicitly authorizes IMs to peruse the relevant office records in connection with the complaints sent to them by the buyer. This amendment will enhance probity and public accountability.
Improvement in formulation of SQRs
The bedrock of a successful acquisition process is clearly identifiable and well researched Service Quantitative Requirements (SQRs). With that objective in view, following amendments have been made:-
a) The requirement of issue of Request for Information (RFI) is being made mandatory for all procurement cases. This not only provides advance information to the industry about the procurement but also helps SHQ to formulate SQRs based on readily available technology in the world.
b) SQRs must clearly express the user's requirements in terms of essential capabilities which are transformed into minimum verifiable functional characteristics of the equipment being proposed for procurement.
c) Tabulated data of capability vis-à-vis functional characteristics and SQR vis-à-vis technical parameters of available equipment will be appended to all proposals being placed before the Defence Acquisition Council / Defence Procurement Board. In this way, all agencies involved in the procurement process will be aware of the type of equipment being sought.
Modification in Offset guidelines
It is felt that there should be greater leverage allowed to vendors in determining the manner of performing their offset obligations. The primary concern of MoD is that the vendor should be held to account for performing offset obligations undertaken by him.
Once this is ensured, our primary concern is met. To liberalize the offset provisions, it has been decided that the vendor may be permitted to change offset partner if such change would enable the vendor to fulfill offset obligation. However, no change would be allowed in respect of the offset components or its value after the offset contract is signed.
In 'Option Clause' cases, the terms of contract remains the same as given in the original contract. As such, if no offset is included in the main contract, it is not contractually possible to load the offset obligations. Under the Amendment-2009 to the DPP, offsets will not be applicable in 'Option Clause' cases where the same was not envisaged in the original contract.
********
Sitanshu Kar / Samir / RAJ/spandey
No comments:
Post a Comment