Wassup Trackpad

Ashok Leyland bags a big deal from Senegal

Ashok Leyland has bagged orders worth USD 82.06 million (around Rs 521.7 crore) from Senegal for building their transportation system. DAKAR DEM DIKK, a public transport organisation under the aegis of the Ministry of Transport, Senegal, has commissioned a comprehensive logistics program with Ashok Leyland that comprises supply of 475 buses, genuine spares, assistance in development of workshops, training and consultancy on fleet management, and structuring of vehicle tracking and monitoring systems. The order is expected to build a good momentum for the company in the African region. The company feels their in-house expertise and ability to offer customized solutions, in conjunction with their flexibility and speed in addressing customer requirements, has helped them win this order amidst stiff global competition.

Wockhardt gets USFDA nod to market pain-relieving drug

Drug firm Wockhardt has received approval from the US health regulator to market its Oxycodone HCl liquid, used for treating chronic pain, in the American market. Wockhardt is launching the product soon, which will be amongst the few generic versions of this product in the market. The company has filed several abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) over the last couple of years from their Morton Grove Pharmaceuticals facility in Illinois, especially for liquid products. With this approval, the company is expecting more approvals to come soon. According to IMS’ health data, the total market for Oxycodone HCl liquid in the US is estimated to be about USD 58 million (around Rs 370 crore). Oxycodone is used extensively in relieving pain, especially in opioid-tolerant patients. Wockhardt would be producing the drug at its Morton Grove facility in the US.

Greenply Industries to set up greenfield unit in Chittoor (AP)

Greenply Industries is planning to set up a greenfield unit for manufacturing medium density fiber boards in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh (AP). For this the company is looking at a capital expenditure of Rs 600 to Rs 650 crore. The plant would have a capacity of producing 3 to 3.6 lakh cubic metres MDF a year. In this regards, the company has acquired 106 acres 45 km off Tirupati. It is now in the process of placing orders for the machinery. The company is expecting to start the construction work as well installation of machinery within a year from now. The plant is expected to be ready sometime during FY18-FY19. Further, the company is planning to raise fresh debt of around Rs 300 crore for the project, and the balance funds will be funded by internal resources. The current debt level of the company stands at around Rs 330 crore.

Heidelberg Cement in talks to buy JP Associates’ cement units

Jaiprakash Associates is in advanced stage to sell its cement unit in Secunderabad to German major Heidelberg Cement for around Rs 500 crore. The plant has a capacity to produce 1 million tonne of cement per annum. This acquisition will help Heidelberg to cater to the demand of west Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. If the deal is finalised, this would be the fifth cement asset sale by the JP Group in little over a year. So far the JP Group has divested around 13 million tonne of its overall cement capacity and is left with around 23 MT, which it plans to sell to raise funds to reduce its debt. The previous buyers of JP Associates’ cement units/associated power plants were Ultratech for a deal of Rs 9,212 crore, Shree Cement for Rs 360 crore and Dalmia Cement for Rs 668 crore.

Government revises national solar mission target of 1 lakh MW

The government has increased the target under its National Solar Mission by five times to 1 lakh MW by 2022 from the current target of 20,000 MW. The Union Cabinet gave its approval for stepping up of India’s solar power capacity target, which will principally comprise 40 GW rooftop and 60 GW through large and medium-scale grid-connected solar power projects. The government is of the opinion that with such a target India will become one of the largest green energy producers in the world, surpassing several developed countries. As per the plan, the total capex in setting up 100 GW will be around Rs 6 lakh crore, for which the government is providing capital subsidy of Rs 15,050 crore in the first phase.

“This subsidy will be provided for rooftop solar projects in various cities and towns for viability gap funding (VGF)-based projects to be developed through the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and for decentralized generation through small solar projects,” a government release said. Apart from this, solar power projects with investment of about Rs 90,000 crore would be developed using a bundling mechanism with thermal power.

Cabinet approves ‘housing for all’ dream project of PM

In a bid to give a home to each and every citizen of the country by 2022, the Union Cabinet has recently approved Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream project ‘Housing for All by 2022’. Under this project, various provisions will be made for developing urban infrastructure across the states and union territories. Under the schemes, components like rehabilitation of slum dwellers with the participation of private developers using land as a resource; promotion of affordable housing for weaker section through credit linked subsidy; affordable housing in partnership with public and private sectors; and subsidy for beneficiary-led individual house construction or enhancement have been included.

As per the scheme a central grant of Rs 1 lakh per house, on an average, will be available under the Slum Rehabilitation Program. Also, under the credit-linked interest subsidy component, interest subsidy of 6.5 percent on housing loans availed up to tenure of 15 years will be provided to EWS and LIG categories, wherein the subsidy pay-out on NPV basis would be about Rs 2.3 lakh per house. Central assistance at the rate of Rs 1.5 lakh per house for EWS’ category will be provided under the affordable housing scheme in partnership and beneficiary-led individual house construction or enhancement.

State minister for power inaugurates IIIT at Naya Raipur

Minister of State, (independent charge) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy Piyush  Goyal inaugurated the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) at Naya Raipur recently. The IIIT has been established at a cost of Rs 200 crore by NTPC as part of its CSR initiative in the area of education. The IIIT campus is spread over 50 acres land situated in Naya Raipur. In the first phase of 25 acres, various infrastructure facilities will be laid out for the students. Speaking on the occasion, Goyal said that the state-of-art IIIT would be a catalyst in attracting scientific talents from the entire country, while Chief Minister Raman Singh declared it as a ‘historic’ day as this has placed Chhattisgarh  in the category of international level institutes. Arup Roy Choudhary, CMD, NTPC was also present on the occasion.