The Uttarakhand government today decided to decrease the centage charges and said the big projects would now be monitored by the experts of the Planning department. Centage charge is the fee given by the government to a construction agency, to keep its establishment functioning, after it is awarded a project.

Issuing the new government order (GO) in this regard, top officials said under the new rules the practice of awarding one-time 12.5 per cent centage fees to the construction companies has been stopped. Instead, the government would now give 8 per cent fees in case the project value is over Rs 5 crore.

In other cases, if the project value is in between Rs 1 crore and Rs 5 crore, the fee will be 9 per cent and will be 10 per cent if the project value is less than Rs 1 crore.

Significantly, the government has also decided to penalise the agency for the project delay by taking away a certain amount of the centage charge.

In the new GO, the government has also made the signing of a Memorandum of Understand (MoU)mandatory. “If you want to award a certain work to a company, the MoU is a must,” the official said.

The government also decided to constitute a panel of experts from the Planning department to monitor the construction work of the Rs 5 cr and above projects. “Now onwards, the monitoring of big projects has also been made compulsory by the Planning department,” the official added.

The new GO came in the wake of complaints in the recent past that the working of construction companies in the state was not being monitored properly which was leading to undue delays and bad quality works especially in the construction of roads, highways and bridges.

The government is spending Rs 800 crore this year on various roads, bridges and highways in the state under the rural development programme.

News Source: http://www.business-standard.com

Riddhi Siddhi Gluco Biols Ltd has announced the Commissioning of Pantnagar Unit of the company in Uttarakhand. The plant with maize grinding capacity of 1,65,000 tpa has been set up at a cost of Rs 120 crores.

With the commissioning of Uttarakhand unit, total maize grinding capacity of the company has reached to 5 lakh tpa. The plant, which would provide timely and effective service to its large number of Corporate and institutional clients who have set up facilities in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, would have various cost benefits.

The stock was trading at Rs.245, up by Rs.7.70 or 3.24%. The stock hit an intraday high of Rs.249 and low of Rs.240.05.

The total traded quantity was 645 compared to 2 week average of 2359.

Source: http://www.equitybulls.com

Mumbai: Setco Automotive Ltd (Setco) manufacturers of world renowned ‘Lipe’ clutches for heavy and medium commercial vehicles on 10th last month, inaugurated its state of the art facility set up to cater to the aftermarket clutch requirements of its customer base. Approximately 55 Setco employees based out of this facility will be involved in the manufacture of Setco’s new and enhanced, high quality clutch products.

This is a semi-automated assembly line, which will increase Setco’s capacity and productivity in India by 150% thus adding the capability to cater to increasing aftermarket needs consistently.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Harish Sheth, Chairman & Managing Director, Setco Automotive Ltd., said, “We are very excited to have this new facility up and running. Setting up a plant in Uttarakhand was a strategic decision on our part to emphasize our support to our OEM and aftermarket customers. Apart from this because of the benefits offered by the state, our same high quality products will cost less to manufacture, thus allowing us to give more competitive prices to the end user. This will definitely give us a competitive edge in the market. We are committed to the community and are happy to be here.”

Located near Sitarganj, the unit is placed in the rich fertile triad belt, surrounded by lush green fields & forest encompassing wild habitation and is on a 2 acre plot with an investment of Rs. 9 crores. Setco’s new and improved products will be manufactured here to give customers better performance for every rupee spent.”

Further, the setting up of this facility would provide leverage in terms of the reliable supply chain to meet the consumer requirements. The capacities freed at Kalol will be used to produce our new and improved product lines to the OEMs and meet their global requirements. It will also allow us production diversity without losing productivity.

The facility will be commencing production immediately after the inauguration. In the next 5 years it will add more products and capabilities and at least triple its employment creating value added jobs for the local community.

News Source: http://machinist.in

After firmly establishing itself in mens retail garment sector, Koutons India Retail Ltd, is all set to add another feather in its cap by venturing into footwear production. By the end of this year, the stylish shoes will hit the market under the brand name Koutons Footwear.

The sources from Koutons informed Fibre2fashion, that, the garment retailer would first begin with production of men and children shoes in collaboration with a footwear manufacturing enterprise based in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. The Company will step into designing footwear for women at a later stage.

Koutons will source leather from Kanpur and Agra for making exclusive and comfortable shoes for the customers. ‘Koutons Footwear’, will be initially launched in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi, Southern territories will be captured later.

This is a part of massive expansion plan that has been undertaken by the retail giant for reaching wider markets nationwide. At present, there are nearly 1,200 Koutons stores and 100 more outlets are anticipated this year.

News Source: http://www.fibre2fashion.com

Blue Star is planning to set up a new refrigerator facility at Uttarakhand in the next 18 months, reports Economic Times.

The facility would have a capacity to manufacture products worth Rs 5 billion. The company is also looking forward to establish an assembly unit in the Middle East for central air-conditioning machines.

Blue Star has completed the construction of its fifth plant at Wada in Maharashtra at an investment of Rs 500 million and it would commission the unit in one month. The plant would produce central and telecom air conditioners (ACs) worth Rs 5 billion per annum.

The company is also planning to set up an export oriented unit (EOU) inside the Wada plant, which would be ready within one year after the due approval processes get over.

The company is expecting over 35% growth in its revenue during the current financial year.

Shares of the company closed down Rs 5.85, or 1.32%. at Rs 438.8. The total volume of shares traded at the BSE was 20,493. (Tuesday, 13 May 2008)

News Source: http://www.myiris.com

(RTTNews) - Monday, JBM Auto said that the company entered into a joint venture agreement with Ashok Leyland for supply of sheet metal components for their G90 Cab and G-90 FES.

The joint venture company would set up state of art facilities at Pant Nagar, Uttarakhand at an estimated cost of Rs.100 crores and would have large pressing and welding facilities.

JBM Auto would hold 74% and Ashok Leyland would hold the rest in the joint venture that would start commercial operations from 2010.

News Source: http://www.rttnews.com

NRB Bearings Ltd, manufacturers of the widest range of bearings and automotive components, on May 07, 2008 inaugurated its new manufacturing facility at Pantnagar, Uttarakhand.

The modern manufacturing facility which was completed in a record time of 8 months was inaugurated by Ms. Harshbeena Zaveri, President of the company, at a ceremony which was attended by the company’s important customers including Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, and senior officials from SIDCUL. The occasion was graced by Mr. Tilak Raj Behar, the Ex Minister & sitting MLA of Rudrapur (U.S. Nagar).

Mr. Tilak Raj Behar congratulated NRB Bearings for its first venture in Uttarakhand and wished it all Success; he hoped that it would be amongst the most important plants of the company in the coming years.

Ms. Harshbeena Zaveri, President of NRB Bearings Ltd, said “This plant at Pantnagar is part of our strategy to be located in close proximity to our customers and continually strive to be the most preferred bearing supplier to all our important customers.”

With an initial investment of Rs 25 crores, the facility will manufacture Ball & Roller Bearings for the domestic market. The facility spread over 5 acres, will have a capacity of producing over 22 million Ball & Roller Bearings over the next 3 years.

News Source: http://www.equitybulls.com

Industry body Assocham on Monday recommended a slew of measures to the Uttarakhand government, saying the state has potential to attract investments worth Rs 50,000 crore by 2012.

The chamber has identified hydro and solar power, tourism, IT, technical institutions, biotechnology, handcrafts and floriculture as the major areas for attracting investment with job opportunities for 2 lakh persons, Assocham President V N Dhoot said, while releasing paper ‘A Vision Paper on Uttarakhand: Ideal Destination for Investment’ detailing 15 recommendations.

In its recommendations, Assocham asked the government to encourage setting up of SEZs and agri economic zones (AEZs).

The state government should set up hydro power projects especially mini and captive power plants and windmills, it said.

On the tourism sector, it suggested the government to tie up with India Inc for putting up smaller hotels, motels, fast food centers etc. The state has enormous scope for adventure as well as religious tourism, it pointed out.

The government should also provide suitable environment for IT industry, it said.

In the field of auto components and engineering goods, IT and tourism, the state has attracted over Rs 2 billion FDIs till 2005 and could exceed substantially to over Rs 10 billion by the end of the 11th five year plan in 2012, Assocham said.

It also asked the government to strengthen sectors like herbal and medicinal, film shooting destination, biotechnology, handicrafts, floriculture, horticulture, tea and sports.

News Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

Airconditioning systems maker Blue Star today announced setting up a new refrigerator facility at Uttarakhand in the next 18 months, even as it expects a 35 per cent topline growth this fiscal.

The company is also looking forward to establish an assembly unit in the Middle East for central airconditioning machines.

“We are examining the possibility of setting up our sixth plant in Uttarakhand and most likely it will be for our refrigerators. It will be ready within next one and half year,” Blue Star Ltd Deputy Managing Director T Gouri Sankara Babu told reporters here.

The facility would have a capacity to manufacture products worth Rs 500 crore, he added.

Blue Star has completed the construction of its fifth plant at Wada in Maharashtra at an investment of Rs 50 crore and it would commission the unit in one month. The plant would produce central and telecom airconditioners (ACs) worth Rs 500 crore per annum, Babu said.

The company is also planning to set up an export oriented unit (EOU) inside the Wada plant, which would be ready within one year after the due approval processes get over, he added.

Blue Star witnessed about 40 per cent growth during 2007-08. “We are yet to declare the results but we expect it to be around Rs 2,200 crore from Rs 1,600 crore in the previous fiscal,” Babu said.

The company is expecting over 35 per cent growth in its revenue during the current financial year, he added.

News Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

The Uttarakhand government plans to tap alternative sources of energy, particularly the gas-based sector, to meet the growing power demand.

For this purpose, the government has already roped in Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) to jointly examine various project opportunities for natural gas and undertake extension of the National Gas Grid to Uttarakhand.

A possible pact with other private players like Reliance Industries is also being explored, official sources said.

After the declaration of state’s new hill industrial policy this year, power demand in the state, which is around 20 to 22 million units, is likely to increase by 17 to 20 percent annually as industries continue to set up new units in the state.

The State Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited (SIDCUL), which has developed several modern industrial estates, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GAIL to give a fillip to gas-based energy projects. And now, a feasibility report is being prepared on the gas-based projects.

An assessment exercise for natural gas and allied products is also being conducted in the state. It will also promote usage of gas like Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) and Piped Natural Gas (PNG) in the state.

GAIL’s existing HBJ (Hazira-Bijaipur-Jagdishpur) trunk pipeline networks in Uttar Pradesh and its nearest tapping point is at Bareilly from where clean fuel could be made available to Uttarakhand via two routes, sources said.

The first route will lay a pipeline network to Rudrapur, Ramnagar and Haldwani from Bareilly. The other route would be an extension of gas pipeline from Dadri, sources added.

News Source: http://www.business-standard.com