Rajasthan to add 355 MW of solar power by April
Our Correspondent : 12 Jan, 2015
The desert state of Rajasthan, which has a high level of solar radiation and large tracts of relatively flat and undeveloped land, is set to commission 355 MW of solar power plants by April as part of its efforts to generate 25,000 MW of the renewable energy in the comming years, a minister said.
It will, howevver, takee another 18 to 244 months before the transmision lines are laid.
"As of today we hope to commission 355 MW of solar power projects by April. Another five projects of 50 MW are presently in the bidding process and are expected to be commissioned by September," Minister of State for Energy Pushpendra Singh told IANS.
Each MW of solar power entails an investment of Rs.8 crore ($1.2 million).
Besides, the state government recently entered into memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Sun Edison India and Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services for establishing a solar parks with a generation capacity of 5,000 MW. (The financial aspects of this are still being worked out.)
"Thanks to the new policy, Rajasthan is poised to establish itself as a leader in solar power generation and a pioneer in providing energy security and sustainable growth to India," Pushpendra Singh said, adding: "We are getting good response from corporate houses after we declared an investor friendly solar power policy."
Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has said of the new policy announced last October: "We have already created a favourable atmosphere and the results are there for everybody to see. Renowned multinationals are investing in Rajasthan and we are progressing towards achieving the target of generating 25,000 MW of solar energy."
The new policy has received "overwhelming" response from private players for establishing solar power plants and solar parks, state government officials said.
Companies like ACME, Azure, Green Today, Sun Edison, Solar Direct, Laxmi Diamond and Welspun among few others have begun an exercise to set up solar power projects in the state.
The new policy aims to create a conducive environment for the investors in the state and ensure power supply to urban and rural areas along with remote/less populated areas where there is no power supply.
The policy offers a win-win situation for farmers as it has amended Rajasthan Tenancy Act and Rajasthan Land Revenue Act to give them rights to set up solar power plants on their agricultural holdings or to sub-let it for this purpose.
Besides this, there will be no requirement of land conversion for setting up solar power plants.
"The provision of allowing farmers to set up solar power plants on their holdings or to sub-let it will ensure a regular source of income. It will also improve the economic status of the farmers," Pushpendra Singh said.
The policy also permits the allotment of government land at the district level committee (DLC) rate, which is much lower than the market rate, to solar power producers.
Another highlight of the policy is fast-tracking the approval of mega projects of 500 MW or more by placing them directly before an empowered committee headed by the chief secretary.
Over 20 questions repeated in test for Rajasthan medical officers
Our Correspondent : 12 Jan, 2015
JAIPUR: It was a rude shock for candidates who appeared for the recruitment of medical officers (MO) in two separate categories organized by Rajasthan University of Health
Sciences (RUHS) on Tuesday. There were over 20 same questions in the papers held in a gap of two hours for medical and dental categories.
Most candidates were surprised as the two tests were held within a gap of two hours and more than 20 questions were exactly the same in both the papers.
Dr Pradeep Sharma, a candidate who appeared in the test for dental (MO) said: "The MO test for medical was organized from 9 am to 11 am and the test for dental (MO) was organized from 1 pm to 3 pm. As there was a two-hour gap between both the papers, those candidates who appeared in medical (MO) test could easily pass on the information about the questions appeared."
The RUHS, on the other hand, has released the list of selected candidates also.
Another candidate, Dr Amit Kumar Jain said, "It is understandable if there are two-five same questions. But there is always a suspicion when more than 20 questions are the same in the two papers held in a gap of two hours." He said that if more than 20 questions are same out of 100 questions, it raises a question on the authenticity of the test.
IAF unmanned aerial vehicle crashed in Barmer, Rajasthan; no casualties reported
Our Correspondent : 9 Jan, 2015
Barmer: Indian Air Force unmanned air vehicle on Friday crashed in Chohtan area of Barmer district in Rajasthan.
The UAV took off from Barmer's Uttarlai air force station.
No causalities have been reported as of now.
This is second such incident in last one year.
Earlier in November 2014 a Heron UAV crashed on the outskirts of a village near Bhuj town in Gujarat's Kutch district.
Dense fog, cold wave affect train services in Rajasthan
Our Correspondent : 9 Jan, 2015
Dense fog in north-eastern parts of Rajasthan today continued to affect rail and road services here even as mercury plummeted below five degrees Celsius at many places in the state.
Poor visibility led to 27 trains, under the North-Western Railway, being delayed, with some running late by 20 minutes to eight hours, while two trains were rescheduled, an NWR official said.
The Sealdah-Ajmer train was running late by eight hours, while the Jammu Tawi-Ajmer train was behind by seven and a half hours, the official said.
The Howrah-Bikaner/Jodhpur Express was late by almost seven hours while the Allahabad-Jaipur Express and the Gorakhpur-Hisar running six and five hours behind schedule respectively, the official added.
Mount Abu on hills recorded the lowest temperature at 3.5 degrees Celsius, about three degree less than the normal, a MeT department said.
The minimum temperatures at Churu and Pilani on plains were recorded at 4.7 degrees Celsius each while Sriganganagar's low settled at 4.8 degrees Celsius.
People on plains experienced intense cold wave conditions in Churu, Sikar, Pilani, and Udaipur districts where minimum temperatures ranged between 4.7 and 8 degrees Celsius.
Jaipur was engulfed in fog this morning and recorded a low at 6.6 degrees Celsius.
Fresh cold winds approaching from north India would further cause dip in the temperatures with fog appearing at some places in western districts of the state in next 24 hours, a forecast said.
BSF official reviews security arrangements in Rajasthan
Our Correspondent : 7 Jan, 2015
JAISALMER: Border Security Force (BSF) reviewed the security arrangements and the force's operational preparedness in the border areas of the district, a BSF official today said.
Additional director general (Operations) of BSF, KK Sharma, reached the Tanot Mata temple in Jaisalmer yesterday and later visited Babliyan outpost.
He reviewed BSF's security arrangements and operational preparedness in the areas, BSF DIG Ravi Gandhi said.
Sharma also addressed jawans and other ranks on the occasion, he said.
The officer visited Pokhran area today morning after which he left for Jodhpur, Gandhi said.
Sharma was accompanied by BSF IG Rajasthan Frontier PC Meena, DIG Jaisalmer Amit Lodha and other officials.
Rajasthan petrol pump owners revoke strike call
Our Correspondent : 7 Jan, 2015
JAIPUR: A day-long strike called by Rajasthan Petroleum Dealers Association (RPDA) has been withdrawn following talks with the state government over 4% increase in VAT by Rajasthan government on petrol and diesel.
The government has agreed to form a high-powered committee to look into the issue of VAT on petrol and diesel.
Earlier, the state government claimed that it was necessary to increase VAT to bridge fiscal gap. "The increase will generate an additional revenue of Rs 300 crore in the current fiscal. It was necessary to increase VAT to recover revenue losses," said an official of commercial tax department.
Besides, the dealers are also demanding uniformity in prices within the state. As of now the diesel rates in Sriganganagar is Rs 58.14 per litre while in Jaipur it is Rs 55.16 per litre. The dealers of Sriganganagar is facing more difficulties as rates in Punjab is even lower, Rs 50.73 per litre.
The tax (VAT or sales tax) on diesel in Rajasthan is 22%, one of the highest in north India. It was 18% before the state government increased it while in Delhi, it is 12.5%, 11.5%+ Rs 5 surcharge in Haryana and in Punjab it is 12.37%. RPDA officials claim that huge difference in taxes in Rajasthan in comparison with the neighboring state put dealers of the state in loss.
However, some respite came to public as bank employees called off their scheduled strike on Wednesday.
Supreme Court Refuses to Interfere With Rajasthan Panchayat Poll Ordinance
Our Correspondent : 5 Jan, 2015
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has said it will not interfere with the election schedule for local bodies in Rajasthan, asking petitioners who had challenged an ordinance or executive order by the state government, to move the high court instead.
The controversial ordinance, issued on December 19 last year, makes it mandatory for candidates contesting elections to local bodies like zila parishad and panchayat samitis to have at least passed Class 10 and for those contesting for sarpanch seats, to have passed Class 8.
The Supreme Court did not make observations or comment today on the merit of the ordinance, but it refused to extend the deadline for filing nominations for the local body elections, the last date for which is tomorrow. However, the top court said the High Court can look into this issue as well.
11 opposition parties, including the Congress and NGOs had filed petitions protesting against the ordinance and it being issued so close to the last date for nominations.
They say the new educational criteria will exclude 80 per cent of the rural population in the state from contesting these elections. They also say that about 1000 current zila parishad members will be disqualified.
"The Rajasthan government held no debate or discussion on this. It has quelled the voice of the people," said Sachin Pilot, who heads the Congress in Rajasthan.
