Cement, Energy and Environment July-Sep 2002

' " ' I l. " The re is an urgent need, therefore, to change the mindsets of the peop le, who somehow believe that it is the duty ofthe Government to provide them with electricity," he sa id . ( 'ourtesy · Cement Ne1vs Digest 01-07 Jun 2002, PIO. Fax: 022-2040582 F.-mail: cmabb@bom3vsnl. ne f.in II 'eh. 11'11'11'. cmaindia.org GOVF.RNMENT MULLS CESS 0~ ENERGY TO KICKSTART INDIA PO\\'ER FUND The financial Express, 21 June 2002 The government is evaluating various options such as levying a cess on power or other energy products like oil, gas, and coal (as is being done for the Central Road Fund) bes ides diverting annual dividends ofcentral power PSUs for mobi li z in g resources for the proposed $ 1 billion IPF (Indi a Power fund). IPF wil l be a dedicated fund for the development of power sector and will be ad mini stered by th e PFC. The corpus of this fund wi ll be raised to $5 billion within five years of its creation. ( ·ourtesy: Teri Newswire 16-30 June 2002 Fax: -168214-1/ 45 E mail: outreach@teri.res. in IVeb: www. Teriin .org NIOSH PRESSES SILICA RECOMMENDATION Charlotte S. Garvey The Natio na l In stitute of Occupational Safety and Health has triggered concern within the mining indu stry and in other industry sectors with the recent release of a report that examines the health risks of crysta lline si li ca, rev iews findings of recent studie s and sugges ts areas requi ring more research. The document reasserts NIOS II 's position that the recommended exposure limi t shou ld be 0.05mg/cub ic meter . Neither MSHA (Mi ne Safety and Health Admi ni strat ion) nor the Occupati onal Safety and Health Admin istration current!y plan to purs ue a ti ghte r occ upati onal exposure standard. But release of the NIOSH document could bring add itional pressure on the agencies to act. Courtesy: Rock Products, Jul. 2002 P 2, Fax: 3121726 - .JI(J-. 3121726- 257-1 ~~·-mail :marklay(t/' primediahusiness.com Web: www.rockproducts.com INCREASE IN COAL ROYALTY TO PUT PRESSURE ON l\IARGINS OF BIGGIES The Economic Times Mumbai, 19. 08. 2002 The cement sector, which is wi tn essi ng a sharp slide in profitability due to shrinking rea li zations, could be headed for tougher days ahead. With the royalty on coal being revised upwards after a gap of eight years, top cement makers f·ike ACC and Grasim Industries, whicli depend largely on domestic coal, are likely to face increased pressure on their margins. The roya lt y on coal, an esse nti al input for th e power– intensive cement industry, has been increased from the prevai ling average of 12.76% to 19%. Although the notification has not been issued yet, industry sources say that the hike in royalty would be steeper in case of relative ly lower grade coal, whi ch is used by the cement industry. Besides, analysts point out that since sa les tax is levied post-royalty, the tax levy wou ld also increase as a result. Says ACC managing di rector TMM Nambiar: 'The hi ke in royalty on coal would put some additional pressure on the cost front. -For ACC. the impact wou ld be around Rs. 4 crorc" However, the impact would be relatively lesser for manufacturers like L&T and Gujarat Arnbuja. where domestic coa l accounts for les s than 50% of the overa ll requirement. The country's largest cement maker ACC. on the contrary, banks heavily on local coal, which accounts for around 90% of its coal requi rements. as agai nst 60% for the industry as a whole. The company's Madukkarai unit is the on ly faci li ty to be relying on imported coal. for Gra sim Ind ustries, the third largest cement maker, domestic coal meets almost 70% of its overa ll requi remen ts. Says a Guj arat Ambuja offi cial: ··In our case the impact would be much lesser as we depend mainly on imp01ted coal. Currentl y, roya lty on A and B grade coal, the best qua lity that is on offer in the domestic markets, is pegged at Rs. 135/tonne. Royalty on C grade coal, which is most ly used by the cement manufacturers. is rs.95/tonne, while that on D grade coal is Rs.70/tonne. ('ourtesy: Cement Nel l'S Digest. !7-23Aug. 2002, P--. Fax: 022-20405821 ()11-5738-176 E-mail:cmabb@bom3J• .ml.net.in Web: 11111'11'. cmaindia.org OFF-ROAD REGULATION WORKS DIESEL IN THE The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency is getting rhe ball rolling on a proposed regulation that could influence the cost and type of diesel fue l used in aggregate mining operations. m