Industry > Industry monitor > Healthcare
PM reviews situation as country sees record on-day spike of 1.03 lakh Covid-19 cases
05 April 2021
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held a high-level meeting to review the Covid-19 pandemic situation and vaccination programme in the country, as the number of new coronavirus cases reported in the past 24 hours rose to 1,03,558.
This is the biggest one-day spike in Covid-10 cases in the country ever since the pandemic began.
This takes the tally of reported coronavirus cases in the country to 1,25,89,067. The death toll has increased by 478 to 1,65,101.
As per union health ministry data, there are currently 7,41,830 active cases across the country, while 1,16,82,136 patients have been discharged so far, with 52,847 discharges reported in the last 24 hours.
Economy > Government
01 April 2021
The government will auction Rs7,24,000 crore ($99 billion) of bonds in the six months to September, or about 60 per cent of the full-year target for fiscal 2021-22, economic affairs secretary Tarun Bajaj said.
That compares with 60 per cent to 65 per cent of total bonds the government usually issues for the period.
While the announcement of the fiscal first-half borrowing plan is largely in line with expectations, the bond market, which is facing near-record debt sales, will have to contend with a large supply of bonds in the fiscal year starting April, which makes the paper more unappealing. With unprecedented debt supplies during the pandemic over the past fiscal, sovereign bonds are facing the worst times in almost three years.
Finance > Financial services
Carlyle in talks to acquire Occidental s Ghana oilfields: report
05 April 2021
Boru Energy, an acquisition vehicle set up by private equity giant Carlyle Group in association with with Aidan Heavey and Tom Hickey, is reported to be in discussions with Occidental Petroleum to acquire its oil and gas assets in Ghana for over $500 million.
The acquisition of Occidental’s stakes in the offshore Jubilee and Tweneboa Enyenra Ntomme (TEN) fields, is the first investment by Boru Energy since its launch in October 2019.
Occidental holds 24 per cent stake in Jubilee and a 17 per cent interest in TEN fields, which are both operated by London-listed Tullow Oil. Occidental had previously said it was seeking to sell its Ghanaian assets.
Industry > Industry monitor > Power
05 April 2021
National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is setting up a 100 MW floating solar power project at its Ramagundam thermal power plant reservoir, in Telangana, so far the biggest floating solar power plant in India.
The project, which is estimated to cost around Rs423 crore, will have 4.5 lakh photovoltaic panels, covering 450 acre area of the reservoir.
The plant area can be expanded in the future. The floating solar power project is aimed at reducing NTPC’s carbon footprints and accelerate its green energy production to 30 per cent of its total capacity.
The world s largest solar power plant with 600 MW capacity is being set up on Omkareshwar Dam on the Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh. The project, with an estimated cost of Rs3,000 crore, is expected to start power generation by 2022-23.
Economy > Economy - general
05 April 2021
In a year marred by the economic despair caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has recorded its best ever performance in job creation under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP).
In financial year ending 31 March 2021, an year of despair arising from the pandemic and the nationwide lockdown, KVIC disbursed Rs2,188.78 crore to create a whopping 5,95,320 jobs under PMEGP, the highest ever since its launch in 2008. In 2020-21, KVIC also established 74,415 projects across the country.
MSME Minister of micro, small and medium industries (MSME) Nitin Gadkari lauded the achievement of KVIC and said that creation of local jobs would provide livelihood to lakhs of people, in turn, bolstering the country’s economy.