Revival on Cards?

India is witnessing an improved growth trend in coal mining, as Coal India Ltd (CIL) is aiming an output of one billion tonne by 2020. CIL has earmarked a capital investment of Rs 57,000 crore, as part of the road map for one billion tonne target, with a planned capex of Rs 8,500 crore in 2017-18.

Construction enabler

India is on a fast track to develop world-class infrastructure in the country. Commencing with road sector wherein a construction speed of 40 km a day has already been achieved, plans are afloat to take it to 100 km a day. Similar traction has begun in other construction sectors like canals and more will follow.

MCL's coal washery project yet to get green nod

A green panel has deferred its decision on granting environment clearance to Mahanadi Coalfields (MCL) for setting up of a Rs 334.72 crore coal washery in Odisha and asked it to get forest clearance first, and also sought other inputs.

Government should fast-track the procurement

After a lull in the past three years, mining, especially coal, is set to show significant growth in the next few years. Coal India (CIL) is doing its best to increase coal production quickly, from the current 568 million tonne per annum (mtpa) to 927 mtpa by 2020.

The Road Ahead

The need for better infrastructure is pressing with India?s rapid urbanisation and burgeoning middle class. Some 590 million people will live in cities by 2030, and could account for 70 per cent of Indian GDP, according to a McKinsey report.

The Road Ahead

The need for better infrastructure is pressing with India?s rapid urbanisation and burgeoning middle class. Some 590 million people will live in cities by 2030, and could account for 70 per cent of Indian GDP, according to a McKinsey report.

Up & Moving

Movers & shakers

8,500 km by March 2015: How Realistic is the Target?

The Union Finance Minister has set a target of 8,500 km of roads to be completed during the current fiscal year, which simply means construction of about 35.5 km of road per day! In the last couple of years,

New Expectations

The new government has just sworn in at the Centre, driving new hopes in the industry. DK Vyas pens down the wish list of expectations from the new government.With the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) having formed the government, industry expectations are high that the new Prime Minister (PM) will be able to lead the economy out of the low growth era through decisive governance.

Expectations from the New Government

Devendra Kumar Vyas, Chief Executive Officer at SREI BNP Paribas pens down the wish list of expectations from the new government. With the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) having formed the government, industry expectations are high that the new Prime Minister will be able to lead the economy out of the low growth era through decisive governance.

MoEF defers decision regarding Rajgammar UG coal block

The environment ministry has deferred a decision on granting clearance to underground coal mining project of Monnet Ispat & Energy Ltd in the state of Chhattisgarh. The said company is seeking environment clearance for Rajgammar underground coal mine project located in Korba district of Chhattisgarh.

Constant value engineering makes TIL the most competitive in the cost-vs-value equation

Introduction of the TIL-Astec range of equipment in track plants, wheeled plants, stationary plants and the manufactured sand segment in India has set a new benchmark in terms of technology, capacity, performance and total cost of ownership,

Government should fast-track the land acquisition process

Gmmco, well supported by Caterpillar, is the one-stop shop for mining equipment and solutions. We offer the complete range of Cat surface and underground mining machines

Getting ready for the upturn

In spite of the unfavourable market dynamics, most of the OEMs have adopted innovative strategies to sustain themselves while keeping an eye on the coming boom. Innovative strategies are developed to retain existing customers

CIL stops mining at six big coal blocks

The lack of environment clearances for expansion projects of Coal India Ltd (CIL) has broaden the gap between the coal production target and actual output in the current fiscal. CIL has been forced to stop mining at several coal blocks

NHAI needs to look into obtaining the necessary land clearances before awarding projects

The North-Eastern region is a major focus area with plans in place by the authorities and quick turnaround time for awarding projects. Today, demand for equipment is also increasing gradually from this part of India, says Prantik Saha, Marketing Manager - Road Construction Equipment, Atlas Copco. Excerpts of the interview.

Rentals will be the solution for the future

Knowledge and skill upgradation are vital and that is where Quippo plays an important role. We continuously devote time to upgrading knowledge; training is a continuous activity in our organisation.

Minor mineral mining projects needs environment clearance from state authorities

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has informed the Supreme Court in an affidavit, that the government has made it compulsory for any kind of mining activity to be undertaken only after proper sanction is taken from the concerned authorities.

IRL is finalising plans to restart production from Rakha copper mines

Rakha mines was first started by a British firm in 1900 to mine copper. The mine is currently owned by Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL). The Rakha mines have remained closed since 2001 due to negative economies of scale. HCL had invited global tenders in 2010 for re-opening, operation and expansion of Rakha Mine to produce at a rate of 1.5 million tonne per year of copper ore.

Magma is a well-diversified business with six business lines

No equipment group is able to drive growth which is primarily due to the fact that the overall infrastructure and mining segments have been impacted by various factors, says Sumit Mukherjee, National Sales Head, Magma Fincorp. Excerpts from the interview.

No mine leases within 10 km of protected zones in Goa

Pertaining to iron ore mines in Goa, the expert appraisal committee (EAC) will not clear the environment clearances (ECs) of mining leases lying within 10 km of protected areas until the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) decides on buffer zones or the mining leases have permission from the national wildlife board. EAC is examining environment clearances (EC) of 139 iron ore mines in Goa, suspended by MoEF in October 2012.

EAC to examine reports on 139 ECs for mines in Goa

The expert appraisal committee (EAC) under the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) would examine the 139 suspended environment clearances (EC) for mines in Goa. The EAC received report of a regional office of the MoEF on all 139 operational and non-operational mines Goa. The regional office in Bangalore completed inspection of all mines and submitted reports to EAC for necessary actio

Getting back on track

Growth prospects in the current fiscal, 2013-1314, were expected to be sluggish, with no clear indicators towards a surge in demand for construction equipment. However, the recent developments in otherwise depressed business sentiments are something to cheer about.

Tough times for C&SE sector

One year ago, to be precise, EQUIPMENT INDIA in its May 2012 issue, came out with a cover story on the growth potential of crushing and screening equipment (C&SE) segment. We interacted with most of the major C&SE manufacturers to get the actual pulse of the industry

GMR ready to re-take road project if govt cuts premium

GMR Infrastructure now says that it is ready to take up the 555-km Kishangarh-Udaipur-Ahmedabad highway project again if there is a cut in the initial premium it owes to the government. GMR had withdrawn from the Rs 5,700 crore highway project owing to inconsistencies on environment clearance.

We are virtually the best in fuel average and productivity in the 20T excavator segment.”

We are looking forward to a lot of regulatory reforms. For new projects, the approach towards environment clearances needs to be more pragmatic, GOI has to ensure that no retrospective taxation happens, GST needs to be introduced even if some states do not play ball initially. Such actions will get the CE industry going, says Vikram Sharma, Chief Executive Officer, Kobelco India. Excerpts from the interview.

Steadily chugging ahead

Even though the road sector in India continues to face multiple challenges, a strong pipeline of projects supports long term prospects. Around $180 billion investment is earmarked for the road sector, which is the highest ever investment for any Five Year Plan, and this should have a very positive impact on the construction equipment industry. The prime factor favouring the growth of the road equipment industry is the sheer scale of work still to be done in this sector.

Road to elections

Even though the demand for construction equipment for the road sector has been sluggish in 2012, there still exists tremendous potential for the construction equipment industry, given the infrastructure deficit in the country. However, unfortunately, the government has little fiscal headspace and thus, is unable to stimulate growth by undertaking investment in the infrastructure sector.

Equipment financing: An evolving scenario

While the government is expected to roll out more reforms soon, the key issue is implementation on the ground. If policy issues are addressed and initiatives are implemented, it will give a boost to the equipment financing in India, Infrastructure segment has been witnessing a major slowdown due to various issues around land acquisition and environmental clearances

Our 2020 vision is half-a-billion USD sales from India

?Our business model is very different by way of which we will be seen as a very different player altogether. We are bullish on that and we feel we are removing the pain points of our customers, too,? says Kamal Bali, Chief Executive & Managing Director, LeeBoy India.

Is the growth story sustainable?

It is crystal clear, to reach world-class levels, infrastructure needs a tremendous boost for the next several years; this will augur well for the CE sector where most of the major players continue to upgrade capacity and widen product lines.