Power Company of Karnataka Limited (PCKL), a wholly-owned company of the government of Karnataka, will shortly issue request for proposal (RFP) documents to 22 bidders qualified for its proposed 1,320-Mw Gulbarga coal-based super-critical thermal power project. The project is proposed under the Case-2 bidding framework according to the competitive bidding guidelines. The cost of the project is estimated at Rs 7,500 crore.

PCKL is a special purpose vehicle created by the state to bridge the widening gap between demand and supply by capacity addition through the competitive bidding route. The Gulbarga project is the first to be taken up by PCKL under the competitive bid route.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has rapped the Karnataka government for its failure to initiate any time-bound action plan to monitor the implementation of the Karnataka Mineral Policy (KMP), 2008.

“Even after a lapse of three years of formation of the committee under the chairmanship of secretary, commerce and industries department, the government of Karnataka has not formulated any time-bound action plan to monitor the implementation of the KMP so that the desired objectives of the policy are achieved in a time-bound manner,” CAG said in its latest report, ‘Controls and Systems for Sustainable Mining in Karnataka.’

The iron ore-starved steel industry in and around Karnataka might have to wait longer to for the smooth supply of key raw material for its blast furnaces as the opening of Category B mines, which contain larger deposits, is getting delayed.

The delay is due to non-fulfilment of certain conditions imposed on these mines by the Supreme Court. The Court is likely to hear the appeal for opening of Category B mines at the next hearing on January 8, 2013, industry sources said. The Supreme Court (SC) appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has approved the reclamation and rehabilitation (R&R) Plans of 23 mines under Category B in Karnataka. These mines, which can together produce over six million tonnes of iron ore per annum, are presently awaiting the apex court’s nod to resume mining.

State-owned power generator is setting up first block of 700 Mw combined cycle power plant

The Karnataka government has approved the proposal of Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL), the state-owned power generator, to procure liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the first block of its proposed 700 Mw Bidadi Combined Cycle Power Plant (BCCP) through a 100 per cent on spot market basis from Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL).

Under the agreement, JFE will provide technology for the production of non-oriented electrical steel sheets at JSW's Bellary plant

JSW Steel Ltd and Japan’s JFE Steel Corporation on Monday announced signing of a joint agreement for technical collaboration. Under the agreement, JFE will provide technology for the production of non-oriented electrical steel sheets (CRNGO) at the JSW’s Vijayanagar plant in Bellary district of Karnataka.

State-owned miner NMDC Ltd is working out a method to enter into long-term supply contracts with buyers for iron ore produced and sold through e-auctions in Karnataka.

The company, in a recent submission to the Supreme Court, indicated it would enter into long-term contracts by providing basic price and fixing the prices through e-auction.

At Friday's e-auctions, NDMC had fixed a base price of Rs 4,500-5,000 per tonne, depending on the grade of iron ore (a mix of calibrated ore and fines, with 63-64 per cent Fe)

Despite state-owned mining major NMDC announcing a cut in iron ore prices, steel companies haven't shown much interest in buying the company's ore at e-auctions on Friday. Of the 1.02 million tonnes (mt) auctioned by NMDC, steel firms bought only 1,72,000 tonnes.

A study has found that the poor households earned a total of Rs 1,545 cr, spent a total of Rs 1,185 cr, and contributed a savings of Rs 360 cr to the city in 2011

Urban poor living in slums of Bangalore contribute 3-3.5 per cent of the City’s economy. About 9-11 per cent of the city’s population that lives in slums contribute between Rs 1,643 crore to Rs 2,045 crore to Bangalore city’s economy, estimated at Rs 58,164 crore in 2011.

During the first half of FY13, it produced 3.1 mt, a drop of 46.5 per cent compared to the 5.8 mt in the corresponding period last year
Sesa Goa, a Vedanta group company, is unlikely to achieve its iron ore production target of 15 million tonnes for 2012-13, owing to the mining ban in Goa and expiry of its lease in Karnataka. During the first half of FY13, it produced 3.1 mt, a drop of 46.5 per cent compared to 5.8 mt in the corresponding period last year. During FY12, it produced 15.9 mt of ore, a drop of 18.5 per cent over the previous year.

Unlikely to be able to achieve its iron ore production target of 15 mn metric tonne for FY13

Sesa Goa, a Vedanta Group firm, is unlikely to achieve its iron ore production target of 15 million metric tonne for FY13 owing to the mining ban in Goa and the expiry of its lease in Karnataka. The company’s operations are currently in limbo due to the recent action by the Goa government and expiry of its lease in Karnataka.