GANDHINAGAR: Gujarat government has roped in a Mumbai-based company to tap the maximum potential of canal-based solar power generation. The company aims to save on the cost of land for laying solar panels, while simultaneously preventing water evaporation and theft.

The state government is all set to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Eastern Powers and Systems Pvt Ltd for a 1,000 MW canal-based solar power project at the Vibrant Gujarat summit which gets underway on Friday.

As Gujarat readies itself to hold an event to showcase its business-friendly environment, there is some good news for the state. A report released today shows it replaced Tamil Nadu in terms of freest state in 2011.

The report, co-published by the Cato Institute, Academic Foundation, Indicus Analytics and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, says on a scale of 0 to 1 points, Gujarat scored 0.64 points, followed by Tamil Nadu at 0.56. Tamil Nadu was the freest state in 2009.

Comparing the state-sponsored Global Trade Show 2013 which began on Tuesday as 'Kumbh Mela' of development, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi said that six-day mega-trade fare would benefit the future generation of entrepreneurs.

The trade show, which is part of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor Summit (VGGIS) 2013, is spread across an area of more than 1, 00,000 square meters and has participation from more than 1000 companies from 16 countries and various Governments. More than 1.5 million people are expected to visit the Global Trade Show, which is double than its previous edition held in 2011.

Three people were killed and one person has been reported missing in the fire accident at IOC at Hazira in Surat on Saturday noon.

Amreli Activist Beaten Up By Stone-Crushing Unit Owner

Rajkot: An RTI (Right to Information Act) applicant was attacked on Sunday in Thordi village in Savarkundla taluka of Amreli district. According to sources, Narshibhai Malani, a resident of Thordi, was allegedly attacked by the owner of a stone crushing unit, Mahesh Khuman, on Sunday morning. Narshibhai was rushed to a government hospital after the attack. Malani has registered a case against Khuman with Savarkundla taluka police station.

AHMEDABAD/PALANPUR/SURAT: There has been no respite from the bone chilling cold wave prevailing across the state as temperatures continued to plummet at various places. In Ahmedabad, night temperature dipped to 7.6 degrees, four degrees below normal on Saturday. Weather officials said that the cold wave conditions will continue on Sunday. Temperature may stabilize from Monday.

The minimum temperature at Mount Abu was minus one degree celsius while Naliya was the coldest place in the state with six degrees minimum temperature.

State-run Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) announced it has booked 2.25 million tonne per annum (MTPA) natural gas re-gasification capacity offerd by Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL) at its Dahej terminal in Gujarat.

GSPC has contracted the capacity on firm and long-term basis for 20 years. “GSPC will now be able to tie-up Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) on a long-term basis in the international markets and serve its customers with an assured supply of gas for a longer tenure,” GSPC Managing Director (MD) Tapan Ray said.

The world's largest coal-based power plant is struggling to survive at the back of pricing problems

On Monday, a high-level inter-ministerial panel will take a call on fuel supply for Adani Power’s Rs 25,000-crore imported coal-based power plant at Mundra in Gujarat. The infrastructure and mining major had asked the government to review an earlier decision to cut off domestic coal supply for the flagship 4,620 megawatt (Mw) project. The world’s largest coal-based power plant is already struggling to survive at the back of pricing problems.

All three victims are contract workers; compensation ordered

Three persons were killed in the fire that broke out in a storage tank of the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) terminal at Hazira, near here, on Saturday. The fire was contained after a 21-hour operation, officials said on Sunday. “The body of one more person was recovered this afternoon [Sunday]. While two persons, whose bodies were recovered earlier, have been identified, we are trying to identify the third,” Surat Collector Jayprakash Shivhare told PTI. “All the three persons… are not regular, but contractual employees.”

Vadodara: The Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) has issued a closure notice to a chemical manufacturing firm based in Nandesari on the outskirts of the city for discharging effluent in Mini river last month.

The environment watchdog of the state issued a closure notice to Unit-II and Unit-III of Panoli Intermediates (India) Pvt Ltd, which manufactures dye intermediate and other chemicals, on Wednesday.