Mumbai London-listed Essar Energy said it has reduced its dependence on crude imports from Iran for its refinery in Gujarat, amid mounting US pressure to curtail Iranian imports.

“Our imports today from Iran is in very small quantities, as an expansion at our Vadinar refinery enables us process ultra-heavy crude oil sourced from alternative sources, including from Cairn in Rajasthan,” chief executive Naresh Nayyar said at an earnings call. In March, Essar commissioned the first phase of expansion of its Vadinar refinery, enhancing capacity to 375,000 barrels a day from the earlier 300,000.

JAIPUR: Jaipur is among the five cities in the state where malaria control activities would be monitored on a regular basis. The move came after the Centre directed the state to intensify monitoring in the five districts as deaths were reported due to malaria in 2011. Four malarial deaths were reported in the city in 2011.

Besides, three districts, including Bikaner, Barmer and Jaisalmer, have attracted the attention of the Centre as malaria cases have increased in western parts of the state.

JAIPUR: The medical, health and family welfare department managed to achieve only 85.09% of target set for full immunization of infants against various diseases in the financial year 2011-12.

The latest figures released by the health department shows that nine districts have failed to touch even 80% of the set target.It shows that there are nearly 15% of children left out from fully being vaccinated against various diseases. The vaccination targets were fixed on the basis of birth rate of the district.

Uncertainty prevails over Cairn India’s 74-km section of the 670-km-long Barmer-Jamnagar crude oil pipeline.

Cairn can raise output from its largest oilfield in Rajasthan block by 25,000 barrels per day to 150,000 bpd

After more than six-month wait, the Government today gave approval to Cairn India to raise output from its largest oilfield in Rajasthan block by 25,000 barrels per day to 150,000 bpd. Rajasthan block oversight committee, called Management Committee, at its meeting today approved raising Mangala oil field production from 125,000 bpd to 150,000 bpd, sources privy to the deliberations at the MC meeting said.

Jaisalmer/Jaipur: Mining of lignite coal in Barmer, one of the largest reserves in the country, can lead to loss of thousands of crores and burden the common man with higher power tariff if the flawed bidding process and award of contract are not reversed.

Observed by Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (RERC) in its August 17, 2011 order, came following a petition filed by Raj WestPower Ltd (RWPL) for determination of tariffs for power generation.

JODHPUR: Union Textile and Commerce & Industry minister Anand Sharma on Saturday, while expressing concern over the closed textile units, announced to set up a high level committee to look into the damages caused by the textile industry to the local environment and ecology at Jodhpur, Barmer and Pali.

Headed by secretary, textile, the committee will work out economically viable technical solutions to get over the situation

Interview with A.R. Ansari, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Neyveli Lignite Corporation.

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan government, for the first time, is experimenting with scientific ways for maintaining land records in the state.

Under the national land records modernization programme, the settlement department has initiated a landmapping project with the use of Electronic Total Station (ETS) technique and is planning to later use satellite images and aerial pictures.

In the remote Kailashnagar village (Jalore district), on the border of Rajasthan and Gujarat, lives Parbhu Ram, a farmer who has never been to either Punjab or Haryana.

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