Latest news with #sufficient
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Time of India
Shuttle bus balm to ease commuters' auto pain
1 2 Kolkata: The WBTC on Thursday started a trial bus shuttle service between Garia crossing and New Garia station. However, it faced resistance from local auto operators as the administration scrambled to address the transportation crisis following the indefinite closure of Kavi Subhash metro station. The Kavi Subhash station will stay shut for at least next nine months for the demolition of the old complex and the construction of a new one. Passengers, especially those getting off suburban local trains, are currently being forced to pay exorbitant auto fares — Rs 30-Rs 50 to travel to Shahid Khudiram metro station. According to transport officials, efforts were underway to introduce additional bus services to alleviate the travel woes of commuters. The 1.5km stretch between Shahid Khudiram and New Garia station currently doesn't have too many transport options. The existing bus services have proven insufficient to handle the passenger load. According to local commuters like Arnab Saha and Mridula Maitra, routes 45A and 45B operate sporadically during evening hours, while Naktala-Howrah mini buses run their Garia station services only during peak office hours. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like NRIs Living In France Are Eligible For INR 2 Lakh Monthly Pension. Invest 18K/Month Get Offer Undo The AS3 (connecting New Town) service via Bypass is available but is not sufficient. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata In a meeting with local residents and bus fan groups, the owners of route 45 promised better services in the evening. "We have requested them not to terminate their services at Patuli. They have agreed in principle. However, we can only be sure when we find the resolution reflected on the ground," said Abhinava Paul of Kolkata Bus-o-pedia. The situation was further complicated by the discontinuation of routes during the pandemic, including route 206 (New Garia to Salt Lake) and mini buses S116 and S124 (Garia station to Howrah station). The transport authorities are considering whether these services can be restarted. WBTC, meanwhile, stated that it planned to operate one to two small buses during office hours. However, the resistance from auto operators threatens to impede this solution. A meeting between all stakeholders is likely soon to discuss possible steps.
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Envision Energy to invest ₹500 cr for expansion: Flags cost, grid, supply chain challenges
India's leading wind turbine original equipment manufacturer Envision Energy India with an order book of 10 GW plans to invest ₹500 crore to scale up its manufacturing footprint. The company, which commands a 45 per cent market share in the wind turbine manufacturing segment, plans to set up a second blade plant near Ahmedabad and a gearbox facility in Pune. This brings the Chinese major's total investment in India to ₹1,000 crore since 2016. The company is prepared to scale up production to 5 GW annually, supported by a robust order book said Managing Director R.P.V. Prasad in an interview with The Economic Times. "With an order book exceeding 10 GW–12 GW, it is crucial that we produce and deliver products to our customers at a cost-effective scale," said Prasad. Envision has begun constructing its second blade plant and will expand its Trichy unit to six moulds from the present four. The Pune nacelle and hub facility will scale from 3 GW to 5 GW, and the company will also manufacture gearboxes in India using global expertise. The company plans a phased approach to localisation in response to the ministry of new and renewable energy 's (MNRE) new RLMM norms, which mandate local manufacturing of key wind components. While supporting the move, Prasad said complete localisation without sufficient demand would inflate costs. 'We're paying 1.5x more for blades in India. Investors won't bear that,' he said. Prasad called for a staggered rollout of the new MNRE norms, warning that a rushed transition could crash industry volumes to 1–2 GW. He also pointed to grid unpreparedness and limited domestic component suppliers as major bottlenecks. "The government should introduce a condition that if you're manufacturing in India, at least 20 per cent should be for the domestic market. If you want to export fine, export only 80 per cent —but 20 per cent must be supplied here. If the government imposes that condition, they'll object. Perhaps the issue for them is that their profitability is declining; they're not able to match, and these are the hidden issues, which are not openly discussed," he said. Envision is also preparing to deliver its 5 MW turbine from October 2025 and sees repowering and offshore wind as future opportunities. "While the government is introducing mechanisms like VGF (Viability Gap Funding), it isn't sufficient. Additionally, the lack of infrastructure poses a significant hurdle. For instance, specialized vessels required for installations are not available domestically," Prasad said, adding that if imported from Europe and China, they charge (in dollars) by the hour, making operations prohibitively expensive with India not having the know-how at such high cost. Envision Energy Group alone has over 80 GW of installed wind capacity worldwide — the majority in China, but outside China as well. India is our second-largest contributor in this 80 GW. Last year, globally, it added about 19 GW of capacity across the world, of which about 2 GW was in India last year.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Old levy returns: Maha trusts may be asked to pay up
Mumbai: Losing a long legal tussle, lakhs of temple and religious trusts , foundations, and various public charitable organisations in Maharashtra will have to shell out a bit of the total donations they receive to the state government. Although the state has the powers to direct public charitable trusts or societies to contribute, this was stalled by a court order in 2009. Till then, all charitable trusts - barring those devoted entirely to activities such as education, water conservation, and welfare of backward classes, etc - had to contribute up to 5% of their gross receipts or collections. The state had fixed the rate at 2% since April 2003. A fortnight ago, the Bombay High Court lifted the 2009 interim stay that was issued on the grounds that there was sufficient funds lying with the state Charity Commissioner . With the recent court ruling, the state can now issue fresh orders to pave the way for collection of 2% from the trusts. All trusts impacted by the order are, however, anxious to know whether they would be told to contribute retroactively (since 2009). "Interestingly, while the court has allowed the executive to re-evaluate the levy, it has not laid down any specific guidelines or criteria for such assessment. The absence of judicially mandated standards raises concerns over the potential for arbitrary administrative decision-making. This possibility appears to have been indirectly acknowledged by the Court, which has explicitly stated that any fresh order issued by the State would be open to legal challenge, should the affected trusts feel aggrieved," said Paras Savla, partner at the CA firm, KPB & Associates Chartered Accountants. "Crucially, the prevailing legal framework does not mandate a public consultation process for such levies, nor has the Court evaluated whether the structure of the levy adheres to the principles of reasonableness and non-arbitrariness. Given these gaps, there remains a real risk of the very same issues that led to the original round of litigation resurfacing in future," said Savla. The 2009 stay order came on the back of the petitioners pointing out that the state government was "unnecessarily and excessively collecting contributions from every public trust" and the bulk of the amount were lying unutilised. However, in the order dated July 16, 2025, the court said that the situation where no contributions are recovered from public trusts "cannot continue" forever. "The interim order dated 25 September 2009 was passed on account of the situation which existed at that time when excessive funds were available with the office of the Charity Commissioner. Since (a) period of more than 16 years has passed since imposing embargo on collection of contributions, in our view liberty needs to be given to the state government to reassess the situation..," said the Court. STATE'S POWER NOT QUESTIONED Section 58 of the Maharashtra Public Trusts (MPT) Act empowers the state to require public trusts to contribute an amount not exceeding 5% of their gross annual collections. Following the vacation of the stay, the state can now issue a fresh order under Section 58(4) of MPT Act for Trusts to resume contributions from public trusts. The court has said that in no way the state's powers to levy contributions is under question. There are more than 8 lakh public charitable trusts in Maharashtra. Public charitable trusts are exempt from paying income tax on the donations subject to the condition that 85% of the receipts are spent during the year with the provision of spending the unused amount over the next five years. Donors to the trusts also enjoy tax benefits. Public trusts, registered under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) can accept contributions from foreign entities and nationals as long as the donors and end-use of funds are approved by the ministry of home affairs which administers the law.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Cross Hands housing plans rejected over mine gas concerns
Plans for a housing development have been rejected over concerns about the effect of coal mine gas emissions on future inspector Christopher Sweet reviewed an appeal submitted by developers after Carmarthenshire council rejected the application for 16 homes off Waterloo Road and Gorsddu Road, near Cross Sweet said risk assessment reports submitted by the developer were robust but the "exact level of risk" to any future residents had not been established, so dismissed the proposals. However, he added the council "did not appear to have considered the matter in any detail" before turning down the proposal on five grounds last November. Mr Sweet acknowledged developer LCCD Property 20 Ltd had recommended monitoring could be required as a planning condition, but said given the nature of the proposed development and the mine gas risk assessment's conclusions, a precautionary approach was report said: "It has not been demonstrated that the proposal would avoid harm to the safety of future occupiers, and on the evidence before me I am not persuaded that conditions would provide sufficient certainty, such that granting planning permission would be justified."The Welsh government-appointed inspector considered other matters such as an affordable housing agreement and other planning obligations which the applicant was said to be willing to enter in to with the council, although no mechanism for securing them had been set had been objections from local residents to a proposed access road to the houses from Waterloo Road and over the loss of a small number of on-street parking spaces, but Mr Sweet said the proposal would not result in harm to highway part of the appeal an agent on behalf of LCCD Property 20 Ltd challenged the council's refusal to grant planning permission in a report, claiming some of its reasoning was "illogical", however the appeal was unsuccessful.
The Hindu
5 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
Jeju Air jet still had a working engine when it crashed, investigation update says
A Jeju Air plane that crashed in December during an emergency landing after a bird strike could have kept flying on the damaged engine that was still working after pilots shut down the other one, according to an update from South Korean investigators. Also Read | Investigation into South Korea's Jeju Air crash hints at pilot error, angering families The Boeing 737-800 instead belly-landed at Muan airport without its landing gear down, overshot the runway and erupted into a fireball after slamming into an embankment, killing all but two of the 181 people on board. Investigators have not yet produced a final report into the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil, but information about the plane's two engines has begun to emerge. According to a July 19 update prepared by investigators and seen by Reuters but not publicly released following complaints from victims' family members, the left engine sustained less damage than the right following a bird strike, but the left engine was shut down 19 seconds after the bird strike. The right engine experienced a "surge" and emitted flames and black smoke, but investigators said it "was confirmed to be generating output sufficient for flight," in the five-page update, which included post-crash photos of both engines. No reason for the crew's actions was given and the probe is expected to last months as investigators reconstruct the plane's technical state and the picture understood by its pilots. Experts say most air accidents are caused by multiple factors and caution against putting too much weight on incomplete evidence. More questions So far, public attention has focused on the possibility that the crew may have shut down the less-damaged engine, rekindling memories of a 1989 Boeing 737-400 crash in Kegworth, England, where pilots shut down a non-damaged engine by mistake. The disaster led to multiple changes in regulations including improvements in crew communication and emergency procedures. Also Read | South Korea Jeju Air jet black boxes stopped recording four minutes before crash A source told Reuters on Monday that the South Korea-led probe had "clear evidence" that pilots had shut off the less-damaged left engine after the bird strike, citing the cockpit voice recorder, computer data and a switch found in the wreckage. But the latest update on the crash also raises the possibility that even the more heavily damaged engine that was still running could have kept the plane aloft for longer. It did not say what level of performance the operating engine still had, nor what extra options that might have given to the plane's emergency-focused crew before the jet doubled back and landed in the opposite direction of the runway from its initial plan with its landing gear up. Both engines contained bird strike damage and both experienced engine vibrations after the strike. The right engine showed significant internal damage, the Korean-language update from South Korea's Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB) said, but it did not describe the damage found in the left engine. The update did not say how the left engine was operating nor the state of systems connected to either engine, said former U.S. National Transportation Safety Board investigator Greg Feith when shown the document translated by Reuters. It contains some new facts but omits far more, resulting in a "cryptic" document, he said. ARAIB, which plans to issue a final report next June, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Safety experts say it is common for early reports to contain sparse facts and limited analysis while investigations continue. A preliminary report released in January said feathers and blood stains from ducks were found in both engines. The engines - made by CFM International, jointly owned by GE and France's Safran - were examined in May and no defects or fault data were found beyond the bird and crash damage, the report said. Families of those who died in the disaster were briefed on the engine findings but asked investigators not to release the July 19 report, saying that it appeared to apportion blame to the pilots without exploring other factors. The report was withheld, but Reuters and South Korean media obtained copies. Boeing and GE referred questions about the crash to ARAIB. Safran did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jeju Air has previously said it is cooperating with ARAIB and is awaiting publication of the investigation. Under global aviation rules, civil air investigations aim to discover crash causes without assigning blame or liability. The Jeju Air pilots' union said ARAIB was "misleading the public" by suggesting there was no problem with the left engine given that bird remains were found in both. A source who attended the briefing told Reuters that investigators told family members the left engine also experienced a disruptive "surge," citing black box data. The pilot union and representatives of bereaved families have asked that evidence be released to support any findings. Relatives say the investigation also needs to focus on the embankment containing navigation equipment, which safety experts have said likely contributed to the high death toll. Global aviation standards call for any navigation equipment in line with runways to be installed on structures that easily give way in case of impact with an aircraft. South Korea's Transport Ministry has identified seven domestic airports, including Muan, with structures made of concrete or steel, rather than materials that break apart on impact and has said it will improve them. Designs for the new structures are in progress, a ministry official told Reuters last week.
