National
Coal India remains optimistic of being competitive (Lead)
Kolkata, March 30 (IANS) Coal India Ltd (CIL) is focusing on reducing its production cost by improving productivity and efficiency and remains optimistic to be competitive even as the Central government is allowing commercial coal mining for the private sector, its chief said on Friday.
CIL is planning to increase its capital expenditure to Rs 9,500 crore in 2018-19 to strengthen its production capacity, Chairman and Managing Director Gopal Singh told reporters here.
“Allowing commercial mining is an opportunity for us. We have been the market leader and will remain so. We have been focusing on reducing cost and improving productivity and efficiency,” he said.
“Our target is to produce coal at a lesser cost than that of the commercial miners,” he said, adding the state-run miner achieved 10.9 per cent growth in its profit before tax during October-December period of current fiscal as because it managed to reduce cost of production by Rs 52 per tonne.
Singh also said its coal prices have been cheaper by 42-64 per cent compared to imported coal even after the price hike in January.
CIL would focus more on mechanisation and automation in a bid to increase its production, he said.
According to him, CIL has exceeded its planned capital expenditure by Rs 100 crore to Rs 8,600 crore in the current fiscal.
“Our capital expenditure would be Rs 9,500 crore to increase our capacity,” he said.
CIL produced 495.09 million tonnes (mt) during the April to February period of the current fiscal and it is expecting to close the year with a production of about 568 mt, against a target of 600 mt for 2017-18.
With a target to produce 531.32 mt during the eleven month period, it clocked a 1.4 per cent growth in production from 488.06 mt produced in the same period of 2016-17, its provisional data showed.
The state-run miner had achieved a seven per cent growth in off-take to 525.09 mt during the April-February period of 2017-18 as against a target of 541.60 mt set for the period. It had an off-take of 490.86 mt during same period of previous financial year (2016-17) and is expecting to achieve an off- take of 580.5 mt for the entire year of 2017-18.
Singh said the coal behemoth has achieved the highest off-take to the power sector to 454.30 mt with a 6.8 per cent growth in 2017-18 while its dispatch to non-power sector remains at 126.2 mt, seven per cent higher than previous year.
He is also hopeful of meeting the coal demand in next fiscal and its target to produce 630 mt in 2018-19.
“We will be ending the year with about 54 million tonnes stock,” he said.
Coal India is also planning to dispatch 155.36 mt of coal in the first quarter of 2018-19.
On the new coal pricing policy to be effective from April, 2018, Singh said the objective of the new policy is to make it transparent and the miner is consulting with consumers.
“We are holding meetings with consumers taking their views to make sure that it becomes full-proof. the pricing policy is based on gross calorific value of coal. This will be win-win for consumers, coal India and mine managers,” he added.
–IANS
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National
Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok
Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.