World Bank supports India's development agenda through record annual lending of $9.3billion

New Delhi, June 23, 2010:  The World Bank’s support to India’s development agenda will reach a total commitment of $9.3 billion by the end of June this year*. Spread across 25 new projects, these loans are aimed at helping India sustain the high growth needed to lift millions out of poverty

The total expected lending this year includes $2.6 billion as interest-free credits from the International Development Association (IDA) and $6.7 billion in the form of long term, low interest loans from International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).

Part of this lending is in support of the Government of India’s (GOI) response to the global financial crisis.  Another significant portion is aimed at helping the country remove infrastructure constraints to high growth and to expand the delivery of essential social services like better schools, roads and electricity to the people. “The Government of India is accelerating its response to its development challenges and so are we,” said Roberto Zagha, World Bank Country Director in India.

The needs of India’s fast growing economy are huge. The Planning Commission, for instance, has estimated the country requires $500 billion for infrastructure investments alone during the current Five Year Plan.  The demand for additional Bank support for infrastructure development has been increasingly voiced by countries like India and China over the last few years, and the Bank has been making sustained efforts to respond to it.  “While our annual lending this year represents a significant contribution for the Bank Group, it accounts for less than 1% of India’s GDP, and is a modest sum given India’s vast needs”, said Zagha.

The increase in Bank commitments is also in line with guidance from the G-20, which had, during the summit of November 2008, directed international financial institutions like the World Bank to step up lending to the emerging economies – to sustain their growth and thus help global recovery.  The Bank has made global commitments of $120 billion since July 2008 – which is a record sum for the institution. “India has played a crucial role in kick-starting the global economy by maintaining high levels of growth and it is important for the Bank to have been able to respond to India’s request for additional support,” added Zagha.
 
Highlights of lending 2010:

The Bank has a current portfolio of 65 active projects with a combined total commitment of just under $19 billion.  The projects have been disbursing at a steady rate of 24% this past fiscal year, which indicates that implementation is moving at a steady pace. In fact, over the course of the past fiscal year, $4 billion has already been utilized on the ground. The Bank portfolio includes several national, multi-state projects and state specific ones in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Uttarakhand.

This year the Bank had earmarked $3 billion to support India’s domestic response to the global financial crisis. This included a $2.0 billion package for GOI to provide capital to some of the public sector banks so that they could maintain their credit expansion and prevent a shortfall of capital from affecting India’s economy in the wake of the global economic crisis. In September 2009 the Bank also enhanced the lending amounts for two significant infrastructure projects that were being finalized, providing an additional $ 400 million to Powergrid and $600 million to the Indian Infrastructure Finance Corporation Ltd. (IIFCL) to help them maintain their planned investments during the financial slowdown. 

Lending to infrastructure sectors like energy and transport accounted for 21 % of the Bank’s total commitments to India this year.  In the power sector, for instance, the Bank will help the power-deficit state of Haryana strengthen its transmission and distribution systems in order to bring reliable power supply to consumers.  The Bank has also worked with Powergrid since its inception 15 years ago during which the institution has built 75,000 km of transmission lines to reach underserved areas of the country. The loan to IIFCL (total $1.2 billion) will help catalyze private financing for public-private partnerships across a range of infrastructure sectors – roads, power, airports, and ports.

A significant portion of this year’s resources (11%) was directed at helping the government improve the quality of public services like schooling, irrigation, drinking water and sanitation. Over the years, the Bank has supported the Government of India’s flagship primary education program, the Sarva Shikhsa Abhiyan (SSA) with two IDA credits totaling $1.1 billion. This year’s $750 million additional finance to SSA, is the largest single IDA loan to any country in one fiscal year. The program has already helped more than 19 million out-of-school children get enrolled in elementary school. An additional $300 million was committed by the Bank to help India’s engineers develop the skills needed in a fast-changing labor market.

The Government of India is increasingly committed to evolving an environment strategy for 21st century-India, which seeks to integrate environmental and ecological goals into the growth agenda. In support of the government’s objectives, the Bank this year approved new loans to demonstrate sustainable transport solutions in select Indian cities; to protect the coastal areas while safeguarding the livelihoods of people living there; to build capacity for handling polluted industrial areas; to mitigate the risk from cyclones; and to promote energy efficiency in micro, small and medium enterprises. 

Looking Ahead
Over the coming years the Government of India has asked the Bank to focus its support in three strategic areas. Below are some examples of proposed projects which are yet to be appraised, negotiated and presented to the World Bank’s Board of Directors for approval

1) Transformative Projects:

• The Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC): This will establish 1,130 km of parallel freight tracks along India’s busy eastern railway corridor to help ease the movement of goods and materials from the hinterland to India’s eastern ports.  The project will be implemented in three phases. In the first phase, the Bank has been asked to provide $1.0 billion for the construction of a 343 km double track electrified railway link from Khurja to Kanpur.

• Cleaning and conserving the river Ganga: The Bank has plans to provide support of $1 billion to the Government’s program to clean and conserve the mighty Ganga, as well as improve the basin-level management of this river that supports more than 400 million people in India.

• Emergency Kosi Flood Recovery Project: In Bihar, where floods regularly threaten the lives and livelihoods of millions of poor, the Bank will initially extend a $200 million IDA credit to help the state government rehabilitate areas affected by the Kosi floods.

2) Collaborate in leveraging knowledge and experience for GoI’s strategic initiatives:

The Bank will also collaborate with the Government of India in some of its strategic initiatives which have brought about dramatic improvements in the lives of the poor in India. These include:

• The Self Help Group (SHG)-driven livelihoods program implemented in several states is now being adopted by the Government as a national program.  In Andhra Pradesh alone, some 10 million people, mostly women, have formed nearly 850,000 self-help groups, which have generated savings of over $805 million. They have used the funds to set up small enterprises to supplement their household incomes and give their children better schooling, nutrition and healthcare.

• Rural Roads: Over the years, several IDA-supported rural roads projects have helped build more than 20,000 km of all-weather roads connecting remote and far-flung habitations and villages to schools, hospitals, markets and jobs.

• Urban water: An urban water supply pilot project in parts of three water-stressed cities of North Karnataka (Hubli-Dharwad, Belgaum and Gulbarga) is bringing clean drinking water into people’s homes 24 hours a day, seven days a week – something not seen in other Indian cities.  The Government of Karnataka is now keen to replicate the project so that it can provide clean and reliable water to more of its urban citizens.

3) Pilot Initiatives:

The Bank will also look to support pilot initiatives such as improving the competitiveness of Maharashtra farmers by building better agriculture infrastructure, upgrading rural markets or haats and building farm-to-market roads.  Another project will support the introduction of social security for the unorganized sector.

Please note: As of date, projects (both IBRD and IDA) with a total new commitment of US$ 8.3 billion have already been approved by the Bank’s Board of Executive Directors; the remaining projects worth US$ 1 billion will be presented before the Bank’s Board over the next few days.

*From financial year July 2009 to June 2010

The Bhopal legacy: reworking corporate liability
(Editorial by Sunita Narain)
====================================

Days after President Barack Obama lashed out at British Petroleum (BP) saying he would not let them ‘nickel and dime’ his people in the oil spill case, a sessions court in Bhopal did precisely that with the victims of the world’s worst industrial disaster.After 25 long years the court of the chief judicial magistrate pronounced its verdict on the criminal case against Union Carbide and its Indian subsidiary on the matter of negligence and liability. The court’s decision holds seven officials of Union Carbide India guilty, but on diluted charges of accidental injury—tantamount to a traffic accident—and lets off the main accused of the US parent company. Universally called a travesty of justice, the verdict has, however, been welcomed by the US government. It believes the verdict now puts to rest all cases against its ‘unfortunate’ victim company, Union Carbide.

There is no doubt this is one case where the victims have been let down completely by the Indian State—government and judiciary. It is no small matter the Union law minister admitted as much, saying sadly “justice has been buried in the Bhopal case”. It is well accepted the Supreme Court erred badly first in 1989, by settling all civil and criminal liability at a piddly sum of US $470 million (in 1991 it reopened the criminal case). Then in 1996, the apex court reduced criminal charges from section 304b—culpable homicide with a maximum punishment of 10 years—to a milder section 304a, used in traffic accidents for deaths caused by rash or negligent acts, which limits the term of imprisonment and provides for lighter fines. In all this, the court has been strangely silent about the management of relief and the lack of medical research and treatment for the victims.

The apex court, known to side with environmental victims, has also been vacillating on the matter of what should be done with the abandoned factory site, which is full of toxic contaminants the company left behind. The trial court has only compounded and sealed these errors—with a judgment that is hurting victims even more (if possible) than the deadly and horrific night when the city died a million deaths.

Bhopal is about shame. Bhopal is also about what the country, indeed all countries, must do about corporate liability for the unknown. In 1984, when the pesticide factory’s poison gas hit Bhopal, to kill and maim thousands, nobody had seen or imagined a disaster of this kind. The question of liability was hushed up, largely because it involved a US company. Nobody wanted to mess around with this corporate powerhouse, even in those times of relative innocence. The amount settled for the disaster, still unfolding because lives continue to be lost and ailments do not go away, was less than what was agreed in the Exxon Valdex case that occurred a few years later in 1989. In this oil disaster, which hit the coast of Alaska in the US, the toll on the natural environment— the flora and fauna—was priced double (some US$ 1 billion settled for punitive and economic damages) that paid for the thousands of human lives lost and maimed in Bhopal.

But oil interests in the US are not small fry. In 1990, post-Exxon Valdez, the Oil Pollution Act was passed. The act capped the liability of economic damages from such an oil disaster at a mere US $75 million. Today, even as the US is learning how it never anticipated a disaster such as the BP spill—a leak in an oil well so deep in the ocean that human intervention is not possible—this cap has become a point of friction in the country. Today, the US Senate wants the cap removed. Otherwise it will have to prove that BP’s oil spill was the result of deliberate and gross negligence and/or regulatory non-compliance. The US Senate knows this will be difficult to establish, given the country’s legal process. The country’s president also says it is not regulatory noncompliance, just that regulations have been played around with and diluted because of the ‘cosy relationship between big oil and government’.

This is the right time to ask the Indian government to rethink the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages Bill it wants to present in Parliament. The bill caps the operator’s liability at Rs 500 crore per incident, with additional damages of approximately Rs 2,300 crore to be made good by the government. This amount is even less than what was paid in the case of Bhopal, a ridiculously low amount; this amount is a joke when it comes to a nuclear accident.

US companies with an interest in the nuclear business desperately want India to pass this bill. It will cap liability and hence reduce their insurance cover and costs. It is, thus, not a surprise that the official US response to the trial court judgment on Bhopal mentions this bill and wants the Indian government not to link the two.

But there is a link. The issue of liability must be established and it must be based on full costs. Only then can we believe the corporations that want to sell us these future and unknown high-risk technologies. After the shame of Bhopal, nothing less is acceptable.

Updated filtration products from Siemens increase flexibility and cost effectiveness of water treatment

Siemens will highlight updates to existing filtration products at the AWWA ACE Conference in Chicago. In the future, customers will be able to choose from an extended range of systems for treating water even more cost effectively. The reconfigured Memcor CP ultrafiltration product line provides up to 50% more membrane area in the same footprint than previous pressurized module designs. Siemens has also expanded the Memcor XP product line, doubling the flow range to up to 500,000 gallons per day (GPD). Finally, the Trident HSC system has been expanded to include two new sizes between 7.5 and 15 million gallons per day (MGD).

May 2010 crude steel production for the 66 countries reporting to worldsteel

Brussels, 21 June 2010 - World crude steel production for the 66 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) was 124 million metric tons (mmt) in May. This is 29.1% higher than May 2009.

 

China’s crude steel production for May 2010 was 56.1 mmt, an increase of 20.7% compared to May 2009.

 

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan produced 9.7 mmt of crude steel in May 2010, up 50.2% compared to the same month last year. South Korea’s crude steel production for May 2010 was 5.2 mmt, 28% up compared to the same month last year.

 

 

In the EU, Germany’s crude steel production for May 2010 was 4.1 mmt, an increase of 87.7% on May 2009. Italy produced 2.5 mmt, 42% higher than the same month in 2009. Spain produced 1.6 mmt of crude steel in May 2010, an increase of 24.9% compared to May 2009.

 

Turkey produced 2.5 mmt of crude steel in May 2010, an 18.8% increase over the same month in 2009.

 

The US produced 7.2 mmt of crude steel in May 2010, an increase of 73.8% compared to May 2009.

 

Brazilian crude steel production was 2.9 mmt, 50.8% higher than May 2009.

 

World crude steel production in May 2010 was 9.9% higher in comparison with May 2007, before the impact of the global economic crisis was felt. However, while China, South Korea and Turkey showed increased crude steel production in May 2010 compared to the same month 2007, the US, Italy, Spain and Japan are not yet back to pre-crisis production levels. The EU is -18%, North America -14.8% and Latin America -9.8% down on the five months to May total in 2007.

 

The world crude steel capacity utilisation ratio of the 66 countries in May 2010 slightly declined to 82% from 83.4% in April 2010. Compared to May 2009, the utilisation ratio in May 2010 increased by 15 percentage points.

 

 

Notes:

 

• The monthly crude steel capacity utilisation ratio is calculated based on crude steel production and capacity information available at worldsteel. The capacity information is based on publicly-available data, updated twice a year and verified through worldsteel’s membership.

• The World Steel Association (worldsteel) is one of the largest and most dynamic industry associations in the world. worldsteel represents approximately 180 steel producers (including 19 of the world's 20 largest steel companies), national and regional steel industry associations, and steel research institutes. worldsteel members produce around 85% of the world's steel.

 

IIPM Enters Media Education

• Faculty of award-winning reporters, columnists, authors, magazine editors, documentary filmmakers, and digital media specialists.  
• Bilingual training to be imparted

Kolkata 21^st June 2010: IIPM, the leading management institution in the country, imparting real global education to aspiring managers, has now entered the rapidly growing and socially crucial arena of media education. In keeping with its motto of Dare to Think Beyond, the one year post graduate diploma being offered by The Sunday Indian (TSI) School of Journalism aims to bring about a breath of fresh air and industry relevance to media education. The Sunday Indian School of Journalism will be truly exclusive with an intake of only 36 students per batch, allowing students to get personalized attention and training from some of the best journalists in India.

The Sunday Indian School of Journalism is committed to educating a new generation of journalists who will uphold the highest standards of journalism. The course is intensive, rigorous and demanding, set against a backdrop that permits exploring diversity in a number of ways, engaging in serious intellectual inquiry, and debating a variety of opinions with the strength of interdisciplinary investigation. The quality, vitality and innovation of our programme match the best in the field, providing the foundation and opportunity for students not only to succeed, but to shape the future of journalism.

Commenting on the occasion Mr. Sutanu Guru, Managing Editor of The Sunday Indian and Dean of TSIJ said “Our 37 years of experience in the field of education and the platform of ‘The Sunday Indian’ the only news weekly to be published simultaneously in 14 languages have helped create a unique curriculum for the aspiring journalist of tomorrow. We have crafted a unique blend of classroom training and real life exposures to create journalists who will not only be top notch professionals but also uphold the values of this socially relevant profession”

 

The faculty includes award-winning reporters, columnists, authors, magazine editors, documentary filmmakers, and digital media specialists. They bring to our course their experienced, independent thinking with motivation that comes from their history of personal accomplishments. They are deeply committed to teaching, challenging, and supporting their students.

 

Soumya Bannerjee, a well known journalist who has worked with Ananda Bazaar Patrika and who will be closely associated with TSI School of Journalism Kolkata campus, said “Journalists cannot be manufactured; they have to grow from within. In future, youngsters have to become total journalists, like total footballers. And for that, one has to be absolutely passionate about news and journalism" 

In addition, all students at the school will have to compulsorily undergo bilingual training in the art and craft of journalism. In today's rapidly changing world, being bilingual, and even multilingual, is very important for enhanced career prospects. Renowned journalist and Ashoka Scholar Pritha Sen opined "What is critical today to be a responsible journalist or information provider is a reaffirmation of the very basic tenets of journalism – thoroughness, accuracy, fairness and independence. Only an exceptional journalism school can teach all of this and the fifth overarching component – transparency.” 

Apart from Kolkata, The Sunday Indian School of Journalism will have campuses in Pune, Bengaluru, Chandigarh and Delhi. Courses are scheduled to commence on July 30, 2010. Aspiring students and parents can send a mail to info@thesundayindianschool of journalism for more details.

HALLIBURTON NAMES Abdallah S. Jum’ah TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS

 

HOUSTON and DUBAI – Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) announced today that Abdallah S. Jum’ah has been named to the Company’s Board of Directors.  The appointment is effective July 14, 2010.

Halliburton Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer Dave Lesar commented: “Abdallah Jum’ah brings tremendous global knowledge and industry wisdom to our Board and we are delighted that someone of his caliber became available for service to our organization.  We look forward to working with him and introducing him to shareholders at the annual meeting in 2011.”

Jum’ah is former president and chief executive officer of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco), the state-owned oil company of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  He also currently serves on the JP Morgan Chase International Advisory Council, and is a former member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum. 

Jum’ah has served as a trustee of the American University in Cairo since 1998.  He was identified by Fortune magazine as one of the most influential business people in the world (2003) and selected as winner of the prestigious Petroleum Executive of the Year Award (2005).  Between 2007 and 2009, Jum’ah served as vice chairman of the International Advisory Board of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. He is currently a board member of Saudi Financial and Industrial Enterprises and also serves on a number of international advisory bodies including the JP Morgan Chase International Advisory Council. He was appointed in December 2007 to serve on the supreme committee of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology which oversees the organization’s mission of promoting and supporting applied scientific research to foster the Kingdom’s ongoing economic and social advancement.

A native of Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, Jum’ah studied political science at the American University in Cairo and at the American University in Beirut, and later completed the Program for Management Development at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.

Jum’ah joins current Halliburton board members Alan M. Bennett, James R. Boyd, Milton S. Carroll, Nance K. Dicciani, S. Malcolm Gillis, James T. Hackett, David J. Lesar, Robert A. Malone, J. Landis Martin, and Debra L. Reed.

About Halliburton

Founded in 1919, Halliburton is one of the world's largest providers of products and services to the energy industry. With more than 50,000 employees in approximately 70 countries, the company serves the upstream oil and gas industry throughout the life cycle of the reservoir - from locating hydrocarbons and managing geological data, to drilling and formation evaluation, well construction and completion, and optimizing production through the life of the field.

60 million euro order from Krakatau Steel: Siemens to modernize slab steel works in Indonesia

Siemens has received an order from PT Krakatau Steel, Cilegon, Indonesia, to completely modernize its slab steel works no. 1. The purpose of the project is to both increase the production capacity and reduce the specific consumption of energy and operational resources. The order has a value of some 60 million euros. The modernized works is scheduled to come into production in the summer of 2012.