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Time of India
24-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Night blood survey to detect filariasis begins in 8 blocks from today
Prayagraj: The health department teams has identified 8 blocks of the district, including Ram Nagar, Meja, Kotwa, Kaudhiyara, Dhanupur, Soraon, Baharia and Holagarh, for the night blood survey programme under the filaria eradication campaign. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Teams will collect 7,200 samples, with 900 from each block. For this, the department has identified three sites in each block for sample collection. District malaria officer (Prayagraj) AK Singh told TOI: "A night blood survey is primarily used to assess the presence and prevalence of microfilariae in the blood, particularly in the context of lymphatic filariasis. This method is crucial because microfilariae, the larval stage of filarial worms, tend to circulate in higher concentrations in the peripheral blood during night-time hours for certain species. " He said the survey will begin on Wednesday and completed in next six days. Singh said the health teams have identified 24 sites in eight blocks and around 300 samples of persons aged 20 years and above would be collected from each site. The authorities are carrying out an anti-filaria campaign across the district, including 21 urban community health centres and 23 urban primary health centres, for the past three years. Under it, suspected cases were given a three-drug combination treatment using ivermectin, diethylcarbamazine and albendazole (popularly known as IDA) in Feb this year, and now the samples of these persons could be collected for assessment. Singh claimed, "If nine out of 900 samples are found positive in a particular block, there would be re-medication of the three-drug (IDA) combination among the cases. And if passed, the transmission access survey (TAS) would be conducted. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now TAS aims to evaluate the effectiveness of drugs in reducing the transmission." Experts claimed that TAS is a crucial tool used in disease elimination programmes to determine if the infection levels have been reduced to a point where mass drug administration can be stopped. TAS also helps to assess whether the community has achieved the threshold where mosquitoes are unlikely to sustain transmission, and recrudescence (re-emergence of the disease) is improbable. TAS is scheduled at every two-year interval.
Time of India
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Discom to spend Rs 151cr to shift wires from near schools in Haryana
Gurgaon: Following a directive from Haryana Human Rights Commission, power distribution companies have allocated Rs 151.5 crore for relocating high-tension wires from around schools and residential areas. A Sreenivas, secretary, Haryana energy department and managing director, DHBVN, said that AK Singh, additional chief secretary (energy) of Haryana govt and chairman, Haryana Power Utilities, had ordered all the corporations concerned, including UHBVN, and HVPNL, to shift the dangerous power lines. Earlier this month, HHRC, terming the presence of high-tension electricity wires above school premises a grave violation of human rights, ordered their removal and demanded a detailed action report within two months. The commission, in its order, said such conditions endanger the life, health, and safe learning environment of children—violating their fundamental rights. "These children, unaware of the life-threatening danger looming above them as they study or play, are being subjected to conditions that compromise their right to life, safety, health, and education in a secured environment," said the commission. "The orders of HHRC will be complied with," said Sreenivas, directing that a comprehensive report on the removal of the lines from sensitive areas be submitted within a week. He also said that the officials concerned should track the project's progress. While the work of shifting 11 KV and 33 KV lines from around schools and residential areas was already underway, a proposal for shifting 66 KV power lines was also submitted by Haryana Power Utilities.
Time of India
19-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Petronet reports highest quarterly net profit in Q4 on getting offtake default fee
New Delhi: Petronet LNG Ltd, India biggest gas importer , on Monday reported its highest-ever quarterly profit during January-March after gas off-takers paid for volumes they had defaulted on previously. Net profit of ₹1,070.18 crore in January-March - the fourth quarter of April 2024 to March 2025 fiscal - was 23.4 per cent higher than ₹737.68 crore earning a year back, according to a company's stock exchange filing. The company received ₹360.94 crore in use or pay charges from offtakers for the volumes that they had committed to bring at the import terminals but did not bring since 2021. With domestic production of natural gas - used to generate electricity, produce fertilizer and turned into CNG to run automobiles and used in kitchens for cooking - barely meeting half of the country's demand, the fuel is imported as LNG. LNG is natural gas that has been cooled to about minus 162 degrees Celsius to turn it into a liquid. This reduces its volume by about 600 times, making it much easier and more cost-effective to store and transport by ships. Petronet processed 205 trillion British thermal unit in Q4, down from 234 TBtus a year back and 228 TBtus in the preceding quarter, company CEO and Managing Director A K Singh told reporters in an earnings call. The lower volumes were due to less spot or current market priced liquefied natural gas (LNG) being imported due to high prices. While the price of LNG bought under long-term contracts is in the range of USD 11 per million British thermal unit, the spot price was USD 14-15. This "impacted the flow" of spot cargoes, he said. The price is "narrowing down (in the current quarter) to USD 11-11.5 per mmBtu. It is expected that things will improve," he said. On expansion of the firm's mainstay Dahej import facility in Gujarat, Singh said the commissioning of expanded capacity has been pushed to July/August "because of some loss of productivity after heightened security measures were imposed (in view of armed conflict with Pakistan) and the expansion project being undertaken within an operational plant area which imposes safety restrictions." Petronet was to originally expand Dahej capacity to 22.5 million tonnes from current 17.5 million tonnes by March 2025. The March deadline, he said, was a "stretched target" to get the expansion completed earlier and June 2025 was the actual target. "We are catching up very fast... 90 per cent progress is already achieved," he said. Singh said Petronet posted a record profit of ₹3,926.37 crore in the 2024-25 (FY25) fiscal, up from ₹3,536.20 crore in the previous year. The company processed 934 TBtus of LNG in the fiscal, up from 919 TBtus in FY24. In the notes to the accounts, Petronet said trade receivables as of March 31, 2025 include 'use-or-pay' (UoP) dues of ₹1,421.56 crore (gross) (₹952.41 crore (net) after making a provision of ₹469.15 crore). "These dues have arisen due to lower capacity utilisation by customers under long-term regasification agreements entered into by the company. These UoP dues pertain to FY 2022-23 (calendar year 2022): ₹694.29 crore, FY 2023-24 (CY 2023): ₹610,00 crore, and FY 2024-25 (CY 2024): Rs. 117.27 crore," it said. UoP charges rise when a customer or offtaker of gas commits to using the import facility but fails to bring in the promised volumes. "During FY 2023-24, the (Petronet) Board approved a recovery mechanism for UoP dues relating to CY 2021 and CY 2022, in accordance with agreements reached with customers. As part of this arrangement, the company received ₹360.94 crore against CY 2021 dues during the current quarter (Q4) and year (FY25)," it said. Some of the customers have brought LNG quantities up to March 31, 2025, for which revenue has been recognised at the prevailing regasification rate. Correspondingly, the company has waived off UoP dues amounting to ₹183.71 crore in FY25, which consists of ₹32.71 crore for CY 2021 and ₹151 crore for CY 2022. The company has also obtained bank guarantees from customers to secure recovery of these dues. "The Board, at its meeting held on January 27, 2025, approved a recovery mechanism for UoP dues pertaining to CY 2023, in line with the earlier years. The company is in the process of implementing this mechanism, which includes securing bank guarantees from customers," it said. "While some customers have not provided balance confirmations for the UoP dues, management remains confident of recovery, as the amounts are contractually obligated." As a measure of prudence, the company has made a time-based provision of ₹469.15 crore as of March 31, 2025 (₹358.02 crore as of March 31, 2024).
Reuters
19-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
India's LNG imports to rise on higher demand from power cos, says Petronet
NEW DELHI, May 19 (Reuters) - India's liquefied natural gas imports are expected to rise in the coming months to meet growing electricity demand in the country, said A. K. Singh, chief executive of the country's top gas importer Petronet LNG ( opens new tab. India last week invoked emergency measures asking companies to operate underutilised gas-based power plants at higher capacity from May 26-June 30 to meet electricity demand in the country, a notice posted on the ministry's website shows. India's power demand has been subdued so far this month as rains tempered temperatures in the country. "We expect LNG demand to rise similar to last year's levels. Demand for power is rising in last few days so we are expecting demand for LNG to rise in the third or fourth week of May and in June," he said. Power plants running on gas have been more expensive than those operating on coal, solar and wind power, resulting in idling of about three-fifth of all gas-fired power stations in the country. The narrowing price gap between spot and long-term LNG prices is also pushing some companies to step up purchases, he said, adding Indian customers prefer LNG prices at below $10 per million British thermal units. Petronet hopes to complete expansion of its 17.5 million tons per year (tpy) Dahaj terminal to 22.5 million tpy in the next three to four months, he said, adding his firm would maximise the utilisation of the terminal to meet demand in the summer season.
Indian Express
15-05-2025
- Science
- Indian Express
Why paddy sowing in Punjab depends on a court order this time, and the road ahead
By now, paddy sowing should have been underway in Punjab. In fact, the state government has set June 1 as the date for paddy transplantation —when the crop is moved to the fields after being sown in nurseries. However, farmers are still waiting for the court's decision on what seeds they can use, and anxiety is mounting. On April 7, the Punjab government banned the sale of hybrid paddy seeds due to concerns over high prices and low milling efficiency. This was challenged legally, and the next date of hearing in the Punjab and Haryana High Court is May 13, which many farmers feel could be too late. In this scenario, while some have turned to neighbouring Haryana to buy hybrid seeds, others are still seeking alternatives. Why do many Punjab farmers feel hybrid paddy seeds are important for them? What advantages do hybrid seeds have, and how are they developed? An expert answered these questions for The Indian Express. Dr. AK Singh, former director and emeritus scientist of Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, said hybrid seeds were critical to reduce the area under paddy, a water-guzzling crop, while also taking care of the yield levels. Hybrid rice varieties typically yield 1 to 1.5 tonnes more per hectare than traditional varieties. 'Recently, the central government has emphasised that the area under rice cultivation must be reduced by 5 million hectares, while production must be increased by 10 million tonnes. This challenge calls for innovation and scientific advancements. One of the most important technologies for improving productivity in rice is the adoption of hybrid rice varieties,' Singh said. Singh said hybrid varieties with shorter growing periods (around 130 to 135 days) would allow for quicker harvests, facilitate wheat sowing, and use less water. How are hybrid varieties developed? The varieties are developed in research labs, modifying the seeds to achieve specific desired qualities. They are approved for commercial cultivation only after passing national testing standards. About the seeds banned by Punjab, Singh said the hybrids were tested under the All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Project at multiple locations, and met the minimum milling recovery standards of 67% (milling recovery refers to the amount of usable rice a paddy crop yields after milling, that is removal of husk and bran). Singh identified two critical factors for the future of rice cultivation in Punjab — the availability of short-duration, high-yielding varieties, and the shift from transplanted rice farming to direct-seed rice (DSR) farming. DSR farming refers to sowing seeds directly in the farm, which saves water and labour. Singh said the IARI has developed herbicide-tolerant basmati rice varieties, such as Pusa Basmati 1985 and Pusa Basmati 1979, which are suitable for DSR farming. These varieties save water by 30%, reduce transplanting costs by Rs 4,500 per acre, and cut down on greenhouse gas emissions by 35%. Singh also suggested linking these technologies to the carbon credit programme, which could further incentivise adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. 'The path ahead lies not in bans, but in promoting scientific innovations that support both sustainability and productivity. Policies must be based on evidence, not blanket restrictions,' he said.
