Archive for month: July, 2018
OECD Development Centre pegs India’s GDP growth at 7.4% this fiscal
The Indian economy is expected to record 7.4 per cent growth in 2018-19, a new report by the OECD Development Centre has projected. In its update to the Economic Outlook for South-East Asia, China and India, the OECD Development Centre sees Indian economy recording 7.5 per cent GDP growth in 2019-20.
This growth projection for 2018-19 falls within the 7-7.5 per cent range forecast by the Economic Survey released by the Indian Government in January.
Economic growth in Emerging Asia, the 10-member countries of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), China and India, is expected to remain stable in the near-term, according to the update.
Average real gross domestic product (GDP) in the region is expected to grow 6.6 per cent in 2018 and 6.5 per cent in 2019, because of robust consumption and investment, the update said.
“Emerging Asia stands to show continued strong growth in the near term if domestic and external risks are properly managed,” said Mario Pezzini, Director of the OECD Development Centre and Special Advisor to the OECD Secretary-General on Development.
The update has been produced by OECD Development Centre in collaboration with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
The 10 ASEAN economies are expected to see average growth of 5.3 per cent in both 2018 and 2019, with the highest rates in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar (the CLM countries), Vietnam and the Philippines.
Overall, the external positions of Emerging Asian economies remain stable; current account balances have improved in a number of economies in the region and foreign direct investment data flows are strong.
Policy direction
Policy rates in the region have been increased, mainly in response to increases in inflationary pressure and weakness in some local currencies, though monetary authorities have also used reserve requirements to maintain liquidity. Overall, the fiscal positions of Emerging Asian economies are relatively sound. The fiscal policy direction, however, is mixed.
According to the update, risks include the effects of rising interest rates in advanced economies, uncertainty about the implementation of planned infrastructure projects and the consequences of rising protectionist sentiments internationally on regional integration.
A special chapter of the update addresses the challenges and opportunities facing Emerging Asia in developing cross-border e-commerce.
The region is already a major player in e-commerce, and should continue to contribute to the sector’s global growth in the future. The use of information and communications technology (ICT), ICT infrastructure, transportation and logistics, payment systems, and legal and regulatory frameworks will all affect such future growth.
To benefit from fair and efficient cross-border e-commerce, governments in the region will need to improve connectivity, develop skills and human capital, implement new policies to address digital security and consumer protection, and foster regional and international co-operation, the update said.
Source: THE HINDU BUSINESSLINE
Construction starts on second Bangladeshi reactor
First concrete for the foundation of unit 2 of the Rooppur nuclear power plant in Bangladesh was poured during a ceremony on 14 July. A construction licence for the Russian-supplied reactor was issued by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority on 8 July.
The first concrete pouring ceremony was attended by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov and Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom’s deputy director general, Alexander Lokshin.
First concrete is seen as the start of the main construction phase of a nuclear reactor. Two 1200 MWe VVER-1200 units are being built at Rooppur, which is on the eastern bank of the river Ganges at Rooppur, 160 km from Dhaka.
The VVER-1200 reactor design has already been implemented at Novovoronezh II in Russia, where the first unit of that design – a development from the VVER-1000 – entered commercial operation in February 2017. JSC AtomStroyExport (ASE), a subsidiary of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, is the general construction contractor.
Rosatom in February 2011 signed an agreement for two 1000 MWe-class reactors to be built at Rooppur for the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC). The initial contract for the project, worth USD12.65 billion, was signed in December 2015. The Bangladesh Atomic Regulatory Authority issued the first site licence for the Rooppur plant in June 2016, allowing preliminary site works, including geological surveys, to begin.
The regulator issued a design and construction licence to the BAEC in early November 2017, enabling the plant to move to the construction phase. First concrete for unit 1 of the Rooppur plant was poured at the end of that month. At unit 1, work has started on building the walls of the reactor building, their reinforcement, and laying the foundation slab of the auxiliary reactor building, as well as soil stabilisation work for the cooling tower. Rosatom said that currently 5000 tonnes of concrete is being used daily at the site and 4200 people are involved in construction works.
“Eight months ago the first concrete ceremony of Rooppur unit 1 construction was held,” Lokshin said. “Today we are meeting again to start the main stage of construction of Rooppur unit 2. All the works at the Rooppur construction site are going according to schedule. And thanks to close team work [between the] Russian and Bangladeshi sides, we are doing everything possible to finish construction on time.”
Rooppur unit 1 is scheduled to begin operation in 2023, with unit 2 following in 2024.
Borisov noted that more than 20% of all generating capacity in Bangladesh had been built with the participation of Russian specialists. “We hope that the Rooppur nuclear power plant will become a mega-project that will allow Bangladesh to move to a qualitatively new stage of development of its energy sector,” he said.
Source: WORLD NUCLEAR NEWS
India’s shift to renewable energy can create 3 million jobs by 2030: Report
India can add about 3 million new jobs by 2030, provided 40 percent of the country’s electricity is generated through renewables, according to a report by IndiaSpend.
The report quotes a study carried out by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), an arm of the United Nations. The ILO report studies how climate change mitigation will have an effect on jobs in India and across the globe.
According to the study, a rise in the percentage of renewables used to generate electricity — which is 7.5 percent in India as of February 2018 — will “more than offset” over 259,000 jobs that can be lost by scaling down of carbon and resource-intensive industries.
The publication states that all the sectors in India’s economy, except mining, would see a rise in employment by 2030.
The ILO study estimates a net increase of “approximately 2.8 million jobs” if sustainable practices such as changes in energy mix, growth in use of electric vehicles and improved energy efficiency in “existing and future buildings” are adopted.
“The findings of our report underline that jobs rely heavily on a healthy environment and the services it provides,” ILO deputy director-general Deborah Greenfield told the publication.
Last month, Power Minister RK Singh had said the country hopes to touch renewable power capacity of 225 gigawatts by March 2022. “We will cross the target of 175 GW of renewable energy before 2022,” Singh had said, referring to the commitment made by India during the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015. India had committed to install 175 GW of renewable power capacity by 2022.
The ILO report also estimates an average loss of 5.7 years of working life per person in India every year for over 15 years till 2015. This was a result of natural disasters caused or worsened by human activities.
The report further states that heat stress would be one of the prime causes of reduced working hours in the future with over 64 percent of agricultural workers’ hours lost due to heat stress in 2030.
Source: MONEYCONTROL
Rooppur rail link contract signed
A Bangladesh-Indian joint venture is to build a new 26.5 kilometre railway link from the Rooppur nuclear power plant to Ishwardi under a contract signed in Dhaka on 10 July. The contract is to be completed within 18 months.
Construction of Bangladesh’s first nuclear power unit – a Russian-designed VVER-1200, which is being constructed by JSC AtomStroyExport (ASE) – began at Rooppur in November 2017. Earlier this week a construction licence was issued for Rooppur unit 2, with first concrete now expected to be poured on 14 July.
The contract between Bangladesh Railway and the joint venture of Bangladesh companies Standard Engineers Ltd and Castle Construction Ltd and Indian company GPT Infrastructure was signed in the presence of Bangladesh Minister for Railways Mazibul Haque, who said the rail link would be needed to support the construction project.
“For the construction of the Rooppur nuclear power plant, we will need to transport heavy machineries and instruments through a freight train. Hence, the construction of a new railway link is very important,” the minister said, according to the Dhaka Tribune.
The contract includes the construction of 22km of main railway tracks, a 4.5km loop line, a station, 13 level crossings and seven box culverts, as well as the purchase and establishment of a computer-based signalling system. It is worth a total of BDT2976 million (USD35 million), and will form part of a network linking the Rooppur plant to the sea ports of Chittagong and Mongla.
Kolkata-based GPT Infrastructure said its share of the joint venture is 34%.
Russia, Bangladesh and India signed a memorandum on cooperation in the implementation of the Rooppur nuclear power plant project in March, setting a framework for the interaction of ASE, Indian and Bangladeshi experts in the implementation of works related to the project. Under the agreement, Indian companies can be involved in construction and installation works, the supply of materials and equipment of a non-critical category in the interests of the project.
Source: WORLD NUCLEAR NEWS