OVL, Sistema to jointly explore biz opportunities in Russia, CIS region
ONGC Visdesh Ltd (OVL) and Russian company Sistema have agreed to work together for the acquisition of oil and gas assets in Russia as well as in other countries. A non-exclusive memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed at the Indo-Russian CEOs business council meeting held in Moscow during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh?s recent visit to Russia. OVL entered the Russian hydrocarbon sector in 2001 by acquiring participating interest in the Sakhalin-1 project. Earlier this year, OVL bought out Imperial Energy which has hydrocarbon assets in the Tomsk region, Western Siberia. Sistema entered into the Indian mobile telephony services market early this year with its MTS Mobile Telecom Services, and plans to diversify into hydrocarbon sector. ONGC chairman RS Sharma said that the understanding with Sistema is a step forward in jointly studying and pursuing interest in the prolific and hydrocarbon rich regions of Russia and CIS countries.
Bhel develops superconducting transformer
Bhel has developed a high temperature superconducting (HTSC) transformer that uses bismuth wire and can carry 100 times more electric current than equivalent-sized copper conductor. ?India?s first 1.0 MVA, three-phase 33/6.6 kV HTSC transformer, has been developed, manufactured and tested entirely with in-house know-how,? Bhel said in a statement.
Advantages of HTSC transformers over conventional transformers are: higher efficiency; smaller size, weight and volume; and the ability to withstand twice the capacity overload without insulation damage or loss of useful life and better voltage regulation capability. In addition, they do not require cooling oil, thereby eliminating the possibility of oil fires and related environmental hazards.
Mahanagar Gas to hand over CNG outlets to families of 26/11 martyrs
Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) will begin handing over allotted CNG outlets to the families of martyrs of 26/11 by the end of this month. The operation of the Dindoshi and Magathane outlets will begin by December 2009, while the outlet at Deonar will be operational shortly thereafter. The first outlet was offered to the family of late Hemant Karkare at Tardeo. The allotment letters for remaining three outlets at Dindoshi, Magathane and Deonar were also handed over to the beneficiaries in February 2009.
?Executives have a key role in raising efficiency?
Executives of public sector enterprises (PSEs) have a critical role to play in raising productivity and making their organisations globally competitive, says U D Choubey, former chairman of Gail and currently, director-general of SCOPE. While inaugurating the ?Performance Management Effectiveness for Enhancing Competitiveness? programme organised by SCOPE in collaboration with International Labour Organisation recently, Choubey said that the Indian management system, which is based on a hierarchical way of decision making, needs to be replaced by professional leadership development if PSEs are to match the best global companies in management and performance standards.
