State Budget 2016: Petrol, diesel, soft drinks, cable TV,liquor to IJe dearer.:
Sid taxesall classesf/.
BENGALURU:Monthly budget of every household is setto take a hit from April 1asChief Minister Siddaramaiahon Friday proposed hikein tax rates on a number ofgoods and services inBudget 2016-17.
With this, petrol, diesel, softdrinks, cable TV subscription.lease and rent agreements ofproperties, private transportand liquor will become dearer.
The Budget is bound 10pinch families and individualsof all income groups alike.Petrol and diesel prices will goup by Rs 1.89a litre and Rs 0.98a litre respectively as the salestax on them has been increased. This has touched araw nerve as sales tax on fuel isamong the highest in the state.
Indian Made Liquor (IML) .and beer will cost more as Excise duty and Additional Exciseduty on IML have been hikedsubstantially. Besides, rnotorvehicles tax on private transporthas been enhanced. The chiefminister isexpecting to mop upadditional Rs 2,300 crore rev- 10tap all revenue' sources II) [llienue from the increased taxes, his kitty. He. at the same time.
The chief minister, who pre- has tried to gratify the poor andsen ted the budget in the Leg- the middle class by loweringislative Assembly al Vidhana taxes 011 a dozen items (see thl'Soudha, appears to have tried .,Iist) like nilli/jowar nllti nnd
• Diesel (by 0,98 paise/f)" Soft drinks (minimum of Re 1per200 ml bottle)
• Beer (From Rs 7 to 9 per 650 ml bottle)
.. Liquor (Minimumof Rs4 for 180 ml bottle)
• Cable TV subscription
• Private bus transport
• Agreement of sale on movable property
• vanett-s of chatnipudi
• LEDbulbs • Set top boxes for TV
• rowar & ragi roti • Helmets • Cottc
• Aluminium household utensils (exceppressure cookers & cutlery)
• Office files made of caper/paper hoar
• ~jurgid!1gowns. masks, caps am, .apEot single use made of non-woven fabric!
• Pulse Mission to come Ifor increasing production
• Women EmpowermentPolicy
• Govt to celebrate Mahaveer Jayanthi as statefunction
• Spirulina for malnourished children
III Economy orders relaxed r: .to fill up 30,000 vacancies in JHyderabad-Karnataka ? ,: .region
II Setting up of KarnatakaState Agrl(ultL!re & Farmers
• Setting up of MM \{alaburgi Rese,vch (etilre atKamataka UT'iversily
II CorPOration '0'
Yett IratlOie g. ucoer Bhadra _-''''''''~''''''i>'!''':~'",'' . ,~ i8;;_I;~ ,.' ;"'." f : I v v t , 1<1-' . ',;;.' .....",.~., ,.. ,. . - .\,' ,.
q hL'fT1C'( <u.h as AI111>1 Bhazynand Krishi Hhagya.
Though the State economy isin the doldrums with GrossState DOll1estic Prodll,·t nos('diving to ;;.2% in 20.15 IGfmlll
1.8'\,the previous veil!',Siddarmaiah has cOlltim;ed to dole 0sops 10 the Ahinda (Karma.acronym for minorities, B(and dalits) calIse,.»State budget, PagE.
"alurcan, '", i;Hhel' major '_lllv I '111lL>I,ii,As much as i{,·1)22 <TOle h;\.(been allocated for inirasllll(lure develo!lllll'll( ill tlli' Still<capital.
hclmcrs. But the n.'\'c'11l1e I, '1,,11due to the reduction in [:1\ 1,marginal compared to what Ill'has planned to raise throughlax hikes. The budget has. hi111'ever, brought cheers to Ben
'Ill .um.n hl,d t..rurban devrluprm-nt, which IS 1% morethun the rUITt,'IlI \\';11''s allocatiOll. lIe has dcslS1<'L1froIll allnouncing any IllUl'e popillist
~--------~==========~~=--=.=-=...~=.~='=--~.-
~ ..
~/POWER
POWER DEPT SHORT-CHANGED;WAITS FOR PROPOSED PROJECTS
TeamTOI
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r-I--'i1e assembly suffered apower outage on Fridaywhen chief ministerSiddaramaiah was pre-
~ '.. senting the state budget,prompting an opposition leader tosay it was a bad omen and sign ofthings to come.
At a time when the state is facingsevere shortage of power generation, the budget allocation for theenergy department lias been reduced to H2,632 crore from n2,87!Jin 2015~16.Besides, the eM did notmention any fund allocation forpurchasing power either in the
short-term orlong-term. It'sambiguouswhether thegovernment·will pr ov id efunds to tide
over the present power crisis.Instead, Siddaramaiah seemed
to be banking heavily on proposedprojects to start on time.He said hisgovernment has evolved a plan toadd about 2,655.40MW power, whichincludes 800 MW from Yeramarusunu.n.705.40MW from central generating stations and 1150 MWs fromrenewable sources of energy
He further said the governmentwould add 800MW from YeramarusUnit-I and 350MW from renewableenergy sources by the end of thecalendar year, Work on a gas-basedpower plant at Yelahanka is alsounder progress.
He has focussed on long-termprojects to tide over the power
'~n" in Karnataka, including,~~ nark in Pavaga-
UGHTS OIlT: The assembly plunged intodarkness even as eM Siddaramaiah wasshedding light on financial allocations for2016~17during his budqet speech onFriday, The power went at L35pm andcame back after two to three minutes,leaving the government-battling anelectricity crisis-embarrassed
da. The project proposed at InvestKarnataka will take at least two tothree years to be completed. Thesolar park is expected to start generating 600 MW by 2017.
On saving power, Siddaramaiahsaid the government has decided toimplement a new LED ~f'l)eme, under which 421akh LED )S wouldbe distributed to consumers.
Electricity playshide and seek,leavesCM's
team red-faced·1n a major embarrassment to the
government, a power OUUJgein themiddle of the budget speech left
the assembly in darkness for two tothree minutes. What followed werestrong reactions from both sides,While opposition MLAs found renewed enthusiasm to taunt the eM,energy minister OKShivaknrnar wasquick to order suspension of the engineers responsible for the rness.Itall happened when Slddararnai
ah started reacting out his government's achievements, The powerwent off at l.35pm and the membershad to wait tlll1.40pm to see the rayof light again.
Bescom MD Pankaj Kumar Pandeysaid it was due to an internal faultwithin the Soudha where buildingworks were being carried out.
BJP MLA Basavaraj Bomrttai sarcastingly suggested the eM shouldhave consulted tis friend lID Revannaabout Rahu Kalarn (inauspicioustime). Jagadlsh Shettar and GovindKarjol too joined, saying ellen thepower was fed up with his ..tihinspir~ing speech,"
-,J
~ CLeM.-\. ~\.<-l.,..Q_, I'l) sllJ..
udget '16: More tax, some bhagyaBHASKAR HEGDE IDCBENGALURU,MARCH 18
~k less beer and coke,Vp a watch on the fuel'..gauge in your car, eat morejowar rotis. And be preparedto shell out more to yourcable operator. That in alighter vein, sums up ChiefMinister Siddaramaiah's11thState Budget, which hepresented in the Legislatureon Friday amidst a shockingpower blackout.Soft drinks, petrol and
.' diesel are set to becomecostlier. Mr Siddaramaiahhas upped the ValueAddedTax (VAT)on aerated andcarbonated non-alcoholicbeverages from 14.5 percent to 20 per cent, sales taxon petrol from ~6 to 30 percent and made diesel costlier by three per cent.Entertainment tax too has
~, been hiked.For the agriculture sector,
which has witnessed twoconsecutive droughtsresulting in a fall in foodproduction, the chief minister announced the creation of SpecialAgriculture Zones on thelines of Special EconomicZones (SEZs) and FarmersWelfare Committees to
•
redress grievances. It wasjust not enough for therural community, whichhad expected him to 'do aJaitley' and COMeup withmajor announcements toalleviate farmers' misery.Orten accused of ignoring
north Karnataka, the CMexempted Jowar Roti, thenat lve food of the region,from VAT.'I'I.ere were no big
Bhugyas coming the way ofth« poor this time.I:<'"rtipplers, this is a
budget they might like tofoi Jet in a hurry with theexcise duty on Jndian MadeLiquor (IML) raised fromt4tl to t50 and the duty onbeer up t5 to no.With the IT City becom
in!4 heavily polluted, MrSutdaramaiah decided todo his bit to clean up the airby fully exempting electricvelucles.. considered ecofriimdly;from taxes.I)isappointing
was the GrossDomestic Product in ~015-16 which grew at 6.2% asajainst 7.8% in 2014-15.;\s for the power cuts -
three seconds first and 95sueonds iatsr-Bescommoved swiftly suspendingthe engineer in charge.
•• liM .~':~~~laerated and carbonated'
• Increase of ratl! of tax on non-alcoholicbever- '"l[~':::::=.. 11:i,~1!~=~• SettIng up Of iIttWI ralWq .' bus tickets, property
scheme along with the registration,DTHand cableTVGovernment of lndia, while services,state goyentlMnt will initially eaJ'!'ll8rkUOO CI'OI'1I
• AnAviationDe'ielopmentCellwill be set liP to facilitate development ofairstrips and operation ofnon-scheduled flights
• SettIng lIP of sreCW :{Agricultural Zcns will be. done in different.parts of thf ',state on the 11nt!$!)f SpedaI •...konomlc Zones
• Allocationof n,609 crorefor development of ruralroads and to improve ruralconnectivity
. translldrtlrta('non-transport.' .',electric .v~~lcles,.••."'..1iII.rt:··"fLED bulbS;0'"helmets,multi-
rfaimg=iimes for the middle classPetrol, diesel, soft drinks, liquor, entertainmentand cable services, among others, to cost moreNAG~HP"'HU /I ' r~"~:-----BENGALURU: Middle class con- Rs. 0.98 a •sumers need to brace them- litre and petrol priceselves for more expensive by Rs. 1.B9 'days as Chief Minister Sidda- a litreramaiah's budget levies moretaxes on petrol, diesel, transport vehicles, soft drinks, liquor, entertainment and cableservices to mobilise revenueto fund populist schemes announced in his past budgets.
With no elections round thecorner, Mr. Siddaramaiah refrained from announcing newpopulist schemes. While theCII called it a "well balancedbudget", the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce described it as a "mixedbag".
Key proposals for the industry include reduction ofVAT from 14.5 per cent to 5.5per cent on some productsproduced by the small andmedium industry. Proposalstargeted at startups, the IT FACT SHEETsector and to boost investorconfidence also featuredprominently.
There was not much of aboost for agriculture as therewere no major schemes to address the rural distress in thebackdrop of a spate of farmersuicides and drought in theState. However, the budgetdoes bring relief to big farm-ers, planters of coffee, tea, rubber and other plantation cropsas it abolished agricultural income tax.Presenting the 4th budget
of the Congress, overall hisllth, in the Legislative Assembly here on Friday, the CM
largely focussed on strength.ening and expanding severalpopulist schemes, which wereannounced three years ago after the Congress staged acomeback in May 2013.
The budget showed a reve-
nue surplus of Rs. 522.01crore,which isA3 p.c. lower than thecurrent fiscal (2015-16). Fiscaldeficit is expected to be Rs.25,657 crore, which is 2.l2 p.c.of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). The GSDP grew
/
An Assembly personnel assisting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah read his budget speech 0
There were power disruptions twice during the course of the Chief Minister's speec_ PHOTO:V.SREENIVASAMURTHY (REPORTON PAGE6)
Theestimated size .of budget for '.2016-1715 '
Rs.l,63,419. 'crora"
~ Service sector contributes 64per cent, from 59 per cent earlier.The contribution of manufacturingsector gone up by 3% to 15% tothe GSDP
~ Agricultural growth \ ~ The State's contribution todips from the country's GDP up from14% to 8% of GSDP 5.5 % to 7 %
~ Pravasi BharatiyaDivas at Bengaluru inJanuary 2017
~Rs.500 crorefor new Skill Developmentand LivelihoodDepartment headedbyCM
~ CM special grant to Bengaluru
Rs.5,000 crore
'JWomenEmpowermentPolicy to belaunched
~ Biotech incubator in Bagalkot, 10 new incubators ineducational institutions across the State
at the rate of 6.2 per cent asagainst 7.R p.c. during the previous year, primarily owing toslowdown in agriculture.The contribution of the
agricultural sector to GSDPdeclined from 12p.c, to 8 p.c,
• RELATED REPORTS IPAGE54, 6& 8
o .c , lot / Cj I I,' IIf·kJ'Jfj It}I Gas power plant.' at Yelahanka
Bengaluru: Chief MinisterSiddaramaiah has
announced that the work ofestablishing a gas based
power plant at Yelahanka inthe city will be started durIng 2016-17,which expectedto bring relief to the city's
power shortage. In hisbudget speech,
Siddaramaiah announcedthat next year 2,655.40 MWwill be added to the state'spower capacity. This would
include 800 MW fromYeramarus Unit II, 705.40
MW from CentralGenerating Stations andnso MWs from renewable
sources of energy. Anothermajor announcement made
was that in order toimprove ease of doing busi
hess and improve transparency, the submission ofapplication with regard to
power sanctions, powerevacuation, open access,
clearance by ElectricalInspectorate and approval
for power projects will haveto be done online.
"Necessary web basedmodules will be developedand deployed shortly," the .Chief Minis~nnoun~
./
.. ~ n.dJ:.0J1._ t>L.f
For Power, StateBan~sontheSunExpress News Service
TIe state, which is once ag~t; staring a~.a powerrisis is hopirig to add electricity production capac-tv of~ut 2,6SS-4oMW, including 800MW fr?m
Yeramarus Unit II, 705,40MW from central generatingstations and 1150MWfrom renewable sources of ener-
gyTIns is apart from the expected addition of 800MWfrom Yeramaras Unit-t and 350MW,from re~~:eenergy, Workisfinallyexpectedto~onesta, ga gas-based power plant at Yelahanka m the commg yearand bids will be invited to establish 1,320MW Kalabur-agi power plant, , ,About 200MW of solar power capac~tyIS also e~ct
ed through the projects of Karnataka Power CorporationLimited (KPCL).The drop in per unit cost of solar power,has also en
couraged the government to opt for establishme~t ~f a2 oooMW solar park at Pavagada in Tumakuru distric~F~omthis park, 600MW is expected by ~e end <;>fMarc2017.Announced last year, this Pr;>jectwill requireabout10 000 acres of land as production of solar energy requires about 5 acres ofland per mega watt.The state is also planning to establish solar powerlants in 60 backward taluks of 20MW each. The ~uch
~ ed Nirantara Jyothi Third Phase Feeder Bifurcation ~heme will continue into next year, "Huge expenses have been incurred for this schem~ and the CAGrepo~had warned about public money bemg spent recklessly,energy expert MG Prabhakar said
Good NewsTo improve ease ofdoing business and improve transparency submission of application with regard to powersanctions, power evacuation, open access, clearan~ byelectrical inspectorate ~nd approval for power projectit.will have to be done online shortly. .
/
./
IBEIJING, PTI: The largest nuclear security centre in the
IAsia-Pacificregion, jointly fi, nancedbyChinaand the UStoI train personnel of countries inI the region on protection and
I
control of nuclear materials,opened here onFriday.The centre, constructed by
i the ChinaAtomicEnergy AuI thority (CAEA)and theUSDei partment ofEnergy, is able to! train about 2,000 nuclear-seI curitystaffforChina and other: nations in the Asia-Pacificre-
I' gioneveryyear,CAEAchairXuDazhesaid.I Construction of the centre,I which is the largest nuclear
I programmetohavedirect ChiI neseandUSinvestment,beganI inDecember 2013.I TopChinese,US and lAEA(International Atomic Energy
!I Agency)officialsattended to-day'sthe event. .Under the agreement. the
I centre, which is located inFangshan District, Beijing. isrun and administered by China.whilethe USisresponsiblefor providing nuclear-securityequipment.Accordingto the CAEA,the
sitewillbecomea centre for international exchanges and cooperation on nuclear security.the demonstrationofadvancedtechnology, testing andanalysing.The centre is a significant
achievement in China-USnuclearsecuritycooperation,andwill boost cooperation in theAsia-Pacific region and theworld,WangYiren,deputy di-
rector of the CAEAsaid.It will also promote the
peaceful use ofnuclear power,Wang,who isalsodeputyheadof the China's State Administration ofScience,Technologyand Industry for National Defencesaid.The two countries have also
cooperated in other nuclear security areas such as low-enriched reactors, securityof fadioactivesourcesand radiationdetection by customs authorities. according toWang.The centre came as China is
massively expanding its nuclear reactor network.China currently has 30 op
erational nuclear power generating units, with a total installedcapacityof28.31Gw. Italso has 24 units with a total 'instalJedcapacityof26.72GW:1under construction, ranking iifirst in the world. . '1
As planned,China'sinstalled ,Inuclear power capacity will ilreach 58GWwithan additi?n- !;al 30 GW under construction i I
11by2020. III,
_,---
'Power' politics mars budget presentationIBangalore Mirror [email protected]
ing the presentation. Pushingthe assembly hall in\o a poolof darkness,powerwent off fora few secondspost noon. A fewminutes later, again the powerwent off for close to fiveminutes, forcing the CM to stophis presentation. Marshals onduty rushed in with mobiletorches to help the CM goahead with his presentationunder torchlight. The opposition, asifwaiting foran opportunity to pounce on the government, ridiculed it andforced the CMand the energy
TWEETS@BangaloreMirror
T~:e:~;~~~~~~e~~:~ation acrossKarnatakawas
up for display to the entire.worldduring the budget presentation by CMSiddaramaiah.Hoodwinking the people ofKarnatakaevery time claimingenough power supply,the stategovernment was in an embarrassing situation when therewere repeated power cuts dur-
\
minister to resolve the problem. Energy minister OKShivakumar was seen questioning energy departmentofficials sitting in the gallery.Several leaders joked andattributed the development tothe CM's decision to choosethe inauspicious Rahukala forpresenting the budget.
Towards the evening,Shivakumar ordered the suspensionofengineersatSoudhaon charges of derelictton ofduty. A committee was alsoformed, headed by additional
chief secretary, energy,Ravikurnar, to probe the incident.
Opposition leaders ridiculed the CM for presentinghis budget during Rahu Kala.That's the reason why thepower went off, they said.They also told him that heshould have brought candles.Opposition leader ]agadishShettar said, "This shows thestate of the government. If theVidhana Soudha can suffersuch an embarrassment, whatto sayof the common~~y
I 'r\lu can pIodge )I>Ur support toEarthHOur by.donati~ )I>UrIF_ timelioe today. Visitwww.changed",1atl!dla!1ge.org andi allow EarthHour to post on )I>Ur behalf. 'r\lur per>onaJ details WlUI not be shared publicly orwitll tlliro parties -)'OtX permISSIOn.I YOl.i:.:an3.lso ~(s:t ':"NW.•::art!lhour.org,/tracker to create a group
event !oC !'":~tjor. ..ttfJ,l "ou ;:dar, on Join..; for ~hdt ")nehour.
:t is ~,(,·-'-,,'e.n:J:yl:tto thlr:~,that our actiC'lStoday ,"...ill
·...n.~t :-U~!l.-! ~:.~.:: '.vili ;c,o~-!ikE.' f'Jf ge:-O()f3.t-ons;_('(orne .. our futJ;,"";snr:s tad:w
-www.eartllhoor.org
PC POWE.~SAVIlfC TIPS
IAn idling computer or laptop cont~u?uslY D?nsumespower:Shut yourmachi.nedown when It 15not bemgused.
Youcan also tryShutter Lite to help you conserve power:The software can be configured to put your PC into 'hibernate' mode, or simply switch off the monitor. Youcan setthe tool to initiate action ata specifictime/date or by eventssuch as inactivity, low battery,etc. Its remote feature e~lets you send a command over a common "'!'i-Fi ne~ork VIayour smartphone's mobilebrowser:What smore, Itcan runotT a pen driveas wellwww.snapfIles.oom/geV'shutter.html
2Switch off peripherals such as printers and scannerstillyou need to use them. ..
3Cutting your monitor or laptop'sscreenbrightnessmightseem like a minor thing to do; but the energy savings
willadd up over time. I'Ordesk1ops, this is easily done bylowering brightness with the help Of the men~ buttons 0';;the monitor. For laptops, you need to use the 'Functionbuttons on your keyboard.
4 If you use screensavers, disable them; switch o_ff themonitor instead. Also, in the Control Panel click on
Power Options> Cbange Plan SettiDgs andselect Balanced power plan. From here, you can set the durationafter which your display automatically turns off, or set thecomputer into sulndby;
s.,~;lR~'ilH'{)NE /l'"J1NERMANACEM£NT1."or smartphones, youcancut down on displaybrightnessr from the notification area itseJf. Do not opt for the Auto~ption as this requires the built·in ambient light sensor tofunction all the time. Youoould also switch to a neutralcolourprofileor a "reading"mode to cut downon hrightnessand certain colours. Youcan find these optIOnswlthmSettings> Display.
Youcan also confIgurerour phone's powermanagementsettings to extend battery life. Simply choose the pr~fileyou want to use: balanced, perfor_mana:. 0: power savmg.Somephonesprovide de~iled optIonsWlthmeach .of thesewhere you can force the device to :;hut uff moblle data,Wi-Fi Bluetoothwhen the phone is inactive.These tweakswill h~lpin extending your phone's battery life and reduceenergy conslUIlption.
www.sony.co.ln ~ 7 PA¥- - ): t:=. ." )..g I ()t No .i:t:CHARGEA r: . IES ,," ~ f;'. Today,Marrhl9, the P/anetobserves Earth Hour where)OU are reques:ed toSWII:c:It's hard to imagineour l~ WIthout !.;:J I·... off non~ eloctncal app/kl1Iu·s at 8.3Opmfor at least (i)mmutesto consenbatteries. But these rruru power-I!! energyandscarceresources.B{itsa\'f11,gour",VJrldlSnotabout~~onehour.or
houses are made up Of.'heavy metals '. ..'.' _ even about being emironrnentally (onSd.O us on Eurth fuy. v.fUch ISobserved onand toxic elements like cadmlU~, n . J,..,ril n Ashutosh Desai andSavioD'Souza tell you about aje\..,lithium nickel and mercury. It 15, • 't' ~ every yew: . i_nl.,...,.-;-therefore. extremely Important that ' \.~ pmduc~ )OUcan woe.tIJU.i practices that)Oll can "''f-'K-''''",u....
we dispose old batteries responsibly ,~ A SUSTMNABLEIf these find their way into landfills ~~;::£ FORand incinerators, the leaks that are ,
~~~~~n~~~h=~::-E~~::"~~':n~hn';ef~~e~~~ C·R'E"EN~~ ~.'~.PLANETdisposal ups). . .•. i ~ fblIThankfull~mostofourgadgetslike~eras,smanpho~es. ,. , 'tit.ill
and laptops comewith rechargeable batteries, I'Oreverything . . _ .else like flashlights, remote controls and toys, use rechargeablebatteries. These can be recharged up to a lOCMJtunes and area much cheaper and eco-friendly alternative. Here, you canconsider the USBCell's AARechargeableBattery ~~500)orViotek AA Rechargeable Battery (U,950 for a parr).Boththese models can be recharged by plugging directly into theUSB port of your computer. .
Alternatively,you couldbuy rechargeable batteries -alongwith a plug-point charger from brands such as: Eveready,Panasonic Eneloop, andSony with prices starting as lowast550for fourAA batteries.
,E:) UGHTS.' .ompact Fluorescent Lights or cn.s ~ last'<_ up (0 five limes longer thar:t tradlt!Onal ~-,_';: .incandescent bulbs.and a 15WCFL ~also ~pable
of giV.ingY.Ou th..e ~me amount of Ulum._mat.ion . ~ ..•••...•j If..as 3 traditional 60W light bulb. but CfLs also '... f 'Jcontain toxic mercury in small amoums. . _ j
On the other hand. LEDs last six times longerthan even CFLs; they give you the same kmd of ,illumination in Just 6 - 7W,and also do not u..s:e any jJ .~
toxicchemicalsilltheir makeup.Cleany, l(sa WID-WID ,i ..solUlion fOl'LED lighls over CFLs and incandescent ~
bul~~t onlvwill L£Ds reduce yourelectric bills.they're ~also safer to dispose of. Youcan expect to pick up LED Ibulbs fmm brands such as Eveready. ~yska,Phlli~ and ID-Lite for as low as n50 a piece. SerIously:there s no real Iexcuse not to sh ill to LEOsall-eody:
-;>~~;~~;;~~~~~i~;-S'~'~~~=ore you'veleft home? l1? your little kids n~ you to.keep~.. the lights on till they fall asleep? If yes, yOllmight want to .consl~erprogrammable tuner SWItchesthat can be used to switch appliances ON and OFF at pre-specifiedtnnes. _ .
Here you can consider brands such as Blackt Electrotech,OzoneSystem andWalnutInnovations,with prices starting at t9Q0. AP. of these programmable switches support ~e ~dian standard of powersupplY(AC 22O-240V)and a load capacity of up to 10c()W.They also come wlth liON, and 17?~ mer:norySIk"lCes. allowingyou to plilgram them precL.;;elyto your needs so you never ever wasteelectriCItyagam.
, MANAGEMENT< xchange offers for your old devices is one ofI"_the many ways you can dispose of electronic~qllipml'nt.·But many of us are still left withunused appliances that have no exchange.value,Dumping these appliances and gadgets directlyin the tra:->hbin is hazardous tothe environment.Harmful chemicals from electronics huried inthe landfills could :->t.-epinto ..and poison -watersystem~. Be,ddl's. incinenlliol1 by ~nq~alifiede-waste dispns('r~ rould rf'leClsetOXll1S mto theair. The J.!oodllt'W.';is thaI vou e3n nowdi.sposeuf or recycle.'l{'dronlc "Qulpment respunslbly..
".. :\10&ronslIDlerelectronicsbrands such <l.SLG, >- Alternativel),:youcan approach e·was~er:cy-Microsoft.Panasonic, Philips,Samsung,Sony '.J::; , clersE-Parisaraa(',I.'w\\·.e"'~·,a._,teU1dla_(()m)
_%"-' __ -" =1.... . _~'.'.'...'..and. Attero (v,"'l),"N,artero.m!.The formerfor old appliances. where they are then dis- -- . 15a governI?ent.authonzed e·wa~teposed of byfollowing proper s1).Stainabil· fjrecyc1er. whic_haccepts~elecom,eqwp-. ractices Youcan refer to the com· • • ment, wasbmg machines, toner car-:~"s e.wa~te programme from the _ tridges, wires a.nd.cables, C_FLproduct manual (look for the garbage . . .. " tubes, dry celis, lithium battenes,bin logo with the cross on it). Or, look .,,:',1~fJf:~:;!-.Yetc.Attero, ?n,the other harn:l buysfor details in the ·Sustainability' or 'Cor- ·;::;ti¬ ."WusedelectromcItems~ uses l~Own
rate Social Responsibility' sections of .. e-\\'o.stf:>management S)stem toe~tract~e companywebsite. pure .metalsand rare eart~s frome-wa:;temNote: These are not "buy back" schemes. an eco-fnendlyand cost-e1Iectl~emanner.These
services are more suited-for housing societies,offices and educational institutions wherebulk elect-onic and electrical wast~is discardedroutinel~>- Youcan consider selling gadgets·like laptops,phones. televisions,washing machinesand moreto companies like Budli (w...........'.budlt.Ul), ~e.Globe (w\\'W.reglobe.in), Ynew (yneVi.ln),SahiValue (www.sahivaiue.com)and KarmaRecycling (www.r.;3rmarec\'.ding-.in).Thf! pro-cessusually invo\'.'cs yougettlllg;Jnappn)Xlm;llf.· ,\buyback price and the option to request a pick Iup. Ifs that simple. / ..
".-,".~-~ ~~.----- - . '~r-:i;:E' "'lll"r l'........ -..-..-·--'lyH...--..ft·rtty·;·-V J-----.--l 'L- '0-)- -Hr-- ..--' ·..-..·- ·--..---·--------- ·-.. ,-c-cc
eM offers little for power sector-r--- ~ ~ __~ __~~~ __----~~~~~ ___
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BENGALURU,DHNS:There isnothing much for the powersector in the budget. The addition of power in the currentfiscal (2015-16) mentioned in the budget is stillon paper as the third unit ofthe Ballari Thermal PowerStation (BTPS)and the firstunit of the Yermarus Thermal Power Station (YTPS)are yet to be functional. It isunlikely they will be commissioned by the end of thismOl'lth.The projects that havebeen
announced in the'budget likethe 320-MWgas-basedpowerplant at YelahankainBengaluruaJ.1dthe1,23Q;.MWGulbargaThermal Power Station, 200-MWsolarpowerplantthroughKPCL and the 2,OOO-MWPavagad solar park are not reallynew.There isalreadyworkinprogressin all these projects.The government has en
tered into an agreement withthe publicsector majorBharatHeavy Electrical Limited
Easeof businessInan effort to ensure ease ofdoingbusinessand improvetransparency insubmissionofapplicationswith regard topowersanction,power evacuation,open access,clearancebyelectricalinspectorate and approvalforpowerprojects,the processwill bemade online,he said.''The necessaryweb-basedmoduleswill be developedanddeployedshortly,"Siddaramaiahsaid.The budget promisedto provideinfrastructure for 50,000irrigationpumpsets and carry out the third phase of feederbifurcationschemeunder the programme Nirantara Jyothi.Under this, feeder linesofthe domesticand agriculturewillbe separated to provide.uninterrupted POWf'l' try houseeolds.Siddaramaiahannounced to establish77 sub-stationsthrough KarnatakaPowerTransmissionCorporationLimited (KPTCL).This will helpmeet the demand-supplygap.
(BHEL)fQi'thecmbarga 1ihermal project. "Weare considering whether to take it upthrough the Kamataka PowerCorporation Limited orthrough competitivebidding,"P Ravikumar,additional chiefsecretary of the department,toldDeccanHerald.Similarly,the renewable en
ergyprojectat Pavagadand the
200-MW sol'arplant throughKPCLwere announced mucheallier, So was the case withthe 1,200-MW solar powerplants in 60 backward talliks.A total of 1,850MWof the
2,483.85-MWthat Siddaramaiah saidwouldbe added bytheend ofthis month isstillon paper as the super-critical thirdunit of BTPS (700 MW) and
YTPSfirst unit (800 MW) andrenewable energy of 350 MWare yet to become available.This means only 633.85 MWhavebeen added(268MWpurchased fromDamodar Corporation Valley and 365,85 renewable energy which couldvary as it depends on weatherconditions).Siddaramaiah promised to
add 2,655.40 MW more, including 800 MW from YTPSscco:ldunit, 705,40M\\' fromcentral generating starions.which is basicallypower pur·chased from generators likeDVS and 1,150MW from fenewableenergy sources.AtotaloutlayofRs12,632C:-~'fewasannounctd for the Erc-e;:-.department. Of this. R, 3 c.,--.~)crore is for powerSll~ld-. nusmeans, onl\' Rs 4.032 J.-.re ISleftforcoveringnon....--:'lp!talexpenditure.that is salanesforthestaffand the newworks."Wewill hardly be leftwith
any money for new projects."an officialsaid.
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~i~Power pangs and'Rahukala'SPE~lAL CORRESI'ONDE:<T
BENGALURU
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's budget speech
was interrupted twice owing to power disruptions. Itprompted a House officialto shine a cellphone torchso that he could continue toread. However, the powerwas back in a few seconds.It also evoked varied re
actions from members ofthe House. In the first instance, power was restoredalmost instantly, but thesecond time, the backupgenerator responded a fewseconds late, making a partof his speech inaudible.
BJP leaders lost no timein chiding an agnostic Siddaramaiah for choosing an'inauspicious' time (Rahukala) to present the budget.Y.SY. Datta of the JD(S),however, appreciated theChief Minister for 'not confining himself to religiousbeliefs'.
InquiryEnergyMinister D.K.Shi
vakumar ordered suspension of engineers in chargeof power supply to the Vidhana Soudha. An inquiry ison to find out why there wasa blackout as theSoudha has twopress power lines.
,655 MW to be added1\-.~i..t.-~)~to grid in 2016-17 /8.S. SA:IISI1 KU,\I,IRBENGALURU
1~,1heState Budget envisages addition of 2,655MWto the power grid in 2016-17as part of plans to tide overpower shortage,This includes 800 MW
frr.m Yeramarus unit-Z, 705MW from the Central generating stations and 1,150MW from renewable energysources. The budget alsomade it clear that work onHie gas-based power plantat Yelahanka will start in2016-17and bids for settingup 1,320-MWthermal powerplant in Kalaburagi will beinvited soon. Laying em-
600 MWto beavailable byMarch 2017 fromthe proposed solarpark at Pavagada
phasis on renewable energy,Chief Minister Siddaramaiahannounced the plans of Karnataka Power CorporationLtd. to set up a 200-MWsolar power plant. This is inaddition to plans to establish1,200 MW of solar powerplant in 60 backward taluks.
It also indicated that 600MW of power will be available by March 2017from the2,OOO-MWsolar energy park
that would come up at Pavagada in Tumakuru district.As part of measures to im
prove ease of doing busines:and ensure transparency, ihas been decided to makeprovision for online applications for getting new poweiconnection, transmissionand clearance for generatiorprojects etc.
Interestingly, the totaoutlay for the sector has reduced by Rs:246 crore.Meanwhile, plans have
been announced to instalrooftop solar plants withtotal capacity of 150MW:orthe buildings of thetaka State Warehousiporation.
'."o'Jst<C ',~ 19,' 7(b',f,1~ - g1111 of energy sector's~ 2,632cr VIiII go for subs,dy
, DC CORRESPONDENT, BENGALURU, MARCH 18
Though the Energy D'lillottedover n2 632 epartment has beentowards providi • crore, mo~t.of it has gonegone up to ~8600n;J~::{,SUbSIdIes,which hasBut the ISyear.
: ~ting up ~fve!n:~n\has dannouncedthe set.Yelahanka . ase power plant at
- Gulb • establIshment of a 1320 MW- Plant~ga Power Plant and a 200MW solar'.:t plans to add 2655MWt
~j..tion in the state, with the °d~tPow~r producfrom Yeramarus Unit IT 7a 1 IOn01 800MW
j' Generating Stations and l~~oMMWWfrfomCentral-. able sources.', rom renew-
The state governm t hMW,SOlarplants in 60enbkOpesto set .~,,~P),200. ac WMdtruUk;pt
Ministers Umashree Dr G Parthe Budget session • . ameshwar and O.K.Shivakumar during
-KPN
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