UAE to store crude oil in Mangaluru petroleum reserve

February 11, 2016

New Delhi, Feb 11: The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) will store crude oil in India’s 1.5 million tonnes-Mangalore strategic petroleum reserve using it as a wholesale storage capacity and sell to the Indian refiners whenever needed, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said after a meeting with visiting energy minister Suhail Mohammed Al Mazrouei.

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India also informed Al Mazrouei that state-run companies ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL) and Oil India Ltd were interested in taking stakes in oil fields that are under production and in securing hydrocarbon exploration permits in the Persian Gulf country.

An oil ministry statement quoted Pradhan as saying Indian companies were also interested in acquiring a stake in Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Petroleum Operations Ltd. (ADCO), another company held by the UAE through ADNOC. Pradhan also offered New Delhi’s idea of a strategic reserve is primarily to tide over any possible supply disruption due to geopolitical reasons, rather than to build up an inventory of cheap oil, officials privy to the development explained.

Pradhan said that ADNOC was working with the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Ltd (ISPRL) which is building the strategic reserve in Mangalore. “The project is on track and will be concluded soon,” the statement said quoting Pradhan.

ISPRL is also building two other reserves at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and at Padur in Karnataka. The three facilities have a total storage capacity of 5 million tonnes of crude, which could meet a few days’ requirement. India imported 189 million tonnes of crude in 2014-15, about 80% of its total requirement. ADNOC will store about half of the capacity in the Mangalore reserve.

Former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal described the development as a significant breakthrough. “We have been talking to the UAE on this matter for a number of years. It is only after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit (in August) that various aspects of the relationship (including the strategic oil reserve) have begun to move forward. It should be seen as a foreign policy success,” said Sibal.

Pradhan also sought investments from the UAE on the ongoing state-run projects in India such as ONGC Petro Additions Ltd’s petrochemical project at Dahej in Gujarat, and HPCL’s refinery-cum-petrochemical plant in Andhra Pradesh.

The UAE is expected to invest in the newly created National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) aimed at increasing infrastructure financing in the country. Discussions on a pact were concluded after India agreed to have a UAE representative on the board of NIIF, a government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

In December, the Indian government announced steps to set up NIIF. The government budgeted a contribution of Rs.20,000 crore for the fund in fiscal year 2015-16 while another Rs.20,000 crore is expected to be raised from sovereign wealth funds. It is unclear, at the moment how much the UAE proposes to invest in NIIF.

Finance ministry officials had earlier indicated that the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Russian Direct Investment Fund, Singapore’s Government Investment Corporation and Temasek have expressed interest in investing in NIIF. The ministry is currently in search of a chief executive officer, a post for which more than 70 executives from the private sector have applied. A final selection is expected by March end.

The investment pact with the UAE, one among about a dozen, is to be signed during the visit of General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the armed forces of the UAE, who began his three-day visit to India on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a visit to the UAE in August—the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 34 years— had urged the host nation to invest in India’s infrastructure sector, pointing out that Asia’s third largest economy has the potential to absorb as much as $1 trillion in investments in the sector.

At a briefing on Wednesday, Anil Wadhwa, secretary, East, in the foreign ministry, noted that the UAE has emerged as one of the top sources of foreign direct investment in India since 2000, with cumulative investments of $3.3 billion besides some $5 billion in portfolio investments.

The UAE controls the second largest sovereign wealth fund in the world—around $800 billion—under the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. “This is an important source of investment for the Indian infrastructure sector,” Wadhwa told reporters.

“During the visit of the Prime Minister, it was also decided to encourage investment institutions in the UAE to raise investments for the infrastructure sector in India with the target of reaching $75 billion. So the UAE has been invited to participate in the NIIF in India,” he said.

According to Indian and UAE diplomats, the two countries are expected to amplify on a joint statement issued during Modi’s visit that referred to security and strategic issues among other subjects.

In the August joint statement in which both countries had noted the upgrading of ties to a “comprehensive strategic partnership,” India and the UAE agreed to regularize a dialogue between their national security advisors, strengthen maritime security in the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean region, and reinforce defence ties through regular exercises of naval, air, land and special forces.

They also agreed to “coordinate efforts to counter radicalization and misuse of religion by groups” besides denouncing terrorism. New areas of cooperation identified included defence production, strategic partnership in security and counterterrorism, cooperation in civil nuclear energy and space besides energy, Wadhwa said.

The UAE has plans to send a mission to Mars by 2020, Wadhwa said, adding that India is looking at offering help in launching the mission, given its own capabilities in the area. India launched its own successful Mars Orbiter Mission in 2014. In the area of defence production, India would be looking at exports of hardware produced in India to the investing partner country as well as third countries, Wadhwa said.

Comments

chaithresh
 - 
Saturday, 13 Feb 2016

Our namo narenda modi s doing something good for the development of India...we being Indians shouldn't blame him..we should support him.. no one hs thr capacity or dare like our PM has.. .please always think n thn write...guys. name.. I support narenda modi..Jai hind

Anupama
 - 
Friday, 12 Feb 2016

Modi is a gold/oil digger. In the name of development he is polluting a beautiful city. Lobbying against farmers who provide food for the country due to his selfish motives.

Syed Kazi
 - 
Thursday, 11 Feb 2016

Why cant they store their wealth, money, gold and dollars in our storage tanks and give 2/3 free to us as RENT.....

rikaz
 - 
Thursday, 11 Feb 2016

UAE has been so generous to Indians.....

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News Network
April 13,2020

Mangaluru, Apr 13: Struck by the boredom of lockdown imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus, a 17-year old was caught on Sunday trying to sneak his friend out of his apartment complex by stuffing him inside a suitcase, police said.

"A minor, aged 17-years-old, a resident of Orchid Apartment, Balmatta invited his friend, a resident of Motisham Apartment, Pandeshwar to stay with him on April 11, Saturday," said PS Harsha, the Commissioner of Police, Mangaluru.

The friend wanted to return back to his apartment in Pandeshwar the next day but due to strict security put in place, he got inside a large trolley suitcase. Security guards at the apartment, however, got suspicious when they noticed the wobbling of the suitcase that was being wheeled to the gate.

Based on the suspicions, security personnel alerted the residents of the building and opened the suitcase from which they were shocked to find the boy's friend stepping out. Police were later called in.

A case has been registered against the two minors at the East Police station, police said adding that the duo will be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board.

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August 4,2020

Mangaluru, Aug 4: The Karnataka Beary Sahitya Academy has announced the names of the winners of its annual honorary awards (Gaurava Prashasti and Gaurava Puraskara) for the years 2019 and 2020.

Rahim Uchil, the president of the Academy announced the names at a press conference in the city today. Beary Academy registrar Poornima and member Shamsheer Budoli were also present in the press meet. 

Gaurava Prasasthi-2020 winners are: Basheer Ahmed Kinya (Beary literature), Veena Mangaluru (Beary cinema, drama and art) and Siddique Manjeshwara (Beary organisation and social service) 

Gaurava Puraskara-2020 winners are: Dr Mohammed Ismail (medicine), T A Mohammed Asif (education), Iliyas Mangaluru (social service), Abdul Rasheed aka Rash Beary (Beary organisation) and Safwan Shah Bahrain (young talent). 

Gaurava Prashasti-2019 winners are: Abdul Rehman Kutthethur (Beary literature), Ismail Tannirbhavi (Beary art) and M Ahmed Bava Moidin (Beary organisation and social service).

Gaurava Puraskara-2019 winners are: Abdul Razzak Ananthady (Beary education), T S Hussain (Beary literature), Abdul Majeed Suralpady (General), Asif Karnad (social service) and Ali Kunhi Paare (Beary organisation). 

The Academy’s "Gaurava Prashasti consists of Rs 50,000 cash prize, shawl, garland and citation, while "Gaurava Puraskara" consists of Rs 10,000 cash prize, shawl, garland and citation.

Mr Uchil said that the awards will be conferred in a formal function after discussing the dates with chief minister once the covid-19 situation comes under control. Even though the winners for the year 2018 were announced, they weren’t conferred on the achievers. Hence those awards also will be conferred in the same ceremony, he said.

About the winners:

Basheer Ahmed Kinya: He has been involved with the Beary music sector since the last 21 years in the form of singer, and poet. He has provided lyrics for over 150 Beary audio cassettes and also sang them. His first audio cassette, Maskattoru Kallas' had created a record by getting sold out within four to five days. He has also created several non-stop cassettes and Duf songs. 
 
Veena Mangaluru: She has acted in the first Beary cinema. She has acted in over a thousand plays in different languages. 'Mami Marmolu', Kurfat Katte/Amadakaro Chiri, and Shamimarabal are some of the plays she has acted in. 
 
Siddique Manjeshwar: A social worker and activist. Through social media, he led a blood donation campaign and thereby helped thousands of people.  There are over 10,000 members in his 54 WhatsApp groups who are ready for blood donation. His ‘Blood Donate Mangaluru’ drive has been able to collect over 26,000 units of blood and conducting over 250 blood donation camps so far. He was honoured with a special award of the chief minister of Kerala. 

Dr Muhammed Ismail: Dr Muhammed Ismail completed his medical education in 1989 and has been serving different hospitals since the last 30 years being a highly respected doctor. He also is an honorary medical officer of the Wenlock Hospital Mangaluru. He has served as an office-bearer of Indian Medical Association, Karnataka Medico-legal Society etc.
 
T A Mohammed Asif: He has been providing education to over 360 students from LKG to the eighth standard through Adarsh Group of educational institutions. He is also active in the social sector and has distributed school bags and books to poor students. During the lockdown, he distributed free food items worth about Rs 10 lac.
 
Ilyas Mangaluru: He had fought against the menace of dowry. He has got over 500 girls married through an organization, 'Dowry Free Nikah'. He has also created an app, Free Nikah, which helps boys and girls to find suitable matches. 
 
Rash Beary: Abdul Rasheed aka Rash Beary is known for using social media to help the people. By establishing 'Beary Nikah Helpline' he has helped several poor Beary women to get married. He also provides free counselling services to couples from all religions. With the help of donors, he keeps distributing clothes and food among needy.

Safwan Shah Bahrain: A well-known Beary singer, he has sung several songs in past one decade. He has been organizing various Beary programmes in Bahrain for past eight years. He had undertaken the adventure of jumping from the air from a height of 13,000 feet with the Indian flag in hand. 

Abdul Razack Ananantady: A PU college lecturer by profession, he has conducted over 500 pre-exam training camps and functioned as a resource person in leadership and personality development training. He has been conducting training and lectures for students and their parents on learning nutrition, and life values. His addresses on education and cultural aspects have been aired by Akashvani.

Abdul Rahiman Kuthethur: He was the co-editor or Beary Kannada - English dictionary and editor of the first-ever Beary grammar book released in 2019. He also is a member of the experts' committee on the Beary language textbook. He has translated Panchatantra stories, Sarvajna Vachanas etc into Beary language and published collection of poems.

Ismail Tannirbavi: He is known as a Beary theatre personality, who started acting at the age of 17. He has acted in over 300 plays including Beary, Tulu and Kannada. He has been in the theatre since the last 55 year and his plays have been presented in countries like Muscat and Kuwait. 
 
Ahmed Bawa Moidin: A social worker and member of the Beary Study chair. He also is the life member of Beary Sahitya Parishad and member of Human Ethical Committee of Mangalore University. He was the founder vice president of Mangalore Merchant Associate and member of divisional railway users consultative/committee. He has donated blood 53 times. 

 T S Hussain: Hussain is a veteran Beary writer who has defied blindness. He faced many difficulties and challenges in life and also met with an accident in 2008. Because of this accident, his eyesight had become very weak. He continued with the creation of works with determination in spite of failing eyesight with help from friends. He has authored two works and was appreciated for their content. Thereafter, he authored two more works. In 2018, he wrote another work.
 
Abdul Majeed Suralpady: A social worker and activist, he has served in various organizations. He served as the president of Suralpady government higher primary school for 21 years. He also served as the president of the educational committee of South Karnataka Sunni Centre's Al Ihsan English Medium School and got government recognition for the school. He set up PU college for girls and laid two-way road at Kaikamba besides bus shelter, toilet, drinking water system and building for police check post.
 
Apatbandhava Asif Karnad: He has been serving as an ambulance driver for the last ten years. He readily carries dead bodies and performs funeral. and done so for over a thousand bodies so far. Whenever he comes across mentally unsound people on the road, he gives them a wash and admits them to Ashrams. He has also been maintaining Maimoon Foundation Apatbhandhava Sycho Rehabilitation Centre.
 
Alikunhi Pare: He is the founder president of 'Melthene', a forum of Beary writers and artists. He has also served social, literary, organizational and religious sectors. He has been identified with several organizations including Mangaluru taluk Yuvajana Okkota and Dakshina Kannada and Udupi Muslim Central Committee.

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News Network
June 5,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 5: The much awaited Southwest Monsoon entered Karnataka with widespread rain in coastal and central regions of the southern state, an official said on Friday. Rain and thundershowers are likely to occur at most places over coastal areas and at a few places over the interior parts over the next 24-48 hours.

"The southwest monsoon entered the state on Thursday as predicted from Kerala and the Arabian Sea, with moderate to heavy rainfall in the coastal districts and central or Malnad region of the state," Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre Director Srinivas Reddy told media here.

Though the monsoon has set in on time in the state, Reddy said its progress was likely to be slow in the next three days, as cyclone Nisarga induced high-speed winds took away rain-bearing clouds from the southern peninsula.

According to the regional meteorological office, Karwar in Uttar Kannada district received a whopping 15cm rainfall on Thursday, followed by 11cm each at Kundapur in Udupi district and Shivamogga in Malnad region.

Kadra and Gersoppa in Uttara Kannada and Kottigehara in Chikkamagaluru district had 10cm rainfall, followed by 8cm at Virajpet in Kodagu district and 7cm each at Shirali and Gokarana in Uttara Kannda.

Isolated to scattered rainfall also occurred in many places across the north and south interior regions of the state.

"The monsoon will advance in the state to south and north interior areas after June 8 as there is lull in its movement due to lack of rain-bearing clouds and winds to carry them," said Reddy.

Noting that the four-month monsoon from June to September, crucial to the rain-dependent state would be normal this year, Reddy said its progress and spread, however, would depend on various factors like cloud formations and wind movements.

"Conditions are likely to become favourable for monsoon advancement in the state over the next 2-3 days," asserted Reddy.

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