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Hundreds of crores spent in 23 years, yet NTPC Tandwa project’s future uncertain

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Hundreds of crores have been spent in the last 23 years on setting up the National Thermal Power Corporation’s (NTPC) power plant at Tandwa in Jharkhand’s Chatra district, but till date no electricity has been generated from it.

Preparations were underway to start power generation from the first unit of the plant this month itself, but it seems unlikely due to a violent clash between the locals, whose properties were acquired for setting up the plant, and the police on March 7.

The agitated locals set ablaze 56 small and big vehicles deployed at the plant and vandalised the offices. A total of 27 people were injured from both sides in the clashes between the police and the agitating displaced people.

After the violent confrontation, the situation in the project and the surrounding areas are tense. The administration has imposed prohibitory orders in six villages affected by the project.

So far, seven people have been arrested in connection with the violence. Also, an FIR has been registered against 100 named and 800 unidentified persons.

Police are conducting flag marches in the areas around the project ever since the incident. However, 60 per cent of the staff are not coming to the office.

In such a situation, it is almost certain that the proposed trial of the first unit of the plant in March would be postponed.

The project, ever since its foundation stone was laid in 1999, has remained in disputes. People, whose properties were acquired for setting up the plant, have been holding protests for the last two decades raising demands such as financial compensation, rehabilitation and jobs.

On March 6, 1999, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had laid its foundation stone and people were hoping that a new chapter of development would begin in the area, which is infamous for Naxalism and backwardness. The target was to make the plant operational by 2002-2003.

Three units of the power plant are being installed here, aiming to produce 1,980 MW of electricity. And it was scheduled that the trial of the first unit, having the capacity of 660 MW, would commence in March 2022.

Equipped with modern technology, for the first time in the country, the thermal power plant is being established using the air-cooled condenser system technology that would bring down the water consumption to just 25 per cent.

With the completion of the project, apart from Jharkhand, electricity would also be supplied to Bihar, Odisha, Bengal and Northeast.

For the project, the land was mainly acquired from six villages and at that time the old law of land acquisition was in force.

Meanwhile, the government made a new law regarding land acquisition, wherein there is a provision that if the project for which the land has been acquired does not get started within five years, then the land will be returned to the farmers.

When the work of the project started after seven years due to delay in land acquisition and several other reasons, disputes erupted over compensation, rehabilitation, jobs to the affected. The work of the project continued to be affected due to dharnas, demonstrations, agitations.

In the last 23 years, there have been more than one hundred confrontations between the NTPC Management, Administration, Police and displaced persons. Also there were numerous incidents of firing, lathi charge and violence.

There were several agreements between NTPC, the administration and the villagers, but the dispute was never fully resolved.

In the meantime, compensation has been paid to most of the ryot or displaced persons. However, the project continued at a slow pace amid the regular interruptions.

About a year and a half ago, the dispute regarding the compensation for the acquired land erupted again. The organisation of the displaced locals started the agitation, saying the compensation received earlier was inadequate.

They intalled tents in front of the main gate of the NTPC project and have been continuously staging a sit-in for the last 14 months.

A senior official at NTPC says that the ryots from whom the land was acquired were given compensation in 2015 itself. “There is no such law that compensation should be given again for the same land. It’s just not possible.”

The agitating farmers have three main demands.

The first is that they should be paid compensation at the rate of Rs 20 lakh per acre and the ryots who have not been paid the compensation should be paid at the new rate along with interest.

The second demand is “each displaced family should be given a uniform rehabilitation package as presently the amount is being given to the people of different areas at different rates”.

Similarly their third demand is “Compensation in lieu of missing raiyati land, Gairmajarua Khas land, and houses, trees, ponds and wells situated on that land; 75 per cent grant to displaced ryots in NTPC-run schemes, and employment for every displaced family in NTPC”.

Business

Explained: EPFO overhauls withdrawal rules to boost transparency, ease access for 30 crore members

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New Delhi, Oct 14: The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has restructured its partial withdrawal regulations, combining 13 distinct clauses into three main categories: Essential Needs, Housing Needs, and Special Circumstances. This change aims to make it easier to access provident fund savings.

For the nearly 30 crore members who collectively own a corpus of about Rs 30 lakh crore, the reform aims to make the withdrawal process quicker, simpler, and more transparent.

The revised framework, referred to as EPFO 3.0, has standardised withdrawal limits.

Depending on the goal, members can now access up to 100 per cent of their eligible provident fund balance, which includes employer and employee contributions. However, at least 25 per cent of the EPF balance needs to stay in the account in order to maintain a safety net for retirement.

This implies that members can keep the required balance while withdrawing up to 75 per cent of their total corpus.

Additionally, the new regulations standardise the requirements for services. In the past, there were specific requirements for each type of withdrawal, such as five years of service for housing purposes and seven years for marriage-related withdrawals.

All partial withdrawals are now subject to a single 12-month minimum service period, which streamlines the procedure and removes any ambiguity.

Members will no longer need to provide documentation of their withdrawals under the “Special Circumstances” category, which is a significant relaxation. In the past, withdrawals under this heading required proof of emergencies, such as natural disasters or job loss.

The new clause, which permits members to leave without giving a reason, is anticipated to reduce red tape and expedite approvals.

The EPFO has also increased the withdrawal limits for marriage and education-related withdrawals. Instead of the previous cap of three combined withdrawals, members can now make up to 10 withdrawals for education and five for marriage.

Stricter guidelines for final settlements are also introduced by the reforms, though. In contrast to the previous two-month eligibility window, members can now only apply for an early final settlement 12 months after quitting their job and for pension withdrawal 36 months later.

In the event of a job loss, the 25 per cent minimum balance requirement only applies to partial withdrawals; it does not apply to full settlements.

While it is anticipated that the simplified framework will increase efficiency and transparency, workers who are laid off or have experienced extended periods of unemployment may find it difficult to obtain their provident fund savings immediately during a time when they may need it most, due to the revised settlement timelines.

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Business

Silver hits record high above $52.50 as safe-haven demand fuel rally

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Mumbai, Oct 14: Silver prices soared to an all-time high above $52.50 an ounce on Tuesday, boosted by a historic short squeeze in London and strong demand for safe-haven assets amid global economic uncertainty.

Spot silver rose as much as 0.4 per cent to $52.58 an ounce in London, breaking the previous record set in January 1980 when the billionaire Hunt brothers tried to corner the market.

Gold prices also climbed to a new record, marking eight consecutive weeks of gains, supported by rising geopolitical tensions and expectations of US interest rate cuts.

The rally in silver comes amid concerns over liquidity in the London market, which has triggered a worldwide rush to secure the metal.

Prices in London are trading at a rare premium compared to New York, prompting traders to fly silver bars across the Atlantic — a costly move usually reserved for gold — to benefit from higher prices.

The premium stood at around $1.55 an ounce on Tuesday, down from $3 last week.

Adding to the squeeze, silver lease rates in London — the cost of borrowing the metal — surged above 30 per cent for one-month contracts last Friday, making it expensive for traders to maintain short positions.

The situation worsened as strong demand from India in recent weeks further reduced available supply, following earlier shipments to New York amid fears of US tariffs.

Experts said the latest surge in both gold and silver reflects heightened market uncertainty.

Gold prices have jumped nearly 60 per cent this year, crossing the $4,100 mark for the first time, supported by geopolitical tensions, rate-cut expectations, and strong buying by central banks and investors.

Key US economic data such as inflation and retail sales are due later this week, but analysts warn that if the government shutdown continues, the release of these reports — including jobs data — could be delayed.

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Business

Indian stock markets open higher amid global trade concerns, Q2 earnings buzz

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Mumbai, Oct 14: Indian stock markets opened higher on Tuesday as investors looked past global uncertainties caused by the ongoing trade tensions between the US and China, while also tracking quarterly earnings from Indian companies.

The Sensex began the day at 82,562, gaining 235 points or 0.29 per cent. Similarly, the Nifty opened at 25,283, up 55 points or 0.22 per cent.

Among the top performers on the Sensex were HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, Infosys, Bharat Electronics, Bajaj Finserv, Ultratech Cement, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Larsen & Toubro, which rose up to 1.3 per cent.

On the other hand, stocks like Eicher Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finance, and Bharti Airtel witnessed early losses.

In the broader market, both the Nifty MidCap and Nifty SmallCap indices were trading in the green, rising 0.37 per cent and 0.38 per cent, respectively.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Metal index led the gains with a 1 per cent rise, supported by positive momentum in metal stocks.

Meanwhile, the Nifty Pharma index was the biggest laggard, slipping 0.37 per cent.

As per the experts, IT stocks, particularly the largecaps, are viewed as overvalued by the market since they are facing many headwinds and some strong structural issues.

“On the other hand PSU stocks have been trading at very low valuations despite decent growth and robust balance sheets. This anomaly in valuations have been corrected by the market. This trend is likely to continue,” market experts said.

‘However, in growth stocks like digital companies and renewable energy, their long-term growth potential will continue to attract investment despite high valuations,” they added.

With Muhurat trading approaching, there is room for a mild rally, according to analysts.

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