India goes Solar..........

Over 150 companies have evinced interest in developing large solar photovoltaic projects of up to 20 MW. These include Reliance (Anil Ambani Group), Lanco, Moser Baer and the Tatas. 

Also in the race are public sector companies GAIL (India) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.

Official sources told Business Line that the request for selection (RFS) were received for 218 solar PV projects for over 2,500 MW capacity, much higher than the capacity offered – 350 MW.

The RFS were invited by the Government as part of the second batch of Phase-1 of the National Solar Mission. The last date for submission was October 3.

NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN), the trading arm of NTPC, has been designated as the nodal agency for sale and purchase of grid-connected solar power under Phase-1 of the Mission. NVVN expects to call for discount bids from the shortlisted entities by November.

What made this phase attractive was that besides the incentives being offered by the Government, the Ministry for New and Renewable Energy revised the guidelines for new grid-connected solar PV projects and increased the per unit capacity into multiples of 5 MW with the maximum of 20 MW for FY 2011-12.

In the earlier round, where projects with a cumulative capacity of 150 MW were approved, the maximum capacity stood at 5 MW for each unit.

Further, for the second batch of the Mission, the Government has increased the timeline to achieve financial closure by a month to seven months or 210 days for the bidders from the time of signing the power purchase agreements.

Also, the total capacity of such projects to be allocated to a company, including its parent, affiliate or ultimate parent or any Group company shall be limited to 50 MW. They can submit applications for a maximum of three projects at different locations, subject to a maximum aggregate capacity of 50 MW.

The net worth of the company should be equal to or greater than the value calculated at the rate of Rs 3 crore of the project capacity up to 20 MW. For every MW additional capacity, beyond 20 MW, additional net worth of Rs 2 crore would need to be demonstrated.

The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission envisages the implementation of the solar programme including utility grid solar power in three phases – first phase up to 2013 (1,100 MW), second phase up to 2017 (4,000 MW), and third phase up to 2022 (20,000 MW). 

From the hindu bussinessline dated 16/10/2011

India to have one more satellite launch site

From the Hindu (Archieves)

Amid requests from various countries for launch of their satellites, India has decided to set up one more launch site to expand its capacity in this aspect.

At a meeting held by the Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary T.K.A. Nair here to review performance of the Department of Space, it was decided that a feasibility study would be conducted for a new site, sources said.

The decision to find a new site was taken after the meeting was told that ISRO has only two satellite launch pads, both of which are affected during the cyclone season, the sources said.

The two launch pads are located at Sriharikota High Altitude Range (SHAR).

During recent years, there have been requests from a number of countries for launching their satellites in India.

The meeting was also informed that despite successful launch of GSAT-8 and GSAT-12 satellites, there is shortage of transponders primarily due to DTH and communication requirements.

It was decided that steps should be taken to meet the gap within two years, the sources said.

At present, Department of Space is leasing transponders and using foreign launch vehicles to meet the needs.

The sources said thrust is being given by the PMO on these spheres as part of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s desire to see boost in scientific innovation in the current decade.

Pursuant to Prime Minister’s keenness, government has decided to push contribution of private sector in scientific research and development from the current 20 per cent to 50 per cent and undertake a number of other crucial steps.

The meeting felt that investments in research and development in the country is “highly skewed” as 80 per cent of contribution comes only from the public sector.

It was noted that in advanced and emerging economies, private sector plays a dominant role in R&D and encourages innovation, the sources said.

Accordingly, it was decided that secretaries concerned would jointly prepare a proposal on private sector investment in R&D by the end of next month, they said.

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What Makes a Great Engineering Manager?

Design News special

Ask any group of individual contributors what they think about the skills, or lack thereof, of engineering managers, and you're liable to get an earful. We turned the question from problem-oriented to solution-focused and asked the denizens of the Systems & Product Design Engineer group on LinkedIn to tell us how they define great technical leaders.

Bill Devenish, a Design News guest blogger and president of The Devenish Group, says: "I have noticed that great engineering leaders are those people who can provide a clear and concise vision. They can read between the lines, take seemingly contradictory requirements, and communicate an objective that everyone understands."
As our imaginary group of jawboning engineers would tell you, technical ability doesn't necessarily confer the skills to oversee people. Bill Losapio, a mechanical engineer in Florida, distinguishes between a good manager and great leader. He says Steve Jobs and Richard Branson qualify as great corporate leaders. However, perhaps counter-intuitively, he believes greatness in an engineering manager is tougher to define. Soft skills are a big part of the latter's charter, he believes, including "less tangible concerns such as ensuring the competence of his department, disseminating knowledge, and stroking feathers that get out of joint."
Chuck Blevins, a design engineer near Huntsville, Ala., says that the best managers he's worked for were not great engineers in the technical sense. "They were certainly great communicators," he adds. "A technical lead needs communication skills but only to other engineers. Managers have to communicate to the whole organization. Good managers and leaders must show confidence in themselves and their teams -- they cannot be risk averse."
If successful managers are made rather than born, consultant Joe Jenney has some thoughts about how they get that way. "When I started out it was easier," he says. "Young engineers were given significant responsibilities; older engineers took time to mentor them. There were many management positions so that capable people could expect a new post with greater responsibility every couple of years."
Jenney, himself a retired aerospace executive and author of The Manager's Guide for Effective Leadership, notes that such progressive seasoning is no longer widely available. "I contend that today's young must take responsibility for self training to achieve positions they want," he says.

Our own always-thoughtful contributing editor Jon Titus believes that true leadership requires both backbone and restraint. "Leaders must listen carefully, even if the speaker has things to say the leader doesn't agree with," he says. "Leaders give their people the tools to do their jobs properly. They keep an eye on projects, but don't micromanage. Leaders stand up for their people and ensure [they] get proper credit."