"We are in discussion to convert the plant operating on naphtha to gas. Once the (gas) terminal in Kerala is ready next year, then hopefully we will convert our project to gas,"

Ambani told shareholders at the company's 83rd Annual General meeting here today.

The company currently has an operating capacity of 941 mw with 500 mw thermal plant in Dahanu in Maharashtra, 48 mw naphtha-based plant in Goa, 220 mw natural-gas-naphtha-based plant in Samalkot in Andhra Pradesh, 165 mw naphtha-based in Kerala and 7.59 mw wind power project at Jogimatti in Karnataka.

Despite the temporary shutdown of the Airport metro in Delhi last month on safety grounds, Ambani said, "the metro has been completed. We will ensure higher standard of safety on that metro line. On the Mumbai metro front (which met with an accident this evening), we have all the clearances and the work is at an advanced stage of completion. We expect to complete the Mumbai metro in FY13," he said.

A section of the 12-km under-construction overhead metro bridge in suburban Marol collapsed earlier in the day injuring eight people.

On the termination of its contract with Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation for the Worli-Haji Sea Link project, Ambani said, "we have mutually agreed to terminate the agreement. (However), Reliance will have an opportunity to participate with them in this project in time to come."

About roads segment, he said, "out of the 11 projects, we have completed 10, which will start generating revenues in FY13".

He said the company would continue to maintain its leadership across all business verticals like distribution, transmission, roads, metro rail and EPC.

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/reliance-infra-plans-to-convert-kerala-power-plant-to-operate-on-gas/997802/0

Economic Times

5.9.12

Climate threat to world's poor is underestimated: Oxfam

LONDON: Climate change may pose a much more serious threat to the world's poor than existing research has suggested because of spikes in food prices as extreme weather becomes more common, Oxfam said on Wednesday.

More frequent extreme weather events will create shortages, destabilise markets and precipitate price spikes on top of projected structural price rises of about 100 percent for staples such as maize over the next 20 years, the charity said in a report.

Droughts in the U.S. Midwest and Russia this year have helped to propel prices for maize and soybeans to record highs and United Nations food agencies this week said that world leaders must take swift action to ensure that food-price shocks do not turn into a catastrophe that could hurt tens of millions of people.

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization has estimated that the 2007/08 price spike contributed to an 8 percent rise in the number of undernourished people in Africa.

"For vulnerable people, sudden and extreme price hikes can be more devastating than gradual long-term rises to which they may have more chance of adjusting," Oxfam said in a report.

"Though the price spike and coping strategies may be short-term, the impacts are often felt across generations. An increase in malnutrition can cause stunting and reduce developmental potential in young children."

Oxfam added that existing research, which considers the gradual effects of climate change but not extreme weather, significantly underestimates the implications of changing weather patterns.

The charity insisted there is an "urgent need for a full stress test of our fragile and dysfunctional food system" and called for a reversal of decades of underinvestment in small-scale sustainable and resilient agriculture, as well as urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"Climate change could lead to a permanent increase in yield variability and excessive food price volatility, however, which could leave many poor countries with potentially insuperable food security challenges," Oxfam said.