The Supreme Court on Monday sought the Centre's response to a plea challenging the validity of the $8.5 billion Cairn-Vedanta deal and seeking a CBI probe into the reasons for ONGC and government in "not asserting" their legal rights on the issue.A bench of justices D K Jain and Anil R Dave issued notice to the Centre seeking its reply on the PIL which also sought an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) into the various aspects of the deal.It also sought the CAG audit of the government's approvals for acquisition of majority stake of Cairn India by Anil Agarwal's Vedanta Resources on the ground that the offer in this regard should have gone first to the state-owned PSU ONGC.On the PIL, the bench issued notices also to the ONGC, Cairn Energy and Vedanta Resources.Earlier, on March 2, a bench of justices H L Dattu and C K Prasad had recused itself from hearing the plea.The PIL filed by a Bangalore resident Arun Kumar Agarwal stated that the ONGC, in an agreement with Cairn group, had a clause that in case the Cairn Group wanted to sell its shares in Cairn India, it would first offer the same to the ONGC.As per the clause, Cairn could sell its shares to other parties, only after the ONGC refused to buy the stake and the ONGC, thus had the right of first refusal (ROFR), it said.It alleged that the decision on the deal had been made on "extraneous considerations" and without taking into account the relevant aspects.The petition said had the ONGC, which was Cairn India's joint venture partner, been offered its ROFR for Cairn India's shares and had it exercised its right, the exchequer would have benefited by over Rs one lakh crore.Cairn Energy, however, signed a deal with the Vedanta group to sell its shares in Cairns India, without making an offer to the ONGC, the PIL said. Cairn India Ltd, a subsidiary of UK-based Cairns Energy, is the operator of the Rajasthan oil block.It entered into an agreement with UK-based Vedanta Group on June 16, 2010 to sell 51 to 60 percent of its shares in Cairn India, for a consideration of around USD 8.5 billion, without offering the shares to its partner ONGC in the joint venture as per the agreement of right of first refusal, the PIL had stated.Agarwal was also the first complainant in the 2G spectrum scam resulting in the lodging of the FIR.(PTI)
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Things are not going right for Reliance Power's (R-Power) Krishnapatnam project. Coastal Andhra Power (CAPL), R- Power's wholly owned subsidiary, filed an appeal on 3 July in the Delhi High Court challenging the judgment of its single bench which lifted the stay on the notice served by the distribution utilities. The court has deferred its decision till 9 July and the respondents (distribution utilities) will now wait till Monday for the court's verdict on invoking the bank guarantee.R-Power had some interim relief on 4 July after the distribution utilities gave an assurance that they would not insist on invoking the bank guarantee of Rs 300 crore till the matter is pending in the court. "Statement of learned counsel for the respondents is taken on record that the respondents would not insist on the bank which has issued the bank guarantee to remit the payment under the bank guarantee," the bench said in its order.The single-judge bench in its judgment on 2 July lifted the stay on the notice served by 11 power procurers, which enabled them to invoke the bank guarantee submitted by CAPL in case of delay in the development of the project.The issue relates to the 4,000 MW ultra mega power project (UMPP) developed by R-Power in Krishnapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The power produced by the project was scheduled to be supplied to 11 power distribution companies — four in Andhra Pradesh, five in Karnataka and one each in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. R-Power won the bid to develop the Krishnapatnam UMPP in 2007 by quoting a tariff of Rs 2.33 per unit at an investment of Rs 17,500 crore.The power project planned to use coal mined in Indonesia but the Indonesian government's decision to benchmark the price of its coal to international market prices in 2011 affected the power producer's calculations. Since then, R-Power has been maintaining that the project has become unviable for it and unless the procurers agree to raise the tariff, it would not be possible for the company to develop the project. BACKGROUND TO THE DISPUTE It was in 2007 that RPower won the bid to develop the 4,000 MW Krishnapatnam UMPP; it quoted a tariff of Rs 2.33 per unit at an investment of Rs 17,500 crore. The power produced by the project was to be supplied to 11 power distribution companies. However, when there was no progress on the project, the 11 companies threatened to invoke the Rs 300 crore bank guarantee that R-Power had issued to them. There has been no further development in the project, which was based on a debt-equity ratio of 75:25 and though the loans have been sanctioned by the lenders, there has been no disbursal as yet."We have not disbursed any amount to Reliance for the development of their Krishnapatnam UMPP as there has been no work done on the project," says H.D. Khunteta, director (finance), Rural Electrification Corporation.In a related development, R-Power has also filed for arbitration against the 11 procurers before the Indian Council for Arbitration for renegotiating the power purchase agreement (PPA) citing changes in the Indonesian mining regulations and the consequent tariff changes. "This is irrelevant as sections 17 and 58 of the Electricity Act, 2003 do not allow for private arbitration and only CERC (Central Electricity Regulatory Commission) has the power to decide this," informs P. Shiva Rao, legal advisor to the distribution utilities.(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 16-07-2012)
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Power sector engineers and employees have threatened to launch agitation against the privatisation of electricity in seven cities, including the state capital.Convenor of Power Employees Joint Action Committee Shailendra Dubey alleged that industrial development commissioner A K Gupta in a statement has said electricity system in seven cities including Lucknow would be haded over to private companies.He said other cities include Meerut, Bareilly, Varanasi, Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad and Robertsganj.Dubey alleged that there was large scale bungling in Agra, where electricity system was privatised by the previous government and even SP workers protested against it.He alleged that by handing over electricity system in Agra, UP Power Corporation Ltd was incurring a loss of Rs 600 crore per annum."If the decision of privatisation in seven cities is not rolled back then engineers and employees will launch a state-wide agitation," Dubey said, adding that to chalk out the strategy a meeting of the action committee would be held on Wednesday.Meanwhile, BJP said that a debate should be held before taking any decision."Experiences of privatisation of electricity system in the past have not been very good and encouraging, therefore before taking any decision a debate should be held," party spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak said.He alleged that if the government would take any hasty decision it would be considered as an attempt to benefit certain people.Pathak said that previously while going for privatisation interests of the employees were affected."The government should first ensure that power tariff does not increase sharply after privatisation so as problems are faced by the common people. Secondly it should also ensure that interest of the employees are looked into," he said.On the other hand Communist Party of India has termed the privatisation as anti-people and said it would launch an agitation and force government for a roll back.(PTI)
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Hong Kong-based CLP Holdings (formerly known as China Light & Power) chose to come to India at an unexpected time: when power company Enron's failure and collapse was making headlines around the world, and Enron's Dabhol Power Company — which was to be a showcase of foreign direct investment (FDI) in India's infrastructure — turned into a non-starter in 2002. Post-Enron, foreign companies were understandably reluctant to invest in India's power sector. Despite the government's efforts to attract private investment, even Indian companies were apprehensive about investing in power — there were serious uncertainties about the supply of fuel, be it gas, naphtha or coal. CLP Holdings was not deterred by all this, however. It set up CLP India and began its power sector investments with an acquisition, beating Tata Power's bid for Gujarat Paguthan Energy Company (GPEC). It acquired a controlling stake in the 655 MW gas and naphtha-fired power station. The plant was initially a joint venture between Ahmedabad-based Torrent group, the Gujarat government's PowerGen and Siemens. Later, PowerGen bought Torrent's 46.3 per cent stake and went on to acquire Siemens' stake as well. The CLP Group bought all of GPEC from PowerGen for over Rs 1,200 crore in 2003. Since then, CLP India has grown to about 2,700 MW capacity in 10 years with annual revenues of over Rs 2,000 crore. It became the largest overseas investor in India's power sector; it diversified its base, adding close to 500 MW of wind power to its generating capacity, and setting up a 1,320 MW (660x2) coal-based power plant at Jhajjar in Haryana. Illustration By Anthony Lawrence The CLP Group, at $11.5 billion in revenues, is a large player in Asia's energy sector; it supplies almost 80 per cent (6,900 MW) of the Hong Kong population's electricity needs, besides another 24,000 MW in mainland China, Australia, South-east Asia, Taiwan and India. It is also in the transmission and distribution businesses, and its portfolio includes coal, biomass, hydro, wind and even nuclear power-generating assets. But now, like many other companies in the power generation business in India, CLP is staring at a slowdown in its expansion and future growth because of the lack of adequate fuel supply for both its coal-fired and gas-fired plants. The plant load factor (PLF) — a proxy for capacity utilisation — at its Gujarat plant was less than 50 per cent last year. For now, to make up for the shortfall in gas supply, the company is buying from the spot market. "(But) it is not viable to run the plant in the long term on naphtha or imported LNG," says Rajiv Mishra, MD, CLP India. What does that do to the company's growth strategy?Gasping For Gas For starters, the company — an unlisted entity on the Indian stock exchanges — is engaged in a legal dispute with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL), the state distribution company, over pending payment for power purchase. The issue is still before the Supreme Court. After acquiring the Paguthan power plant, CLP India's plan was to expand capacity there by another 1,000 MW. The plans were contingent on the availability of gas from Reliance Industries' (RIL's) KG Basin wells. And there was a big problem. "For the Paguthan combined cycle power plant, CLP India has a long-term fuel supply agreement (FSA) with Reliance Industries for KG-D6 gas," explains Mishra. "It was signed on 24 April 2009 and is valid through 31 March 2013. The total contracted quantity is 1.3 mscmd (million standard cubic metre per day) out of our total gas requirement of 3.1 mscmd." Presently, he says, they get only 0.62 mscmd, that is, just about half of the amount set in the contract and just 20 per cent of what the company needs to keep the plant going. The government has absolute right on allocation of any gas that comes out of the KG basin, says a Reliance Industries official. "If the government reduces the allocation to anybody with whom we have a gas sales and purchase agreement (GSPA), we have no choice but to comply. There is a clause in the GSPA to this effect." CLP India's officials acknowledge that RIL's discovery at the KG Basin fuelled the expansion decision. But yields from KG-D6 have fallen, and like many other power producers who planned projects (about 10,000 MW) banking on natural gas, CLP is having trouble getting replacement supplies. break-page-breakThe result is that after getting all the necessary clearances, CLP India has decided to put expansion on the back burner till adequate gas supply is available. Current supply amounts to 1.6 mscmd. Apart from RIL, Cairn India and Lakshmi GSC will supply 0.16 mscmd (the contract is valid through 2023 subject to gas reserve in the fields). There is another LNG contract with GSPC for 0.4 mscmd till December 2013, and some from GAIL on a reasonable endeavour basis, says Mishra.Going For Coal Initially, CLP India was not serious about coal-fired power projects, even though almost all leading Indian power producers planned to set up coal-fired plants. Also, despite its expertise in managing large power projects in other countries, it did not bid for the four ultra mega power projects that the government has awarded so far in India (Sasan, Tilaiyya, Krishnapatnam and Mundra). CLP INDIA'S PLANTSAlmost half of the company's capacity is coal-based "We were concerned about the huge risks of running such large plants of 4,000 MW capacity," says Mishra. Instead, the company decided to set up a super critical 1,320 MW (2x660 MW) coal-fired thermal power plant at Jhajjar in Haryana. Power purchase agreements for 85 per cent of its generating capacity are contracted to Haryana distribution companies or discoms. The remaining was to be sold outside the state to Tata Power. Here, too, it has hit a wall. Coal supplies were contracted through FSAs with Coal India. The first 660 MW unit was commissioned in March this year; though the company has commissioned the second unit as well, it has not received any assurance from Coal India on fuel supplies. CLP has invested Rs 6,000 crore in the plant, which has been financed by a consortium of foreign banks, including Rs 1,700 crore as equity. "We hope the coal supply issue gets resolved soon and we get supplies from Coal India," says Mishra. CLP will consider bidding for pit-head ultra mega power projects in the future, he says.With gas and coal projects in limbo, there is one place that CLP India can claim success — wind power generation. It is currently the largest wind energy player, managing 481.8 MW spread over Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Karnataka. The company has wind power projects for another 257.6 MW under construction. The Answer Is Blowing In The WindIt is not surprising that CLP India is betting big on wind energy. After all, of CLP's $11 .5 billion in global revenues, over 18 per cent comes from wind energy. "We will have over 740 MW of wind (capacity) in place by 2013 and plan to add 200-300 MW every year," says Mishra.CLP will invest close to Rs 4,000 crore in wind energy projects (Rs 1,400 crore of that in equity). It is also considering solar energy; it has set up a pilot 10 MW plant in Rajasthan. The parent company recently commissioned a large 55 MW solar project in Thailand, one of the largest solar projects in the world at a single location. Yet, CLP India did not bid for solar projects in the country two years ago, when the government was allocating solar energy projects, as it is a new business model in the country. "We will have over 740 MW of wind (capacity) in place by 2013"Rajiv Mishra Managing director, CLP India(BW Pic By Subhabrata Das) The renewable energy initiatives are part of the group's strategy to reduce its carbon footprint, and to increase the share of non-carbon emitting power projects to 30 per cent by 2020. Mishra believes that continuing investments are poised to give big returns in the future.But large projects also need large amounts of capital. "It is possible that our Indian business may at some stage make demands on CLP Holdings' capital on a scale beyond what we are prepared to fund ourselves," says Andrew Brandler, CEO of CLP Holdings in the company's 2011 annual report. "Our response might involve recourse to joint ventures at the project level, in order to ease our capital commitments. In due course we will consider a local listing." So despite the risks and problems, is CLP here to stay? CLP's founders, a Jewish family from Baghdad called Kadoorie, had stayed in Mumbai (then Bombay) for a few years in the late 1850s. Though they did not have any business interests in Mumbai, they supported the launch of a school in South Mumbai. The Kadoories were also close friends of the Sassoons, another prominent Jewish family in Mumbai. They moved to another British colony, Hong Kong, and started CLP. The family is still the largest shareholder in the company (30 per cent). So in a small way, this may seem like a homecoming. p(dot)jayakumar(at)abp(dot)in(This story was published in Businessworld Issue Dated 16-07-2012)
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As the country battles coal shortage, the Prime Minister's Office on July 6 sought to give a push to its production by directing the environment ministry to grant clearances to 12 projects which would lead to an additional output of 10 million tonnes per year.The PMO took stock of the coal production at a meeting attended by representatives of the ministries of coal, power and environment and forest besides the officials of the Coal India Limited (CIL).The meeting specifically reviewed the status of 12 projects of the CIL which are proposed to increase production by 25 per cent.At the meeting, it was decided that these projects should be given clearances by the Environment Ministry within 3-4 months, sources told PTI.These are expected to yield additional 10 million tonnes of coal every year.The progress in the matter will be monitored on a monthly basis by the PMO, the sources said.The push comes at a time when the demand and supply gap of coal is expected to touch 200 million tonnes by 2016-17 after crossing the 161.5 million tonnes mark last fiscal. This has severely affected the power sector.Around 168 projects of CIL are awaiting clearances from the environment ministry, hurting the prospect of 200 million tonne production of coal per year.Earlier, the environment ministry had assured the coal ministry that necessary changes in the existing regulations regarding public hearing would be made.Public hearing for environment clearance involves a meeting of all stakeholders, including villagers of the area to be affected, the district administration, the company and the government representatives to ensure minimum damage from the project.However, no relaxation has been granted in this by the environment ministry, the sources said.(PTI)
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Amid increasing sparring between China and its neighbours over disputed oil blocks in the South China Sea, India today said the region was key to its energy security and the conflict must be resolved peacefully as per international laws.Expressing concern over the escalating tension in the area, India's Ambassador to Vietnam Ranjit Rae said half of India's export and import go through the South China Sea and India considers itself as an integral part of the archipelagos and its development."The dispute should be resolved as per international laws.The South China Sea is very important and there should be safety and security of the international ships so that import and export are not affected," he said here.China has been opposing resolution of the dispute under international laws and insisting on resolving the issue through bilateral talks with respective countries.Fresh tension engulfed the region after China deployed four surveillance naval ships to patrol the South China Sea in a bid to assert its sovereignty over a host islands which were also claimed by a number of states including Vietnam and Philippines as part of their exclusive economic zone.The situation deteriorated last week after China's state-owned oil firm China National Offshore Oil Corporation called for bids from foreign companies offering exploration of oil in nine blocks in South China Sea sparking off protests in Hanoi.Vietnam said the oil blocks belong to its exclusive economic zone.Sources here said part of the oil block number 128, which was contracted to ONGC for oil exploration by Petro Vietnam also fell under the blocks that CNOOC put up for bidding.Sources said ONGC wanted to surrender the oil block number 128 after a study found that oil exploration would not be financially viable.However, it agreed to re-examine the decision if Petro Vietnam renews the contract. A final decision by the ONGC is expected if Petro Vietnam extends the contract.China has been asking India to refrain from undertaking oil exploration in the Vietnamese blocks in order to ensure "peace and stability" in the area.Unfazed by Chinese objections, India had inked an agreement with Vietnam in October last year to expand and promote oil exploration in South China Sea.The Chinese claim on the South China Sea has been rejected by both India and Vietnam, saying as per the UN, the blocks belong to Vietnam. India has already made it clear that the entire Indian Ocean region stretching from East African coast to South China Sea remains crucial to its foreign trade, energy and national security.The timing of the deployment of the ships by China came as the Philippines and Vietnam made strong moves to assert their claims on some of the resource-rich islands.Besides the two, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan too have made strong claims over the islands which China claims as its inherent territory.While the Philippines has deployed its naval vessels in 'Panatag' Shoal, which China calls as 'Huangyan Island', the Vietnamese Parliament has passed a new law asserting that Xisha and Nansha Islands as called by China are part of its territory.Pointing towards historic relationship between India and Vietnam, Rae said ONGC was offered to explore oil in the region by Vietnamese government way back in 1988 and these explorations are purely commercial in nature.Seeking maintenance of status quo till the dispute was resolved, Rae said all the concerned countries should do their best to ensure peace in the region and honour the declaration of code of conduct.(PTI)
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State-run oil retailers received Rs 14000 crore from the government since June-end as part of the subsidy payout for the financial year ended in March, three officials with direct knowledge said.The oil retailers received the amount in two tranches - one in June-end, and the other on July 3, the officials told Reuters on Friday.The remaining amount of Rs 24500 crore will be paid out by August-end, the officials said.(Reuters)
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Sarika Kapoor lives in a spacious home in one of the wealthiest cities in India. But something as simple as having a shower is fraught with problems.Most days there is just a trickle of water from the taps and sometimes even that dries up before noon. The 56-year-old has often had to scurry to a neighbour across a potholed road to borrow a bucket of water and haul it back to her rented $300,000 (Rs 1.6 crore) home, sweat rolling down her face."Every morning I have to decide whether I want the upper half of my body clean or my lower half. With the amount of water we get, it's impossible to take a full-body bath," Kapoor said, sitting in her large, well-lit living room.Welcome to Gurgaon, a city of wealthy urban professionals with gleaming shopping malls, five-star hotels and sprawling golf courses on the southern outskirts of New Delhi that is a symbol of newly affluent India.But crippling power and water shortages, crater-riddled roads and open sewage drains have made it an extreme example of the poor infrastructure that is constraining growth in Asia's third-largest economy."Gurgaon is just a symbol of beautiful buildings. Otherwise it's rubbish," said P.K. Jain, the founder-president of the Gurgaon Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "Ultimately, the town is going to collapse."Alongside the towering residential condominiums are glass and steel office blocks. The India offices of some of the world's best known companies are here, including Microsoft Corp, Google Inc. and agribusiness giant Cargill Inc.But public infrastructure has failed to keep pace with the rapid growth unleashed by landmark economic reforms in 1991.The provision of essential services is so bad that many companies and residents rely on expensive diesel generators to beat power cuts, pay private water tankers to deliver door-to-door when the taps run dry.But demand outstrips supply, and with long power outages of up to eight hours a day, even well-off citizens are sometimes forced to have dinner by candlelight.This week, residents erupted in anger over the lack of water and power during the hottest summer in the region for three decades. They took to the streets in protest and set tyres on fire to block traffic.Nevertheless, Gurgaon has some of the fastest growing property prices in the world, with rates for some upscale homes nearly doubling to Rs 21,000 a square foot in 2011 from about Rs 11,000 in 2008, according to a report by Citibank.At current prices, a 2,000 square foot apartment in those areas would cost $760,000 (Rs 4.1 crore). At the very top end, huge 5,500 square foot apartments set around a golf course sell for about $3 million (Rs 16 crore).Two CitiesLike many other Indian cities, Gurgaon is made up of two parts. The highway to New Delhi separates the new from the old, which is still a traditional market town serving farmers in the region.The new Gurgaon shot up out of farmland two decades ago, mainly to cater to the overflowing population of the nearby capital. It is now India's third-wealthiest city by per-capita income, and its population has climbed to more than 1.5 million from just 900,000 in 2001.Gurgaon has also become one of the hubs for the IT and outsourcing boom that drove India's economic growth from the 1990s, giving it the name "Millennium City".Experts say the boom caught local authorities unawares, and they did not plan adequately for the power and water needs of a rapidly expanding population.A company like DLF, which has been buying up chunks of land in Gurgaon since the 1970s to convert into residential compounds, commercial hubs and shopping centres, has set up its own private infrastructure network.Pockets of Gurgaon developed by DLF have their own back-up power plant, water recycling systems and solar power heating."I don't think the government anticipated the level of growth or the problems that come with it and therefore, has no plan for it," Mohit Gujral, vice chairman and managing director of DLF India, told Reuters."We are changing the urban landscape of the city because we have been allowed to get involved."DLF recently launched its own fire brigade equipped with Mercedes fire trucks imported from Finland. In a public-private partnership (PPP) with the state, it also started building a $100 million, 16-lane highway running through the city.Vishwas Udgirkar, a senior director at consultants Deloitte India, believes Gurgaon's good security, recreational centres, shopping areas, eateries and cinema complexes attract more people and companies to the city every year."But come to the public infrastructure, it's pathetic," said Udgirkar, whose office is in the city."In terms of governance, again it's pathetic. I don't know who would still call it 'Millennium City'. It cannot be."Waste Not, Want NotThis summer, with temperatures soaring to 47 degrees Celsius (117 F), Gurgaon residents grappled with the city's worst-ever power and water crisis as supplies fell to 15 per cent of the normal volume.In the city, pigs wallowed in fetid bug-infested ponds to beat the heat as huge billboard advertisements promised condominiums with 24-hour electricity and "world-class" facilities.Every day, from the small hours of the morning to late in the night, residents uncoiled and hooked up water hoses linking private water tankers parked outside their homes to tanks inside, replacing the municipal water supply.Power supply has been similarly erratic.As has happened in much of India, red tape has held up coal supplies to power plants that supply Gurgaon's electricity. Technical glitches have caused more disruptions.In one of Gurgaon's most upscale neighbourhoods, a row of cars, including two BMWs, glistens in the sun outside a three-storey bungalow. But Purushotam, the caretaker of the household, said on some days he barely got a full bucket of water to clean the luxury cars."We don't have enough water to drink, how can we take elaborate baths and clean the cars? Water is like gold to us now," he chuckled.For the thousands of migrants eking out a living in Gurgaon, working at construction sites or as household servants, life is even tougher as they are priced out of basic services that the private sector provides."The diesel generators are too expensive. And we don't even go to the air-conditioned malls for respite," said Naresh Kumar, who earns $150 a month as a water delivery man and says he cannot afford the fare to go to the city's shopping district.Dreams Of AmericaMany of Gurgaon's problems - a lack of administrative will, shoddy infrastructure and a lackadaisical attitude to civic services - are reflected across India.Although the country has some state-of-the-art airports, multi-billion dollar national highways and a Formula One race track, much of its existing infrastructure has been unable to cope, and slums are mushrooming next to highrises in its cities.Facing a barrage of criticism over his government's handling of the economy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in June promised to help resuscitate the country's slumping growth by fast-tracking more than 200 key infrastructure projects.New Delhi hopes to invest $1 trillion to beef up India's infrastructure over the next five years. But the unlevelled roads and heaps of garbage lying in the empty housing lots of Gurgaon reflect how far India has to go."It is an unplanned city," said Abhaya Agarwal, a partner at Ernst and Young. "For now it's running on water tankers and generators but in the long run it is not good for the nation."He said that while privatised services are a short-term solution, the real answer to Gurgaon's mess is more PPP investment in infrastructure.Gurgaon's authorities acknowledge their failures but also blame the city's residents for wasting water, which - like many services in India - is heavily subsidised."The problem is that people take water for granted," said Praveen Kumar, an administrator at the Haryana Urban Development Authority."We as a city have to improve our systems and so does the government. There are many hiccups in every set-up." he said.Purushotam, the caretaker in the upscale neighbourhood, says generators and water tankers are keeping the city on life support."We moved to Gurgaon in 2005 thinking that this is the 'America of India'," he said. "But except the malls, not much is 'American' here."(Reuters)
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