Alstom Projects India Ltd has bagged two contracts for over Rs 84 crore. While one order is from Nalco to supply a fume treatment plant for its Angul plant, the other is from RINL to supply a stock house dust extraction system for its Vizag steel plant.

A consortium of four state-owned Indian companies - SAIL, Nalco, Hindustan Copper and Mineral Exploration Corp - has been shortlisted to invest in new gold and copper deposits in Afghanistan. Two private players - Monnet Ispat & Energy and Jindal Steel & Power - have also made the cut, opening up the possibility of a public-private partnership for a strategic bid by the Indian metals majors.

The Indian companies are among the 25 chosen from 41 firms from the US, UK, Australia, Canada, UAE, Turkey and Afghanistan.

Nalco chairman B L Bagra says the proposed plant will be executed in phases

State-owned Nalco is looking to set up a new aluminium smelting facility of 5 lakh tonnes and 1,250 MW captive power plant in Odisha's Sundargarh district at an investment of Rs 18,000 crore, a top company official said.

After Kakarapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS) in Gujarat, the State-owned aluminium major Nalco is looking to set up another nuclear power plant, in collaboration with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL).

An NPCIL-Nalco joint venture is already executing unit 3 and 4 of Kakarapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS) in Gujarat of 700 MW capacity each, which requires a total investment of about Rs 12,000 crore.

After Kakarapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS) in Gujarat, state-owned aluminium major Nalco is looking to set up another nuclear power plant in collaboration with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL).

An NPCIL-Nalco joint venture is already executing unit 3 and 4 of Kakarapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS) in Gujarat of 700 MW capacity each, which requires a total investment of about Rs 12,000 crore.

The Union government will have to amend the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, to divest its stakes in the Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC) which is engaged in increasing its capacity addition to 63,000 Mw by 2032 from the present 4,780 Mw. The state-owned entity’s authorised capital is Rs 15,000 crore, while the share capital is worth Rs 10,000 crore.

According to the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, a government company is one where the central government holds not less than 51 per cent of the paid-up share capital.

The manufacturing unit of the State-run National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) now faces a serious threat of being closed down on account of the company's inability to manage massive amounts of fly ash.

In a letter addressed to B.L. Bagra, NALCO's chairman-cum-MD, the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) said it will be forced to close down its 1,200 mw-capacity Captive Power Plant, critical for running a smelter unit at Angul in Odisha, unless the company takes up the disposal of fly ash on a war footing.

With some Central industries discharging their effluents into major rivers of the State, the Odisha Government has asked them to develop their wastewater treatment facilities.

This was stated by Forest and Environment Minister, Mr Debi Prasad Mishra, while replying a question in the Assembly.

“The State Pollution Control Board has already served show-cause notices to three Central industrial units as their waste treatment facilities are not adequate,” Mr Mishra said.

The State-owned aluminium major NALCO plans to spend Rs 900 crore by next fiscal on nuclear power ventures, for which it had signed a joint-venture agreement with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) in November.

As per the plan, the investments will be made on unit 3 and 4 of Kakarapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS) in Gujarat, a senior company official said, adding that both the units are of 700 MW each.