DIRECTORS' REPORT FOR THE YEAR 2014-15 To The Members Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited. Your Directors are pleased to present the 59th Annual Report of your Company together with the Audited Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2015. Overburden (OB)* Removal at 624.19 LM3 from Mine-I is the highest for any year since inception. v Power Generation at 3385.03 MU from Thermal Power Station-I Expansion is the highest for any year since inception. This plant registered a Plant Load Factor (PLF)** of 92% which is the highest ever for any lignite based Power plant in India. v Export of Power at 3107.25 MU from Thermal Power Station-I Expansion is the highest for any year since inception. *Rock or soil overlying a mineral deposit. **A measure of output of a Power Plant compared to the maximum output it could produce. FINANCIAL v Total Sales of Rs. 6087.68 crore is the highest for any year since inception. v Profit Before Tax (PBT) and the Profit After Tax (PAT) for the year 2014-15 of Rs. 2383.33 crore and Rs. 1579.68 crore respectively are the highest for any year since inception. Segment-wise Performance Mines Your Company is presently operating four lignite mines with a total capacity of 30.60 MTPA. During the year under review 1592.98 LM3 of Overburden was removed as against 1681.72 LM3 in 2013-14. The shortfall of 88.74 LM3 in 2014-15 over the previous year was on account of unscheduled stoppages of conveyor systems in overburden benches of Mine-II for taking up vulcanising works and downtime of certain OB system BWEs of Mine-IA due to mechanical breakdown. The total Lignite production from all the mines during the year 2014-15 aggregated to 265.43 LT as against 266.09 LT during the previous year 2013-14. However the lignite requirements of Power Plants have been fully met with. The detailed Mine-wise performance is as under : Mine-I including Expansion - 10.5 MTPA During the year 2014-15, Overburden removal was 624.19 LM3 as against 563.39 LM3 achieved during the previous year 2013-14 registering a growth of 10.79%. Lignite excavation during the year 2014-15 was 90.55 LT as against 90.03 LT during the previous year registering a growth of 0.58%. Mine-IA - 3.0 MTPA The Overburden removal from Mine-IA during the year under review was 206.62 LM3 as against 279.15 LM3 during the previous year 2013-14. Lignite production during the year under review was 29.15 LT as against 30.01 LT during the previous year 2013-14. Mine-II including Expansion - 15.0 MTPA The Overburden removal from this Mine during the year 2014-15 was 691.08 LM3 as against 772.93 LM3 registered during the previous year. Lignite production during the year under review was 132.21 LT as against 130.52 LT during the previous year 2013-14 registering a growth of 1.30%. Barsingsar Mine - 2.1 MTPA During the year 2014-15, the Overburden removal was 71.09 LM3 as against 66.25 LM3 registered during the previous year achieving a growth of 7.31%. Lignite production during the year under review was 13.52 LT as against 15.53 LT during the previous year 2013-14. Lignite production was restricted to meet the fuel requirement of the linked power plant. Sale of lignite to M/s. TAQA and outside agencies During the year 2014-15, your Company supplied 18.99 Lakh Tonnes of Lignite to TAQA (Independent Power Producer) as per the Fuel Supply Agreement (FSA). Apart from the above, 6.49 lakh Tonnes of Lignite was sold to other parties through open sales. Power With the commissioning of Unit-I & Unit-II of TPS-II Expansion, during the year 2015-16, your Company is presently operating five pithead thermal power stations with an aggregate capacity of 3240 MW. Further, your Company has also so far installed nine Wind Turbine Generators of 1.50 MW each, aggregating to 13.50 MW, thereby increasing the overall power generating capacity to 3253.50 MW. During the year under review, 19729.13 MU of power was generated as against 19988.65 MU in the previous year 2013-14. The power generation would have been still higher but for the surrendering of power by the beneficiary States to the extent of about 93 MU. The average PLF for the Company as a whole was 81.36% as against the national average of 65.11%. The power export during the year was 16671.23 MU as against 16956.40 MU during the previous year 2013-14. The reason for shortfall in the generation and export as compared to the previous year was mainly on account of operation of units of Barsingsar TPS at lower load due to technical problems and that one Unit of TPS-I (100 MW) was under stoppage between 20th May 2014 and 13th August 2014 due to dislodgement of HP heater shell affecting the generation. Further TPS-I, one of the oldest power plant in the Country is serving for more than five decades and so could not be operated to the desired load due to ageing. The detailed Plant-wise performance is as under: Thermal Power Station-I - 600 MW During the year 2014-15, the Power generation from this plant was 3631.05 MU as against 4058.14 MU during the previous year 2013-14 and 2876.12 MU of power was exported to Tamil Nadu power grid as against 3277.22 MU during the previous year 2013-14. During the year under review the Station achieved a PLF of 69.08%. Major Overhaul & Residual Life Assessment study works were carried out in Unit-1 & Unit-9. Annual maintenance works were carried out in all other units. As stated earlier, ageing of the Plant and shutdown of one Unit (100 MW) for a period of around three months had affected the generation during the year 2014-15. Thermal Power Station-I Expansion - 420 MW The Power generation from TPS-I Expansion was 3385.03 MU during the year 2014-15 as against 3292.10 MU in 2013-14 registering a growth of 2.82%. The power exported during the year under review was 3107.25 MU as against 3013.59 MU during the previous year 2013-14 registering a growth of 3.11%. This Station achieved a PLF of 92% which is the highest ever for any year since inception and highest for any lignite based Power Plant in India. Annual maintenance works were carried out in both the units during the year under review. Thermal Power Station-II - 1470 MW The Power generation during the year 2014-15 was 11131.33 MU as against 11179.16 MU in 2013-14 and 9370.80 MU of power was exported to the Southern Grid as against 9399.53 MU during the previous year 2013-14. This Station achieved a PLF of 86.44% during the year under review. Major overhaul was carried out in Unit-I & Unit-IV and Annual maintenance works were carried out in all other units during the year 2014-15. Barsingsar Thermal Power Station - 250 MW The Power generation during the year 2014-15 was 1380.71 MU as against 1438.24 MU in the year 2013-14 and 1190.33 MU of power was exported to the grid as against 1253.03 MU during the previous year 2013-14. This Plant achieved a PLF of 63.05% during the year under review. As stated earlier, this plant could not be operated at full load due to technical problems and steps are being taken to improve the performance of the plant. Annual maintenance works were carried out in both the units during the year under review. Financial Performance During the year ended 31st March, 2015, the Company registered a total sales of Rs.6087.68 crore as against Rs.5967.23 crore recorded in the year 2013-14, registering a growth of 2.02%. The sales registered for the year 2014-15 was the highest ever since inception. The Profit Before Tax (PBT) and Profit After Tax (PAT) for the year 2014-15 were Rs.2383.33 crore and Rs.1579.68 crore, respectively, as against Rs.2209.13 crore and Rs.1501.88 crore, respectively, registered in the year 2013-14. As compared to the previous year 2013-14, the PBT and the PAT for the year 2014-15 recorded a growth of 7.89% and 5.18%, respectively. The PBT and the PAT for the year ended 31st March, 2015 were the highest for any year since inception. The reason for increase in the profit for the year 2014-15 was on account of increase in sales consequent to truing up of lignite price for the period 2009-14 and accounting claim of wage revision arrears approved by CERC vide order dated 12.05.2015. Dividend The Board of Directors of your Company has recommended a final dividend of 10% (Rs.1.00 per share) for the year 2014-15. An Interim Dividend @18% (Rs.1.80 per share) has already been paid to shareholders during the month of March 2015 and taking into account the same, the total dividend for the year 2014-15 works out to 28% (previous year 28%) and the total dividend outgo including distribution tax will be Rs.566.70 crore (previous year Rs.549.59 crore), which works out to 35.87% of PAT for the year 2014-15. MoU Rating for the year 2013-14 Your Directors have pleasure to share with the Members that the Company has achieved 'Excellent' rating for its performance during the year 2013-14 in terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) entered into with the Ministry of Coal as per DPE guidelines. Projects under construction/Implementation Thermal Power Station-II Expansion - 2x250 MW Members may be aware, the TPS-II Expansion project (2x250 MW) at Neyveli is the Nation's first project of this unit size with "Circulating Fluidised Bed Combustion (CFBC) Boiler Technology". As stated in the Directors Report for the previous year 2013-14, M/s. BHEL the Main Plant Package Contractor had carried out modification works in the Fluidised Bed Heat Exchanger (FBHE) coil support system and attended to the refractory damage in Unit-I so as to establish sustainable operation. Similar modification works were also made in Unit-II. Your Directors are happy to inform the successful commissioning of TPS-II Expn. project and Unit-I & II were declared for commercial operation with effect from 5th July 2015 and 22nd April, 2015, respectively. With this commissioning, the aggregate thermal power generation capacity of the Company has increased to 3240 MW. During the year in-firm power of 199.57 MU was generated and 125.38 MU was exported from this Plant. Neyveli New Thermal Power Project - 2x500 MW Your Company is implementing a 1000 MW lignite based Neyveli New Thermal Power Project at Neyveli adopting pulverised fuel firing technology as a replacement to the existing 600 MW TPS-I. The project was sanctioned in June 2011 at a capital cost of Rs. 5907.11 crore with a commissioning schedule of 48 months and 54 months for Unit-I & Unit-II respectively from the zero date. Contract for execution of Steam Generator (NTA1) and Turbo-Generator (NTA2) packages have been awarded to BHEL and the Contract for Balance of Plant (NTA3) package has been awarded to M/s. Essar Projects (I) Limited. Due to re-tendering of the Steam Generator Package, there are slippages in the original schedule and Unit-I & II are rescheduled to be commissioned in October 2017 & April 2018 respectively. Detailed engineering activities are in progress and soil investigation work has been completed. Civil works in respect of Boiler and Auxiliaries, Turbo Generator and Auxiliaries, Electrostatic Precipitator, Chimney raw water Pump house etc. are in progress. Supply of materials is in progress. Mechanical erection has commenced for both Unit-I & II Steam Generator area and Power House building. The Cumulative expenditure incurred upto 31st March 2015 is Rs. 784.75 crore. Implementation of the Project is being closely monitored to expedite the completion as per the revised schedule. Restructuring of Mine-I and Mine-IA Your Company is implementing re-structuring of existing Mine-I from 10.5 MTPA to 8.0 MTPA and Mine-IA from 3.0 MTPA to 7.0 MTPA at an estimated cost of Rs.1458.17 crore to meet the requirement of lignite for Neyveli New Thermal Power Project of 1000 MW capacity being implemented in Neyveli. The overall lignite mining capacity will be increased by 1.5 MTPA through this restructuring. Mine-I will continue to operate at 10.5 MTPA until Mine-IA is developed to produce 7.0 MTPA. Preparation of Feasibility Report has been completed. Draft Mining Plan and Mine closure Plan have been submitted to Ministry of Coal and acquisition of additional land required for the project is in progress. MoE&F has issued "Terms of Reference" for conducting EIA/EMP studies and the final EIA-EMP report has been submitted to MoE&F. The Cumulative expenditure incurred upto 31st March 2015 is Rs.8.19 crore. Bithnok Thermal Power project - 250 MW with linked Mine - 2.25 MTPA The Board of Directors of your Company has approved setting up of a lignite based Thermal Power Plant of 250 MW capacity with linked Mine of 2.25 MTPA at Bithnok in Bikaner District, in the State of Rajasthan at an aggregate cost of Rs. 2709.93 crore (Nov 2014). Power Purchase Agreement has been signed with Discoms of Rajasthan. Out of 3091.299 hectares (Ha.) land required for Bithnok TPS and Mine, Government of Rajasthan (GoR) has issued award for acquisition of 1175.87 hectares of private land in Bithnok village and 1863.184 Ha. of Government land will be diverted to your Company by GoR after takeover of the private land. The total land mentioned above included 225 Ha. of land for Thermal Power Station. State level Environmental Impact Assessment Authority, Rajasthan has already issued Environmental Clearance for TPS. In respect of the linked mine, MOE&F has informed that Environmental Clearance could be considered only after the Stage-I Forestry clearance is obtained for the forest land of 52.245 Ha. involved in the project. Obtaining Stage-I Forestry clearance is in progress. Your Company has entered into an agreement for supply of 25 cusecs of water from IGNP for this project. The Board has accorded investment approval for the project. It is proposed to implement the above project through EPC mode and the project is expected to be commissioned during the year 2019. The Cumulative expenditure incurred upto 31st March 2015 is Rs. 85.04 crore. Barsingsar Thermal Power Station Extension (BTPSE) Mine-1.9 MTPA 250 MW linked to Hadla Lignite The Board of Directors of your Company has approved to develop the Hadla Mine of 1.9 MTPA capacity to set up a 250 MW lignite based thermal power plant in the Bikaner District of Rajasthan, as an extension of the existing Barsingsar Power Project at an aggregate cost of Rs. 2635.04 crore (Nov 2014). The fuel requirement is proposed to be met from Hadla Mine and the Barsingsar Mine. Power Purchase Agreement has been signed with Discoms of Rajasthan. All statutory clearances for both BTPSE and Hadla Mine Project have been obtained. Government of Rajasthan has allocated Mining Lease area of 15.66383 sq.km. It is proposed to implement the above project through EPC mode and the project is expected to be commissioned during the year 2019. The Cumulative expenditure incurred upto 31st March 2015 is Rs. 3.08 crore. Wind Power Project - 51 MW Your Company has entered into generation of green energy by setting up a 51 MW Wind Power Project at Kazhuneerkulam, Tirunelveli District, Tamilnadu at a cost of Rs. 347.14 crore. Work order for supply, installation and commissioning of 34 wind turbine generators of 1.5 MW each has been awarded to M/s. Leitwind Shriram Manufacturing Limited, Chennai. The first wind turbine generator was commissioned on 29th August 2014 and so far nine wind turbine generators have been commissioned till July 2015 and the balance is expected to be commissioned during 2015-16. During the year 2014-15, 1.443 MU of power was generated and 1.35 MU was exported to the grid. Supply and erection of materials for the remaining wind turbine generators are in progress. The project is getting delayed due to slow progress in transfer of lands, supply and erection by the package contractor. The overall physical progress of the project is 60%. The Cumulative expenditure incurred up to 31st March 2015 is Rs. 128.27 crore. Neyveli Solar Power Project - 10 MW Members may be aware that your Company is implementing a 10 MW Solar Power Project at Neyveli at a cost of Rs. 77.89 crore in the first phase and it is proposed to install another 15 MW as an expansion in the second phase. Work order has been placed on M/s. BHEL for the first phase of implementation. All the 48000 Solar PV Modules have been received at site. Module mounting structure foundation works has been completed and erection of Solar PV modules is nearing completion. Works in Power Evacuation Sub-Station are also nearing completion. The overall physical progress of the project is 70% as on 30th June 2015. The Project will be commissioned during the year 2015-16. The Cumulative expenditure incurred upto 31st March 2015 is Rs. 30.97 crore. Barsingsar Solar Power Project - 25 MW With a view to further harness green energy your Board of Directors of the Company has approved to set up a 25 MW Solar Power Plant at Barsingsar, in the State of Rajasthan, at a sanctioned cost of Rs. 167.29 crore instead of 10 MW Solar Power Project proposed earlier. The project is proposed to be implemented through EPC mode and is scheduled to be commissioned during 2016-17. Work order for technical Consultancy will be issued to M/s.ITCOT, shortly. Joint Venture Projects NLC Tamilnadu Power Limited - 2x500 MW This coal based thermal power project at Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu consisting of two units of 500 MW capacity each is being implemented through NLC Tamilnadu Power Limited (NTPL), a joint venture between your Company and TANGEDCO with equity participation in the ratio of 89:11 at a revised estimated cost of Rs. 6602.74 crore. Fuel Supply Agreement has been signed with M/s.MCL for the supply of 3.0 MTPA of Coal and in order to meet the shortfall in requirement, a contract has been awarded on M/s. MSTC for supply of 0.864 Million Tonnes of imported coal during the year 2014-15. Unit-I was test synchronised with the Grid on 18th February 2015 and the unit has been declared for commercial operation w.e.f. 18th June 2015. In respect of Unit-II, the unit was synchronised with oil firing of boiler on 9th April 2015 and the unit reached full load operation on 9th July 2015 and the COD of the unit is expected shortly. Financial Closure for the Project has been achieved and your Company as a major Promoter has extended Letter of Comfort to the Lenders for Term Loans availed by NTPL. The Cumulative expenditure incurred upto 31st March 2015 is Rs. 6115.69 crore. Neyveli Uttar Pradesh Power Limited - 3x660 MW Your Company is in the process of setting up of 1980 MW (3x660 MW) coal based thermal power project in Ghatampur Tehsil, Kanpur Nagar District in the State of Uttar Pradesh, at an estimated cost of Rs. 14,375 crore. This Joint Venture project is executed by Neyveli Uttar Pradesh Power Limited (NUPPL), a Subsidiary Company, with equity participation of your Company and Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (UPRVUNL) in the ratio of 51:49. The Public Investment Board, Government of India has recommended the project proposal to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs for sanction. As per the existing policy of MoE&F, Stage-I forest clearance for the linked coal block is a pre-requisite to consider environmental clearance of the project. Since exploratory drilling works in the allocated coal block could not be carried out due to law & order problems delay was anticipated in obtaining stage-I forest clearance. In order to expedite getting sanction of Ghatampur Thermal Power Project (GTPS), a revised proposal for using imported coal till commencement of coal production from Pachwara South Coal block was submitted to MoE&F for getting Environmental Clearance (EC). Considering the above and based on the recommendations of the Expert Appraisal Committee, MoE&F has issued EC for GTPS project. GOI sanction for this project is awaited. NUPPL has taken into possession of the entire land of 828 hectares required for the project. Contract for carrying out survey and fixing the pillars around the acquired land has been issued to M/s. Techpro Engineers Private Limited, Kanpur and the work is in progress. Power Purchase Agreement has been signed with Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited. Government of Uttar Pradesh has accorded sanction for supply of 80 cusecs. of water from the West Allahabad branch canal downstream of Bidhnu Kasba Village for the above project. M/s. RITES has been assigned the work of carrying out the feasibility study for railway siding for the proposed coal based thermal power project. Short-listing of bidders who have responded to Expression of Interest floated for Steam Generator and Turbine Generator packages and also Balance of Plant Package have been completed. Techno commercial specifications have been issued to the shortlisted bidders for SG and TG and pre-bid discussions with the prospective bidders have been completed. Coal Blocks Pachwara South Ministry of Coal, Government of India has allocated Pachwara South Coal block, in the State of Jharkhand with a total reserve of 305 MT of coal to Neyveli Uttar Pradesh Power Limited (NUPPL), a subsidiary of your Company, to cater to the fuel requirement of the 1980 MW Coal based thermal power project proposed to set up in Ghatampur in the State of Uttar Pradesh. MOC has accorded sanction for the Advance Action Proposal of Rs. 19.45 crore for pre-project related activities. Terms of Reference (TOR) has been issued by MoE&F for preparation of EIA -EMP reports for the Coal block. The coal block falls partly in the forest lands with tribal settlements and the area is dominated by tribal population and because of which the law & order problems are being encountered. CMPDI the agency who were assigned the job of carrying out exploratory drilling in the area had to suspend their operation due to law & order problems. NUPPL has sought support from the District Revenue and Police authorities of Government of Jharkhand for carrying out the drilling & exploration activities, boundary survey, pillar construction and DGPS for further development of Pachwara South Coal Mine Project. This will enable NUPPL to prepare the Geological Report (GR) and subsequently Mining Plan & Feasibility Report. For obtaining the forestry stage-I clearance for the project Mine, which is a pre-requisite for obtaining Environmental Clearance (EC) for the Thermal Power Project, the GR Mining Plan and FR are essential. Work order was issued to M/s Total Survey Consultancy, Ranchi for conducting DGPS Survey and the firm has expressed their inability to continue their work citing local law and order problems. NUPPL has proposed to float an EOI inviting proposal from Mine Development Operators (MDO) to carry out the entire Mine development activities. Jilga-Barpali Ministry of Coal, Government of India has allocated Jilga-Barpali coal block, in the State of Chhattisgarh with a total reserve of 546 MT jointly to your Company and Chhattisgarh Power Generation Corporation Limited to develop the mine and share the coal resources as per GOI allocation. As per the said allocation, 396 MT of coal from this block was proposed to be utilised for the proposed 4000 MW Sirkali Thermal Power Project, in the State of Tamilnadu. Detailed exploration is being carried out by MECL under MOU of CMPDI and about 43% has been completed. However, as it is found that the coal seams are deep seated in this block and there are nine geological earth faults in this region, it will be very difficult to excavate coal even with underground mining technologies and hence your Company has requested MoC for allocation of alternate coal block instead of Jilga-Barpali for Sirkali Thermal Power Project. MNH Shakti Limited Members may be aware, M/s. Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), NLC & Hindalco formed MNH Shakti Limited, a Joint Venture Company with equity participation of 70:15:15 to implement 20.0 MTPA coal mining project in Talabira in the State of Odisha. The Talabira II & III coal blocks allocated for this purpose have been cancelled pursuant to the judgement dated 25th August 2014 of Hon'ble Supreme Court of India and the coal Mines (Special Provisions) Ordinance 2014 dated 21st October 2014. The JV Company has proposed for the winding up and necessary formalities are being worked out by them. New Projects Under Formulation Sirkali Thermal Power Project - 4000 MW Members may be aware that as part of foraying into other type of fuels for power generation, your Company has proposed to set up a 4000 MW coal based thermal power project, in two phases, at Sirkali, Nagapattinam District in the State of Tamil Nadu. In the first Phase 1980 MW (3x660 MW) is proposed to be set up at an estimated cost of Rs. 14,482 crore. The Board of Directors of your Company has accorded approval for AAP of Rs. 56.52 crore for taking up certain pre-project related activities. Feasibility Report (FR) is under finalisation. Site for locating the power plant has been identified at Thirumullaivasal and action has been initiated for acquisition of land through TN Government and for obtaining clearances from various statutory authorities. LOA has been issued to M/s. Bhagavathi Ana Labs for taking up EIA/EMP studies. Budgetary offers have been obtained for conducting Marine EIA/EMP study and DPR for captive coal jetty for the proposed Sirkali TPS. As stated earlier Ministry of Coal has allocated Jilga-Barpali Coal block in the State of Chhattisgarh with reserve of 396 MT to partly meet the fuel requirement of this project. As explained in view of the technical difficulties to exploit the coal reserves in the allocated block your Company has requested MoC for allocation of alternate coal block instead of Jilga-Barpali for Sirkali Thermal Power Project. Thermal Power Station-II Second Expansion - 1000 MW with linked Mine-III - 9.0 MTPA Your Company has proposed to increase the power generating capacity by adding another 1000 MW thermal power plant as the second expansion to the existing TPS-II at Neyveli in the State of Tamil Nadu. A new mine, Mine-III of capacity 9.0 MTPA is proposed to be set up to exploit the mineable lignite reserves of about 380 MT available in the South of the existing Mine-II to meet the fuel requirement of the proposed thermal power plant. Ministry of Power has granted exemption to your Company from tariff based competitive bidding for the above project. The Board of Directors of your Company has accorded approval for the Advanced Action Proposal (AAP) of Rs. 7.05 crore for Mine-III and Rs. 1.80 crore for the TPS-II Second Expansion for taking up certain pre-project related activities. Action has been initiated to enter Power Purchase Agreement with DISCOMs of Southern States. Mine-II Augmentation - 15.0 MTPA to 18.75 MTPA The Board of Directors of your Company has accorded approval for the Advance Action Proposal (AAP) of Rs. 2.65 crore for Mine-II Augmentation in order to take up certain pre-project related activities. The increase in capacity is to meet the additional lignite requirements of linked Thermal Power Stations. Solar Power Projects Your Company has given Green Energy Commitment to Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), GOI, on the occasion on the first Renewable Energy Global Investors Meet (RE- INVEST) 2015 to develop 101 MW of Renewable Energy Project during the five year period 2015-19. The above commitment is based on the Renewable Energy projects which are presently under implementation viz., Wind Power Project of 51 MW, Neyveli Solar Project of 10 MW, Barsingsar Solar Power Project of 25 MW and the proposed 2nd phase of expansion of 15 MW Solar Power Project to the Neyveli Solar Power Project. In order to enter in to solar power generation in a major way, the Board of Directors of your Company has accorded 'in-principle' approval for setting up Solar power projects in the States of Telangana, Tamil Nadu and other States in India, subject to techno-commercial viability. The Government of India has accorded top priority for development of green energy and in this regard it has given guidelines for setting up of solar power parks in various States of India. Your Board of Directors has also accorded 'in-principle' approval for setting up of solar power projects in the solar power parks developed by various States, subject to techno-commercial viability. Coal Assets Abroad Your Company proposes to acquire coal assets abroad in order to ensure availability of fuel for un-interrupted operation of the 1000 MW coal based thermal power plant under implementation by NLC Tamilnadu Power Limited, the subsidiary Company and for the proposed 4000 MW coal based Sirkali Thermal Power Plant. Imported coal to the tune of 2 Million Tonnes initially and 10 Million Tonnes at a later period is required for operation of these coal based thermal power plants. In this regard, your Company has issued an Expression of Interest for acquiring coal assets abroad and short-listing of the offers received in respect of coal blocks in Mozambique, Indonesia and Australia are in process. Work order was issued to M/s SRK Mining Services (India) Pvt. Ltd., Kolkatta for carrying out the Technical Due Diligence Study of the short-listed Coal blocks and the report from the consultant is under scrutiny. Acquisition of Power Projects EOI was floated inviting offers of Coal or Lignite based Thermal Power Plants/Projects of unit capacity 100 MW or above for possible acquisition by your Company. Out of nine offers received, Nagai Power Pvt. Ltd., Nagapattinam in the State of Tamilnadu having a capacity of 2x150 MW has been shortlisted subject to the outcome of technical, financial and legal due diligence studies. Long-term borrowing & Credit Rating Your Company has entered into long term funding arrangement of Rs. 2500 crore and Rs. 1250 crore from a consortium of Bankers led by Canara Bank for the Mine-II Expansion linked to TPS-II Expansion project & Barsingsar Mine-cum-Thermal Power project. Your Company has also entered into an agreement with Power Finance Corporation Limited for a term loan of Rs. 3000 crore for the NNTPS project. Both the above borrowings have been rated with the highest credit rating of "AAA/Stable" by ICRA & CRISIL and Brickworks. Commercial Billing & Realisation Your Company has made significant improvement in the realisation of dues from Discoms as all the current dues have been realised within the normal credit period of 60 days from all the customers except Discoms of Rajasthan. The total outstanding dues of the Company as on 31.03.2015 towards power dues were Rs. 2064.52 crore, as against Rs.1985.26 crore as on 31.03.2014. Power over dues, which are dues beyond the permissible limit of 60 days as on 31.03.2015 were Rs. 272.04 crore as against Rs. 920.80 crore as on 31.03.2014. Rebate Scheme for realisation of dues With a view to encourage early and full realisation of dues, the Company has formulated a special scheme called "NLC Graded rebate scheme" benefitting the customers for making due payment within 60th day of billing. One Time waiver of surcharge settlement Your Company during the last year reached a settlement with TANGEDCO for realisation of surcharge amount and in line with the same, settlement schemes were entered into with the Karnataka-Escoms, Andhra Pradesh-Discoms and Telangana Discoms during the year. Under this scheme, old dues, surcharge and interest amounting to Rs. 276.07 crore has been realised during the current year. Revised PPA with Discoms Your Company has signed revised PPA with the Discoms of KSEB, Karnataka-Escoms, Andhra Pradesh-Discoms and Telangana-Discoms during the year, in line with the revised PPA already signed with TANGEDCO incorporating the following payment priority clause for appropriation of receipts from the Discoms in the following order of adjustment : a) towards late payment of Surcharge b) towards earlier unpaid bills, including arrear bills if any c) towards statutory dues like IT, other tax, Royalty on the current bills d) towards other charges in current monthly bills Tariff Regulations Pursuant to CERC Tariff Regulations for the Control period 2014-19 dated 21.02.2014, Tariff petitions for the period 2014-19 for TPS-I, TPS-I Expansion, TPS-II and Barsingsar were filed before CERC on 19.08.2014. Consequent to MoC Guidelines on 02.01.2015, for fixation of Lignite Transfer Price, Tariff revision petition would be filed before CERC for all power stations for the period 2014-19. Land Acquisition and R&R Policy The occurrence of lignite mineral deposits in particular regions makes it necessary for your Company to select the project sites for Mines & pithead Power Stations, only in such specific areas. It necessitates the invoking of law for the acquisition of private property leading to involuntary displacement of people in lignite bearing localities for mining and adjacent strategic locations for stationing the production and service facilities. Your Company has developed several Resettlement Centres (RCs) in the vicinity of the acquired area and these RCs are provided with good infrastructure facilities and amenities better than those in the original villages and also well connected to the main roads. Your Company has been designing and implementing the R&R Packages for the project affected people with their active participation, combining its long experience in the locality and participatory approaches. Your Company is following the National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy, 2007 for the ongoing projects with certain enhancements, aimed at minimising the adverse impacts of the projects on the affected people and for the benefit of the project affected population. The R&R measures are being implemented as directed by the R&R Administrator as per the National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy, 2007 and benefits include allotment of a plot, cash compensation and training. New Land Acquisition Act From 01.01.2014 GoI has enacted New Land Acquisition Act viz. - "Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act - 2013". Presently the Government of Tamilnadu acquires land for your Company under the provisions of The Tamil Nadu Acquisition of Land for Industrial Purpose Act, 1997 (Tamil Nadu Act, 10/99). During the year 2014 the Govt. of Tamil Nadu has passed an amendment Act - "Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act - 2014 to exclude the above Act of the State Government from the provisions of the Central Act, except the provisions relating to the determination of the compensation and rehabilitation & resettlement. The rules for implementing the Act / amendment are awaited from GoTN. Research and Development (R&D) Centre for Applied Research & Development (CARD) is the In-house R&D centre of your Company. CARD has been granted NABL accreditation for chemical and mechanical testing by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). The accreditation of the laboratory, which is valid for a period of 2 years from December 2013, is based on the international standard ISO/IEC 17025:2005 and meets the principles of ISO 9001 that are relevant to scope of testing services as well as technical competency of the laboratory. The total R&D expenditure, incurred during the year 2014-15 was Rs. 13.01 crore which is around 1% of PAT for the year 2014-15. CARD has complied with the MoU guidelines with regard to R&D by successfully completing prescribed targets for 2014-15. Your Company has filed for grant of patent for the following: Your Company and Vector Control Research Centre, Puducherry jointly filed a patent application for "Fly ash based mosquito larvicidal formulations of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (serotype H14)". The invention is under the Coal S&T project 'Development of fly ash based pesticide'. Your Company and National Institute of Technology, Trichy jointly filed a patent application for "High longevity coatings and alternate material for erosion and corrosion resistance in mining pumps." The invention is under In-House S&T project. Coal S&T projects: Corrosion in Specialised Mining Equipment (SME) CARD has successfully completed the Coal S&T project on corrosion problems in Specialised Mining Equipment (SME) deployed in mines. Laboratory investigations, corrosion/erosion studies and characterisation of samples were completed. Basic corrosion studies and modelling were completed. One of the coating components has been lab tested and evaluated for field application. The coating materials were prepared by CECRI, Karaikudi and coatings were applied in track carriages of SME and the performance of the coating are being evaluated periodically and it is found that there was no change in the coating thickness after application of the material. Consequent to the specialized coating the life of the track carriages in SME is expected to increase by 7 years as against one year in the case of normal paints. Enhancement of Life of De-watering Pipes Your Company presently has taken up a project on "Enhancing Life of De-watering Pipes in Coal/Lignite Mines by prevention of Erosion-corrosion with Nano-Crystalline Surface Engineering Treatments" jointly with NIT, Trichy. The main objective of the project is to study the root causes for erosion and corrosion of de-watering pipes in Neyveli Lignite Mines and to develop a coating based on nano-crystalline surface engineering treatments for enhancing life of de-watering pipes. In-House S&T Projects: CARD has also carrying out various research works such as delineation of buried sub surface objects and hard bands in open cast mines, studies on synthesis of zeolites from lignite fly ash and its efficiency in cooling water treatment, reclamation of slag dump areas in Mine-II suitable for development of green cover, study on the stabilisation haul roads inside open cast mines and micropetrographic characterisation of Barsingsar lignite seams. Development of suitable pilot plant for separation of iron from slag generated in Thermal Power Plants-Neyveli CARD has taken up R&D project for separation of iron ore, unburnt carbon and sand from the bottom slag generated by Thermal Power Stations. The pilot plant for separation of iron from bottom slag has been successfully commissioned during December 2014. Utilisation of Bottom Ash CARD has taken up R&D project along with Civil Department for utilisation of bottom ash as replacement for river sand in construction material. An experimental building using bottom ash as substitute for river sand has been constructed and in this building solid blocks have been made using bottom ash and concrete mixture using bottom ash instead of sand to the extent of 50%. R&D Initiatives: Your Company has taken up R&D initiatives in the following areas: 1. Upgradation of Brown Coal (UBC) Based Power Generation Your Company was approached by M/s. Kobe Steel Limited (M/s KSL), a major Steel & Engineering Company in Japan, to undertake a study on "Up-gradation of Brown Coal" (UBC) through a process involving removal of moisture from lignite and to upgrade the lignite into a high calorific value product having reduced CO2 emission. In this connection an MOU has been entered into with M/s. KSL for "Setting up a UBC based Pilot Power Generation Plant in Neyveli" at an estimated cost of Rs. 61.62 lakh to be shared equally. M/s.KSL had earlier undertaken a study on UBC of lignite from Neyveli Mines and successfully test fired the lignite pellets in Ultra Super Critical Boilers in Japan. 2. Dynamic Loading of Conveyors Your Company has signed an MOU with National Institute of Technology, Trichy for taking up a new R&D Project on "Dynamic Loading of Conveyors drive heads in Mines" aimed at energy saving in the operation of conveyors in the Mines as in-house S&T Project. 3. Coldry and Matmor Process Your Company has also proposed to enter into a tripartite agreement with M/s. National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) and M/s. Environmental Clean Technologies Ltd. (ECT), Australia for taking up a feasibility study on setting up a pilot project of Coldry and Matmor process at Neyveli, using lignite instead of coking coal for use in iron ore purification process. 4. Electronification of GWC & Conveyor Systems in Mines CARD has also proposed to take up a R&D project on Electronification of ground water control and conveyor systems in Mines for electronically monitoring the operation and performance of GWC pumps and conveyors for improving energy efficiency and productivity of these equipment. This project is proposed to be implemented under Coal S&T project funded by Ministry of Coal. 5. Prevention & Analysis on Premature Failure of BWE Track Systems CARD has proposed to take up a R&D project on prevention & analysis on premature failure of BWE Track Systems used in Lignite/Coal Mines with the aim of reducing the wear and tear of track plates of SME. This project is to be implemented under Coal S&T project funded by Ministry of Coal. Silica Sand Beneficiation Plant Your Company proposes to establish a silica sand beneficiation plant for producing value added silica sand, which is a main raw material for manufacture of glass from the sand available in mines. A consultant has been appointed for preparation of feasibility report for this project. Human Resource Management Human Resource Your Company believes that employees are the primary source of competitiveness and it is necessary to enrich the quality of life of its employees and maximise the productivity. Your organisation promotes adherence to value based culture, encourages/creates an atmosphere of continual learning and competency building. The organisation has reached its current levels through employee commitment, innovation and strong sense of belongingness to the organisation. For a sustainable growth, leadership and competency development continued to be the focus area for the organisation. The total manpower of your Company as on 31st March 2015 was 16,445. Employee Development Your Company continues to promote Training / Learning initiatives for skill, competency building and overall development of employees and surrounding society. As part of Leadership Development Programme, 400 executives were imparted training through Development Centre Initiatives programme in 2014-15. Also as part of the above initiative , Senior Executives were deputed to IIM, Kozhikode for enhancing their leadership competencies. Learning and Development Centre (L&DC) of your Company organised programme which included Mentorship Development Programme, Workers' Education Scheme, Advanced Management Programme, Quality Control Programme etc., besides Apprenticeship Training Programme and other special programme. L&DC plays a main role in the development of multi skilling & skill upgradation of Non Executives. During the year L&DC imparted training covering, 15,252 employees. With a view to benefit the society at large your Company had conducted Entrepreneurial Development Programme, Programme for Student Community and Environmental Programme benefitting around 9000 people. Industrial Relations Thrust on participative culture continued during the year under review and the Industrial Relations in various Units and Service Divisions of your Company remained harmonious and cordial but for Contract Labour Strike, which was subsequently resolved. The executives and employees were committed towards the growth of your Company. Discussions and negotiations are in process with the recognized Unions through the conciliation process as per the provisions of Industrial Disputes Act, to arrive at a mutually agreed settlement for revising the wage structure of Unionised categories of employees. Implementation of Official Language Policy Your Company continued to promote official language implementation in line with Government of India's policy and the provisions prescribed under the Official Languages Act, 1963. Employees are encouraged to undertake Hindi courses and 681 employees have been enrolled for correspondence as well as full time courses like Prabodh, Praveen and Pragya. Hindi Fortnight was organised between 15th September 2014 and 29th September 2014 and Hindi competitions were conducted among employees. Cash Awards and Merit certificates were given to those employees who passed Hindi examinations and to the winners in the competitions. e-Governance Your Company has taken up various e-Governance initiatives which include Online Material Management System (OLIMMS), Primavera for Project Management, Mining Equipment Maintenance Management System (MEMMS), Financial Accounting System (FAS), Attendance Monitoring System, Personnel Information and Payroll Accounting System (PIPAS), Activity Based Cost Management System, Vendor Payment System, Information Monitoring System, Engineering Management System etc. Besides the above, your Company is also in the process of implementation of SAP based FICO and HCM modules, Contract Management System, Information Monitoring System. Environment Management & Sustainable Development Projects Your Company continues to practice the best environment management and eco conservation measures. Environment Policy with emphasis on clean and green environment is in place and your Company continues to comply with regulatory requirement and other environmental clearance conditions. All the Mines and Thermal Units at Neyveli are accredited with Environment Management Standards of ISO 14001 and Occupational Health and Safety Assessment (OHSAS) 18001. Reclamation of mined out land with an objective to make it again cultivable and conserve ecosystem is scrupulously carried out in all the operational mines of your Company. During the year 2014-15, 96.42 hectares of land has been reclaimed in all the mines in Neyveli. Slope stabilisation in mines dumping area is also carried out by planting and developing thick green belt which in turn preserves the environment. Also green cover is established in the Industrial units and as well as in the Township by planting more than two lakh trees to maintain the ecological balance. Members may be aware usage of plastic carry bags has been banned in Neyveli Township area and your Company is also operating a plastic recycle plant wherein waste plastic is converted into tar for use in road formation. In pursuit of India's commitment to act early towards climate change, your Company has taken up collaborative studies with Pondicherry Engineering College on "Sequestration of CO2 and production of Bio-Fuel from flue gas of Thermal Power Plants" and in this regard a 100 litre capacity laboratory scale Photobioreactor (PBR) has been installed. It is also proposed to install a 1000 litre capacity pilot scale PBR in TPS-I Expansion. Your Company is presently disposing the fly ash through supplies to the cement and the brick manufacturing Companies through e-auction besides using in its pre casting yards for manufacture of bricks for its internal use. Water Conservation and Water Pollution Control Much emphasis is given by your Company towards conservation of water. As a measure of conservation, a modern water treatment plant of 8000 GPM capacity is in operation to treat storm water from Mine-I for supply to Township for domestic purpose. Also 15000 GPM water of Mine-II storm water is treated and used in TPS-II and TPS-II Expn., which has greatly reduced the ground water pumping. A modern sewage treatment plant of 30 MLD capacity treats the sewage of entire township and part of industrial sewage where the treated water is utilised by the surrounding villages for agricultural purposes. Effluent treatment plants installed in all industrial canteen and waste water from industrial units are also treated in the ETP which is used for gardening and cleaning purposes. The effluents generated from Thermal and Mining Units are regularly monitored by TNPCB and no abnormalities reported. Besides on-line monitoring of effluent flow and quality has been introduced in the Thermal Station-I Expansion and TPS-II. Air Pollution Control Your Company takes care of air pollution by dust suppression measures in Mines. Electro Static Precipitators (ESPs) have been installed in all power plants to remove the ash particles from outgoing flue gas. Also stack height of power plants is maintained as per prescribed norms for effective dispersal of Sox and Nox to wider range. To monitor the pollution in the stack, online SPM and gas analysers have been installed. Ambient Air Quality (AAQ) Monitoring is carried out through continuous ambient air quality station and 13 manual stations. The on-line stack emission and AAQ data are uploaded to Centre for Real-time Monitoring (CARE AIR Centre) of Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board. Safety Your Company advocates highest priority towards industrial safety. Risk Assessment and Safety Audits were conducted for Mines and Thermal Power Stations in regular periodicity by engaging accredited external agency. The recommendations submitted by the external agency are being implemented. Safety related trainings like basic, refresher, on the job, are being imparted to all sections of employees in a well designed training centres like Group Vocational Training Centre in Mines, Thermal Training Centre and Learning and Development Centre. Safety awareness among the employees and contract workmen has been increased. Your Company achieved zero accident potential during the year 2014 -2015 at Barsingsar Mine, Thermal Power Station-II and Thermal Power Station-I Expansion. Risk Management In order to identify those threats to business and to create ways to reduce their impact, your Company has approved a Risk Management Policy. As per the policy the risks are classified broadly into three categories, viz., Strategic risks, Business Risks and Operational Risks and further categorised based on their impact and the frequency. Your Company has so far identified 51 risk elements. Based on the assessment, 20 of them have been prioritised for review. Their mitigation plans and the implementations are reviewed by the Risk Management Committee, Audit Committee and by the Board, bi-annually. At present, there are no major risk elements, which may threaten the existence of the Company. Your Company has developed a comprehensive Integrated Risk Management (IRM) framework and under the framework, Risk Management is practiced in all the units and the possible risks associated with its business are identified and mitigation plans are evolved. Risk Management Committee and the Board of Directors of your Company review the identification of risks and mitigation procedure on a periodical basis. Vigilance Having a main focus on the pro-active, preventive and participative vigilance activities, Vigilance Department conducted surprise checks, regular checks, CTE type checks, quality checks and follow up checks resulting in various system improvements and streamlining the procedural lapses. On the initiative of Vigilance Department, various IT based systems viz., Online TA bills submission, Annual Property Returns, Web based MIS, Detailed Engg. Mgt System, Online SME Erection in addition to publishing of Tenders in the Company website and CPPP, SOP for recruitment, installing surveillance camera at vulnerable locations, e-auction & e-procurement to bring out more transparency and efficiency in the system have been introduced. The Vigilance Department is the first to introduce a unique “Online Vigilance Clearance-OVC” system with the facility of knowing the file status by the concerned employee and Online Complaint Tracking System for speedy disposal of complaints to enhance the public perception. Vigilance Department has undertaken various other measures like hosting key information in Company website, providing feedback to the genuine complainant after investigation, getting feedback from people through various interactive programme, ensuring appropriate action against the guilty and protecting the innocent etc. A book has also been published by the Vigilance Branch titled “Lessons from Vigilance cases” citing various past cases, for the benefit of user departments. The Contract manual has been updated by the Management and the Purchase Manual & HR Manual are under review for updation. Annual Book fair and Safety week programme were used as a platform to spread vigilance awareness among the stakeholders. Vigilance Department has introduced “Ethical Awareness” programme to inculcate ethical values to the school children in Neyveli township covering 1300 children in 15 schools. The Vigilance Department besides conducting classes has taken up customised/tailor made programme so as to reduce the knowledge gap among the employees. Vigilance Department has been awarded with the prestigious “Corporate Vigilance Excellence Award-2015” by the Institute of Public Enterprises, Hyderabad. MOU with Transparency International Your Company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Transparency International India, part of Asia Pacific forum comprising 20 nations. Transparency International India is the Indian chapter of Transparency International, based at Berlin. Township Neyveli Township established in February 1959 has grown into a self-contained unit with all facilities. It has a total population of about 1,35,000 and spread over 50.Sq.Kms. The Township is provided with all facilities that include Schools, College, sophisticated General Hospital, Central Library, Swimming Pools, Auditorium, Stadium, Community Welfare Centers, Recreation Clubs, Reading Rooms, Parks, Banks, Shopping complexes, Offices of Government Agencies and about 21,277 residential quarters. Township with similar facilities has also been established in Barsingsar. Medical Services Your Company maintains a 350 bedded General Hospital at Neyveli that takes care of the health and medical care needs of its regular employees, contract workmen and their eligible dependents The Medical Care Delivery system in operation involves full care cycle encompassing the entire range of monitoring, diagnosing, treating and managing medical conditions across various disciplines. The broad service lines of the hospital could be fragmented into General Medicine, General Surgery, Paediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics, ENT, Dermatology, Chest Medicine and Psychiatry. Renal care, Diabetology, Neonatal and Intensive Care constitute the top line services of the General Hospital. During 2014-15, 7.56 lakh patients were treated in the out-patient department and 15264 patients were treated in the various Medical, Surgical, Paediatrics and Maternity wards. The General Hospital had organised Family Planning Services, Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme, National Leprosy Control Programme, AIDS Screening and Control Programme as a part of National Health Programme. General Hospital implements weekly Universal Immunisation Programme in collaboration with the State Health Machinery and administered medicines to protect against viral and bacterial diseases. The hospital continues to implement National Leprosy Eradication Programme as old leprosy cases are followed up at the weekly run in co-ordination with State government personnel and in collaboration with the Tamil Nadu State Aids Control Society plays a lead role in early detection, treatment and management of HIV cases in this region with excellent medical results. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Your Company, as a socially responsible corporate citizen, continues to carry out development works in the surrounding villages, right from its inception, focusing on the socio economic development of the operating regions for achieving inclusive growth. Ÿ In the Year 2014-15, your Company has adopted a new Corporate Social Responsibility Policy covering the various sectors of sustainable socioeconomic development. The Policy is available in the Company’s Website: http://www.nlcindia.com/csr/Board_Noted _CSR_Policy_ NLC_ 2014 .pdf Ÿ Your Company outlays funds for the CSR projects, programme and activities selected for implementation under the CSR Policy. Ÿ The CSR Committee of the Board is monitoring the implementation of the CSR Projects. The Board of Directors reviews the same and ensures that your Company spends, in every financial year, at least 2% of the average net profits of the Company for the last three years. Ÿ Timeframes and milestones are fixed through Baseline Survey before commencement of the CSR Projects. Ÿ Initiatives of State/Central Government Departments/Agencies are dovetailed/ synergised with the CSR Activities of NLC. The CSR expenditure of your Company for the year 2014-15 is Rs. 47.49 crore. The manner in which the amount was spent is given in the prescribed format. The major CSR initiatives undertaken during the year 2014-15 are given below:- CSR - Peripheral Members may be aware that a structured system is in operation for executing capital works for developing social infrastructure and building Sustainable Community Assets to benefit the villages surrounding Neyveli in Tamil Nadu and Barsingsar in Rajasthan State. Under this scheme, infrastructure development works like drinking water facility by sinking/maintaining the bore-wells, constructing RCC water tanks, providing roads & access, additional school buildings, laboratories, libraries, bridges, additional Infrastructure for primary health centres, developing medical facilities, de-silting of lakes etc., are being carried out on the basis of needs and priorities. Various works have been carried out during the year under review for the benefit of the population in the areas surrounding the operating localities. This includes the “Walajah Lake De-silting” Project undertaken in Karaimedu Hamlet near Neyveli, by which water holding capacity for irrigation has been increased by about 22.75 lakh Cubic meter, providing direct irrigation to about 11,500 acres of land and benefiting about 60 villages in the region. Continuous supply of water to nearby villages for irrigating over 23,000 acres of land is also continued in the Neyveli region. Your Company also provides access to the social facilities of the Company's Townships to the public in the surrounding areas. CSR - Community Your Company continues to extend all assistance including grant and infrastructure to Sneha Opportunity Services at Neyveli to run a day care, education and training centre for special children of the region. Neyveli Health Promotion and Social Welfare Society patronised by your Company has been serving the society by supplying artificial limbs/calipers to the differently-abled, apart from running a school for the hearing impaired and a Computer Centre, imparting training for physically challenged, widows and destitute and gainfully employing them. During the year 2014-15, CSR focused Training programme were organised for the benefit of the students, teachers and the population of Neyveli locality, in which 4,463 persons participated. 165 women from various peripheral villages were trained Light Motor Vehicle Driving, Tailoring and Beautician Trades. 290 men from various peripheral villages were trained in Operation & Maintenance of Light Motor Vehicles, Heavy Transport Vehicles, Earth Moving Equipment Operation and Vulcanising. Your Company has contributed Rs. 405 lakh during the year 2014-15, towards the Relief and Rehabilitation of areas affected by Disasters in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Jammu & Kashmir. CSR - Education Your Company offers best education through its 10 schools – 3 Higher Secondary Schools, 2 High Schools, 3 Middle Schools and 2 Elementary Schools to the students from surrounding villages and also to the wards of employees. During the year under review, the students' strength in these 10 schools was 6,515. Your Company has imparted Motivational and Exam-Skills training in the year to 2,184 girls and 1,541 boys of X and XII Standards in Neyveli and 14 peripheral village schools. Your Company provides infrastructural support and also periodical financial support to Rajiv Gandhi Education Society, Barsingsar for providing quality education and technical training to the children of villages around your Company's project-sites in addition to the Jawahar Education Society at Neyveli. The establishment of an Industrial Training Institute in Barsingsar village was completed by your Company in the year 2012-13. NCVT approved Courses in Horticulture and Electrician trades have commenced from October 2012 and Fitter and Welder trades have commenced from October 2013. During the year, 166 students have been imparted Industrial / Technical Training in these trades. CSR - Health Your Company provides quality medical treatment and occupational health service through its General Hospital to all inhabitants of the Neyveli Township and its surrounding villages, including comprehensive medical treatment to the Contract Workmen and their family members. During the year 2014-15: l Free medical consultation with minimum anti-biotic therapy and vitamins was extended in 86921 instances to out-patients from the rural public. 32574 patients were given emergency treatment for various causes. Community Health Screening for diabetes, Hypertension and HIV covering 12,473 persons during the Annual Book Fair and Safety Week Celebration was carried out and counselled for behavioural change. l 12 medical camps were conducted in peripheral villages located in the area surrounding Neyveli Township in Cuddalore District. 4,962 persons of these 12 villages were screened and given medical advice and medicines through the camps. During the camps, 713 Random Blood Sugar Tests were taken, 239 Electro Cardio Grams were generated and 439 persons were provided with vision glasses. 933 patients were referred for inpatient treatment of which 428 persons underwent the inpatient treatment. From February 2013 onwards, your Company is providing nutritious food supplement to the HIV affected children belonging to the Cuddalore District HIV Positive Society, Cuddalore. 285 such children were provided with food supplements during the year 2014-15. During the year 2013-14, your Company has instituted the “NLC Chair on CSR” with Institute of Public Enterprise, Hyderabad. The second and final installment of Rs. 100 lakh has been provided for the same as corpus, in the year 2014-15. In addition to the above, the details on specific Corporate Social Responsibility projects undertaken in compliance with Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 are placed as Annexure -1. ISO Certification Your Company's Mines and Thermal Power Stations at Neyveli are certified with ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 by reputed agencies for their sound systems and practices. In addition to the above, the Contracts Department, Learning and Development Centre and the Vigilance Department have been certified under ISO 9001. Contribution to the cause of women Your Company's human resource is represented by 7.5% of Women employees. Programme on women empowerment were organised during the year under review. Your Company actively participated and deputed women employees for the programme organised by “Women in Public Sector” (WIPS) under the aegis of SCOPE. Visit of Parliamentary Committees During the year the following Parliamentary Committees had visited your Company: a. Committee on Welfare of Other Backward Classes. b. Committee on official language. Awards & Recognition Awards received by your Company during the year 2014-15 are given below: Ÿ IME Journal Innovation Award instituted by Indian Mining and Engineering Journal for using State-of-the-art Mining Technology with effective CSR & Environment Management Ÿ Productivity Award instituted by World Academy of Productivity Science (WAPS). Ÿ Greentech Gold Award 2014 instituted by Greentech Foundation for the best safety performance of TPS-II. Ÿ National Award instituted by ‘Governance Now’ for Best HR Practices (Training). Ÿ National Energy Conservation Award -2014 for Mine-I instituted by Bureau of Energy Efficiency. Ÿ IE (I) Industry Excellence Award 2014, instituted by Institution of Engineers (India). Ÿ First Prize in the category of Best Public Sector Undertaking Unit implementing Right to Information Act, Instituted by Public Relation Society of India (PRSI). Ÿ Green Rating Project (GRP) Award, instituted by the Centre for Science & Environment for Barsingsar TPS and TPS-II, Neyveli. Business Responsibility Report (BRR) The Business Responsibility Report (BRR) for the year 2014-15, covering the initiatives taken by the Company from an environmental, social and governance perspective forms part of this Annual Report 2014-15. Compliance under Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 Your Company ensures compliance of provisions under the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995. Suitable arrangements/modifications are made in the working place to meet the requirements of persons with disability. Compliance under the Right to Information Act, 2005 Your Company ensures compliance under the Right to Information Act, 2005. 18 Central Assistant Public Information Officers representing different functional areas, one Nodal Officer, one Central Public Information Officer, two Appellate Authorities and one Transparency Officer have been nominated to attend to the queries and appeals received under the RTI Act in a time bound manner. During the year 2014-15, under the above Act, 307 applications containing 1443 queries were received and 268 applications covering 1134 queries have been replied. Compliance under Public Procurement Policy The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has notified the Public Procurement Policy and in terms of the said notification, an annual target for procurement from MSE was set for the three years beginning from the FY 2012-13. The target set for the FY 2014-15 for procurement of such items which are within the scope of MSEs was 20% and as against the same the achievement was 23.19%. Citizen's Charter Your Company maintains Citizen's Charter, indicating details of clients, customers under different heads, system of redressal of grievance etc., and the same is regularly updated. Conservation of Energy, Technology absorption and Foreign Exchange Earnings and outgo The particulars required under Section 134 (3) (m) of the Companies Act, 2013 regarding conservation of energy, technology absorption and Foreign exchange earnings and outgo are furnished in Annexure–2. Management Discussion & Analysis Report and Report on Corporate Governance The Management Discussion & Analysis Report is furnished in Annexure-3. The report on Corporate Governance on the compliance of Corporate Governance conditions stipulated by Clause-49 of the Listing Agreement and the DPE guidelines is furnished in Annexure-4. The Auditor’s certificate on the compliance of the above Corporate Governance conditions is furnished in Annexure-5. Statutory Disclosures Under Companies Act, 2013 and Listing Agreement Extract of Annual Return The extract of Annual return in terms of Section 134(3) read with 92(3) of the Companies Act, 2013 is placed as Annexure-6. Particulars of Employees Particulars of Employees as required under Rule 5(2) of the Companies (Appointment and Remuneration of Managerial Personnel) Rules, 2014 – Nil. Loans, Guarantees and Investments During the year 2014-15, your Company had subscribed to the equity share capital for an amount of Rs. 197.94 crore and 47.43 crore in NTPL and NUPPL, respectively. As on 31 March 2015 the share capital held by your Company in NTPL and NUPPL is Rs. 1508.02 crore and Rs. 47.48 crore, respectively. Your Company during the year 2013-14 had entered into a loan agreement with NTPL, the Subsidiary Company, to provide bridge loan of Rs. 1184.92 crore for implementation of its Thermal Power Project at Tuticorin for a period of 364 days at an interest rate of 10.86%. This arrangement was done in order to enable NTPL to get long term loan at a favourable interest rate post-commissioning of the project. As per the terms and conditions of the above loan agreement, during the year an amount of Rs. 980.52 crore was funded and NTPL has repaid Rs. 204.40 crore during the year. Besides the above, your Company has not granted any loan or guarantee or done any investments (other than short term deposits with the Bank in the ordinary course of business) during the year 2014-15. Transfer to Reserves During the year 2014-15, Rs.160 crore has been transferred to general reserves. Deposits The Company has not accepted any deposit from public. Status of unclaimed share certificates in terms of Clause 5A II of the Listing Agreement There were 1100 equity shares pertaining to 6 Shareholders lying unclaimed as on 01.04.2014. During the year 2014-15, no claim was received from any of the above shareholders. Material Changes affecting financial position occurring between the date of Financial Statement and Directors Report The final order from CERC for Barsingsar Thermal Power Station was received on 10.07.2015 for the period from COD to 31.03.2014. This has the effect of reducing the sale of power. Based on the legal opinion a review petition has been filed before CERC. Sexual harassment of women at workplace A separate Committee has been constituted for looking into the complaints relating to sexual Harassment of women at workplace. During the year 2014-15, no complaint was received in this regard. Auditors Statutory Audit M/s.Sreedhar, Suresh and Rajagopalan, Chartered Accountants and M/s.P.B.Vijayaraghavan & Co., Chartered Accountants, Chennai, were appointed by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (C&AG) as Joint Statutory Auditors for the year 2014-15 under Section 139 of the Companies Act, 2013. The Board of Directors of your Company has fixed Rs. 18 lakh plus applicable service tax as the Statutory Audit fees, to be shared equally by the Joint Statutory Auditors. Branch Audit M/s. Surender K Goyal & Co., Chartered Accountants, Jaipur, has been appointed as the Branch Auditor for the year 2014-15 by C&AG for conducting the audit of Mine and Thermal Units at Barsingsar. Secretarial Audit Shri. R. Balasubramaniam, Pracitising Company Secretary, Chennai, was appointed as the Secretarial Auditor for the year 2014-15. The Secretarial Audit report for the year 2014-15 and the reply to observations of the Secretarial Auditor are furnished in Annexure-7. Cost Audit M/s.M. Krishnaswamy & Associates, Cost Accountants, Chennai, were appointed as the Cost Auditor for the year 2014-15, to conduct cost audit for Mines & Power Stations of the Company. M/s.Srinivasan, Sundaram & Associates, Cost Accountants, Chennai, were originally appointed as the Cost Auditor for the year 2013-14 and since the said firm failed to file the audit report with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) within the due date i.e., 27.09.2014, extension of time up to 31.01.2015 was obtained from MCA to file the report. M/s.M. Krishnaswamy & Associates, Cost Accountants, Chennai were appointed as the Cost Auditor for conducting Cost Audit for the year 2013-14 and the Cost Audit Report was filed with MCA on 31.01.2015. C&AG’s Comments C&AG’s Comments on the accounts for the year ended 31st March, 2015 is furnished in Annexure-8. Directors’ Responsibility Statement as per Section 134(3)(c) of the Companies Act, 2013 The Board of Directors declares:- a. that in the preparation of the annual accounts, the applicable accounting standards had been followed along with proper explanation relating to material departures; b. that the Directors had selected such accounting policies and applied them consistently and made judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent so as to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company at the end of the financial year and of the profit of the Company for that period; c. that the Directors had taken proper and sufficient care for the maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act for safeguarding the assets of the Company and for preventing and detecting fraud and other irregularities; d. that the Directors had prepared the annual accounts on a going concern basis. e. the Directors had laid down internal financial controls to be followed by the Company and that such internal financial controls are adequate and were operating effectively. f. the Directors have devised proper system to ensure compliance with the provisions of all applicable laws and that such systems were adequate and operating effectively. Board of Directors Shri. M.S. Ravindranath relinquished the position as a Director on 30.08.2014 on attaining the age of superannuation. Shri. C. Balakrishnan and Dr. S G Dhande, Non-official part-time Directors resigned from the Board with effect from 24.09.2014. Shri. Subir Das, Director (Mines) was inducted into the Board w.e.f. 30.09.2014. Dr. A.K. Dubey, Additional Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Coal, relinquished the office of Directorship with effect from 11.06.2015. Smt. Sujata Prasad, Joint Secretary & Financial Advisor, Ministry of Coal has been inducted into the Board as an Additional Director w.e.f. 11.06.2015. Shri C.V. Sankar, Additional Chief Secretary to Government of Tamilnadu, Industrial Department resigned from the Board w.e.f. 29.06.2015. Shri Rajesh Lakhoni, Secretary to Government of Tamilnadu, Energy Department, has been inducted into the Board as an Additional Director w.e.f. 15.07.2015. The Board places on record its appreciation for the valuable contribution made by Sarvashri M.S. Ravindranath, C. Balakrishnan, Dr. S.G. Dhande, Dr. A.K. Dubey and C.V. Sankar during their tenure as Directors on the Board of the Company. Shri. Sarat Kumar Acharya, Director retire by rotation at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting and being eligible offers himself for re-election. Acknowledgement The Board of Directors of your Company places on record its sincere appreciation for the continued support and guidance extended by the Ministry of Coal, Ministry of Power, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Environment & Forest, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Heavy Industries, Planning Commission, Central Electricity Authority, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, State Electricity Boards and beneficiaries of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry and Rajasthan and also the Joint Venture Partners, viz., Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO), Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (UPRVUNL), Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) and Hindalco. The Board of Directors of your Company is pleased to acknowledge with gratitude the co-operation and continued support extended by the Governments of Tamil Nadu & Rajasthan and the District Administration of Cuddalore and Bikaner. The support and co-operation by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the Statutory Auditors, Branch Auditor, Cost Auditor, Secretarial Auditor, Director General of Mines Safety, the Factory & Boiler Inspectorates, Chief Inspector of Factories, the Director of Boilers, Central Pollution Control Board, State Pollution Control Board, Chief Controller of Explosives, Regional Labour Commissioner, Regional Provident Fund Commissioner, the Company's Bankers and KfW of Germany need special mention and the Directors acknowledge the same. Your Directors also wish to place on record their appreciation for the dedicated work put forth by the employees at all levels. The positive role played by the recognised Trade Unions and Associations of the Engineers and Officers in maintaining cordial industrial relations deserves special mention. FOR AND ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS B. SURENDER MOHAN CHAIRMAN-CUM-MANAGING DIRECTOR Date : 07.08.2015 Place : Chennai |