1. News Briefs Nov 4: Chandan Roy Director (Operations), NTPC, has been appointed as the Chairman of Ratnagiri Gas and Power Private Limited (RGPPL) with effect from November 3, 2009, said an NTPC statement today. Roy, an engineer by profession, with experience of more than 38 years in the areas of project planning, conceptualization, design, engineering and operations and maintenance, held the position of Director on the Board of RGPPL, prior to the current appointment.The Independent Power Producers Association of India (IPPAI), today, said it is organizing its first-ever US-India workshop on ‘Challenges of Incorporating New Nuclear, Fossil and Renewable Energy Projects into the Indian Power Sector’ in Washington DC, on Tuesday, November 10, 2009. The initiative will look at ground level regulatory, technical and legal realities for the private participation in the Indian power sector that are likely to be encountered with nuclear, renewable, or fossil fuel power generation projects. The workshop will consider policy and regulatory issues affecting US investment in the Indian power sector and will examine key downstream power sector issues, including land acquisition, payment security mechanisms, third party open access issues, scheduling, settlement, civil liability, decommissioning, tariff setting, centre-state conflicts on open access, fuel issues, power exchanges, public private partnerships and sanctity of contracts, in the context of the emerging Indian Power market post the Electricity Act 2003 and US policy and regulatory issues, said a IPPAI media release.Further, in a media statement, NTPC has announced that the company's energy and environment protection wing, Centre for Power Efficiency & Environmental Protection (CenPEEP), has been conferred with the ‘International Gold Star for Quality Award 2009’, in recognition of its commitment to Quality, Excellence and Leadership contributing towards India's success in the business world. In the past, as well, NTPC-CenPEEP received two international awards-- the Climate Technology Award 2002 and US Environmental Protection Award 2003. The Award was presented at the 'International Quality Convention Geneva 2009’, organised by Business Initiative Directions (BID), it added. <br />