Opinion
The politics of oil
01 Apr 2003 |
Dr R K Pachauri
| India Today
Immediately after President George W.Bush's ultimatum to Iraq, oil prices dropped significantly to below $30 per barrel. Several reasons account for this reduction, the first being the removal of uncertainty over war in Iraq. Secondly, the market factored in the likelihood of a short war, which would not cause significant dislocation in the global oil market. Further, the International Energy Agency's (IEA) coordinated pooling of oil reserves to counter any fluctuations in the oil market. But a prolonged conflict in Iraq could upset the balance seriously. In that case the implications for India could be even more serious than those for the developed countries.
Is the oil sector deregulation a myth?
26 Mar 2003 |
Dr R K Pachauri
| The Economic Times
After considerable discussion and debate, the government of India dismantled the Administrative Pricing Mechanism last year. The intention behind the dismantling of the APM was to create a free and competitive market for petroleum products, and to ensure the viability of the oil companies which would be freed from price control by the government.
Infrastructure: will the 'partnership' work?
20 Mar 2003 |
| The Hindu Business Line
Unlike previous Budgets, the finance minister's speech stressed the need for leveraging public funds to encourage private participation in infrastructure sectors, and proposed a "viability gap funding" (VGF) mechanism to attract Rs 60,000 crore in roads, rail, airports and sea ports.
Is The Euphoria Over CDM Unwarranted?
25 Feb 2003 |
Ms Preety M Bhandari
| The Financial Express
Notwithstanding the controversies related to the uncertainty in predicting climate change, let alone the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the new and emerging issue insofar as the developing country context is concerned is the access to additional funds and technology through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Will CDM actually live up to the expectations of developing countries? The CDM, as described in the Kyoto Protocol, is ostensibly to help developing countries in "achieving sustainable development and in contributing to the ultimate objective of the Convention" as also developed countries to meet their emissions reduction targets. This will be effected through projects sponsored by developed countries in developing countries and resulting in certified emission reductions to be used by the former in complying with their commitments.
Chronicle of an emergency foretold
24 Feb 2003 |
Dr R K Pachauri
| The Indian Express
The annual budget of any government is in some sense like a performance by the proverbial Indian juggler. It is not merely an exercise in balancing the annual revenue and expenditure of the government, but also a major effort in stimulating economic growth and development and maximising the country's human welfare. Even more important, however, is the significance of the budget in highlighting and signalling policy directions that look beyond the year for which the budget is formulated. Within these objectives, the budget of the Government of India this year has also to contend with the reality of state elections scheduled this year and the parliamentary elections due in 2004.
Viable alternatives
05 Feb 2003 |
| Deccan Herald
As the first Secretary to the Government of India in the newly established department of Science and technology, Dr Arcot Ramachandran, who has been honoured with the Padma Bhushan award this year, had a major role in the setting up of agencies like the National Remote Sensing Agency, the Ocean Science and Technology Agency, Environment Planning, Co-ordination and Research Programme, the National Information System for Science and Technology, and the New Energy Sources Research and Development Programme, all of which have become ministries now, besides formulating the country's first Science and Technology Plan. Along with scientists like Dr M S Swaminathan, Dr Ramachandran is one of the few scientists in the country who have a strategic vision for India's development that links progress with technology development and transfer. He started off with research on the dynamics of heat transfer, a field of study which has wide ranging applications from rocket re-entry to domestic geysers, and it was under Dr Ramachandran's initiative that the School of Heat Transfer and Energy Research in the IIT, Madras was established, besides the Indian Society for Heat and Mass Transfer. Dr Ramachandran, for a long and extended tenure of 13 years has also lead the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements, formulating programmes like the 'Sustainable Cities' programme and the Sustainable Human Settlements Development Programme, which have been transforming the lives of millions of people across the globe. Dr Arcot Ramachandran now focuses his attention on alternate and renewable energy sources serving as chairman of Tata Energy Research Institute, and holds that access to energy (sources) and power are the two things that can pull our villages from poverty and propel them into the forefront of development. He speaks to Hema Vijay on the possibilities that lie ahead in alternative energy sources.
Regulatory relationships - the management perspective
05 Feb 2003 |
Ms Anjali Garg
,Ms Ekta Bhardwaj
| The Hindu Business Line
Are regulatory relationships in India well-managed? In fact, are they managed at all? To answer this, one has to go back a little into their history. The establishment of regulatory bodies in India in the mid-1990s marked the beginning of a new phase for various utilities. The requirements of the new regulatory role included internal and external co-ordination by the utility. However, at that time, only a few utilities were equipped to deal with this added responsibility and not enough resources - financial and human - were devoted to this function.
Trade and environment set to lock horns at WTO
04 Feb 2003 |
Mr Sandeep Singh
| The Financial Express
Less than eight months remain before the Cancun Ministerial meeting and two years before the Doha Round of WTO negotiations is scheduled to conclude. As with most contentious issues, the negotiations on trade and environment are moving nowhere. Yet they are of special significance as they are likely to set in motion the direction for further integration of trade and environmental objectives in the WTO.
Environmental goods at WTO - the question of tariff reduction
02 Feb 2003 |
Mr Sandeep Singh
| The Hindu Business Line
In WTO, the developed-developing dichotomies are more often than not insignificant, as countries adopt different positions on individual issues that suit their specific interests. At the Doha Ministerial Conference, for instance, the common position of developing countries failed to converge when they gave up on environment at the last moment. Consequently, substantial aspects of the trade-environment debate were made part of negotiations.
The pipeline of peace - What could also flow through the India-Iran pipeline: improved Indo-Pak relations
22 Jan 2003 |
Dr R K Pachauri
| The Indian Express
It is significant that the chief guest at this year's Republic Day parade would be the President of Iran, Mohammed Khatami. Prior to the visit of the Iranian President, a team of officials from that country led by the Deputy Foreign Minister Dr Mohammad Hossein Adeli have done valuable preparatory work.