Opinion
Next stop, Cancun
04 Jun 2003 |
Mr Sandeep Singh
| Business Standard
The Doha round of trade negotiations, launched in 2001, is in some difficulty. Whether the difficulties prove fatal depends on whether the developed world continues with the unnecessary rigidity it has shown so far on issues crucial to the developing world.
Give the regulators a chance
24 May 2003 |
Ms Anjali Garg
| The Hindu Business Line
Regulator bashing appears to be everyone's favourite pass time these days. A power cut and one hears about - for the next few weeks, at least - the "bad job" being done by the electricity regulator. Any increase in telephone tariffs, and everybody is out to run down the telecom regulator. There is no denying that it is necessary to keep the regulators on their toes, but are anti-regulator crusades the only way? Is it fair to judge a regulator on the basis of one action? Does it (the one action) make a regulator anti-consumer? Does it rewind the wheel of reforms, undoing all earlier successes?
Start power reforms from the pit
18 May 2003 |
Mr S K Chand
| The Economic Times
The symbiotic link between reforms in the power and coal sectors needs greater attention. The policy framework in the coal sector has a direct bearing on the performance of the power sector. Sixty per cent(62,631 MW) of power generating capacity is coal based and the coal industry is virtually operated by a monopoly. Of the total domestic coal production of 328 million tonnes (MT) in 2001-02, about 74% was consumed by power utilities alone. In 2001, the Indian railways, again a monopoly, carried about 53% of the coal, accounting for 48% of all revenue traffic. All these have a bearing on the power tariff.
Govt buildings waste Rs 150 cr of power each year: Shahi
22 Apr 2003 |
Mr Ramesh Menon
| <a href="http://www.rediff.com" target="_blank">http://www.rediff.com</a>
Inefficient energy consumption patterns by most government buildings result in a financial loss of about Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.50 billion) a year.
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.