Maharashtra says it could go against existing franchisee norms Power distribution utilities of three States including Maharashtra have objected to the proposed suggestions by a sub-group of the Task Force on Private Participation in the Power Sector of the Planning Commission. They feel the proposals could go against existing franchisee norms in the States and skew the tariff. The sub-group had been pushing for Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) in the distribution of electricity as...

‘Make use of renewable sources mandatory for power generation' Parliamentarians have sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention in reining in mobile operators from misusing subsidised diesel for running mobile towers, which were causing massive environmental pollution. They have urged Dr. Singh to ensure that strong provisions are incorporated in the National Telecom Policy, 2011, currently being finalised, making it mandatory for the use of renewable sources and technologies for power generation to...

In U.P., where 70 per cent of the people depend on agriculture, FDI in retail does not produce any cheer. ON a misty Monday morning in early December in Muradnagar, a small town in western Uttar Pradesh, numerous tractors and trucks, loaded with jaggery and driven by farmers themselves, lined up in front of the smallest grain mandi (market) of the region. With unusual patience, the drivers waited for their...

Global experience in retail trading by MNCs does not tally with the presumptions on which the UPA government's FDI policy is based. IN the course of the debate on the need to permit foreign direct investment in retail in India, two arguments have been advanced often. The first argument is that large organised retail is good for not just consumers, who would benefit from lower prices owing to cost efficiencies...

-The United Nations   Corruption caused by weak governance is leading to unequal land distribution and poor resource management, according to a United Nations report released today, which argues that this lack of transparency is undermining social stability, investment and growth in developing countries. Weak land governance occurs as a result of low levels of transparency, accountability and the rule of law, the report says, which strains “the rules, processes and institutions that...