Healthcare expenses can be lowered by eliminating corruption, say experts
Aruna Roy says legislation is being subverted 'by using rules'
Sector has made strides on physical side, but needs to catch up on financial side India should have just one market for electricity, on the lines of the Goods and Service Tax (GST), said Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser.“When soft drinks can be sold throughout the country at one price, why can’t we have one tariff for electricity?” he asked.He was giving a talk on the theme “Co-operative federalism to foster reforms: the case for power sector,” organised by The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy here on Tuesday. ‘Multiple slabs’ The CEA said he was surprised to discover that States such as Bihar and Rajasthan had multiple tariff slabs for electricity. “There are slabs for pisiculture, small rabbit farm, panchayat municipalities...How can you run any market system where a commodity has 100, 200 prices depending upon when it is used, how it is used, where it is used... This kind of complexity leads to corruption,” he said. “We have here a system of protectionism... balkanised economic India... in order to sustain what are actually not so good and not so desirable policies at the level of every State... How can we create one market in India for power? The Constitution says, we are one nation. But we are not as far as electricity is concerned,” he said. According to Dr. Subramanian, India had made great strides in the power sector on the physical side. But it needed to catch up on the financial side. The power sector faced challenges on generation side, distribution front and market structure, he said. Since India “is not a one market for power” the choice was restricted to many agencies. The 2000 boom left in its wake a surge in thermal power capacity, he said.A combination of factors ranging from economic growth slowdown and subsidy-induced surge in renewable energy had affected the financial viability of these thermal plants, triggering a cascading effect across the spectrum. He also pointed to the inability of the political system to charge correct tariff for power. Though power was in the concurrent list, “the Centre has a stake,” he said. “In fact, it is absolutely first order of business for the Centre to make sure we are one India. We cannot be a balkanised India. In power, we cannot allow States to impose and create fragmented markets in India,” he added. Source: The Hindu , November 8, 2017. News report from: The Hindu Business Line. 2017 . ‘CEA to States: Work towards one power market, a la GST’, November 8. The Times of India. 2017 . “Common power market needed across country“, November 8. ET EnergyWorld. 2017 . “Common power market needed“, November 8. Indian Mandarins. 2017 . “CEA calls for single power market“, November 8.
Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi may have been viewed as an iron lady, but there is another lesser known dimension to her — a reluctant politician and a naturalist, said says Jairam Ramesh, Member of Parliament and former Union Minister. Discussing his latest book, Indira Gandhi: A Life in Nature, at an event organised by the Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy her on Thursday, Ramesh said there is not much written about what she was as a person. “The sole objective of the book is to discover Indira Gandhi through her own eyes. To answer who she thought she was and whom she believed herself to be.” According to Ramesh, Gandhi was a reluctant politician who grew up in politics and did not know how to get out. She was also a naturalist, who was passionate about nature, which comes through the green initiatives taken during her period in office, Ramesh said. Most of her policies, he said, focussed on maintaining the ecological balance. India never had a Wildlife Protection Act, which prohibits shooting of animals, until 1972 when Gandhi passed the bill. Important wildlife sanctuaries such as Kalakkad and Bharatpur, and a legal framework to protect nature were introduced when she headed the government. The Clean Water Act and the Forest Protection Act were also along those lines. She instituted the Wildlife Institute of India. Ramesh said: “It is not just that. She was the first Prime Minister to talk about climate change in 1972 during the Stockholm Conference, when environment was not a major political issue like it is now.” But yes, he agreed that there were times when she took a wrong call, like the Kudremukh project in partnership with Iran, which was termed an ecological disaster. Despite that, Ramesh emphasised that as opposed to the authoritarian image, when it comes to matters concerning nature, she was anything but that. Source: The Hindu Business Line , July 6, 2017. News report from: The Hindu , 2017. ‘ Indira Gandhi was a reluctant politician: Jairam Ramesh ’, July 6.
The following are links to news reports on " Demonetisation and Black Money " organised by The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy and Asian College of Journalism. Participants at public discussion say they were surprised at the absence of mass protests C. Rammanohar Reddy, advisor to The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, said on Thursday that the demonetisation exercise of last year was more a political gamble by Prime Minister Narendra Modi than an economic decision. Source: The Hindu , Chennai, April 14, 2017 Read More... News reports from: The Hindu Business Line , 2017. ‘ Demonetisation was a political gamble than an economic decision ’, April 13.
The following are links to news reports on the inaugural Annual Lecture organised by The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy. Modi govt. failed to drive economic growth despite favourable conditions, former Finance Minister says India cannot achieve economic growth in the long-term if it excluded the minorities and marginalised sections from the political process, cautioned veteran Congress leader and former Union Minister P. Chidambaram. Source: The Hindu , Chennai, March 13, 2017 Read More.. News reports from: The Hindu Business Line. 2017. “Allow non-performing bureaucrats to leave at the age of 40, says Chidambaram“, March 13. The Indian Express. 2017. “UP election 2017: BJP failed to field Muslim candidates, says Chidambaram“, March 14. Last accessed March 14, 2017. The Financial Express. 2017. “Assembly Election 2017:P Chidambaram questions BJP’s strategy in Uttar Pradesh elections“, March 14. Last accessed March 14, 2017. Business Standard. 2017. “BJP failed to field Muslim candidates, victory is debatable: P Chidambaram on UP elections“, March 14. Last accessed March 14, 2017. DNA. 2017. “Chidambaram questions BJP’s strategy in UP elections“, March 14. Last accessed March 14, 2017. News18.com. 2017. “P Chidambaram Questions BJP’s Strategy in UP Assembly Polls“, March 14. Last accessed March 14, 2017. The Times of India (Mumbai edition), 2017. “UPA should have nixed spectrum allocations: PC“, March 14. Last accessed March 14, 2017.
India’s achievements in education were mixed, says the Congress MP The economic reforms that started in 1991 have helped cut poverty significantly even as inequality has widened appreciably, said Jairam Ramesh, Member of Parliament, and author of a book To the Brink and Back: India’s 1991 Story . Source: The Hindu , Chennai, July 30, 2016 Read More.. News reports from: The Hindu Business Line, 2016. “Jairam Ramesh points to irony of reforms: poverty down, but inequalities elsewhere“, July 29. The New Indian Express, 2016. “Collapse of healthcare system a concern“, July 30. Last accessed July 30, 2016. HTMedia Syndication, 2016. “Collapse of healthcare system a concern“, July 30. Last accessed July 30, 2016. Related links: Introduction by N. Ravi, Director, Kasturi & Sons Ltd., and former Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu. [PDF 89 KB] Background Note by The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, How India’s Economy Changed Track: A Retrospective of Politics and Public Policy. [PDF 190 KB] Audio Link : How India’s Economy Changed Track: A Retrospective of Politics and Public Policy
Panellists debated Tamil Nadu’s model and approaches to welfare Noted economist A. Vaidyanathan on Saturday said it was important for the State to provide basic amenities and services to the poor, but not freebies. Source: The Hindu, CHENNAI, May 1, 2016 Read More.. The Hindu Centre's Background Note on The Politics of Welfare in Tamil Nadu.
Video Recording of the Panel Discussion Audio Recording of the Panel Discussion Focussing on the recent events that unfolded at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy organised a panel discussion on ‘Free Speech and Sedition in a Democracy,’ touching upon the impact of sedition law on freedom of speech, in Chennai on Thursday. Source: The Hindu, CHENNAI, March 25, 2016 Read More.. The Hindu Centre's Background Note on Free Speech and Sedition in a Democracy: The Hindu , Thursday, March 24, 2016 Published in other Media: Background Note: india EVERYDAY, Thursday, March 24, 2016 Express News, Thursday, March 24, 2016 Headlines News, Thursday, March 24, 2016 news.nyomdagepek.hu, Thursday, March 24, 2016 News: The New Indian Express, Friday, March 25, 2016
Advocating ‘across the border’ citizenship for Sri Lankan Tamil refugees presently living in India, the former National Security Adviser, M.K. Narayanan, on Wednesday said, “it was not easy, but it should be possible.”Speaking at a colloquium ‘The Future of Sri Lankan Tamil Refugees in India’ organised by The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, he endorsed the argument that providing financial support to refugees who intend to return should help them. Source: The Hindu, CHENNAI, November 5, 2015 Read More... The Hindu, CHENNAI, November 4, 2015 Published in other Media: Zachariah, P. 2015. MK Narayanan, former national security advisor, attacked with a slipper, LiveMint, November 5. The News Minute, Friday, November 6, 2015 The Times of India, Nov 4, 2015 Daily news, Friday, 6th November 2015
After a decision had been taken to devalue the Indian rupee, Manmohan Singh had written to Narasimha Rao. He was worried that his personal rupee balan
Politicians would not be able to make hard choices on an issue such as climate change, if the media fails to build public opinion on this extraordinarily important challenge facing the world, said Alan Rusbridger, former Editor-in-Chief of Guardian News and Media on Tuesday.Climate change is an issue on which politicians find it difficult to make decisions and journalism has to step in with even a campaign to make people consider it, he said, delivering a lecture on “Climate change: Has journalism failed?” organised by The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy here. Source: The Hindu, CHENNAI, July 15, 2015 Read More... Published in other Media: Nyoooz, July 15,2015 Read Full Story The New Indian Express, July 16, 2015 Deccan Chronicle, July 16,2015
A peek into the latest book, Legislating for Justice: The Making of the 2013 Land Acquisition Law, authored jointly by Jairam Ramesh, MP, Senior Visit
Jairam Ramesh, MP, Senior Visiting Fellow, The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, and former Union Minister, has authoured a book, Green Sig
Source: Prajavani, Bengaluru, November 11, 2014 Read here
By 2050, India will have the world's largest population, adding 400 million to its present population of 1.24 billion. But even now, over 50 million homes in the country don't have access to basic electricity. With statistics like this, an energy crisis seems imminent. Former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh discussed India's climate challenges in a discussion titled 'Climate Change and India's Energy Policy" at the National Institute of Advanced Studies here on Monday evening. Source: DECCAN Chronicle, Bengaluru, November 11, 2014 Read More..