Articles by Ashok Sreenivas

The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, to provide concessional LPG connections, is a step in the right direction but much more needs to be done by 2019 and beyond to ensure homes in India cook using modern fuels. This article explores the issues of providing connections, subsidy provisioning and ensuring sustained use of LPG and other modern fuels, so as to displace solid fuels from Indian kitchens. It also highlights the need for planning for increased demand and addressing institutional gaps to ensure that the benefits of modern fuel adoption, especially health benefits, are realised.

A first approximation of a multidimensional index assessing the energy sector in India would be a dashboard that would measure trends through five summary dimensions. Such a dashboard provides revealing insights, even in their condensed form.

There is a growing body of climate-related policy in India; at the same time, there is no clear and consistent approach or framework that directs and guides these efforts. In this paper, we propose and develop a methodology for operationalising a co-benefits approach to climate policy formulation. We use the technique of multi-criteria analysis, which requires making choices between and examining trade-offs across multiple objectives of policy, such as growth, inclusion and environment. In addition, we develop a framework for consideration of implementation issues. We focus on policies related to energy; but we believe the approach can also be modified to address adaptation concerns. The structured tool of the sort proposed here would hopefully contribute to more informed and deliberative decision-making on climate-related issues.

This article critically analyses the decision-making systems behind the proposed Pune metro rail system and its detailed project report, exposing several weaknesses in both. The decision-making system is seen to be ad hoc, and not sufficiently transparent or participative. The DPR suffers from serious methodological and analytical errors, and has exaggerated the benefits from the proposed project. This analysis, along with the experience from other cities, suggests that cities are increasingly seeking single large, big-budget solutions to their urban transport problems without exploring the many simpler, cheaper and more effective options available.

There has been a consistent lack of transparency and several governance lapses in the natural gas sector which have led to various kinds of concerns in important areas such as investment levels in blocks, availability of information regarding gas finds, content and process of arriving at pricing and utilisation policy, regulatory weaknesses and emerging market concentration. The objective of this article is to look behind the media glare and highlight the governance shortcomings that need urgent attention. Interestingly, a number of these issues were highlighted about two years ago on these very pages.