ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

Articles by Deepak SharmaSubscribe to Deepak Sharma

Political Economy of Independent Regulation in India’s Natural Gas Industry

Based on a case study of India's downstream hydrocarbon regulator, this article argues that the success or failure of independent regulation in industries supplying basic goods and services is determined by the politico-economic context in which the regulator functions. In a developing country with a large number of poor people without access to basic necessities such as water, energy, or roads, independent economic regulation by itself can deliver little, unless backed by a strong political will

National Investment Board

With reference to the article “National Investment Board: One More from Pandora’s Box” by Ashish Kothari (EPW, 10 November 2012), the government should have made sure that the idea of establishing the NIB found acceptance with various ministries and departments before it publicly floated the idea

Electricity Reforms in the ASEAN

In the mid-to-late 1990s, several ASEAN countries initiated wide-ranging programmes to reform their electricity industries. Such reform, argued its proponents, would improve the productivity of the electricity industries and attract much needed private investment. A review of these reform experiences suggests that there is a significant disparity between the expected and actual outcomes of reform. Explanations for this disparity appear to be narrow, industry-centric and ideological. This is unhelpful as it obscures the real challenges confronting the electricity industries and precludes consideration of meaningful policy prescriptions. There is a need to develop a broader perspective on electricity reform. This paper is an attempt in that direction.

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