Indian Power Sector- A Review
Amandeep Verma
Government College of Commerce and Business Administration, Sector 42,
Chandigarh
Email: amanverma1026@gmail.com
Abstract
Indian economy has been growing at a rate of 6-8 % annually during the last eight
years which requires growth of basic infrastructural facilities at a still higher
rate. Power sector being a major component of infrastructure development requires
a growth rate of 9-10% during the next decade. This requires huge amount of
investments and restructuring of power sector, for which Government cannot fund
the entire amount independently. Hence, private participation is necessary either
as an independent venture or through public-private partnership (PPP). This paper
attempts to review the Indian power sector with respect to generation, transmission
and distribution of electricity and identify and highlight the key initiatives and
reforms undertaken for private participation in the electricity sector and some
issues that are being grappled with in effort to make the sector efficient and
attractive for investments.
© 2013 New Delhi Publishers. All rights reserved
Keywords: Infrastructure, transmission electricity
Introduction
Electric Power Sector is a vital aspect of the national economy. The Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) of our country has been growing at the rate of about 6 to 8% for the
last several years. The liberalization and globalization of the economy is leading to
an increased tempo in industrial and commercial activities and this, coupled with
penetration of technology and I.T. in the day-to-day life of the common man, is
expected to result in a high growth in power demand. It is accordingly essential that
development of the Power Sector shall be commensurate with the overall economic
growth of the nation.
Power, being in the Concurrent Subject list under the Indian Constitution, is the
joint responsibility of the State and Central Governments. Despite liberalisation
and economic reforms of 1991, the power sector in the country is still dominated by
the public sector in generation, transmission and distribution segments. Almost 80
percent of electricity is generated by the public sector with the State and Union
Governments generating about 49.9% and 31.9% of total installed capacity
respectively. The share of private sector in generation is increasing from alomost
Inernational Journal of Social Science Volume, 2 no. 2, December 2013: 157-169
DOI Number: 10.5958/j.2321-5771.2.2.009