Sector Reforms In India Research Articles

Utility reforms in developing countries: Learning from the experiences of Delhi

The power sector reforms of Delhi, the capital of India presents an interesting case in the evolution of power sector reforms in India, targeting improvements in distribution side. The Delhi reform design has benefitted from the experience of an earlier partially successful experiment in the state of Orissa. The reform format has tried many new ideas such as defining Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses, auctioning of Discoms based on highest AT&C loss reduction, direct privatization and transitory support provision. In the span of a little more than a decade from the year 2002, there has been tangible progress on many fronts. Other utilities planning the reforms may benefit from this experience. However, newer challenges such as an unexpected increase in power purchase costs with limited scope of passing these costs to the end customers seem to have emerged in the recent years. The paper ends with a cautionary note that for any utility not having access to lower cost power, the distribution reforms will reach a dead-end unless a competitive market is created at the generation side too.

The influence of customer-perceived service quality on customers’ behavioural intentions: a study of public and private sector banks, class and mass banking and consumer policy implications

The financial sector reforms in India advocated globalization, deregulation and the liberalisation of entry norms to permit new banks in the private sector. This has increased competitive pressures on the state-owned public sector banks which concurrently have to fulfill their social obligations towards the financial development of the economy and citizens. This study explores how different dimensions of service quality influence customers’ behavioural intentions in class and mass banking and the implications for public and consumer policy. A contextually modified SERVQUAL instrument along with multiple regression and in-depth interviews were used. The study reveals that financial consumer policy must build security and trust in public administration and that the concept of quality must visualize public agencies as catalysts of a responsible and active civic society.

Independent Debt Management Office: Rationale, Scope and Structure

Ever since the onset of financial sector reforms in India in early nineties, the proposal for separation of debt management from monetary management and setting up of an independent Debt Management Office (DMO) gained prominence. As both debt and monetary management became market oriented, the potential conflict between the two has surfaced. Since RBI is a major investor in government securities, and its market interventions through open market operations in government securities and liquidity management operations through CRR or LAF can be clouded by debt management objectives. The fiscal-monetary nexus in that sense cannot be underestimated. As the role of RBI is restricted to management of market loans, debt management should be viewed in a holistic manner while structuring the new DMO. The interests of all stakeholders, namely, the central government, state governments and the Reserve Bank also need to be kept in view. The Institutional and organisational structure of DMO across the globe can serve as vital leads in crafting the structure of India DMO.

Banking Sector Reforms in India

In India, commercial banks are the oldest, largest and fastest growing financial intermediaries. They have been playing a very important role in the process of development. In 1949 RBI was nationalized followed by nationalization of Imperial Bank Of India (New State Bank Of India) in 1995. In July 1969, 14 major commercial banks were nationalized and in April 1980, 6 more were nationalized. Reforms in banking sector have led to the setting up of new private sector banks as well as entry of more foreign banks. As banks are expanding in to virtual banking, supervision and audit will have to be strengthened. Banks will have to pay greater attention to fool proof security arrangements and systems to safeguard against frauds.

Life Insurance in India: the Relationship between Reforms and Growth in Business

Reforms in the Indian life insurance sector began in 1999 and since then the growth of the life business has been impressive despite some restrictions. Whether the reforms in this sector have helped the industry to grow or not is an empirical matter. We, therefore, studied the relationship between life insurance sector reforms in India and the growth of life business in the post-reform period. At the empirical level, we first construct an index to measure the reforms and then used the VAR–VECM model to find out the long-run relationship. The Granger causality test suggests that life insurance sector reforms improved the overall development of life insurance development in recent years in India.

Management of Financial Institutions in India

Deregulation of financial markets provides both opportunities and challenges for financial institutions. Financial sector reforms in India induced competition in it which led to innovations and greater uniformity in services offered by them. This is the broad theme of the book.

Urban Water Sector Reforms in India: Financing Infrastructure Development Through Market – Based Financing and Private – Public Partnerships

A huge population size, a rapidly growing economy and increasing levels of urbanization, coupled with the dwindling sources of freshwater, have made management of urban water supply one of the most important priorities in the development agenda of India. Water supply in India is mainly a responsibility of the individual state governments which in turn delegate powers to the urban local bodies for provision of water and sanitation services to people at the city level. Water utilities in India are grappling with the problem of poor and aging infrastructure, high levels of unaccounted-for water, intermittent supplies, poor water quality and low tariff rates. Apart from the dwindling flow of funds from the state governments and external donors, the main source of revenues for the utilities is water tariffs collected from consumers; however, the latter is rarely enough to meet even the operation and management expenses. Hence, faced with the challenge of financing water infrastructure development and eliminating the management deficiencies of water utilities, India has been actively involved in reforming its water governance system since 1990s through revision of its laws and policies. Learning from the experiences of the rest of the world, India has been encouraging private sector participation in its water sector as well as developing innovative means of market-based financing mechanisms. This paper aims to explore the water sector reform in India and uses examples from the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to highlight the use of private-public partnerships and pooled financing mechanisms to augment water supply.

Impact of Banking Sector Reforms in India in t`he Post-Reforms Era

Impact of Banking Sector Reforms in India in t`he Post-Reforms Era

Rural Electrification in the Changing paradigm of Power Sector Reforms in India

Rural electrification is an integral component of poverty alleviation and rural growth of a nation. In India, electricity has not played effective role in the socio-economic growth of village. GDP is increasing with 8 percent where as contribution of agriculture sector is 1.9 percent. Government of India has ambitious target of providing electricity to all villages by 2008 and all rural households by 2012. Steps are already initiated with Rural Electric Corporation, Rural Electricity Supply Technology mission, State Electricity Boards, Reforms in Power Sector. An attempt has been made in this paper to assess the features of rural electrification in India and the problems faced by State Electricity Boards. Challenges of rural electrification in the changing scenario of power sector reforms are identified. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijece.v2i2.149

Monetary Policy: Its Impact On The Profitability Of Banks In India

This purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of monetary policy on the profitability of banks in the context of financial sector reforms in India. We discuss the financial sector reforms and the implication of the banks, the various instruments of monetary policy in India, and the impact of monetary policy on the profitability of banks.

Service quality in Indian and foreign banks: Indian customers' perceptions and gender differences

The deregulation and financial sector reforms in India have changed the nature of banking services. Indian customers' quality perceptions pre-liberalisation was primarily dependent on the services offered by public sector banks. The quality expectations of the Indian customers can help banks in planning their strategies. The SERVQUAL model was modified to understand the service quality perceptions with reference to Indian and foreign banks. The banks need to assess the needs of women in planning their strategies. The results show that customers' perceptions regarding Indian and foreign banks differ significantly. The two genders differ in their service quality assessment.

Catastrophic Payments and Impoverishment Due to Out-of-Pocket Health Spending: The Effects of Recent Health Sector Reforms in India

Out-of-pocket payments are the principal source of health care finance in most Asian countries, and India is no exception. This fact has important consequences for household living standards. In this paper the author explores significant changes in the 1990s and early 2000s that appear to have occurred as a result of out-of-pocket spending on health care in 16 Indian states. Using data from the National Sample Survey on consumption expenditure undertaken in 1993-94 and 2004-05, the author measures catastrophic payments and impoverishment due to out-of-pocket payments for health care. Considerable data on the magnitude, distribution and economic consequences of out-of-pocket payments in India are provided; when compared over the study period, these indicate that new policies have significantly increased both catastrophic expenditure and impoverishment.

Getting reforms done in inhospitable institutional environments: untying a Gordian Knot in India’s power distribution sector

When grand institutional reforms based on idealized models are stalled by the poor institutional environments and difficult politics which often surround large infrastructure systems in developing countries, partial reforms whose design and implementation take into account the different interests of the key stakeholders can provide valuable and immediate benefits while moving these systems from low- towards higher-level equilibria. Strategically negotiated, experimentally partial and purposefully hybrid, these reforms are based on careful stakeholder analysis and strategic coalition building that avoid rigid positions based on idealized models. Our findings are based on a study of power sector reforms in India, where we performed a micro-level and in-depth analysis of a partial and innovative experiment which has allowed private sector participation in electricity distribution within a hostile institutional environment.

Transformation in Indian Banks Through Corporate Governance-Emerging Challenges & Strategies for a New Gateway

Strengthening the financial sector and improving the functioning of financial markets have been the core objective of the financial sector reforms in India. The significant transformation of the financial system in the country is clearly evident from the changes that have occurred in the financial markets, institutions and products. In 1990, the country witnessed an economic crisis leading to a fast decline in the GDP, a high rate of inflation, adverse BOPs due to a widening gap in the current account deficit and a decline in the foreign exchange reserves. The country had to borrow resources from foreign central banks and other foreign government agencies against the pledge of gold so as to avoid a default on international indebtedness. There were some banking sector deficiencies ahead of the economy, which were adversely affecting the economic growth of our country such as low productivity and profitability, public sector banks were incurring losses year after year, giving poor customer service, using outdated work technology etc. Keeping in mind all these distortions in the economic, financial and banking sectors, the government of India and the RBI thought it was necessary to introduce reforms in the financial and banking sector, so as to promote rapid economic growth and development with stability through the process of globalization, liberalization and privatization in the financial system to make the financial system more competitive and integrated with the world economy through internationalization of financial markets in the world.

Introducing competition in the power sector in India: adoption of the US model

PurposeThe twin objectives of power sector reforms in India – improving efficiency and attracting private investment – are far from being achieved. It is commonly acknowledged that competition in the sector can help achieve the objectives of the reforms, but although the Electricity Act of 2003 promised to usher in competition, even after seven years of its enactment there is very little competition in generation and absolutely no competition in retail supply. This paper seeks to find a road map for the introduction of competition in the power sector in India by discussing and drawing upon the US model of deregulating generation and retail supply whilst simultaneously keeping transmission and distribution under regulation.Design/methodology/approachThe study is a historical analysis of deregulation in the US power sector and its relevance for India by drawing upon both primary and secondary resources.FindingsThe introduction of competition in the USA has brought substantial gains for the consumer and India can follow this model by mandating all distribution utilities to procure their future requirement of power through open competitive bidding. For retail competition, the system of provider of last resort (POLR) with POLR price being fixed with reference to market price can be the way forward.Originality/valueThis paper offers some practical and implementable suggestions for introducing competition in the power sector in India.

Water Law, Poverty and Development: Water Sector Reforms in India – By Philippe Cullet

Water Law, Poverty and Development: Water Sector Reforms in India – By Philippe Cullet

India Country Report: LIRNEasia Six Country Multi-Component Study 2006-2007

This study is an attempt to fill this research lacuna and proposes to provide a comprehensive analysis of telecom sector reform in India by documenting the reform process in its institutional context, especially the role of the regulator. The report is organized as follows. Section 2 of the report documents past policy and regulatory developments that have shaped the outcomes of the industry in terms of hard indicators for the industry. This objective data (teledensity, market shares, level of competition in fixed as well as mobile, number of internet and broadband subscribers, price of leased line, tariffs, revenue, etc.) which are an objective measure of the impact of the regulatory process are supplemented by subjective data collected through a perception survey from a representative and informed group of respondents on the prevailing Telecom Regulatory Environment (TRE).Section 3 of the report discusses the reform process in the context of the TRE parameters We analyze the role of the Indian regulator2 on six broad parameters: (a) market entry; (b) access to scarce resources, mainly spectrum; (c) interconnection; (d) tariff regulation; (e) regulation of anti competitive practices; and (f) universal service obligations (USO).We conclude this country report in Section 4, where we attempt to outline the current state of regulation and the challenges it has to overcome in creating effective competition for the new economy benefits to percolate to the population at large. There has been some discontent with the nature of the Indian telecom reform, as the gap between the urban and rural teledensity has risen. Thus, this part of the study also discusses the current policy and regulatory issues that are impinging upon competition and creating barriers to inclusive growth and replication of the urban success story in rural areas.

Metering of agricultural power supply in West Bengal, India: Who gains and who loses?

As a part of the ongoing power sector reforms in India, the state of West Bengal is in the process of metering agricultural electricity supply. This paper presents a first cut assessment of this initiative. Results suggest that the majority of the pump owners benefit from the reforms in two ways: first by having to pay a lower electricity bill for same usage and second through increased profit margins by selling water. This is because in response to the changed incentive structure, water prices rose sharply by 30–50% immediately after metering. In contrast, water buyers have lost out by having to pay higher water charges and face adverse terms of contract. Impact of metering on operation of groundwater markets and volume of groundwater extracted is less clear; they may expand, contract or remain unchanged, though water use efficiency is likely to go up. At current tariff rates, the electricity utilities are likely to earn less revenue than before. These findings are context specific and hold good for West Bengal where high flat tariff had fostered competitive groundwater markets and hence cannot be generalised for other Indian states.

Health Sector Reforms in India: A Situation Analysis

The process of economic reforms in the 1990s has resulted in a paradigm shift in the health sector in India. This paper is a modest attempt to address these concerns by focussing on aspects of health equity interplay between private and public sector service providers, and determinants of service providers. Our finding indicates that to a large extent, accessibility and quality of services govern the choice of health service provider. We also find that the existence of an efficient public health system can act as a major anchor for equity in the health service system

Post 1991 Banking Sector Reforms in India: Policies and Impacts

The banking sector reforms in India were started as a follow up measures of the economic liberalization and financial sector reforms in the country. The banking sector being the life line of the economy was treated with utmost importance in the financial sector reforms. The reforms were aimed at to make the Indian banking industry more competitive, versatile, efficient, productive, to follow international accounting standard and to free from the government's control. The reforms in the banking industry started in the early 1990s have been continued till now. The paper makes an effort to first gather the major reforms measures and policies regarding the banking industry by the govt. of India and the Central Bank of India (i.,e. Reserve Bank of India) during the last fifteen years. Secondly, the paper will try to study the major impacts of those reforms upon the banking industry. A positive responds is seen in the field of enhancing the role of market forces, regarding prudential regulations norms, introduction of CAMELS supervisory rating system, reduction of NPAs and regarding the up gradation of technology. But at the same time the reform has failed to bring up a banking system which is at par with the international level and still the Indian banking sector is mainly controlled by the govt. as public sector banks being the leader in all the spheres of the banking network in the country.