Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

Prime Minister assures time-bound action on power sector issues

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh today assured the private players in the power sector that a “practical, pragmatic and viable solution” will be found to the plethora of problems facing the power generation and distribution sector. After hearing the captains of industry led by Mr Ratan Tata at his residence in Delhi the Prime Minister said that a secretary level committee chaired by his Principal Secretary will suggest a roadmap to a time-bound solution to the short term problems impinging on the power sector. The committee will suggest the way forward on the most important issues raised by a delegation of Association of Power Producers. The Prime Minister underlined that the power sector is involved in the process of nation building and there is a need to reduce risks to make the power projects viable. He said it’s a national challenge and asked the industry representatives not to lose heart. He assured the delegation of his government’s commitment in taking all possible steps to mitigate the problems being faced by the power sector. He also directed his cabinet colleagues present at the meeting to make all out efforts to resolve the key issues impacting the power sector. Those present included, Power Minister Mr Sushil kumar Shinde, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Minister of State (Independent Charge), Environment and Forests, Ms. Jayanti Natrajan.

Earlier presenting the memorandum, the members of the delegation outlined the key issues such as shortage of domestic coal, increase in prices of imported coal, inadequate availability of gas, need for distribution reforms and financing of power projects. After giving a patient hearing to their demands, the Prime Minister assured the delegation that action will start immediately and his Principal Secretary will meet the representatives after one month to apprise them of the progress made.