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Electricity privatization in India is being resorted to for resource mobilization, competition promotion and the achievement of commercial orientation. However, India's privatization move fails to catch fire since foreign firms are being discouraged from investing by the poor financial performance of the nation's state electricity boards and the absence of commercial orientation in these entities. The Indian government must change its tack of promoting privatization that is only leading to high cost solutions and demands for transparency from the public.

India's bright economic prospects could result in a higher demand for petroleum products in the country. In this regard, energy planners should address the issue of growing demand to help the country prepare for potential petroleum shortages. Product-specific factors that affect petroleum demand and demand forecasts for specific petroleum products are generated using econometric models based on time series data.

The development of renewable energy sources is necessary for the success of any sustainable development program. In the case of India, SWOT analysis helps determine its renewable energy potential and assess the role of renewable energy sources in a sustainable development program. Strategies and public policy initiatives are recommended to hasten the development of India's renewable energy sources.

The private financing of power projects in India has helped solve the country's financing needs. However, it failed to address the inability of state electricity boards (SEBs) to borrow from commercial sources and its weakness to sign long-term power purchase contracts. Power sector reform and regulation is necessary to increase the financial strength of SEBs through cost reduction and improved revenues. SEBs should be profitable if these agencies are to play a vital role in state-level electricity management.

Subsidies for coal in India are examined. The economic cost of coal production and existing pit-head prices were compared to determine the subsidies. Results show that for non-cooking coal, existing pit-head prices were higher than economically efficient prices. For cooking coal, economically efficient prices were higher than lower price limits and lower than upper price limits indicating the existence of subsidies for low-grade cooking coal.

Effective intervention design sould be part of the economic development plans of the area for which it is formulated. Integrated planning should fuse the energy plan with economic development plans instead of integrating energy sources and technologies. Intervention design should augment and facilitate economically productive activities aside from fulfilling subsistence requirements. Interventions should be identified for systems whose boundaries correspond to the biomass system's boundaries.

The Bombay Electric Lighting Large-scale Experiment (BELLE) lighting efficiency program was started in Bombay, India as a response to consumer, utilities and manufacturing constraints. The plan involved a consortium of a local utility, a research institution and a manufacturer of compact fluorescent lamps. Failure of the BELLE project points to a need for an integrated analytical framework which includes an assessment of institutional behavior.

Irrigation pumping subsidies have been an important part of the Indian government's energy policy since 1960. To date, the Indian government has poured in large amounts of money for investments in the national grid and electricity use subsidies. A study of the Mahbubnagar District in Andhra Pradesh, India, shows that the provision of subsidized electricity to the farm sector results in immense financial losses.

The Indian government subsidy on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene has significantly increased consumption of the two fuels in Indian households. As a result, the country has been forced to import kerosene and LPG as domestic sources cannot meet the demand. However, studies show that the subsidy is not having its desired effect since users of LPG are mostly high income families.

Two possible sources of power in India that limit the emission of carbon dioxide emissions are examined in line with the growing concern over future greenhouse gas emissions from developing countries as demand for energy increases. The use of wind electric generators in windfarms can efficiently emit energy with reduced carbon dioxide emissions compared to small hydro power generators. However, negative incremental costs are incurred from the small hydro (-$120 to $50 per ton) compared to costs incurred from windfarms ($6 to $470).

The operations of the transport and industry sectors in India are currently dependent on diesel and fuel oil. This dependence can be lessened by substituting indigenously-available natural gas for the two fuels. Compressed natural gas can be substituted for diesel while natural gas can be used instead of fuel oil. However, substitution would require planning in order to make a realistic evaluation of costs to both the country and users.

Author(s): Arunabha Ghosh (corresponding author) [1]; Karthik Ganesan [2] India's policy-makers have three big energy goals: providing everyone with access to energy, securing energy supply and trying to limit carbon [...]

Many developing countries view renewable energy sources as a viable source for energy supplies vitally needed in their economic development programs. However, some renewable energy projects, such as China's massive biogas program, ended in failure due to several factors. India is currently undertaking an equally massive renewable energy program and it would be prudent to learn from other countries' experiences.

A macro-level energy model which was used for energy planning in the Indian states of Gujarat, Kerala and Rajasthan was presented. The model took regional specificities in the energy demand and supply structure into account. In addition, a technique for constructing a reference energy system, expanded input-output table with disaggregated energy sectors and a linera programming model were included.

The history of nuclear energy in India is marred with controversial issues which are reflected in the country's present nuclear programs. Homi Bhaba, known as the foremost nuclear scientist in the Third World, initiated India's nuclear power program in the 1960s. However, Bhaba's projects were chartacterized by massive corruption and he refused to follow the regulations set by the International Atomic Energy Agency. This led to the slump that India's nuclear industry is presently undergoing.

Integration of Short and Medium/Long Term Planning in the Indian Power Sector The power supply situation in India is characterized by shortages. In response to this situation, many industrial consumers [...]

Author(s): Jane Qiu The days when the gigantic Indian rivers - the Ganges, Indus and Brahmaputra - roar freely down the steep slopes of the Himalayas may be numbered. Roughly [...]