By Saurabh Chaturvedi
NEW DELHI--India's power ministry has set up a panel of senior
industry executives to advise the government on reforms in the
power sector, as the country scrambles to deal with crippling
electricity shortages that are threatening to derail industrial
growth.
Tight supplies of coal and natural gas are hindering efforts to
generate more electricity in India, along with a reluctance by
banks to lend more to highly-leveraged power producers, which is
delaying the construction of many new power plants, a power
ministry official said late Wednesday.
Besides affecting production, the lack of electricity has also
raised the ire of consumers who have to endure blackouts lasting
several hours long daily.
"The group will discuss and deliberate periodically on issues
pertaining to the power sector and suggest reforms in different
areas relating to the sector," the official, who didn't wish to be
named, told The Wall Street Journal in an interview.
The 22-member panel, headed by power minister Jyotiraditya M.
Scindia, would include industry titans including Tata Group
Chairman Cyrus Mistry, Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani, State
Bank of India (500112.BY) Chairman Pratip Chowdhary, as well as the
managing director and chief executive of ICICI Bank Ltd. (IBN),
Chanda Kochhar.
Forming the advisory group will also boost government-led
efforts to revive investor confidence in India, which has taken a
beating over delays in economic reforms and a series of corruption
scandals that have damaged the government's image.
According to a government estimate, India plans to increase
electricity generation capacity by 44% to 288 gigawatts in the five
years through March 2017, which would likely cost 13 trillion
rupees ($244 billion).
Write to Saurabh Chaturvedi at
saurabh.chaturvedi@dowjones.com
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