Best of BS Opinion: The power to reform, rethinking suspension and more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Union Power Minister M L Khattar’s advice to power companies, including generating companies and distribution companies (discoms), to list on the stock market would have been persuasive had these entities subjected themselves to rigours of the markets. But the states’ stubborn resistance to market-linked power pricing has resulted in the steady deterioration of the financial health of discoms  with five bailout programmes proving less than successful. Without that basic change in pricing policy, the Indian economy’s power supply chain will remain sub-par, the top edit says. Read it here

 

In other views:

 

The second edit explains why Sebi’s move to suspend derivatives trading in seven agricultural commodities will have limited impact. Read it here

 

Nitin Desai argues that The New Industrial Policy should be a joint effort by the Union and state governments that is market-friendly, not business-friendly. Read it here

 

Amit Tandon compares the regulation of proxy firms in the US and India. Read it here

 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

 

‘At a time when we want industries to ramp up… bank interest rates will have to be far more affordable’

 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at an SBI conclave