Bihar's power struggle

| With 104 million people, Bihar, the country's third-most populous state, reported a peak power demand of 3,500 mega watt (Mw) in 2014-15, about the same as Mumbai (which has a fifth of Bihar's population)| The per capita power consumption in Bihar is 144 kilo watt hour (kwh), 85% lower than the all-India average of 927-kwh. Only 26% of rural households are electrified, the worst of any state| It is clear Bihar cannot meet the rising electricity demands of its people| The peak demand was more than 1,800 Mw in 2007-08, which increased to 3,500 Mw in 2014-15. Peak power availability was 1,243 Mw in 2007-08, which increased to 2,831 Mw in 2014-15| Bihar faces a power deficit (difference between peak demand and electricity supplied) of 19%, according to the Economic Survey 2014-15| Bihar's power generation is primarily dependent on thermal energy (91%), hydro and renewables account for only 5% and 4%, respectively| Bihar is also challenged by high transmission and distribution (T&D) l

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The high economic costs of political fire-fighting

Paying Devas

Over to Sebi

The gloves are off, ahead of the Assembly polls in Bihar. Addressing party workers in Bihar's Supaul district, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah said Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was prone todaydreaming like Mungerilal, a character from a popular television serial of the late 1980s. He alleged Kumar had betrayed the saffron party and snapped ties with it in 2013 because he had become "greedy" and wanted the prime minister's post. Shah said the BJP could have made Kumar the PM candidate, but did not do so as his party was present in only one state (Bihar). Shah also reminded his audience that Kumar was the first leader to describe the 15-year Rashtriya Janata Dal-led government in the state as "Jungle Raj".

Dream merchants of Bihar

Union Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh's office in Krishi Bhawan is being renovated; so, he has shifted to another office in the Central Government Offices complex, along with his staff members. The minister's silence on the land ordinance and the hullabaloo in Parliament over it have been media fodder for many months. A fresh look for his office, many are hoping, would provide renewed thrust to the ministry to carry forward its reforms agenda, which also includes changes to the land law.

A new look, a fresh impetus?

Finalising India's climate change targets (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions) for the Paris summit took more than 30 draft versions, before the final one was sent to the Cabinet for approval. The numbers had been decided but the language in the 48-page document was important to nuance India's position well before the Paris round of negotiations start on November 30. While all eyes were on the targets India would commit to, senior environment ministry officials were toiling away for weeks, fine-tuning the words around it. The document had to reflect a positive agenda and yet not suggest that India was willing to give up on the fundamental principles that some developed countries want deleted or diluted in the Paris deliberations. The effort to release the document in Delhi on Gandhi Jayanti (October 2) and yet meet the informal deadline of October 1 for the United Nations tied the ministry up in knots.

Deadline troubles

The challenges before Bank of Baroda's (BoB) new chief executive officer (CEO) P S Jayakumar have been well documented in the report, "Bank of Baroda awaits new CEO"(October 5).The report is a quiet reminder to the government - a major stakeholder -that whenever it decides to induct an outsider into a public sector bank (PSB), he or she will face certain challenges. This is because all PSBs have more or less the same problems. Strong unions and non-motivated mid- and senior-level staff have been major impediments to their progress. The union executive's warning about the lack of incentives and the absence of a hire-and-fire policy in PSBs are, in a way, a challenge to the new CEO. Sometime back, a government spokesperson (read the Department of Financial Services), responding to the news about the appointment of the Bank of Baroda's CEO, mentioned that inducting outsiders at the top level was only an experiment and would not be applied on a large scale. That meant the government might

Letters: Challenges for the CEO

The big announcement by India that it will cut emissions by 35 per cent by 2030 holds many opportunities to achieve some 'green goals', and with last year's US-China pact on emissions, India is under the spotlight to deliver on it. A mere name change of the Ministry of Environment and Forests to include climate change will not suffice. This is not election propaganda.Economists have rightly pointed out that development can no longer happen at the cost of the environment. At the beginning of the economic recovery, US President Barack Obama made all the right noises about restraining Detroit automakers by asking them to design more fuel efficient and economic cars, but political compulsions forced him to go soft on them. Environmental issues can no longer be the prerogative of individual governments; these should be dealt with on a global scale. Republican Party members - notorious for being hardliners - must arrive at a more sensible, centrist stand on vital issues that affect the entir

Letters: Towards greener goals

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What are the differences between the just-concluded first half of this financial year, 2015-16, and the equivalent half of the previous year, 2014-15?

StatsGuru: How the first half of FY16 differs from the same period of FY15

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's ongoing India visit for the India-Germany Intergovernmental Consultations will see bilateral ties reaching a new level

Merkel's visit could take bilateral ties farther

This refers to report, "Govt to get Rs 2,262  cr tax via black money window" (October 2)

Letters: Need transparency

Apropos the report, "638 persons declare  Rs 3,770 crore of black money under comliance window" (October 2)

Letters: Tracking the money trail

Maharastra govt has imposed fresh taxes amounting to Rs 1,600 crore to face the severe drought in the state on various items including fuel, labelling it as drought tax

Letters: Drought tax

Union Minister of Road Transport Nitin Gadkari tried to drive home point that he was in no mood to put up with inordinate project delays due to vexatious official routine

Point taken

The Sangh Parivar honoured Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Ashok Singhal for "entering his 90th year" last Thursday

Number soup

What was supposed to be a press meeting to address the issue of call drops became a platform to hit out at the Congress. When Minister of Communications & Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad (pictured) met journalists last Wednesday to list what the ministry planned to do on the issue of call drops, he began by saying, "Let me clarify certain things first - all these are legacy issues and I am clearing the mess created by the previous government." On the issue of call drops, the minister mostly repeated some known facts. Only a day earlier, the Opposition Congress had demanded his resignation. It might be mentioned here that call drops has become a big issue in Bihar ahead of the crucial Assembly elections, with many of his detractors referring to Prasad as Call Drop minister.

The big drop

But India can't rely on global funds for its climate plan

Prepared for Paris

Communal approach undercuts basics of Constitution

After the lynching

Business Standard analyses one family's finances and suggests a way forward

Case study

Statspeak: The rise of open online courses

Indian learners are drawing tangible benefits from open online courses

Epic court battle over smartphone features continues

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