Policy Brief
Petroleum Product Pricing Reforms in India: Are We on the Right Track?
05 Mar 2013
| Mr Pravin Kumar Agarwal
The path to petroleum product pricing reforms in India has been full of undulations. Even though Administered Pricing Mechanism (APM) was dismantled during 1 April 1998 to 31 March 2002, the government continued to regulate the prices of petrol, diesel, Public Distribution System (PDS) kerosene, and domestic LPG, except for over a year, when oil marketing companies (OMCs) revised the consumer prices of petrol and diesel in line with the international prices. In June 2010, petrol pricing was deregulated, but government control continued to an extent.
Enhancing water-use efficiency of thermal power plants in India: need for mandatory water audits
24 Dec 2012
| Mr R K Batra
This policy brief discusses the challenges of water availability and opportunity to improve the water use efficiency in industries specially the thermal power plants. It presents TERI’s experience from comprehensive water audits conducted for thermal power plants in India. The findings indicate that there is a significant scope for saving water in the waste water discharge, cooling towers, ash handling systems, and the township water supply. Interventions like recycling wastewater, curbing leakages, increasing CoC (Cycles of concentration) in cooling towers, using dry ash handling etc., can significantly reduce the specific water consumption in power plants.
Governance of mining in India: responding to policy deficits
23 Jun 2012
| Mr R K Batra
The reform in the minerals sector has been in response to both global and national pressures. Internationally, there was a need for India to make credible commitments to the world that it would do things differently in terms of approval, transparency, greater efficiency, more incentives to attract investment in exploration, and development activity. Nationally, there was need for greater exploration information; improved allocation processes; increased resource revenues from mineral rich states; and greater compensation for externalities created by mining. Over the last few years new initiatives have been put in place.
Don’t tinker with the clock to save energy
10 Aug 2011
| Mr R K Batra
On 23 March 2011, all clocks in the UK were turned forward by an hour marking the start of Daylight Saving Time (DST). The clocks will be turned back on 30 October 2011. The objective is to save energy by educing the use of artificial light and maximizing the use of daylight over a period of seven months. While this has been the practice for many years in countries situated in the upper part of the northern hemisphere and the lower part of the southern hemisphere, DST is hardly practised in countries situated closer to the equator.
India's coal reserves are vastly overstated: is anyone listening?
04 Mar 2011
| Mr R K Batra
The policy brief deals exclusively with thermal coal and demolishes the myth that India has plenty of coal. The brief explains in detail why the coal that can be extracted is only a small fraction of our total coal inventories. If we remain in denial, we will not take the urgent and necessary steps to augment these reserves.
Cooking with cleaner fuels in India: a strategic analysis and assessment
07 Dec 2010
| Ms Meena Sehgal
The series 'Cooking with cleaner fuels in India: a strategic analysis and assessment' is a collection of four policy briefs that carry findings emanating from a joint research by TERI and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (with support from UNICEF) on healthy cooking fuel options for India. The briefs trace the usage of different fuels in rural and urban households, health implications of using less cleaner cooking fuels, and stakeholder partnerships of governments, funding agencies, industry and consumer groups to accelerate adoption of cleaner cooking fuels.
Critical non-fuel minerals security: Why India urgently needs to have a policy in place
01 Dec 2010
| Dr Maria Ligia Noronha
Mineral resources security is an issue of significance at both the strategic as well as economic levels. Securing access to sufficient, reliable, affordable, and sustainable supplies of minerals is increasingly becoming an important factor for sustainable functioning of economies. Mineral resources are broadly classified into two categories: fuel and non-fuel. Fuel minerals include fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas, and coal, while non-fuel minerals are commonly understood to include a variety of materials such as metals, metal alloys, and non metals.
Strengthening Agricultural Biotechnology Regulation in India
22 Sep 2010
| Dr Vibha Dhawan
The recent decision by the Ministry of Environment and Forests to place an indefinite moratorium on the release of Bt Brinjal for commercial agriculture has brought sharp focus on the stridently polarized views across the scientific community and civil society on the benefits and costs of genetically modified crops. Although agricultural biotechnology has significant potential to address India's food security, public debate has reflected concerns that the full range of potential consequences of these transgenic plants on human health, environment, and farmers' livelihoods must be understood adequately before releasing these plants for commercial agriculture.