Opinion
Will coal remain king?
06 Jan 2004 |
Mr R K Batra
| Business India
At the time of India's independence in 1947, the total power generating capacity in the country stood at 1300MW; enough to meet just one third of Delhi's power requirement today. Over the last five and a half decades, this capacity has grown to over 100,000 MW and is projected to increase at 5-6 per cent per annum in the foreseeable future. India is currently the 8th largest producer of electricity in the world. Per capita consumption however still remains very low by world standards, at around 360 KW per annum.
The enterprise in context
04 Jan 2004 |
Dr Maria Ligia Noronha
| Business India
In 1970 Milton Friedman of New York Times wrote: "..the social responsibility of business is to increase profits..". This view is often held and propounded by those who do not see much merit in companies being engaged in issues of social responsibility other than the making of profit. However, increasingly, the profit case, evident in indicators that are 'tangible', and the altruistic/philanthropic/ ethical case, evident in the 'intangibles' are getting blurred. In this commentary, my purpose is to highlight the need for a paradigm shift and the importance of greater investment in 'intangibles' to enhance corporate value.
Fuelling the dream: India can take a different trajectory in the energy sector
29 Dec 2003 |
Dr R K Pachauri
| The Week
The evolution of India as a superpower in 2020 presupposes rapid economic growth in the intervening period. If the nation has to reach that status, then the rate of growth would necessarily have to be 8-10 per cent per annum. The record of the developed countries shows that the growth of consumption of energy has been higher than the rate of economic growth itself.
Need to manage spectrum-related issues at international level as demand rises
18 Dec 2003 |
Asha Ram Sihag2
| The Financial Express
Spectrum is a fundamental resource that's employed in a wireless communication service. It is scarce and is allotted by the government among its users. Its management was not an issue until few years ago, as there were few wireless-based applications. Then it had been liberally allocated to departments such as defence, home and railways; but now with the proliferation of new technologies being inducted into the country, the demand for spectrum by users has increased manifold.
India's water crisis
09 Dec 2003 |
Mr Ashok Jaitly
| Business India
Cherrapunji, a small town in North Bengal, India, has been famous the world over as the wettest place on Earth. It receives an average of more than 11,000 mms of rainfall per annum. Today, Cherrapunji is facing a severe water crisis. During the monsoon it rains continuously for days, even weeks sometimes. But the water runs off taking with it soil, trees, plants and even animals. The residents depend upon the pipeline which is supposed to supply them drinking water. It is ancient and overburdened. Modernisation would be costly. People are not prepared to pay for water. Instead, during the drought months, women and children trek miles all day to fetch water. This unparalleled irony highlights one of the most important issues for the poor of our planet-an issue, which has now come centrestage globally.
'Clinical research will play a major role in India?s biotech future'
24 Nov 2003 |
Dr Banwari Lal
| The Financial Express
TERI's microbial biotechnology research area has made rapid strides in micropropagation of useful plant species and development of oil-destroying bacterial strains that clean the environment, while keeping the commercial viability of the end product as the bottom line. It is now focusing on clinical research, mainly for quick detection of pathogenic organisms and gene-sequencing methods. Senior fellow and area convener Dr Banwari Lal spoke to Sudhir Chowdhary of The Financial Express on the quality of clinical research in India and more.
'Regulatory oversight of agricultural biotech should be science-based'
11 Nov 2003 |
Dr Vibha Dhawan
| The Financial Express
One of the major goals of TERI's Division of Bioresources and Biotechnology has been application of biotechnological techniques to supplement conventional methods for improvement of plant species. Biotechnology research is being carried out in the areas of micropropagation and transgenics, plant tissue culture, genetic engineering, and microbial biotechnology, among other fields. In an interview with Sudhir Chowdhary, the director of the division, Dr Vibha Dhawan, talks about the crucial role of biotechnology in accelerating agricultural productivity.
Change for the better: Indian industry should take a deep interest in the subject of climate change and its threats
11 Nov 2003 |
Dr R K Pachauri
| Business India
Scientists have investigated climate change and its threat for over a hundred years now. Perhaps the earliest alarm regarding future climate change in the world was voiced by the well known Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius in 1896, when he articulated his assessment that carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the atmosphere would continue to increase as the world consumption of fossil fuels, particularly coal, increased rapidly in the future. He predicted that if atmospheric CO2 doubled, the earth would become several degrees warmer. Unfortunately, hardly any attention was paid to these predictions, which we find now had great scientific validity.
Climate Challenge: poorer nations must hang together
24 Oct 2003 |
Dr R K Pachauri
| The Times of India
It was a little over a year ago that around 70,000 persons, including heads of states from several countries, converged on Johannesburg for the World Summit on Sustainable Development. One of the spectacles that several participants witnessed, and which was reported widely in the media worldwide, was the burning of a large pile of sugar imported from Europe. The farmers of Africa were protesting against the huge subsidies provided to agriculture in Europe, which have apparently made the whole of Africa dependent on food imports from the North, wiping out the livelihoods of farmers on that continent.
Are oil sector reforms off track?
01 Oct 2003 |
Asha Ram Sihag2
| The Economic Times
Petroleum sector meets close to 45% of the commercial energy needs of the country. Reforms in this crucial sector are important to promote investment and energy security; improve access and quality of service; and reduce costs and environmental impacts. Over the last 20 years efforts have been made to increase private participation in exploration and production, in refining and to even introduce competition in limited product categories such as lubricants and some bulk distillates.