XKDR Newsletter - Issue 35
TN Electricity • Electricity regulation and reforms • Global economy challenges • Science policy • Innovative Finance • Public Finance • OSM • 12th Legal System Reform Seminar and more.
Improving electricity regulation in Tamil Nadu
Electricity reform in Tamil Nadu faces many difficulties. One element of this is the problem of regulation. The anticipated behaviour of the regulator in the future constitutes one element of the negative environment which shapes the hesitation of the private sector to invest. In this paper by Akshay Jaitly, Charmi Mehta, Rishika Ranga, Renuka Sane, Ajay Shah, and Karthik Suresh, the authors bring knowledge from the field of regulatory theory, which has been developed in India over the last 20 years, to shed new light on the problems of electricity regulation in Tamil Nadu. Some of the problems identified in the paper are rooted in the drafting of the Electricity Act, 2003, which cannot be changed by policymakers in Tamil Nadu. However many of the problems can be addressed using policy levers available to policymakers in Tamil Nadu.
Read the full paper here.
Electricity reforms in the economic strategy of Tamil Nadu
Discussions about the electricity sector have traditionally taken place within a specialised community of experts on electricity. In this paper by Akshay Jaitly, Renuka Sane, and Ajay Shah, the authors broaden the discussion to look at the problems of the electricity sector in Tamil Nadu from the viewpoint of the economic growth strategy of Tamil Nadu.
Electricity investment in Tamil Nadu has faltered. Electricity availability could potentially hamper growth in coming years. Renewable electricity will become particularly important for exporting, and directly connects into the success of Tamil Nadu in exporting.
For the path to a decarbonised electricity sector, a great wave of investment and risk-taking is required. This can only come from the private sector, which commensurately requires ‘investibility’: a trusted environment of the rules of the game which elicit their confidence. To get to this, policy makers need to grapple with the problems of under-pricing of electricity.
In light of these issues, the authors sketch a seven part feasible path to reform of the electricity sector.
Read the full paper here.
OP-ED & COMMENTARY
In his column for the Business Standard, Ajay Shah writes on
The levers of government. The global economy (including the U.S., China and the EU) faces major challenges, impacting India's growth prospects. India's private sector struggles with slow sales and investment, requiring strategic policy reforms. Lessons from 1991-2011 highlight the need for tax, regulatory, and governance reforms to boost private sector confidence. Policy makers need to show strategic sense, demonstrate the requisite intellectual capital, put down a sufficiently large down payment of reforms, and establish the teams and feedback loops through which a steady process of progress arises.
A new direction in science policy, with R. A. Mashelkar and Susan Thomas. India's science policy is shifting from state-led research to private sector-driven innovation. Historically, government organizations like ISRO and BARC led scientific advancements, but global examples show that private sector involvement leads to greater innovation and economic benefits. New initiatives, including ANRF grants and ISRO’s private-sector partnerships, reflect this change. Contracting-out public R&D funds promises greater efficiency and economic benefits. The challenge now is refining legal and institutional frameworks for effective implementation.
VIDEOS AND PODCASTS
New episodes of XKDR’s YouTube series Big Ideas - conversations with some of the leading thinkers of today - are out:
RBI’s costly experiments with the Rupee, with Rajeswari Sengupta: Ep 39
Beyond banks, with Dan Awrey: Ep 40
New episodes of Ajay Shah’s YouTube show Everything is Everything with Amit Varma are out:
Underrated, Overrated, Complicated, Ep 85
The Heart of Disruption, Ep 86
The Power of Moore’s Laws, Ep 87
Why I Am a Free Speech Absolutist, Ep 88
EVENTS
Seminars
“From transactional to policy ministries of finance” by Dr. Philipp Krause. We hosted this talk that explored the evolving role of finance ministries in modern economies. Traditionally focused on budgeting and financial management, finance ministries are increasingly taking a leading role in shaping economic policy. Dr. Krause discussed the key drivers and implications of this shift.
“Innovative finance seminar”. On the agenda for this seminar held at XKDR Forum were talks on trade credit, securitisation, and alt data in the context of industrial finance as well as MSME credit.
“Indian Legal System Reform Seminar #12”. We hosted the 12th edition of our seminar series. This month, we had talks on “Timebound Justice is easily possible” and “Muslim Law and Legal Pluralism: Intersections of state and community in matrimonial dispute resolution among Muslims in Kerala”.
This is a monthly seminar series that brings together researchers, policymakers, practitioners, civil society members, and other stakeholders to discuss, debate, and explore potential improvements for a better legal system and policy pathways for effective implementation. Write to us to participate as a speaker/ audience.“OpenStreetMap and its role in the Mapping Landscape” by Devdatta Tengshe. In this talk held at XKDR Forum, Devdatta broke down what makes a Mapping Application; and examined OSM's pivotal role in this landscape. He demonstrated how OSM has become not just a map, but a worldwide movement that's democratizing geographic information.
“Electricity reforms in the economic strategy of Tamil Nadu” by Ajay Shah.
Ajay presented XKDR Forum’s latest working paper, as mentioned earlier in this newsletter.
Roundtables
“Public finance in cities: A roundtable on new thinking on foundational reforms”. Janaagraha and XKDR Forum hosted this roundtable together to advance dialogue around urban fiscal reforms. The agenda included an opening context-setting session on public finance, in-depth discussions on GST implementation for cities (by Ajay Shah), property tax potential (by Manish Singh), and reimagining state finance commissions (by Susan Thomas).
“Tackling Judicial Congestion Through Strategic Scheduling of Cases”. DAKSH hosted a webinar where Prof. Nitin Bakshi, an researcher in congested systems, presented his work on strategic case scheduling in the Supreme Court of India to ease judicial congestion. Siddarth Raman from XKDR Forum contributed as a discussant.
XKDR Forum is an interdisciplinary research and policy organisation harnessing knowledge and capabilities across diverse fields of economics, law, public administration, engineering, statistics and science. We welcome your comments and suggestions on our work.