Regulatory Law & Policy

  • When politics trumps economics
    The Hindu Business Line, March 22, 2007
    Since economic liberalisation started, there have been considerable policy changes in many developing nations, with increased reliance on market forces. Several transitional economies adopted competition laws as a follow up to market-oriented reforms.
  • Where in the world are the watchdogs?
    The Financial Express, March 17, 2007
    One proposal in policy circles is to establish an Indian Regulatory Service, which will be open to all professionals. It should also allow lateral entry at higher levels.
  • PSUs can`t be more equal than others
    Business Standard, March 19, 2007
    India needs $70bn of private investment in infrastructure and will not get it without a level playing field.
  • Funding architecture for infrastructure
    The Hindu Business Line, New Delhi, February 06, 2007
    India needs something like $350 billion over the next five years to create the infrastructure necessary to sustain economic growth and satisfy consumer needs.
  • Rumblings in the telecom sector
    The Economic Times, January 18, 2007
    The Indian telecom sector is one such area, which is currently witnessing billion dollar conversations, with the news that UK’s Vodaphone will take over Li Ka Shing’s 67 percent stake in Hutchison-Essar for around US$14bn, or more.
  • Pharmaceutical policy draft – Must go beyond price control
    The Hindu Business Line, August 31, 2006
    The proposed pharmaceutical policy allows R&D oriented firms to have higher MAPE, meaning that for the same medicine, some firms will have 150 per cent margin while others will have 200 per cent margin.
  • Amend the post office amendment bill
    The Financial Express, May 17, 2006
    Giving the postal department the monopoly to carry all letters weighing less than 300 g won’t help. We need to look at amendments to the 2006 amendment bill which will uphold the government’s commitment to place India’s economic progress first, rather than opportunistic interests.
  • Whither regulatory autonomy?
    The Hindu Business Line, November 11, 2005
    Start a process to educate bureaucrats and judges about the concept, purpose, and philosophy of independent regulation so that better working relations can be achieved between regulatory agencies and the ministries concerned, in years to come.
  • Fitter referees for a competitive economy
    The Financial Express, June 25, 2005
    Regulatory bodies need functional autonomy to be effective. The trick is to find an agreed way of combining this with accountability. An imaginative approach, such as getting Parliament to monitor, is one way.
  • Petro subsidies: Flawed basis
    The Hindu Business Line, June 21, 2005
    The Government’s intervention in the sector needs to be rationalised to facilitate the market process with subsidies targeted at the poor and the really needy.
  • Time to streamline regulatory law-making
    The Hindu Business Line, India, April 09, 2005
    Over the years, government have failed to forsee the need for consistent and coherent approach towards independent regulation. Doing that would require putting an overarching framework in place to guide the formulation of any sectoral regulatory body.
  • Why a steel regulator makes little sense
    The Hindu Business Line, December 17, 2004
    The proposal to set up a steel regulator is mainly in response to the lobby of the builders who face a double-whammy due to the moves of both the cement and the steel industry. The way forward is not a steel regulator, but to move the agenda for establishing the Competition Commission of India at the earliest.
  • Unified Licensing Regime Proposals – The Wall of TRAI for New Entrants
    The Hindu Business Line, November 18, 2004
    A closer look at TRAI’s recommendations reveals that the main objective is to ensure a level field and a no-worse-off (in fact, better-off) situation for existing NLD (national long distance) and ILD (international long distance) operators.
  • Competition, regulation in TV channels distribution
    The Hindu Business Line, November 06, 2004
    Transmission of TV signals has come a long way with the advancement in information and communication technology.
  • Pharma Prices: Deregulate in Tapered Doses
    The Hindu Business Line, September 28, 2004
    Before succumbing to the pressure of completely deregulating the Indian pharma drug market, the government should carefully study the system in other countries and requirements of the Indian people.
  • CAS: Bouquet of Problems
    The Hindu Business Line, September 11, 2003
    The CAS was supposed to be “consumer-friendly”. What is emerging presents a terrifying picture of what can happen when the Government uses its muscles with the favour dispensers.
  • In search of leader regulators
    The Hindu Business Line, July 23, 2003
    We need model regulators who can set standards of regulation for others to catch up with. The Government needs to focus on the area of its core competence, that is, governance.
  • CAS: A Win-win Situation for All
    The Financial Express, June 16, 2003
    CAS is emerging as a win-win situation for all, with all stakeholders standing to gain by its implementation. Besides the obvious benefits to consumers, it offers broadcasters and multi system operators (MSOs) a system that will reduce revenue leakage from the current subscribers under-declaration.
  • CAS: Clear Signals for Consumers
    The Hindu Business Line, June 10, 2003
    Under the Conditional Access System, cable TV operators will neither be able to bundle popular channels along with the less popular ones, nor charge high premiums on the popular ones and a notional sum for others. This, their interests being fairly well protected, consumers can give their thumbs-up to the new regime, which will, hopefully, benefit all the players.
  • Consumer movement and power reforms
    The Economic Times, March 03, 2001
    When the Prime Minister will meet the power ministers of four states on 3 March, it will be useful to address the issue of involving the consumers and their organisations in the movement for reforms in the power sector.

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