Infrastructure Building Through TEQIP in Maharashtra's Technical Institutions in the Event of Globalization

-- N B Pasalkar and V M Mohitkar

Quality educational infrastructure at the technical institutions is an essential parameter for producing competent technocrats. This enables the building up of technological capabilities of the nation, which drive the socioeconomic development at the state and national level. The government funding was mainly responsible for providing infrastructure at educational institutions. However, economic reforms initiated in the early 1990s opened up avenues for private players to play a key role in the establishment of educational institutions on self-financing basis. Since 2004, the World Bank-assisted Technical Education Quality Improvement Program (TEQIP) has been playing a major role in developing educational infrastructure in select engineering institutions in Maharashtra state. This is proving to be a timely input in regard to General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) regime.

© 2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved.

Financing Rural Godowns: An Important Infrastructure for Agriculture

-- Deepak Kumar

The paper highlights the need for establishing rural godowns to offset the current food crisis scenario. It also focuses on the issues and perspectives related to the scheme, which encourages the establishment of godowns. However, it cautions the borrowers that they should not be just after the subsidy. Borrowers must realize that subsidy is only a motivating factor to promote infrastructure such as rural godowns and they must not change their entrepreneurial mindset. The paper also discusses the eligibility criteria for getting subsidy, such as the way the dimensions of rural godowns are being followed within the stipulated guidelines of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

© 2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved.

Rejuvenated Canal System in Infrastructure Development: A Case Study of Rajarhat in Kolkata Metropolitan Area

-- Sumita Gupta Gangopadhyay and Janmejoy Gupta

Sustainable and innovative infrastructure planning is the need of the hour. The plan to meet the water supply requirement for the upcoming New Town, Rajarhat, located in the eastern fringes of Kolkata is an instance of innovative, sustainable, and economical urban planning. The transfer of water through pipeline connections in right quantity and quality from the River Hooghly to the New Town treatment plant through the existing Kestopur Canal has been preferred. The economic and environmental implications of this preferred mode of transfer has been discussed in this paper.

© 2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved.

National Telecom Policy (NTP) 1994 and Structural Change in Telecommunication Sector of Gujarat

-- Smruti Bulsari

Adoption of liberalization policy by India in 1991 opened up doors for many private and foreign entrepreneurs in various sectors of business, including telecommunication services. With the opening up of global trade, telecommunication infrastructure started gaining importance as an essential means of communication across the borders. In the telecommunication sector too, the entry of private operators was encouraged. A National Telecom Policy (NTP) was announced for the first time in 1994 with an objective to regulate the entry of private service providers. Subsequently, many loopholes were identified in the NTP 1994 and a new policy was announced in 1999 after making substantial revisions in the NTP 1994. Despite this, the NTP 1994 can be considered to be a milestone in the history of telecommunication regulation. This paper examines the shift in growth rate, if any, in the telecommunication sector of Gujarat after adoption of the NTP 1994. This has been done by undertaking Chow Breakpoint Test and Dummy Variable Analysis on yearly time series of number of telephone connections in Gujarat state from 1975 to 2004. The results of Chow Breakpoint Test as well as that of dummy variable analysis show that the NTP 1994 was a turning point in the telecommunication sector.

© 2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved.

Tracking the Trucking Sector: Eleventh Plan

-- P R Kulkarni

Trucking industry is now in a better position to face competition. The road transport sector, roughly estimated at US$12 bn, dominated the logistic industry. The improved road infrastructure is already showing visible effect on the freight transported. This resulted in rapid growth in trucking segment. However, there is no reliable information available on the volume of freight carried by the road transport. Similarly, information on the number of trucks in operation, capacity build-in, and its utilizations are also not available. It is, therefore, very difficult to determine the demand for Commercial Vehicles (CVs). This paper has developed a methodology for projecting the demand for trucks. The demand projection is based on forecasting billion tons freight movement by correlating it with IIP and agriculture growth. The replacement demand for CVs is also estimated which is based on a survey of the transporters. This study also provides year-wise requirement of CVs during the Eleventh Plan period.

© 2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved.

Urban Transport in India: Status, Investment Need and Financing Options

-- Ramakrishna Nallathiga

Rapid urban population growth and accelerated economic development are exerting pressure on the provision of public services in urban areas, particularly in the delivery of infrastructure services, such as urban transport. However, many cities have not come up with plans and investments in urban transport, which is resulting in chaotic traffic and transport conditions in several cities. This paper highlights this deficiency by analyzing the scenario, estimating the basic investment needs in urban transport, and discussing the methods of resource mobilization. It also discusses the alternative methods of laying down urban transport infrastructure through funding channels and partnership mechanisms, given the services fall beyond the purview of municipal functions.

© 2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved.

Special Economic Zones: Issues, Opportunities and Ground Realities

-- Mamta Baranwal

The government is of the view that the development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) will lead to the development of business and economy. In the process of establishing a SEZ, land acquisition plays an important role, which is also a sensitive issue among different players, such as NGOs, local people, politicians, developers, and the industrialists. Any delay in SEZ development leads to cost overrun of projects that is painful to the developers who have to pay a huge amount towards interest on their investment to banking institutions. This paper discusses how industries are `migrating' from their existing sites to SEZs for getting tax exemptions. A good example is that of Videocon which has hired 50 farmers in 100-acre SEZ project at Aurangabad. However, Article 243G of the Constitution provides the necessary guidelines that the local government and the Planning Commission may examine each proposal and decide whether to continue or discontinue with the sharing of local resources. The paper also briefly discusses the salient features of Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) Policy and concludes that India has to learn from the Chinese strategy—to implement not more than 50 SEZs initially, learn fully and carefully from one's own experiment, and then move forward slowly to achieve a bigger target.

© 2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved.