Managing water-related risks in the West Bengal Sundarbans: policy alternatives and institutions

Abstract

Persistent pressures from water-related threats – sea-level rise, soil and water salinization, and flooding due to embankment overtopping and failure – have made the West Bengal Sundarbans a challenging place to live, and effects of global climate change will only worsen conditions. Four alternative policy directions are examined: business as usual; intensive rural development; short-term out-migration of residents; and embankment realignment and facilitation of voluntary, permanent out-migration. The last of these is the recommended approach. Study findings have informed ongoing deliberations to build consensus on future policy directions for reducing the region’s vulnerability to natural disasters.     

Water transfer from irrigation tanks for urban use: can payment for ecosystem services produce efficient outcomes?

Abstract

Many Indian states have begun to transfer water meant for irrigation to non-agricultural purposes, but the economic and environmental consequences are not adequately understood. Transfer of water out of water bodies from rural areas not only reduces the economic welfare of the traditional water users but also reduces their incentives to manage these water bodies on a sustainable basis. The study explores the possibility of introducing the mechanism of ‘payment for ecosystem services’ at the grass-roots level in the Indian context as a return for reallocation of water from irrigation to urban uses so that it can produce a non-zero-sum outcome for villagers, farmers, urban consumers and governments.     

Water resources development in India

Abstract

India, an ancient rural and agricultural society that is rapidly modernizing, receives a fair share of its yearly precipitation in only a few days of the monsoon, with high inter-annual variability. In most of its regions, therefore, India needs to store a large proportion of its annual runoff in reservoirs for use in non-monsoon months. In spite of this strategy being in operation for the last 60 years, India’s per capita reservoir storage is relatively small, and water-use efficiency also remains low. Though the overall performance of the water sector in terms of matching of supply and demand has improved, the country remains challenged by deficiencies in laws, regulation policies and institutions, and weakened by a suboptimal work culture in politics, legislature, technocracy and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).     

中国与印度纺织工业比较及合作展望

从生产要素、行业、政策等方面比较分析了中印纺织工业的现状．结果表明由于中印两国在资源禀赋方面的差异,两国在部分纺织品的生产上具有互补性,市场资源潜力巨大,未来两国间的纺织业合作具有巨大的发展空间。     

Interstate river conflicts: lessons from India and the US

In both India and the US, the majority of rivers are interstate and the states retain substantial legal power over water resources. In the US, negotiation of river compacts has not eliminated controversy, due to their inflexibility over time. In India, court-appointed tribunals, employed for major interstate river conflicts, have frequently relied on a vague principle of just and equitable apportionment in resolving interstate disputes. The experiences of the two countries show that conflict resolution must involve positive rewards for all the parties involved. This involves imaginative application of the principle of benefit sharing and the expansion of water markets to cover the entire river basin.     

Metering of agricultural power supply in West Bengal,India: Who gains and who loses?

As a part of the ongoing power sector reforms in India, the state of West Bengal is in the process of metering agricultural electricity supply. This paper presents a first cut assessment of this initiative. Results suggest that the majority of the pump owners benefit from the reforms in two ways: first by having to pay a lower electricity bill for same usage and second through increased profit margins by selling water. This is because in response to the changed incentive structure, water prices rose sharply by 30–50% immediately after metering. In contrast, water buyers have lost out by having to pay higher water charges and face adverse terms of contract. Impact of metering on operation of groundwater markets and volume of groundwater extracted is less clear; they may expand, contract or remain unchanged, though water use efficiency is likely to go up. At current tariff rates, the electricity utilities are likely to earn less revenue than before. These findings are context specific and hold good for West Bengal where high flat tariff had fostered competitive groundwater markets and hence cannot be generalised for other Indian states.     

Renewable energy in India: Status and potential

A majority of the Indian population does not have access to convenient energy services (LPG, electricity). Though India has made significant progress in renewable energy, the share of modern renewables in the energy mix is marginal. This paper reviews the status and potential of different renewables (except biomass) in India. This paper documents the trends in the growth of renewables in India and establishes diffusion model as a basis for setting targets. The diffusion model is fitted tot the past trends for wind, small hydro and solar water heating and is used to establish future targets. The economic viability and green house gas (GHG) saving potential is estimated for each option. Several renewables have high growth rates, for example wind, Photovoltaic (PV) module manufacture and solar water heaters. New technologies like Tidal, OTEC, Solar thermal power plants and geothermal power plants are at the demonstration stage and future dissemination will depend on the experience of these projects.     

A Century of Differential Evolution of Housing Co-operatives in Mumbai and Chennai

Since their inception at the beginning of the 20th century, the evolutionary paths of housing co-operatives have diverged in Mumbai and Chennai. Housing co-operatives in Mumbai have been principally Tenure co-operatives (i.e. for collective ownership and management). In Chennai they have been mainly Finance co-operatives (i.e. for providing loans to members). This paper makes a comparative institutional analysis of the two cities to examine the divergent evolution. The examination is important for informing the institutional conditions that enable co-operatives to flourish. Four institutional aspects are examined in this context: the local housing market, local housing policies, role of state government and co-operative institutional support structures.     

我国非织造布企业开拓印度市场应注意的问题

介绍了印度非织造布市场的发展情况,针对印度政府对国外投资者的相关政策,提出了我国非织造布企业进入印度非织造布市场应注意的问题。     

Knowledge and human resources: Educational policies, systems, and institutions in a changing India

New opportunities appear every day in India. Which are real and will lead to equitable and sustainable development when taken, and which are a mirage? Today, many do not see India's obvious and enormous problems and drawbacks as obstacles to change. These optimists exude confidence in mechanisms whose implementation will make India a knowledge superpower in 20 years. The pessimists, seeing barely half a dozen experts in each major area of science, see a system without content or form, where the ballast of the past keeps the ship of change in port, and chaotic spinning is mistaken for progress. Both optimists and pessimists talk constantly about China as an example to follow—or not—depending on the day of the week. Is India's knowledge economy actually headed somewhere? Or is it impossible to meaningfully use the words policies, systems, institutions, and India in the same sentence?