AP Chambers welcomes proposed energy sector reforms

19 Sep 2022 CW Team

Welcoming the reforms in the energy sector, AP Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation (AP Chambers) observed that the new provisions in the proposed Electricity (Amendment) Rules 2022 will remove public as well as private monopolies in the power distribution sector.

The competition in the power distribution sector will certainly improve the quality of services and also lead to price competition which is undoubtedly advantageous to face global competition in terms of boosting exports.

The Chambers said that the cost of the service is not followed by discoms at present as per CERC guidelines, which had led to abnormal tariff hikes in the recent past.

Reforms in the power sector are inevitable at this juncture to provide good service to the consumers. The Chambers submitted a representation to the minister for power Raj Kumar Singh on the draft Electricity (Amendments) Rules, 2022. AP Chambers observed that electricity is an essential item for every individual and its utility is one of the parameters for the economy.

Infrastructure Transport

12 Mar 2026

Kavach 4.0 Commissioned on Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah

"Kavach version four has been commissioned on 1,452 route km, covering the high density Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Howrah corridors. The rollout included laying 8,570 km of optical fibre, installation of 1,100 telecom towers, deployment of trackside equipment over 6,776 RKm and establishment of 767 station data centres. Trackside implementation has been taken up on 24,427 RKm covering Golden Quadrilateral, Golden Diagonal and High Density Network sections. The programme aims to strengthen signalling and train protection on key routes.Kavach is an indigenously developed automatic train protecti..

Railways Advance Kalyan–Murbad Line And Mumbai Capacity Expansion

"Indian Railways is advancing multiple rail infrastructure projects in Maharashtra, including the sanctioned Kalyan–Murbad new line and sizable investments under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project and the Mumbai–Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project. The Kalyan–Murbad 28 km new line has been sanctioned at Rs 8.36 billion (bn) on a 50:50 cost-sharing basis with the Government of Maharashtra and has been declared a Special Railway Project for land acquisition; proposals covering 214 hectares are at various stages of acquisition. Budgetary outlay for projects falling fully or partly in Maharash..

Parliamentary Panel Flags Funding Gaps in Heavy Industries

"The Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry (Rajya Sabha) presented its 332nd report on the Demands for Grants 2026-27 of the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI). Figures converted from crore and lakh are expressed in million (mn). The Budget Estimates 2026-27 for the Ministry stand at Rs 79,399 mn against a projected requirement of Rs 94,843.2 mn, a shortfall of about 16 per cent, with revenue at Rs 79,370.8 mn and capital compressed to Rs 28.2 mn from Rs 5,020 mn.The committee flagged recurring BE-to-RE compression and declining revised estimate utilisation, and calle..