Manmohan Singh deserves our heartiest congratulations ... - cuts ccier

TRANSPORTTo Do ListWhen it comes to Civil Aviation,there are some issues that requireimmediate attention of the newgovernment. The first is the issue ofground handling – design a newground handling policy or continuefor some more time with the currentpolicy. The second important issuewill be considering what needs to bedone to the Rs 3,000 crore which AirIndia is seeking largely to meet itsworking capital needs.Some more issues that await adecision are: allowing foreign airlinesto pick up a minority stake in domesticairlines; deployment of additionalmanpower for the airline watchdog;and the need for creation of airportinfrastructure; expediting the creationof a civil aviation policy. (BL, 12.05.09)SupremoThe Planning Commission’sproposal to set up a super regulatorin the infrastructure sector has notbeen appreciated by the concernedministries. There are plans to set up asupremo for all public-privatepartnership (PPP) projects ofhighways, ports, airports andrailways.The supremo will oversee:whether the users of infrastructurefacilities are being provided with theright level of services and level of userfees being levied. The NationalHighways Authority of India (NHAI),The Department of Shipping and theI N F R A S T R U C T U R E – N E W STimes of IndiaMinistry of Aviation feel that thegovernment has been unable to carryout the process of restructuring andstrengthening the existinginstitutions, so would it be feasible toset up another body. (BL, 07.05.09)Regulator Tightens GripAviation regulator, DirectorateGeneral of Civil Aviation (DGCA)plans to make it mandatory for airlinesoperating in the country to report thetime of arrivals and departures of theirflights, and delays, if any. This datawill be collated to analyse the reasonsfor delayed flights at various airports.In the past few months, DGCA hastightened ticket rules asking airlinesto reflect airfare details due to growingconsumer complaints over differencesin advertised fares and actual ones.But data collection alone may not helpunless it is verified from air trafficcontrollers and through randomchecks by DGCA.(Livemint.com,15.05.09)All-pervasive BodyAll ports in the country, bothstate-owned and private, will soon begoverned by one tariff regulatorybody, Tariff Authority for Major Ports(TAMP). The Union government isplanning to give deterrent powers toTAMP, including penal andenforcement rights by having a fullfledgedTAMP Act, rather than justbe a part of the Major Port Trusts Act.Ports currently regulated by TAMPfunction as trusts under the MajorPort Trusts Act, 1963. There is a needfor a powerful and all-pervasiveTAMP. The idea is to have atransparent tariff structure acrossports with TAMP acting as a disputesettlement mechanism with morepowers. (Livemint.com, 13.04.09)Sharpened TeethThe Union government’s plan togive more teeth to a proposedregulatory body that will replace theexisting tariff regulator for its dozenports is a step in the right direction.The new regulatory body will becreated through a separate,independent legislation.The new port authority would bea full-fledged regulator. It would havethe powers to set rates for the facilitiesD I G E S Tand services provided at the 12 ports,to prescribe and monitor performancenorms and standards for services andfacilities provided by port authoritiesand private operators and also todecide on disputes between portauthorities, private operators andusers of the facilities and services.(Livemint.com, 26.06.09)Connecting CitiesThe NHAI is working on a plan toidentify at least 50 cities it shouldconnect on a priority, based onpopulation and traffic volume. Ifapproved, this would be a departurefrom the current system where theauthority divides the highwaystretches under several phases ofNational Highway DevelopmentProgramme.A ceiling of 1,000km has also beenset on an annuity basis where thegovernment pays highway developersan annual sum over the concessionperiod, while the developer financesand builds the highways. Governmentorganisations prefer the toll model,where the developer derives revenuesthrough tolls. Private developers onthe other hand prefer the annuitymodel. (Livemint.com, 11.06.09)COMMUNICATIONBharti, MTN ReconnectBharti Airtel Ltd. and SouthAfrica’s MTN Group have restartedmerger talks to create a US$20bnemerging markets telecom entity. Thepotential deal, which seeks to tiptoearound the emotional sensitivities thatscuppered their merger talks last year,will catapult the combine into theleague of top five telecom operatorsglobally, with over 200 millioncustomers spread across 24 countriesin Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Itwould also be India’s biggest crossborderdeal.Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman andManaging Director of Bharti, said,“We see real power in the combinationand we will work hard to unleash it forall our shareholders”. PhuthumaNhleko, Chief Executive Officer ofMTN, said, “rationale for this potentialtransaction between MTN and Bhartiwas highly compelling”.(BL, 25.05.09 & ET, 26.05.09)2 / www.cuts-international.org April-June 2009 PolicyWatch