Kumaramangalam Is India's New Power Minister

Atal Behari Vajpayee of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India on March 19. Vajpayee heads a 43-member ministry, and its main task for this month is the presentation of the annual budget.

Traditionally, the last week of March is when the government announces the annual budget for the country. Vajpayee announced a five-point agenda to strengthen the economy and added that his government will allow foreign direct investments up to Rs 15 billion in the power industry. This statement clearly underscores the fact that investment in the power industry is a top priority of the government.

R Kumaramangalam will head the Ministry of Power In the new government. In a press conference on March 20, he announced that the focus of the ministry would be in expediting clearances of the Ninth Plan's public and private power projects. He added that his team will work toward introducing legislation on energy conservation and expediting legislation regarding the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and Transmission bills.

Kumaramangalam also stressed that the various state governments will be encouraged to initiate power reforms in their respective states.