Reviewing inflation targeting; Measuring intermittency of electricity; Misuse of remand orders at appellate tribunals; episodes
Reviewing inflation targeting
On 20 February 2015, we got to inflation targeting. It’s been 10 years. Radhika Pandey, Ila Patnaik and Rajeswari Sengupta look back at how this has worked, in an article in the Indian Public Policy Review.
The inflation targeting law also envisions a periodic review of the precise details of the target. Rajeswari Sengupta and I wrote an article on The Leap Blog on this.
Measuring intermittency of electricity
In their article, A Review of Outage Reporting by Indian DISCOMs published on The Leap Blog, Upasa Borah and Renuka Sane review the websites of all 72 Indian electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs) to assess the availability and consistency of power outage data. This work is important because while electricity access is nearly universal in India, supply quality remains a problem, and measuring this begins with reliable data. The authors found that only half of the DISCOMs provide any outage data, and among those that do, there are significant inconsistencies in reporting formats, time periods, and units of measurement, with no clear correlation to DISCOM performance or ownership. They conclude that standardised, transparent, and verifiable reporting of outage data is needed across all Indian DISCOMs.
Misuse of remand orders at appellate tribunals
Natasha Aggarwal and Bhavin Patel have an article, “Return to sender: The misuse of remand orders by appellate tribunals” which analyses the practice of appellate tribunals remanding cases back to regulatory bodies. This issue is significant because frequent remands lead to delays and increased costs, undermining the tribunals’ purpose of providing swift and expert adjudication. The authors’ analysis of cases from the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) and the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) reveals that a substantial number of cases are remanded, often for reasons that are not legally permissible. They propose that clear and consistent rules, integrated into the tribunals’ parent statutes, are necessary to govern the use of remands, thereby preventing undue delays and reinforcing the legal framework. They have a paper and an unveiling blog article.
Episodes
EiE 119 Financial crises