(The views expressed in this journal
are solely
those of
the authors)
Dr
Mahendra
Lama,
Professor
at
Jawaharlal
Nehru
University,
Delhi,
evaluates
the
scope
of
regional
cooperation
in
the
energy
sector
against
the
backdrop
of
future
needs
of
energy
and
the
potential
for
regional
efforts.
Since
trade
in
power
and
gas
will
be
mutually
beneficial
in
terms
of
both
economic
and
political
gains,
the
author
argues
that
South
Asia
needs
to
seriously
consider
important
regional
projects
aimed
at
power
trading
and
gas
pipelines.
He
looks
at
several
imperatives
of
regional
cooperation
in
the
energy
sector,
such
as
confidence
building,
investment,
technology
transfer
and
energy
market
integration.
Mohammad
Ramzan
Ali,
Research
Associate
at
the
Institute
of
Regional
Studies,
Islamabad,
tries
to
cover
the
changing
dimensions
of
regional
trade
and
economic
relations
in
the
context
of
energy
cooperation
in
South
Asia.
Focusing
mainly
on
gas
pipelines,
he
says
that
ultimately
Pakistan
and
India
will
have
to
make
the
more
difficult
--
yet
fruitful
--
choices.
It
should
be
a
win-win
situation
for
all
if
the
South
Asian
countries
expand
and
diversify
their
regional
cooperation
through
energy
projects.
Dr
Upendra
Gautam,
an
institutional
development
specialist
from
Nepal
and
Ajoy
Karki,
Editor
of
Biogas,
assess
water
resources
and
hydel
power
production
in
Nepal
which
is
not
only
costly
but
also
much
below
the
country's
potential.
They
propose
ways
to
make
hydel
energy
cheaper
and
turn
Nepal
into
a
larger
exporter
of
energy
to
India
and
China.
Against
the
backdrop
of
increasing
energy
demand
in
India
and
China,
the
authors
propose
a
regional
framework
for
hydel
energy
export
from
Nepal.
D.
N.
Raina,
Senior
Energy
Adviser,
SARI/Energy
Program,
New
Delhi,
provides
an
overview
of
the
energy
situation
in
India.
The
author
says
that
while
the
country
has
taken
up
several
initiatives
in
the
energy
sector,
it
needs
its
neighbouring
countries
to
act
as
energy
suppliers
(Bhutan
and
Nepal)
or
to
provide
transit
facilities
(Pakistan
and
Bangladesh)
for
some
of
them.
He
thinks
that
regional
cooperation
in
the
energy
sector
is
in
India's
interest
and
it
must
endeavor
to
accelerate
regional
cooperation
in
energy.
Fahd
Ali,
consultant
at
SDPI,
Islamabad,
empirically
looks
at
the
current
and
future
energy
situation
in
Pakistan.
Analysing
the
recently
approved
Energy
Security
Action
Plan,
he
says
that
implementing
the
plan
will
require
vision
on
the
part
of
the
government.
He
recommends
a
few
strategies
that
the
government
needs
to
look
at
to
be
able
to
harness
the
country's
vast
potential
in
renewable
energy
resources,
such
as
improved
functioning
of
the
state
utilities
and
promotion
of
energy
conservation.
Monzur
Hussain
from
the
National
Graduate
Institute
for
Policy
Studies
(GRIPS),
Tokyo,
looks
at
the
dilemma
the
Government
of
Bangladesh
faces
on
the
export
of
natural
gas
through
pipeline
to
India
or
conserving
it
for
future
generations
of
Bangladesh.
While
the
people
are
against
the
export
of
gas,
there
is
pressure
on
the
government
from
the
International
Oil
Companies
(IOCs)
to
use
it
for
export.
In
terms
of
international
political
economy
of
the
energy
sector,
the
author
presents
the
challenges
faced
by
Bangladesh
in
two
different
ways:
to
either
develop
gas-fuelled
industry
or
gas
export,
rather
than
retarding
the
economic
development
of
Bangladesh.
Dr Rajesh Mehta, Senior Researcher at
Research
Information
Systems
(RIS),
Delhi,
Dr
R.G.
Nambiar
from
the
Sardar
Patel
Institute
of
Economic
and
Social
Research,
Ahmedabad
and
Sujit
Ray
from
RIS,
Delhi,
review
the
Indian
poultry
industry
in
the
light
of
the
WTO
regime.
The
authors
elaborate
the
stark
challenges
posed
by
trade
liberalisation
and
changes
in
tariff
and
accessibility
under
the
WTO
regime.
Against
the
backdrop
of
subsidies
of
various
kinds
being
applied
to
the
poultry
industry
in
the
developed
countries,
the
case
study
by
the
Indian
authors
provides
insights
into
the
complexity
of
changing
ground
rules
which
do
not
provide
an
even-playing
field
to
the
producers
from
the
developing
countries.
They
take
special
note
of
the
Agreement
on
Agriculture,
implication
of
the
SSP,
withdrawal
of
Quantitative
Restrictions
and
vulnerability
on
the
grounds
of
standards
that
are
quite
low
in
this
part
of
the
world.
Iqbal
Mustafa,
former
CEO
Small
and
Medium
Enterprises
Development
Authority
(SMEDA),
Pakistan
and
Farrukh
M.
Khan,
currently
associated
with
SMEDA,
evaluate
the
small
and
medium
sized
enterprises
in
all
sectors
of
the
economy
identifying
a
whole
range
of
problems
faced
by
the
SMEs.
Faced
with
multiple
challenges
and
sandwiched
between
the
large
scale
sectors
and
the
bureaucratic
structures,
the
informal
sector
of
the
economy
continues
to
grow
and
play
an
important
role
in
the
overall
growth
of
the
economy
and
employment
generation.
The
authors
propose
measures
to
strengthen
the
SMEs
and
expand
their
role
in
the
economy.
Krishna
Chaitanya,
Assistant
Professor
at
the
Dhruva
College
of
Management,
Hyderabad,
studies
the
cost
incurred
by
the
Sri
Lankan
government
on
the
23
year-old
ethnic
conflict
in
the
country.
Estimating
the
immense
cost
of
the
conflict,
while
comparing
the
country's
defence
expenditure
as
a
proportion
to
total
public
expenditure,
the
author
says
that
in
2000
and
2001
the
government's
expenditure
on
social
spending
had
come
down
drastically.
Consequently,
the
Sri
Lankan
economy
has
grown
at
an
average
growth
rate
of
4-5%
per
annum,
whereas
it
could
have
grown
at
the
rate
of
6-7%
if
there
had
been
no
conflict.
Pranab
Kumar
Panday,
Assistant
Professor
at
the
University
of
Rajshahi,
Bangladesh,
critically
evaluates
the
process
of
decentralisation
in
Bangladesh.
Looking
at
the
way
decentralisation
has
been
dealt
with
by
different
regimes
in
Bangladesh,
the
author
comes
to
the
conclusion
that
decentralisation
has
not
taken
place
and
it
is
not
much
different
from
the
pre-independence
period.
Although
every
successive
government
of
Bangladesh
has
recognised
the
importance
of
local
government,
no
government
has,
in
fact,
implemented
it.
They
have,
rather,
used
the
local
government
bodies
to
strengthen
their
own
political
base
in
the
rural
areas.
Suresh
Babu,
senior
research
fellow
at
the
International
Food
Policy
Research
Institute
(IFPRI),
analyses
the
issues
of
food
security
in
the
context
of
agricultural
growth
and
food
production
in
the
countries
of
South
Asia.
The
author
looks
at
emerging
trends
in
policy
intervention
for
food
security.
Better
linkages
between
agricultural
research
and
technology-transfer,
minimising
environmental
harm,
use
of
geographical
information
systems
(GIS),
geo
positioning
systems
(GPS)
and
institutional
help
are
some
of
the
measures
the
author
proposes
to
reduce
food
insecurity.
