State electricity discoms won’t get free power, says RK Singh
Raj Kumar Singh, India’s minister for power and new and renewable energy, wants to bring financial discipline to state electricity discoms. In an interview, the former home secretary and a 1975 batch Bihar cadre IAS officer spoke about linking funding under the Union government’s schemes to discoms’ performance, southern states cautioning the Centre of civil unrest because of mandatory letters of credit as part of the payment security mechanisms and his strategy of limiting state governments’ borrowing. A two-time Lok Sabha member of Parliament from Arrah in Bihar, Singh also spoke about expediting hydro power projects in Jammu & Kashmir to help India fully utilise its share of water under the Indus Waters Treaty and building projects total.....