The Indian sub-continent showcases significant variations in terms of natural resources, capital and labour productivity, access to energy sources, and production methods. The entire geographical expanse of India falls under 15 agro-climatic zones, which are likely to be affected differently due to the impending climate change. Given these variations in agricultural, manufacturing, and energy production processes, it is important to decode the low-carbon pathway at the sub-national (State) level rather than for the Indian sub-continent as a whole. We believe that the prevalent situation in India calls for a bottoms-up approach for deciding the right carbon pathway. The project thus focuses on the following themes:
- Decoding the national-level low-carbon pathway at the State level;
- Assessing the consistency of the national-level recommendations at the State level keeping in view the State characteristics;
- Employment implications of decarbonisation at the State level;
- Reality check of how the State-level energy/climate action plan synchronises with the national plan; and
- Responsiveness of the incentive mechanism to achieve the State-level
Recently, considerable research has been undertaken in India in policy circles to identify the pathway for achieving Net Zero Emission by the 2070s. Most of the researchers have adopted either a bottoms-up or a top-down modelling approach to arrive at policy recommendations. A nascent attempt has been made by NCAER and its research collaborator, to build an integrated modelling approach by marrying a top-down multi-sector/multi-household CGE with a multi-sector MESSAGE-ix based Energy Systems model. The biggest advantage of the integrated modelling approach is that the price and Gross State Domestic Products (GSDP) are endogenous in the model, enabling it to capture the price formation within the modelling framework.
However, as almost all the models in this area are national ones, they do not take into account inter-State differences with respect to availability of the primary resources of land, mineral resources, capital, and labour, the production process, output, and socio-economic profiles. Thus, the policy choices drawn from the national model may not prove feasible at the State level due to economic or resource constraints faced by any particular State(s). Albeit, most the States have now drafted their individual climate action plans while a few of them have also devised their respective energy calculators. The climate action plans are qualitative in nature, focusing on the aspirations of the concerned States and do not explicitly explain the feasibility aspect of the same. The State energy calculators provide alternative energy pathways, taking into account the exogenous State growth pathways and do not incorporate the price impacts or socio-economic implications of the low-carbon pathways.
In this context, NCAER envisages to construct standalone integrated models at the State level for two States, namely Kerala, and Odisha, by adopting the modelling framework developed by NCAER and its research collaborators.
As an innovative vehicle, the India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) was set up in 2006 as a non-banking finance company fully owned by the Government. IIFCL was allowed to raise funds from domestic and overseas markets on the strength of sovereign guarantees to keep borrowing costs low. Moreover, such borrowings did not have to meet the net worth and equity requirements as their repayment was backed by a sovereign guarantee. The objectives of IIFCL are to provide long-term financial assistance to viable infrastructure projects (both greenfield and brownfield). It also provides innovative financing solutions to promote and develop world-class infrastructure institutions.
The major objectives of the evaluation study are
- To record comprehensively the lessons from the IIFCL experience on areas like:
⇒ Developing innovative financial solutions for infrastructure financing;
⇒ Identifying viable projects (reducing the probability of NPAs in the future);
⇒ Increasing probability of financial closure; accelerating financial closure;
⇒ Re-structuring projects to make them viable;
⇒ Accountability, transparency and the risk management systems in place ; and
⇒ Improving professionalism and stakeholder satisfaction through case studies on selected beneficiary firms and projects and a comparative analysis on these parameters with at least one similarly placed DFI/NBFC
- To identify the key bottlenecks/issues & challenges in the implementation of the different schemes’ of IIFCL
- To have a comparative analysis of Banks, NBFCs and IIFCL providing funds to infrastructure projects in terms of cost of funding, financial closure of projects, return on investments, and among others, through a case study approach.
- To evaluate the role played by Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) in providing funds to infrastructure sector in India
- To identify the infrastructure financing universe–structures and institutions– in India and their contributions in infrastructure financing and to compare the resultant aggregates with the requirements spelt out in the National infrastructure Pipeline.
- In the light of the gaps identified, study the purpose and the role envisaged for the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NBFID) and its institutional structure.
NCAER will partner with ADB to build cutting-edge CGE modelling capacity in India in collaboration with the world’s leading CGE centers. Building on past CGE work and existing modelling capacity, the research institute will build dynamic, quarterly, and regional model variants to serve the policymaking community with economic policy simulations that enable better policy, program and investment choices in macro, industry, services, agriculture, trade, environment, land and labor. Efforts to bring in some dimension of rural-urban segmentation will be explored so as to enable analysis of selected issues relating to urban development.
Robust economic modelling offers both policy analysts and policymakers the opportunity to examine the impact of policy changes on their economies. Such models are particularly useful when they are economy wide, can offer quantitative impact assessments and sensitivity analysis around policy options, incorporate the influence of both domestic and foreign market developments, and can link assumptions and policy scenarios to outcomes. Economy-wide models allow analysts to trace the impact of economic changes and policies as their price and quantity effects ripple through the economy. Quantitative models offer a tool to articulate tradeoffs, including those important from a political economy perspective, showing the costs and benefits of “what-if” policy changes to key stakeholders.
The present evaluation study will evaluate the Price Stabilization Fund (PSF) and Price Support Scheme (PSS) schemes through a Primary survey to assess how these schemes are meeting the objective. This Evaluation study will cover Onion and five Pulses (namely Moong, Masur, Gram, Toor and Urad) to evaluate these schemes.
The Concessionaire set the initial fare structure of Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR), and any subsequent fare revision needs to be approved by a Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) appointed by the Government of India. The purpose of the study is to arrive at a revised fare structure for Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR). Study will conduct passenger survey of the metro commuters to ascertain the degree of sensitivity to the proposed higher fare and it will conduct a simultaneous survey of non-commuters to assess the substitution in the ridership of the metro system in Hyderabad.
