Power: PM Sayeed's wish list

From The Financial Express

Power Minister PM Sayeed has listed his wishes to the Finance Minister in a letter dated 7th June 2004, in the run up to the budget making process. They are

1. Complete village electrification by the year 2007, and reaching electricity to all 7.8 crore rural households by 2009.
2. Since rural electricity delivery would cost significant money, increase of subsidy from 40% to 90% to rural consumers
3. To increase private investment in power generation, there is no sufficient risk capital available. To enable this setting up a India Power Fund, managed by Power Finance Corporation. The quantum of fund needed to kickstart this fund is Rs. 2,000 crores, and Sayeed would want the Finance Minister to offer Rs. 1,000 crores for this purpose. Sayeed expects this fund to be of the size Rs. 7,000 crores by 2010.
4. Relaxing the exposure limit set by RBI and IRDA on Banks, insurance companies and financial institutions on investing in power sector. Sayeed feels the current norms constrain flow of funds from the above bodies into this sector.

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