Power sector in India is an essential infrastructural element necessary for robust economic development but is plagued by multifarious issues. The perpetual poor condition of the sector calls for a proactive result-oriented system to address the issues and not resort to committees, policies and aimless bureaucratic deliberations. This study presents the findings of an empirical survey listing the main issues affecting the sector, and concludes that many of the power sector issues are interrelated, the solutions to which do not lie with only the power ministry. It suggests the employment of a practical management approach to tackle these issues.

Infrastructure development and its impact on the economic health of a nation are a contentious matter, especially in India. The pace of infrastructural growth is one of the cornerstones of such deliberations. The rate at which power generation capacity has grown is one of the major factors. There is a constant comparison of the growth and development of power sector in China vis-à-vis India. A comparison on such parameters, while discussing the economic development of a nation, is appropriate and justified. What is China doing correctly that we are not? Is it the planning or the execution of the plans or something much more fundamental?

It has been established through various literature and research (independent as well government-driven) studies that the overall condition of the Indian power sector is far from being tolerable. There is a huge chasm to be contracted. A plethora of issues are pointed to as possible causes for this dilapidated state. But are all of them equally crucial? Do all of them need to be handled individually or are they interlinked such that solution of one can have a cascading effect on the others? It is practically impossible to address all these issues simultaneously to alleviate the problems of the sector and make it viable.

This study is based on the premise that presently in India, the power sector continues to be managed and regulated by the government in power both at the central and the state level. The panacea of the state for the sector though is not solely within the purview of the ministry of power. It is simply one of the cogs in the wheel.

Resolution of issues using a well-planned management approach is what needs to be adopted. There is a necessity for prioritizing the vast heterogeneous mix of issues plaguing the sector. The power ministry cannot be solely held responsible for all the issues. The sector is extremely complex. This paper will help in identifying the issues in terms of criticality and fixing responsibility and accountability on the correct agencies for intervention to resolve them. The result will be a clear roadmap of focused achievable list of issue resolutions which will actually alleviate the condition of the sector.

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