This World Bank review of India's power sector assesses state-wise progress in implementing the government's reform agenda two decades after the liberalization of India's economy and a decade after the passage of the forward-looking Electricity Act of 2003 (EA). It examines the performance of the sector along the following dimensions, drawing on in-depth background papers--achievements in access, the financial and operational performance of utilities, governance, private participation, and the coverage and targeting of domestic user subsidies. Despite considerable progress in implementing the...

This World Bank review, Governance of Indian State Power Utilities: An Ongoing Journey, is a first attempt to systematically examine the quality of corporate and regulatory governance in the Indian power sector. Considering that much of the poor performance of utilities reflected internal and external shortfalls in governance, India's Electricity Act of 2003 mandated unbundling and corporatizing the vertically integrated state electricity boards, along with establishing independent regulators at the center and in the states. The aim was to create a more accountable and commercial performance...