Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will discuss reforms and the impediments affecting the power and petroleum sectors in his advisory council for trade and industry meeting here tomorrow.
The meeting comes at a time when the government is trying hard to cope with the power situation in the Capital after the privatisation of the Delhi Vidyut Board.
The meeting between Vajpayee and his Cabinet, will include top industrialists like Ratan Tata, Kumar Mangalam Birla and Nusli Wadia.
More From This Section
Power minister Suresh Prabhu will make a presentation on the Electricity Bill 2002, while petroleum minister Ram Naik will make a presentation on the Petroleum Regulatory Board Bill 2002.
Prabhu is likely to present the legislative framework being envisaged in the Electricity Bill to make structural changes in the power sector, making it commercially viable.
Naik will put forth the regulatory framework proposed by the government to oversee oil refining, marketing and transportation.
Both Bills had been referred to their respective parliamentary standing committees, and were expected to be debated in the monsoon session of Parliament, officials said.
The brainstorming session is seen as a move to remove the impediments hindering reforms in the power and petroleum sectors.
Vajpayee would seek inputs from the captains of industry regarding the future course of action, officials said.
At present, power is on the Concurrent List, while the ministry of petroleum and natural gas is doubling as the oil regulator till the Petroleum regulatory Bill is passed.
The Prime Minister, in the last trade and industry council meeting, had formed sub-committees on crucial sectors, including infrastructure and capital markets, to get industry's feedback on the measures needed to remove bottlenecks and put economic reforms on the fast track.
Officials said the sub-committees had since submitted their reports to the government for necessary action.
Both Naik and Prabhu are likely to allay the apprehensions of industry on the pace of reforms in the two sectors.
The trade council meeting, which will also suggest policy changes desired by industry, will be followed by a meeting of the Prime Minister's economic advisory council on July 13.