Seeks core sector regulator

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has sought the setting up of an independent regulator for promoting private sector investments to enable more efficient management of infrastructure assets in the country.

The chamber is releasing a report on regulation that calls for establishing an overarching regulatory framework for infrastructure and recommends principles that will enhance and ensure the effectiveness of the regulatory mechanism, according to a CII statement.

"Our expectation is that existing infrastructure regulatory bodies, and new ones being contemplated by the central and state governments, will seek to comply with these recommendations," National Council for Infrastructure's Vinayak Chatterjee said.

The recommendations, a part of the joint study, "Recommended Framework to Improve Regulatory Effectiveness in Infrastructure Sectors" conducted jointly by the CII and the PPIAF (Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory facility), are in line with the Planning Commission's own white paper on infrastructure regulation in India. "For this (recommendations) to happen in a uniform way, we have recommended that the principles for regulatory effectiveness be enshrined in a national-level Infrastructure Regulatory Framework Act," Chatterjee added.

The CII report said the regulator should be autonomous so as to effectively oversee entry, price and performance.

CII has also said setting up a multi-disiplinary body on the lines of a National Infrastructure Appellate Tribunal will be helpful to adjudicate upon appeals arising from sector regulators in a timely manner and also to oversee the working of regulators.

It, however, said not all infrastructure sectors should have an economic regulator as market maturity and sector needs have a bearing on the way development takes place in India.