| News From CUTS-November 2008 |
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CUTS bags India Power Award-2008
Increasing agricultural productivity is key to tackle food security
in South Asia: CUTS
Stay positive to escape global recession and emerge
as a stronger economy: CUTS |
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November 30, 2008 “Mumbai’s leading hotels, prominent centres of business negotiations, coming under the siege of terrorists, is symbolic of the fact that progress in counter-terrorism/law and order efforts and India’s economic progress are intertwined. India is now increasingly being perceived as a high risk country by both foreign entrepreneurs and international tourists. This is the time to not only give a major financial and technological boost to anti-terrorism/law and order efforts but ring in some major constitutional changes” said Pradeep S. Mehta, Secretary General, CUTS International, a leading economic policy research and advocacy group, in a press release issued here today “The Mumbai terrorist attack is probably the biggest attack to hit the world after 9/11” said Mehta, “while the apathy of the government in the wake of so many terrorist attacks in the recent past has been both startling and unnerving, we should realise our own responsibility as citizens of this country” The civil society, intelligentsia and media need to launch a sustained campaign to ring in major changes into the system instead of just raising the alarm after major terrorist attacks. Mehta elaborated on the systemic changes mentioned above:
Mehta concluded with an appeal: “If we do not act now both the economic prosperity of India and the physical and mental security of its populace are at stake. The civil society, the media, the intelligentsia and ordinary citizens need to rise as one and not rest till we have made sure that the necessary safeguards have been put in place”. For more information, please contact:
CUTS bags India Power Award-2008 November 07, 2008 Jaipur based advocacy organization; Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) received this year’s prestigious India Power Award for recognition for Social and Community Impact at Grassroots, at a high level function held in New Delhi. CUTS Secretary General Shri Pradeep Mehta received the award. The Council of Power Utilities and KW Conferences Pvt. Ltd. have initiated a visible and credible platform – the INDIA POWER AWARDS - to recognize the achievements and contributions of organizations and individuals in this sector. The INDIA POWER AWARDS 2008 are being envisaged as a systematic and methodical approach to recognizing excellence in power and energy development. The award is given to CUTS for its outstanding networking and various outreach activities towards consumer empowerment by The Council of Power Utilities in association with KW Conferences and sponsored by Crompton Greaves, Mint and Mercados Energy Markets (Asia). CUTS is having a long history in working in the power sector in Rajasthan. When the regulatory reforms was initiated in the power sector, welcoming this move, CUTS started educating the consumer groups to understand about the reforms and to participate effectively in the functioning of the regulatory bodies. While reforms were introduced in the beginning of 2000, it was felt that there was no institutional mechanism in place to represent the consumers at large, and their concerns, in organised and professional manner. To fill the vacuum, CUTS came forward and conceptualised and initiated the programme ‘Involvement of consumers in power sector reforms in Rajasthan’ in all the districts of Rajasthan in August 2001 in partnership with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES). The major objective of the programme, among others, was to facilitate active involvement of consumers in power sector reforms. This model, which is known as ‘CUTS-FES model’ is widely recognised as innovative and comprehensive approach towards enhancing the effectiveness of consumers’ voice and improving their participation in the reform process. Besides this, CUTS was also instrumental in making the electricity distribution companies to come up with the Consumer Charter and has been involved in sending the comments on tariff structure and different policy related issues to the regulatory commission. Presently, CUTS is a member of the advisory committee of Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission. CUTS is also presently implementing a ‘Project for Capacity Building on Electricity Reforms in Bangladesh, Nepal and India’ in association with NORAD, so that power sector consumers can effectively intervene in ongoing reform process to safeguard their interests. Earlier, the World Bank has identified the ‘CUTS-FES Model’ as one of the best practice in the entire country to enhance the consumer voice and strengthen client power to ensure better service delivery to people. Independent research and documentation of this initiative was done for wide scale dissemination For more information, please contact:
Stay positive to escape global recession and emerge as a stronger economy: CUTS November 03, 2008 “India can breeze through the global financial meltdown and the ensuing economic crisis at only a slightly reduced rate of economic growth of 6-7 percent per annum. The vastness and diversity of the Indian economy will come to its rescue, providing both the necessary demand and supply stimulus for growth, as long as all economic agents – the government, consumers, investors and entrepreneurs – maintain a positive attitude in going about business as usual.” These reassuring comments were made by CUTS International Secretary General, Pradeep S. Mehta, and are backed by an analytical study by CUTS: http://www.cuts-international.org/meltdown_advisory.pdf. He also elaborated on the four practical mantras that define the mentioned positive attitude:
Mehta concluded
by emphasising the silver lining in the recessionary cloud for
India: For more information, please contact:
Pradeep S. Mehta, Secretary General,
CUTS, 9829013131; psm@cuts.org
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Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS), All rights
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