Image : geooctane.com
PIYUSH GOYAL – Powering India by transforming challenge to opportunity. ‘Acche Din’ For Coal & Electricity Sector Are Finally Here !
When the Narendra Modi government took over in 2014, the power ministry inherited a ill managed, corrupt, red tape ridden & controversial past. All the issues related to power including coal production, discom, electricity tariffs & allocation of resources were struck due to one bottle neck or the other. Piyush Goyal was faced with the toughest of challenges and aced in it.
Reformer personified
Struggling to clock a 4% growth rate, Coal India Limited which produces 80% of domestic coal consumption was reeling under tremendous pressure due to the ever widening supply demand gap. Mr Piyush Goyal had a clear vision and determination to set things right. He had realized the supply demand gap and the import strain cannot be reduced without speeding up transparent allocation of resources & involving the private sector. This vision enabled breaking the state monopoly in commercial mining of coal besides transparent auctioning has resulted in a potential earning of Rs 3.35 Lakh crores. It doesn’t end there, Coal India Limited has produced 32 MT in last fiscal which is projected to be way more than the 46 MT produced in the previous 4 years. For the first time in 20 years, there was no shortage of coal which has resulted in valuable forex savings. In the light of this short and swift recovery of the power sector, Mr Piyush Goyal well deservedly won the Business Reformer of the year award by Economic Times.
Task master and visionary
Piyush Goyal is known to sit with the bureaucrats while legislating laws, there was a instance where it was reported Mr Piyush Goyal had spent three sleepless nights along with bureaucrats while drafting a specific power sector legislation. He is widely known for extensive consultation by bringing together all stake holders to bring about a long term solution than short term fixes. Like in the case of state power discoms which is plagued by massive debt causing strain to the Banking sector also, a scenario which has persisted for long. Mr Piyush Goyal’s consultative approach has resulted in state government’s falling in line to kick start reform and also has delighted the Banking sector as the suggested reform structure is progressive. If implemented with purpose, it is widely expected that state discom’s will soon come out of the red and run their business in a sustainable way.
We commend Mr Piyush Goyal’s work, leadership and vision. We hope the dynamism and competence of Mr Piyush Goyal will inspire and drive other lawmakers on the path of excellence. We also would like to thank Mr Narendra Modi for putting his faith on Mr Piyush Goyal to revive an ailing power sector.
