He is the bureaucrat to watch out for! Meet P Uma Shankar, whotook over as India's Power Secretary last monthHelming the hot seat weighs heavy on thenew Power Secretary's shoulders. Genteel,courteous, with a disposition thatcan only be described as low-key, P UmaShankar, who took over the charge from HS Brahmalast month, exudes neither dominion nor power.The IAS officer (UP-76), who holds a Masters degreein Mathematics from the IIT-Chennai and in SocialPolicy and Planning from the London School ofEconomics, is the man in the big picture, and he'senjoying it in his unassuming way. Juggling with achoc-o-bloc schedule, he squeezes out some time fora short tête-à-tête with Bureaucracy Today. As wechat with him at his office situated in Rafi Marg, hesays with a smile, "When you reach such a position,your time does not remain your own. It is not you,but the time that is controlling you." And whenShankar is not busy, he loves to play golf, listens toKarnataka classic music and spends time with hisgrandchildren.
The emergence of Shankar has come at a timewhen the ministry is grappling with several issuesrelated to the power sector. Ask the former Chairmanof REC about the major challenges in his currentdomain and he says, "The fiscal year 2009-10was a noteworthy year as it accounted for the highestcapacity addition of 9,585 MW in a single yearin the last 60 years. We are now planning to set thetarget of achieving 1 lakh MW capacity addition inthe 12th Five Year Plan. One of the major challengeswill be to ensure that we do not miss the revisedPlan target and remove the bottlenecks that can bean impediment to the project. Another major challengeis to give a fillip to the Accelerated Power Development& Reforms Programme that promisesimproving the monetary viability of State PowerUtilities and enhancing the reliability and qualityof power supply as well as cut losses. Bringing inmore efficiency in the functioning of the Power SectorDistribution reforms also features in our prioritylist." The Power Secretary also emphasisesmore construction of the transmission lines acrossthe country that will give a boost to the sector.
The power sector is no more the 'indubitable authority'of the Government as more and more privatesectors are making their way into the arena. AskShankar about this recent trend and he quips, "It isgood to see that private companies are foraying intothis sector as this will help in achieving targets. Theprivate sector's contribution to the capacity additioneffort has shown an improving trend during the firsttwo years of the current Plan period. The private sector's49.8 per cent contribution to the capacity additionduring the first 10 months of the fiscal 2009-10was healthier than its achievement in the previousyears, when the corresponding numbers were 8 percent for 2007-08 and 25 per cent for 2008-09."
Former President APJ Abdul Kalam had recentlysaid that India should focus on the need to create alternativefuels. Ask Shankar about it and he says,"The Government of India has approved a new policyon development of solar energy in the countryby launching the Jawaharlal Nehru National SolarMission. The mission which is stated to be accomplishedby 2020 will contribute to India's long-termenergy security as well as its ecological security."
