Sinha to explore funding for power

NEW DELHI, July 3: Power Minister R Kumaramangalam will meet Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha next week to discuss alternative funding mechanisms for private and public sector power utilities in view of the economic sanctions on India.

Proposals totalling about Rs 5,000 crore for power sector funding are awaiting approval from the multilateral funding agencies including the World Bank.

He said the World Bank has not "refused" the proposals but some of the projects have been delayed for over two months due to uncertainty.

Independent producers have asked government to raise the 40 per cent ceiling on domestic borrowing for projects to 60 per cent.