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 DRUM Institutional Partners Meet
Date : December 17, 2004
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Ministry of Power, U.S. Agency for International Developments, and DRUM partner Indian institutions' representatives at the Memorandum of Understanding signing event - December 17, 2004
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In a significant step toward continued bilateral cooperation, the United States and India have launched a program to train 25,000 energy sector personnel in India over the next several years. The program, to be implemented jointly by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Power, is critical to India's overall development.
Unveiled last week as part of USAID's Distribution Reform, Upgrades, and Management (DRUM) project, the activity will build the capacity of utilities to reduce distribution losses, enhance the quality and reliability of power supply, improve financial and commercial performance, and increase customer satisfaction.
Ministry of Power Secretary R.V. Shahi inaugurated the event that was held on December 17, 2004, which included a signing ceremony between USAID partner, CORE International, Inc., and 10 Indian training institutions that will train thousands of utility managers, engineers, and technicians throughout the country.
Indian training institutions participating in the program included the National Power Training Institute, Centre for Efficiency in Power Distribution at NDPL, Central Institute for Rural Electrification, National Productivity Council, The Energy Resources Institute, Indian Institute of Technology - Kanpur, the Reliance Management Institute, and the Power Management Institute, among others.
Speaking on the occasion, Secretary Shahi urged all partners in the program to consider training electricity distribution employees as a national mission. The institutions form the heart of the DRUM training initiative and will begin delivery of courses in January 2005. Involving Indian institutions from the start will help sustain the effort in the future.
Effective training will bring about change in the power sector to facilitate a strong customer focus and a determined approach to achieve commercial viability of the sector. Reliable power fuels economic growth and reduces poverty in both rural and urban areas. It will help bring a brighter future to millions of Indians.
Source: www.usaid.gov/in
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