Pricing natural resources: Need for an inter-generational fund in India

Abstract

ARVIND KEJRIWAL has raised an important issue on the pricing of natural gas. The debate on the pricing of gas is raging despite the fact that the expert committee headed by Dr C. Rangarajan had examined the complete issue in detail. However, there is a larger issue which has been ignored in our country and that is about the welfare aspects of pricing of non-renewable resources and inter-generational equity. Are we pricing our non-renewable resources and other mineral products appropriately, and are we properly using the financial resources collected from extracted resources from under the soil with some responsibility to our future generations? Philosophically, the current generation is simply connecting the past and future generations, and is a short-term custodian of the national wealth. The principles of economics, budgeting and finance cannot ignore the responsibility of the current generation to the future generations. Read more at: https://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140305/edit.htm#4