Following Training programmes were conducted under the Center of Excellence:
Training Programme on
ENVIRONMENTAL FISCAL REFORMS International Experience and
Relevance for India For State Government Officers of the
North Eastern States
6th, 7th and 8th November 2013
Organized by
The Department of Commerce
Tripura University (A Central University)
Agartala
In collaboration with
Centre of Excellence in Environmental Economics
Madras School of Economics
Pollution in India is high relative to prescribed
standards. It has serious implications for sustainability of
growth due to depletion of natural resources, implications
of climate change, and health hazards. Of the two approaches
to pollution control, namely regulatory approach and use of
market based instruments, the latter has certain advantages.
The two approaches are not mutually exclusive and can be
used to complement each other. The main economic instruments
are eco-taxes and eco-subsidies. Internationally, there has
been a noticeable move towards environmental tax reforms of
the existing tax structures thereby giving rise to green
shift in taxation. A notable feature of environmental tax
reform (ETR) in the UK is the fuel duty escalator under
which the fuel duty would be increased by 3 to 6% above the
inflation rate every 3 years. Revenue from this tax was used
to reduce the income tax rate. Other taxes are the energy
and transport taxes of Germany, Danish carbon taxes, etc.
International experience shows that eco taxes have mostly
been successful both environmentally and economically.
Studies have shown that eco taxes have brought about a
reduction in GHG emissions. At its peak, revenue from ETR
has been 10-12% of tax revenue. This revenue has partly been
used to reduce direct tax rates. India could learn from
international experience and adapt from their experiences
appropriate practices in a way that suit Indian conditions.
Since India is at the threshold of entering into the goods
and services tax regime – the last mile of the indirect tax
reforms, it is an appropriate time to consider environmental
fiscal reforms (EFRs) alongside.
With a view to disseminate knowledge on EFRs among the
officers working at the State Governments, specifically in
the environment departments/ministries, the Centre of
Excellence in Environmental Economics at Madras School of
Economics, Chennai has been organizing training programs.
Following successful organization of a 3-day training
program in March 2013 at MSE, the Centre collaborated with
the Department of Commerce, Tripura University to organize
training program exclusively for the government officers of
the North Eastern states. The program was organized during 6
to 8th November 2013 at Tripura University, Agartala. The
training program was attended by officials from various
departments of Government of Tripura and other stakeholders
including the academicians.
The inaugural session of the training program was attended
by Prof. A.K. Ghosh, Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, Tripura
University, Prof. Mihir Deb, Chairman, State Pollution
Control Board of Tripura, and Dr. Sharat Kumar, Senior
Economic Adviser, MoEF, New Delhi.
The following broad topics were covered during the training
program:
• Sustainable Development and rationale for green economic
growth in India
• Summary of international experiences with regard to EFRs
• Indirect tax reforms in India and scope for integrating
environmental considerations
• Specific roles of taxes and subsidies at national,
regional and local levels in addressing environmental
concerns
In addition to the lectures given by many experts working in
the field of environmental fiscal reforms in India, the
program also hosted a panel discussion focusing on
environmental concerns of Tripua with active participation
of officials from the Urban Development Department and
Agartala Municipal Corporation.
The feedback given by the participants at the end of the
program was positive with over 70 percent of the
participants giving either the highest rank (excellent) or
the second highest rank (very good) on the overall
impression. The participants also wanted separate training
program with focused discussion on environmental issues
concerning Tripura.
Training Programme on Environmental Fiscal Reforms:
International Experience and Relevance for India
Madras School of Economics, Chennai, India.
7-9th March 2013
The Centre of Excellence in Environmental Economics at MSE
is supported by the Ministry of Environment and Forests,
Government of India. Besides carrying out policy relevant
research studies, the Centre also focuses on capacity
building through a dedicated website and periodic training
programs. A three-day training program on ‘Environmental
Fiscal Reforms: International Experience and Relevance for
India’ was organized during 7, 8 and 9th March 2013 at
Madras School of Economics, Chennai. The training program
was supported by the MoEF, GoI.
The training program attempted to:
• Provide rationale for green economic growth in India by
looking at some key sectors such as agriculture, water,
energy, transport and construction
• Summarize the experiences with regard to ETRs from both
developed and developing countries
• Discuss the current status of indirect tax reforms in
India, and the need and scope for integrating environmental
issues in the ongoing reform process
• Elaborate the role of environmental subsidies
• Highlight the importance of regional and local level
taxes/subsidies in addressing environmental concerns; and
• Deliberate on constraints in addressing the environmental
concerns through fiscal instruments.
The resource persons for the training program include Profs.
U. Sankar, D.K. Srivastava, Paul Appasamy, Rita Pandey and
several other eminent speakers who have been working on the
program themes. Given the growing importance for effectively
addressing the environmental consideration in the economy at
various levels of governance, we believe that the officials
from both Central and State government will find the
deliberations informative.
Training Programme on Environmental Statistics with Special Reference to Water Accounting for Indian Statistical Service Officers
Madras School of Economics, Chennai, India.
Sep. 29 to Oct. 03, 2008
A five day training program was organized by Madras School of Economics on “Environmental Statistics with Special Reference to Water Accounting”, for the Indian Statistical Service (ISS) officers during September 29 – October 3, 2008. The training program primarily focused on environmental statistics pertaining to water sector. The training emphasized on economic analysis and introduced the ‘System of Environment-Economic Accounting for Water’ (SEEAW). Fifteen ISS officers from various central and state government departments attended the five-day training program. Almost an equal number of resource persons gave lectures during the course of the training program.
The program was inaugurated by Dr. Balaji, Chief Conservator of Forests & Member-Secretary, State Forest Commission.
Training Programme on
Environmental Economics for Government Officials Madras School of Economics, Chennai, India.
Nov. 29 to Dec. 3, 2004
The training programme on environmental economics for
government officials was held at Madras School of
Economics from November 29 - December 3, 2004. The
objective of the course was to acquaint the government
officials with the principles of environmental economics
and the potential applications in the formulation of
environmental policy. Participants were mainly from the
Ministry of Environment and Forests, Forest Service,
Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Boards. Local
participants were drawn from various agencies in Chennai
related to environmental management. 24 participants
attended the one week programme.
The programme was inaugurated by Dr.Zmarak Shalizi, Senior
Research Manager, World Bank. The lectures were broadly
divided into four sections:
