The power scenario in India seems to be worsening and with it corporate India's faith in the government to better the power infrastructure.
A study by the Manufacturers Association of Information Technology -- a group of hardware and training services companies -- and Emerson Network Power India, on network power downtime shows that that India Inc could be losing over Rs 22,000 crore (Rs 220 billion) in 2003, in direct losses, due to poor power quality and operating environment related downtime.
The downtime is estimated to be around 2.2 per cent of the gross output of the total industrial and service sectors. This loss is significantly higher compared to last year's loss of Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion).
The study was carried out by Feedback Consulting during November 2003, covering 302 Indian firms and spread over six cities.
Eight major industry segments were covered -- telecom, IT services, IT-enabled services, ISPs, banking & finance, services sector, manufacturing (process & others).
It is the second such survey conducted to map the impact of downtime in the industrial sector.
Delhi records the highest level of daily power disruption at 28 per cent of sample base; this is followed by Bangalore (22%). Firms in Kolkata, Mumbai and Hyderabad experienced fewer power disruptions.
The major reasons for downtime are power cuts (scheduled and unscheduled) due to the stress on infrastructure and poor quality of power and the major impact of downtime is loss of work in progress (including employee distraction from scheduled activities) and employee productivity.
The study showed that nearly 50 per cent of the firms polled are extremely dependent upon IT & Automation.
As a result, due to the high network downtime, contingency planning has become a part of Indian business psyche. Over 85 per cent firms have a power source other than grid supply.
"Contingency planning is part of the India Inc mindset, based on traditional experiences with infrastructure limitations. This trend will continue in the light of global power failures encountered in Western countries. Firms will need to pay more attention to maximising uptime if they are to remain competitive in a globally networked economy," says Vinnie Mehta, executive director, MAIT.
In 80 per cent of the cases, power is restored within the hour. However, power restoration within 30 minutes is down to 56 per cent from 66 per cent last year, an indication of slower response times.
Over 85 per cent of the firms in Mumbai and Kolkata feel that authorities are taking the right measures to improve the power scenario. But in cities like Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore, less than 50 per cent of those polled felt the same.
The Indian industry continues to remain skeptical about improvements in the power scenario, with 61 per cent of the sample size agreeing to this sentiment.
Of that, 67 per cent firms in Kolkata and 37 per cent in Mumbai feel that their city already has a robust and reliable power infrastructure. Less than 16 per cent feel similarly across Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai.
A mere 20 per cent of the respondents feel that blackouts in New York and Europe have prompted them to reconsider their power contingency measures.
Investment in uptime helps in smoother operations and a good working environment. This helps in superior customer service and building a positive image as a reliable partner with clients.
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