More powers to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), 49 per cent foreign equity in insurance and other service sectors, encouraging power trading, expediting upstream and downstream oil and gas sector reforms, uniform policies for foreign investment across the sectors, greater focus on intellectual property rights (IPR) and harmonisation of broadcast regulations with the information technology regulations are the main recommendations made by the council. The Joint Business Council (JBC) which dealt with almost all the aspects related to business opportunities in India, summarised its recommendations in six sections, including intellectual property rights, information technology also covering telecommunications, power and fuel supply trade and investment, trade in services and broadcasting and entertainment. On the issue of IPR, the council said that the main problem is to convince all sectors of Indian society that good IPR laws are in the country's favour. Myths such as only multinationalpharmaceutical companies will benefit from patents and that patents will make medicines prohibitively expensive in India and will take away the traditional Indian medicines must be dispelled.

Arguing in favour of more power to the TRAI, the council said that the authority should be able to provide requisite powers to adjudicate between all telecom players and to increase competition in the domestic market.

Telecommunications industry should be deregulated faster, said the council adding that VSNL monopoly in international long distance should be done away with by 2001. While demanding a cut in tariffs such as MTNL access charges, it has suggested that enhancement of telecommunications infrastructure (bandwidth) and promotion of new technologies like DST. For the power sector, the council said that all the state electricity boards should implement the sector reforms in all areas, including tariff rationalisation, controlling theft and removal of cross-subsidies. Ministry of power should provide one window clearance facility for resolving all energy sector problems such as issues related to fuel, financing clearances and permits.

Power Trading Corporation should be launched at the earliest and trade of electricity between various states, producers and consumers should be encouraged. It also proposed expansion of the existing programme of technical cooperation between state electricity regulatory commissions and the government agencies in the US. Besides acceleration of reform process in the oil and gas sector has also been suggested.

For strengthening of cooperation in trade and investment sector, the council said reforms in the labor laws to liberalise and strengthen employment, removal of discriminatory tariff quotas (Including exports) and anomalies in categorisation. Besides the governments should also rationalise taxes at the state and central level. In the field of banking and finance, the council recommended continuation of reforms in the sector to include provision to allow privatisation, and mergers and acquisition by domestic and foreign banks.