Take the case of India. Following India's independence in 1947, the government's federal structure allowed both the central and state governments to pass laws governing power provision. This turn toward public ownership of the power sector was solidified with the passage of the Electricity Supply Act of 1948, which provided for the establishment of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and coordinated power provision throughout India. The act also dictated the creation of State Electricity Boards (SEBs), which were responsible for the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity within each Indian state. SEBs were housed within their respective state government's Ministry of Power and operated as a direct extension of the state government with minimal oversight from the central government. Most Indian state governments established SEBs, with the exception of a few minor states that instead relied upon a government agency to manage the power sector. The states that elected not to establish SEBs, such as Goa, Sikkim, and Tripura, were the smallest in either population or area and barely generated any of their own electricity. Despite persistent power deficits and ever increasing financial shortfalls, this arrangement remained substantially unchanged until the 1990s.
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