{"id":30502,"date":"2024-10-07T18:37:41","date_gmt":"2024-10-07T13:07:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=30502"},"modified":"2024-10-07T18:37:43","modified_gmt":"2024-10-07T13:07:43","slug":"nepal-india-and-bangladesh-energy-cooperation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/07-10-2024\/nepal-india-and-bangladesh-energy-cooperation","title":{"rendered":"Nepal, India and Bangladesh Energy Cooperation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/IR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Nepal, India and Bangladesh have signed a <strong>tripartite agreemen<\/strong>t to facilitate <strong>cross-border electricity trade.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About the Agreement<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Nepal will export<\/strong> its surplus electricity to <strong>Bangladesh via India<\/strong> from June 15 to November 15 every year.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In the first phase, <strong>Nepal will export 40 MW of hydroelectricity<\/strong> to Bangladesh <strong>via Indian territory.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The rate per unit of electricity has been fixed at 6.4 cents.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Electricity will be exported to Bangladesh via the <strong>Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur 400 KV transmission line,<\/strong> with the metering point in <strong>Muzaffarpur<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>From the export of electricity, Nepal will make an <strong>annual income of around USD 9.2 million.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Energy Requirements of India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s energy imports <strong>more than doubled to 40 percent <\/strong>of total energy requirements in 2022 from 18 percent in 2002.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In the same period, the <strong>country diversified its energy partners<\/strong> from 14 to 32.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>These energy supplies and diversifications are<strong> essential to India\u2019s overall economic security.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As the country will require more and more energy supplies to reinforce its economy, which is growing at an<strong> annual rate of approximately 8 percent.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India\u2019s Energy Cooperation in Neighbourhood<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India is building <strong>green energy infrastructure <\/strong>(hydel power plants and solar parks) in <strong>Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India is connecting these countries\u2019 national energy apparatus to India for <strong>exporting excess energy<\/strong> generated in these nations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India loaned, invested, or extended Lines of Credit<\/strong> worth US$ 7.15 billion between 2005 and 2023 to further collaboration with its neighbours.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Development assistance ranges across cross-border transmission lines, hydel power plants, oil and gas pipelines, and undersea lines for grid integration.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Resultantly<strong>, electricity trade <\/strong>among the aforementioned countries has grown from<strong> 2 billion units to 8 billion units between 2016 and 2023.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Energy Cooperation with Nepal:<\/strong> It culminated in the<strong> 25-year long-term power purchase partnership agreement <\/strong>between the two countries, wherein India will annually buy 10,000 MW of hydel energy from Nepal by <strong>2030<\/strong>.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Nepal, currently, has over a hundred hydel power plants and another one hundred and fifty in the pipeline.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This massive and rapid hydel power capacity development will lead to a <strong>surplus <\/strong>that energy-needing neighbouring countries\u2014India and Bangladesh\u2014can utilise.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India-Bhutan: <\/strong>In FY22, India imported 1500MW of electricity worth US$ 83 million from Bhutan. These imports comprised <strong>70 percent of Bhutan\u2019s hydel power generation capacity.\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Bhutan is currently also coordinating with multilateral development banks and India, to<strong> increase its installed hydel power<\/strong> <strong>capacity <\/strong>to cater India, Bangladesh and Myanmar.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India-Bangladesh: <\/strong>It involves importing through the <strong>India Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFP)<\/strong> and the newly developed electricity transmission network.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India is also endeavouring to link Bhutan and Nepal with Bangladesh through Indian territory for greater energy connectivity across South Asia.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Significance<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Connectivity:<\/strong> India\u2019s cross-border collaboration for energy infrastructure development is pivotal for <strong>connecting the geographies of India, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal.\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Bangladesh and India are energy-deficient countries<\/strong>, which heavily rely on conventional energy sources in their energy production matrix.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bhutan and Nepal produce an <strong>energy surplus annually.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Countering Chinese Influence: <\/strong>India wants to counter China\u2019s BRI through increased development aid in the neighbouring countries because of their geopolitical and geostrategic relevance to India\u2019s territorial integrity.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Furthering energy cooperation is a step towards regional connectivity and economic integration, something that can act as a hedge against Chinese influence in the region.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India&#8217;s energy cooperation with its South Asian neighbours is a <strong>cornerstone of its foreign policy and energy security.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>By investing in regional energy infrastructure and <strong>fostering interdependence, <\/strong>India aims to underpin economic growth, counterbalance China&#8217;s influence, and enhance its global standing.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>While challenges like geopolitical tensions and competing interests persist, the mutual benefits of energy collaboration are clear.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As India continues its rise on the world stage, its energy diplomacy is set to play an increasingly pivotal role in shaping the region&#8217;s future.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/news-today\/nepal-india-bangladesh-agreement-cross-border-electricity-trade-9602203\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nepal, India and Bangladesh have signed a tripartite agreement to facilitate cross-border electricity trade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30502"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30503,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30502\/revisions\/30503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}