World

Nepal inks long-term power deal with India, to sell 10,000 MW electricity over 10 years

Kathmandu and New Delhi on Thursday inked a long-term agreement on electricity trade, as part of which Nepal will export 10,000 megawatts of electricity to India over the next ten years.

The agreement was signed in the presence of Nepal’s Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Shakti Bahadur Basnet.

Secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Gopal Sigdel and India’s Energy Secretary Pankaj Agrawal signed the agreement on behalf of the two countries.

The bilateral understanding on electricity exports was reached during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s visit to India from May 31 to June 3, last year. During the visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed India’s commitment to long-term electricity purchase from Nepal and both nations reached a consensus in this regard.

The Council of Ministers in India has already endorsed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) reached between the two neighbours in this regard. The agreement was signed during the ongoing two-day visit of External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar, starting Thursday.

Further, by virtue of this agreement, various government and private entities in India will engage in power trade with Nepal through short-term, medium-term, and long-term contracts. Private sectors in Nepal can also participate in the import and export of electricity after completing the necessary procedures.

In the joint statement issued during the visit of the Nepalese PM to India last year, the premiers of both nations said the power export deal was historic and significant.

Nepal has already devised an energy development strategy with an objective of producing 28,000 MW of electricity in the next 12 years.

Of the 28,000 MW of power, a target has been set to export 15,000 MW of electricity to different countries, including India. Earlier, a delegation led by the Indian Energy secretary paid a courtesy call to Nepalese Energy Minister Basnet.

Expressing happiness over the start of a meaningful cooperation between the two countries in the energy space, Basnet pointed to the need for taking it to a logical conclusion.

He stated that the deal to export 10,000 MW of electricity in the next 10 years would take the relations between the two countries to new heights. The Energy minister urged Indian officials to accelerate other projects and complete them within the stipulated time while voicing hope of further investment in large projects across sectors. (ANI)

ANI

Ani service

Recent Posts

India has witnessed unprecedented transformation in civil aviation in last few years: PM Modi

Noting that India has witnessed an unprecedented transformation in the field of civil aviation in…

2 hours ago

Piyush Goyal discusses new opportunities with top French business leaders

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal held a series of high-level meetings in Paris…

3 hours ago

Flood situation in Assam’s Sribhumi remains grim, 40,000 people affected

The flood situation in Assam's Sribhumi district is still critical following incessant rainfall and the…

3 hours ago

PM Modi, Paraguayan Prez Pena hold talks on agriculture, pharma, technology

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held talks with Paraguayan President Santiago Pena at Hyderabad…

4 hours ago

India issues operational guidelines for EV manufacturing scheme

The Ministry of Heavy Industries issued detailed guidelines for its electric car manufacturing scheme, first…

5 hours ago

Finland to open new Honorary Consulate in Gujarat to boost ties in innovation, education, and sustainability

The Embassy of Finland in New Delhi has announced the opening of a new Honorary…

6 hours ago