India-Nepal Centre/SDC, in association
with the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), Nepal SBI Bank
Ltd (NSBL), NHPC Ltd and PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(PHDCCI) hosted a webinar on "Exploring Hydroelectricity
Potential in Nepal". Considering the recent political
developments between two countries, the initiative was seen as an
important step to normalize the Nepal-India bilateral relations.
Sushil Bhatta, Member, National Planning
Commission (NPC), Nepal as “Chief Guest” dwelt on the theme and
stressed on the need for having more joint efforts for ensuring
economic rebound in both Nepal and India. He also said that we are
going through critical situation where lives and livelihood is
affected. He said, “Our key concern and focus is on ensuring safety
of lives and maintaining the supply chain of goods and services.”
"We will be focusing on economic
recovery activities that will be the new normal, with additional
focus on rebounding and capitalizing of our strengths; accelerating
our economy towards prosperity and justice to people," Bhatta
added.
He also shared that NPC has recently
formulated the 15th periodic plan for 5 years. "Our forecast for
the projection of relaxation of plan period after 3 years is around
5,000 MW and we have installed capacity of 300+ MW including
standalone projects related to grid and other projects. We need to
foster FDI, TPP, and many others. We need to develop a framework for
TPP and create proper guidelines and a transparent system. We will be
needs institutions, policies, processes, SOPs, and guidelines,” he
said.
As a Guest of Honor Dr. Ram Prasad
Dhital, Member, Electricity Regulation Commission (NEC), Nepal gave a
detailed presentation on the “Business and Investment Opportunities
in Nepal's Hydroelectricity Sector” and gave an overview of the
current state of electricity, key hurdles, and expectation. He also
put forward the various reforms for opportunities in terms of legal
reforms, regulatory reports, and policy and institutional reforms. He
highlighted the need for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) that will
pave a path towards the faster development of Hydroelectricity in the
country.
He also reflected on the growing need to
promote the infrastructure of electricity-based transport and cooking
in Nepal to enhance the demand of electricity as clean option. He
talked about the government's aim to generate 15,000 MW of
electricity in the next eight years (by 2028) and making electricity
adequate, affordable, and reliable for all by 2030. Discussing the
expectations, he mentioned a level playing field for all electricity
operators, with one-stop service, a simplified process of approvals
with easy entry and exit that will lead to an efficient mechanism for
dispute resolution and proper coordination.
Y K Chaubey, Director (Technical), NHPC
Ltd and V K Maini, Executive Director, NHPC Ltd gave an insightful
presentation on “Exploring Hydroelectricity Potential in Nepal,”
giving a detailed deliberation about the Energy Scenario in India and
Nepal respectively. They discussed the emerging regional scenario
that included factors like Global Warming, United Nations Framework
Classification for Resources (UNFC) Goals, Grid Issues, and Paradigm
Shift. They deliberated about the enablers for regional co-operation
that included Government of India Hydro Measures; Geographical and
Cultural Proximity and, Systemic Enablers that will lead to the
opportunities of the Entire Region as One Grid aiding to smooth flow
of Hydroelectricity. They also discussed the recent initiatives
undertaken by NHPC in Nepal that will help in tapping Hydro potential
in Nepal.
Anukool Bhatnagar, MD & CEO, Nepal
SBI Bank Ltd (NSBL) gave a financial perspective on “Exploring
Hydroelectricity Potential in Nepal” and discussed the different
sources of funds, government investments, and Banks and Financial
Institution projects that will help in boosting the potential of
Hydroelectricity in Nepal in the present and future times.
Gyanendra Lal Pradhan, Executive
Chairman, Hydro Solutions Pvt Ltd & Chairman, CNI Energy
Development Council while sharing his views discussed that Hydropower
is not an option but a compulsion for water, energy, and food
security. He discussed that in these present times of global warming
and limited resources, Hydropower is the best solution.
Among others who attended the webinar are
Vishnu Kumar Agrawal, Sr VP, CNI; Birendra Raj Pandey, Vice
President, CNI; Deepak Rauniyar, MD, BKSHCL; Bishal Thapa, MD, Saral
Urja Pvt Ltd; Praveena Kala, Director, Paramount Cables Pvt Ltd &
Ex-Banker (Former CGM-SBI) and Atul K Thakur, Nodal Coordinator,
India-Nepal Centre, PHDCCI.
In his address, Sanjay Aggarwal, Senior
Vice President, PHDCCI mentioned how deep-rooted is the relationship
of India and Nepal. He highlighted about the support MSMEs needed to
rebound the economies of India and Nepal that have been badly
affected due to the global pandemic. India needs to be a strong
partner in economic progress and welfare of Nepal and vis-a-vis.
Hydroelectricity is an ideal platform for cooperation and mutual
advantage for both the country. Pradeep Multani, Vice President,
PHDCCI apprised the relationship shared between India and Nepal. He
assured that PHDCCI’s Nepal-Nepal Centre will remain in full
solidarity to foster the relations of India and Nepal and, support is
every possible way.
As the Co-Chair, Nirvana Chaudhary,
Chairman, India-Nepal Centre (Nepal); VP, CNI; MD, Chaudhary Group
moderated the session and highlighted the importance of strengthening
the bilateral economic relations between India and Nepal which are
possible with creating new opportunities in this sector. He said that
he is quite sanguine about the bright possibilities, and with the
deeper government-industry interface, India and Nepal will make new
growth momentums.
The session Chair, Amb K V Rajan,
Chairman, India-Nepal Centre, PHDCCI said that things are falling in
place in policy and regulatory framework in Nepal. We are optimistic
that Nepal will be the battery of South Asia in the future and, we
can grow together. He said that the India-Nepal Centre will continue
to play a constructive role in creating and maintaining smooth
environment for economic cooperation between two countries.
Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary-General, PHDCCI
summed the deliberations in his concluding remarks and assured the
policy-makers about the continued support of India-Nepal Centre for
scripting new positive chapters in economic cooperation. He shared
about the journey of PHDCCI’s Nepal initiatives and what more are
in pipeline for making India-Nepal economic ties, the most decisive
factors for the deeper regional and sub-regional economic
cooperation.
