India–Bhutan Hydropower: What Works—and Why Nepal Hasn’t Matched It (Yet)

The Bhutan–India model in a nutshell

For half a century, India and Bhutan have treated hydropower as a joint development project, not just a commodity trade. The core is an inter-governmental (IG) model: India finances and helps build Bhutan’s dams, guarantees long-term offtake into its grid on a cost-plus basis, and Bhutan earns export revenue and reliable rupee inflows. The framework was formalized in a 2006 bilateral agreement (later updated), which explicitly targets large, multi-decade power imports from Bhutan and spells out financing and market access. (indembthimphu.gov.in, ETH Zurich Files)

The project portfolio (highlights)

• Chukha (336 MW) — Bhutan’s first “mega” plant; financed 60% grant / 40% loan from India, commissioned in the 1980s; became the country’s single biggest revenue source for years. (Wikipedia)

• Kurichhu (60 MW) — Also 60/40 grant-loan financing, early 2000s. (Wikipedia)

• Tala (1,020 MW) — Commissioned mid-2000s; dramatically lifted exports to India.

• Mangdechhu (720 MW) — Commissioned in 2019 under the updated IG terms (~70% debt / 30% grant). The export tariff was set at ₹4.12/kWh—a cost-plus price negotiated with India. (Asian Development Bank, Factor This™)

• Punatsangchhu-I (1,200 MW) — Long delays and redesigns after geotechnical problems on the right bank; a cautionary tale about Himalayan geology and cost overruns.

• Punatsangchhu-II (1,020 MW) — Entered final commissioning in 2025, adding roughly 1 GW and lifting Bhutan’s capacity by about 40%. (indembthimphu.gov.in)

• Dagachhu (126 MW) — A path-breaking JV with Bhutan’s DGPC and India’s Tata Power, with a long-term sale to India via PTC. (Ministry of External Affairs)

How Bhutan has benefitted

1. Fiscal and external stability. Hydropower exports to India have funded Bhutan’s signature investments in health, education and near-universal electrification; the World Bank repeatedly highlights hydropower-for-development as a pillar of Bhutan’s model. In many years, hydropower has provided a large share of export earnings and public revenue, underpinning social spending. (World Bank, GTAI, Ministry of Finance Bhutan)

2. Assured market access on transparent pricing. India’s guarantee to buy surplus power at cost-plus terms reduces market risk and helps make large dams bankable for a small economy. That “assured offtake + concessional finance” combination is rare—and central to the model’s success.

3. Grid integration and timely payments. Dedicated 400 kV corridors into India’s load centers mean Bhutan does not carry balancing risk; sales settle in Indian rupees, which Bhutan needs for trade. (indembthimphu.gov.in)

…and the real risks Bhutan has had to manage

• Project concentration & debt. Hydropower dominates the export basket; major delays (notably Punatsangchhu-I) have produced cost escalations and left Bhutan with a large stock of hydro-related external debt—even if much of it is on India-linked, concessional terms. Policymakers and multilateral reports flag the macro-exposure to hydrology, construction risk and price cycles. (Dialogue Earth, World Bank)

• Tariff and financing mix evolution. Over time, the grant share has fallen and the debt share has risen (e.g., Mangdechhu ~70/30 vs. earlier 60/40 on Chukha/Tala). That’s fiscally tougher for Bhutan, though still paired with India’s market guarantee. (Asian Development Bank, Wikipedia)

Has India been “fair” to Bhutan?

On balance, the evidence says yes—with caveats that both sides acknowledge. India has: (a) financed and co-executed megaprojects in a logistically extreme environment; (b) shouldered market and grid integration risks with assured, cost-plus offtake; and (c) kept pricing and purchase commitments predictable enough for Bhutan to plan social spending around them. Where challenges exist—geotechnical failures, cost overruns, evolving loan/grant mixes—they reflect the realities of high-Himalayan construction economics more than one-sidedness in the relationship. (Asian Development Bank)

The Nepal comparison: Huge rivers, thin results

By resource endowment, Nepal dwarfs Bhutan: ~83,000 MW of theoretical hydro potential, ~42,000 MW economically viable. Yet, after a century of starts and stops, only a fraction is built, and the country has alternated between shortages and seasonal surpluses. The gap is not geology—it’s policy and politics. (World Bank)

What has moved forward lately

• A game-changing long-term trade deal. In January 2024, India and Nepal signed a 25-year power-trade agreement under which India will import 10,000 MW over 10 years—a Bhutan-style market assurance that should crowd in investment. (Kathmandu Post, Reuters, SASEC)

• First-ever Nepal→Bangladesh export via India. In June 2025, 40 MW flowed from Nepal to Bangladesh using India’s grid—India acting as a regional hub. This is the template for trilateral South Asian power trade. (Reuters)

• Real transmission build-out. The Dhalkebar–Muzaffarpur 400 kV line is live (being up-rated), and New Butwal–Gorakhpur 400 kV is under implementation—plus two new 400 kV lines (Inaruwa–Purnea and Dododhara/Lamki–Bareilly) agreed in 2025. These are the arteries Nepal long needed. (cercind.gov.in, infomerics.com, risingnepaldaily.com)

• Indian investments on the ground. Arun-3 (900 MW) by SJVN is in late-stage construction; Lower Arun (669 MW) is moving into licensing/construction; West Seti–Seti-6 (~1,200 MW) was handed to India’s NHPC in 2022. These, along with dozens of Nepali IPPs, could finally scale exports. (The Economic Times, slpdc.com.np, ibn.gov.np)

Why Nepal still underperforms its potential

1. Stop-go politics and policy inconsistency. The 1996 Mahakali Treaty’s Pancheshwar mega-dam (5,600 MW) remains stuck over DPR/benefit-sharing disputes three decades on; Budhi Gandaki swung between sponsors and cancellations with each government change. That kind of churn makes financiers skittish and timelines elastic.

2. Hydropower as a political football. Major parties routinely play to nationalist sentiment—especially during diplomatic spats—making it risky to close bankable, cross-border deals. Analysts after the 2015 blockade noted how anti-India narratives became campaign tools; that pattern hasn’t entirely gone away.

3. Regulatory/geopolitical misalignment. India’s cross-border trade rules now enable exchange and market access (including day-ahead and real-time markets), but also place guardrails on projects with sensitive ownership structures. Developers who ignore those rules discover late that their power can’t reach India’s market.

Bottom line: Nepal’s barrier is not India’s unwillingness to cooperate; it’s the domestic inability to keep a steady course long enough to bring multi-billion-dollar river basins from MoU to COD.

Lessons from Bhutan for Nepal

• Lock in the market first. Nepal’s 2024 long-term trade deal with India is the single most important Bhutan-style step it has taken. Now convert it into project-specific PPAs (5–10–25 years) quickly. (Kathmandu Post)

• De-politicize the pipeline. Create cross-party “do-not-politicize” compacts for strategic river projects (Koshi, Gandaki, Karnali), with automatic continuity across governments and binding dispute-resolution timelines on DPRs and benefit-sharing. (Contrast: Bhutan’s hydropower has remained above day-to-day politics.) (indembthimphu.gov.in)

• Finish the arteries. Put 400 kV lines on war-footing—New Butwal–Gorakhpur, Inaruwa–Purnea, Lamki–Bareilly—so storage and peaking plants have firm evacuation. Transmission enables all projects; no lines, no exports. (risingnepaldaily.com)

• Align with India’s CBTE rules early. If ultimate offtake is India (or India-facilitated), ensure project ownership and contracts are compliant from day one to avoid late-stage shocks.

• Sequence storage + run-of-river. Bhutan married run-of-river with better seasonal balancing via India’s grid; Nepal needs a storage-heavy tranche (e.g., West Seti/SR-6) to turn monsoon surpluses into firm winter supply for premium tariffs. (ibn.gov.np)

Verdict

• Bhutan: A generally fair, mutually beneficial partnership with India that has delivered real national gains—revenues, social spending, and now another ~1 GW in 2025—despite delays and debt concerns that both sides must continue managing. (indembthimphu.gov.in, World Bank)

• Nepal: Enormous potential and, at last, the right regional framework (long-term trade deal; first export to Bangladesh via India). What keeps Nepal from a Bhutan-like outcome is not capacity or interest from India, but domestic political volatility, inconsistent policy execution, and treating India as a convenient punching bag. Fix those—and Nepal can outperform Bhutan on pure scale within a decade. (Kathmandu Post, Reuters)

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Sources (selected): India–Bhutan hydropower treaties & project docs; Bhutan Electricity Authority tariff orders; World Bank country reports; Indian Embassy releases; Kuensel/The Bhutanese reporting; Reuters/AP/Kathmandu Post on Nepal–India power trade; ORF analysis on Nepal’s political rhetoric. Inline citations point to the most load-bearing items.

भारत–भूटान जलविद्युत् सहकार्य: सफल मोडल र नेपालले अझै किन पछि पर्न पुग्यो

भूटान–भारत मोडलको सारांश

पछिल्ला पाँच दशकदेखि भारत र भूटानले जलविद्युतलाई संयुक्त विकास परियोजनाको रूपमा अघि बढाएका छन्, केवल माल व्यापारको रूपमा होइन। मुख्य मोडल अन्तर–सरकारी (IG) हो: भारतले वित्तीय सहयोग गर्छ, भूटानमा बाँध निर्माणमा सहकार्य गर्छ, लामो अवधिसम्म बिजुली खरिदको ग्यारेन्टी दिन्छ, र भूटानले निर्यात आम्दानी र स्थिर भारतीय रुपैयाँ पाउँछ। यो ढाँचा 2006 को द्विपक्षीय सम्झौताले औपचारिक बनायो, जसमा दशकौं लामो आयात/निर्यात लक्ष्य, वित्तीय संयन्त्र र बजार पहुँच प्रस्ट्याइएको छ।

प्रमुख परियोजनाहरू

• छुखा (336 मेगावाट) — भारतको ६०% अनुदान / ४०% ऋण सहयोगमा १९८० दशकमा बनेको, लामो समयसम्म भूटानको प्रमुख राजस्व स्रोत।

• कुरीचु (६० मेगावाट) — छुखासँग मिल्दोजुल्दो वित्तीय संयोजनमा बनेको, २००० दशकको सुरुवातमा।

• ताला (१,०२० मेगावाट) — २००० दशकको मध्यमा उत्पादन सुरु, भारततर्फ निर्यात निकै बढ्यो।

• माङदेचु (७२० मेगावाट) — २०१९ मा सञ्चालनमा, नयाँ ७०% ऋण / ३०% अनुदान मोडलमा। भारतलाई रु ४.१२/युनिट को लागत–प्लस दरमा निर्यात।

• पुनात्साङचु-I (१,२०० मेगावाट) — भौगर्भिक समस्याले लामो ढिलाइ, लागत वृद्धि।

• पुनात्साङचु-II (१,०२० मेगावाट) — २०२५ मा अन्तिम सञ्चालनमा, करिब ४०% क्षमतामा वृद्धि।

• डगाचु (१२६ मेगावाट) — भूटानको DGPC र भारतको टाटा पावरबीचको संयुक्त लगानी।

भूटानले पाएको फाइदा

1. राजस्व र स्थिरता। जलविद्युत निर्यातले शिक्षा, स्वास्थ्य, विद्युतिकरणमा लगानी सम्भव गराएको छ। कतिपय वर्षमा कुल राजस्वको ठुलो अंश यहीँबाट आएको छ।

2. निश्चित बजार। भारतले दीर्घकालीन खरिद ग्यारेन्टी दिएकोले जोखिम घट्छ, जसले ठूला परियोजना वित्तपोषण गर्न सजिलो बनाउँछ।

3. ग्रिड एकीकरण। ४०० kV प्रसारण लाइनहरूले भारतको बजारसँग सीधा जडान दिन्छन्।

भूटानका जोखिम

• ऋण निर्भरता। पुनात्साङचु-I जस्ता परियोजनाले ढिलाइ र लागत वृद्धि ल्याएको छ, जसले बाह्य ऋण बढाएको छ।

• अनुदान–ऋण अनुपात। सुरुमा ६०/४० थियो, अहिले ३०/७० मोडलमा पुग्दा ऋण बोझ बढेको छ।

भारतले भूटानलाई न्यायपूर्ण व्यवहार गर्‍यो?

सामान्यतया हो। भारतले:

• कठिन भौगोलिक क्षेत्रमा ठूला बाँध निर्माण सहयोग गर्‍यो,

• निश्चित मूल्यमा बिजुली खरिद ग्यारेन्टी दियो,

• वित्तीय जोखिम कम गर्‍यो।
  यद्यपि ढिलाइ, लागत वृद्धि वा ऋण अनुपात परिवर्तनले चुनौती थपे पनि यी बढी भौगोलिक–आर्थिक यथार्थसँग जोडिएका छन्।

नेपालसँग तुलना: प्रशस्त नदी, थोरै नतिजा

भण्डारण र सम्भाव्य क्षमता दुवैमा नेपाल भूटानभन्दा धेरै अगाडि छ (~८३,००० मेगावाट सम्भावना, ~४२,००० मेगावाट आर्थिकरूपमा व्यावहारिक), तर दशकौंको राजनीतिक अस्थिरताले ठूला उपलब्धि रोक्यो।

पछिल्ला प्रगति

• २५ वर्षे व्यापार सम्झौता (२०२४)। भारतले १० वर्षभित्र १०,००० मेगावाट आयात गर्ने ग्यारेन्टी।

• पहिलो त्रिपक्षीय निर्यात (२०२५)। नेपालबाट बंगलादेशलाई ४० मेगावाट निर्यात भारतको ग्रिड प्रयोग गरेर।

• नयाँ प्रसारण लाइनहरू। धल्केबर–मुजफ्फरपुर सञ्चालनमा, नयाँ बुटवल–गोरखपुर, इनरुवा–पूर्णिया, लाम्की–बरेली जस्ता लाइनहरू निर्माणाधीन।

• ठूला भारतीय लगानी। अरुण-३ (९०० मेगावाट), लोअर अरुण (६६९ मेगावाट), पश्चिम सेती–सेती-६ (~१,२०० मेगावाट) भारतका कम्पनीहरूले निर्माण गर्दैछन्।

किन नेपाल अझै पछि?

1. राजनीतिक अस्थिरता। महाकाली संधि अन्तर्गतको पञ्चेश्वर (५,६०० मेगावाट) दशकौं अड्किएको छ।

2. राष्ट्रवादको राजनीति। नेताहरूले भारतविरुद्धको भावनालाई भोट बैंकका लागि प्रयोग गर्छन्, जसले दीर्घकालीन परियोजना असुरक्षित बनाउँछ।

3. नियम र समन्वय अभाव। भारतको क्रस–बोर्डर व्यापार नियमअनुसार योजना नबनाउँदा परियोजनाले पछि निर्यात अनुमति पाउँदैनन्।

नेपालका लागि सिकाइ

• बजार ग्यारेन्टीलाई प्राथमिकता दिनु। २५ वर्षे सम्झौतामा आधारित दीर्घकालीन PPAहरू (५–१०–२५ वर्ष) गर्नुपर्छ।

• राजनीतिक सहमति। कोशी, गण्डकी, कर्णाली जस्ता नदी योजनाहरूमा दलहरूबीच ‘न–राजनीतिकरण’ समझदारी।

• प्रसारण लाइन छिटो पूरा गर्नु। ठूला भण्डारण परियोजनाका लागि आधारभूत पूर्वाधार।

• भारतसँग नियम अनुपालन। सुरु देखि नै भारतीय CBTE नियमअनुसार लगानी संरचना मिलाउनु।

• भण्डारण + रन–अफ–रिभर संयोजन। मौसमी असन्तुलन कम गर्न भण्डारणयुक्त आयोजना आवश्यक।

निष्कर्ष

• भूटान: भारतसँगको साझेदारीले राजस्व, सामाजिक खर्च, र ~१ गिगावाट नयाँ क्षमता (२०२५) दिलाएको छ। केही ऋण र ढिलाइ भए पनि सहकार्य न्यायपूर्ण र पारदर्शी रह्यो।

• नेपाल: विशाल सम्भावना, तर राजनीतिक अस्थिरता र भारतलाई बलिको बोको बनाउने प्रवृत्तिले प्रगति रोक्यो। स्थिर नीतिगत ढाँचा र भूटान–शैली सहकार्यले मात्र नेपाललाई आफ्नो क्षमतामा पुर्‍याउन सक्छ।

भारत–भूटान जलविद्युत सहयोग: सफल मॉडल और नेपाल की पीछे रह जाने की कहानी

भूटान–भारत मॉडल का सार

पिछले पाँच दशकों से भारत और भूटान ने जलविद्युत को संयुक्त विकास परियोजना के रूप में आगे बढ़ाया है, केवल वस्तु व्यापार के रूप में नहीं। इसका मुख्य आधार अंतर-सरकारी (IG) मॉडल है: भारत वित्तपोषण करता है, बाँध बनाने में मदद करता है, लंबे समय तक बिजली खरीदने की गारंटी देता है, और भूटान को निर्यात से राजस्व और स्थिर भारतीय रुपये की आमद होती है। यह ढाँचा 2006 के द्विपक्षीय समझौते से औपचारिक हुआ, जिसमें दशक भर की आयात/निर्यात योजनाएँ, वित्तीय प्रावधान और बाजार पहुँच स्पष्ट की गईं।

प्रमुख परियोजनाएँ

• छुखा (336 मेगावाट) — भारत से 60% अनुदान / 40% ऋण सहयोग, 1980 के दशक में शुरू; लंबे समय तक भूटान की आय का मुख्य स्रोत।

• कुरीचु (60 मेगावाट) — छुखा जैसी ही वित्तीय संरचना, 2000 के दशक की शुरुआत।

• ताला (1,020 मेगावाट) — 2000 के दशक के मध्य में चालू, भारत को बिजली निर्यात में बड़ा उछाल।

• मांगदेचु (720 मेगावाट) — 2019 में चालू, नए मॉडल में 70% ऋण / 30% अनुदान। भारत को ₹4.12/यूनिट की लागत-प्लस दर पर निर्यात।

• पुनात्सांगचु-I (1,200 मेगावाट) — भौगर्भिक समस्याओं से लंबी देरी और लागत वृद्धि।

• पुनात्सांगचु-II (1,020 मेगावाट) — 2025 में चालू, भूटान की क्षमता में लगभग 40% की वृद्धि।

• डगाचु (126 मेगावाट) — भूटान की DGPC और भारत की टाटा पावर की संयुक्त परियोजना।

भूटान को हुए फायदे

1. राजस्व और स्थिरता। बिजली निर्यात ने शिक्षा, स्वास्थ्य और ग्रामीण विद्युतीकरण में निवेश संभव किया। कई वर्षों में राजस्व का बड़ा हिस्सा इसी से आया।

2. निश्चित बाजार। भारत की गारंटी से वित्तीय जोखिम घटा, जिससे बड़े प्रोजेक्ट संभव हुए।

3. ग्रिड एकीकरण। 400 kV की ट्रांसमिशन लाइनें सीधे भारत के लोड सेंटर्स तक बिजली पहुँचाती हैं।

भूटान की चुनौतियाँ

• ऋण निर्भरता। पुनात्सांगचु-I जैसी परियोजनाओं की देरी और लागत वृद्धि ने बाहरी ऋण का बोझ बढ़ाया।

• अनुदान–ऋण अनुपात। शुरुआत में 60/40 था, अब 30/70 हो गया है, जिससे ऋण का दबाव बढ़ा है।

क्या भारत ने भूटान के साथ न्याय किया?

कुल मिलाकर हाँ। भारत ने:

• कठिन हिमालयी भूगोल में बाँध निर्माण में मदद की,

• लागत-प्लस दर पर बिजली खरीदने की गारंटी दी,

• बाजार जोखिम कम किया।
  हालाँकि देरी और लागत वृद्धि की चुनौतियाँ आईं, वे ज़्यादा भूगोल और निर्माण-आर्थिक वास्तविकताओं से जुड़ी हैं, न कि भारत की अनुचित नीति से।

नेपाल की तुलना: विशाल नदियाँ, सीमित उपलब्धि

क्षमता के हिसाब से नेपाल भूटान से बहुत आगे है (~83,000 मेगावाट संभावित, ~42,000 मेगावाट व्यावहारिक), लेकिन राजनीतिक अस्थिरता और नीति असंगति से दशकों तक प्रगति बाधित रही।

हाल की प्रगति

• 25 वर्षीय व्यापार समझौता (2024)। भारत 10 वर्षों में 10,000 मेगावाट बिजली खरीदने की गारंटी देगा।

• पहला त्रिपक्षीय निर्यात (2025)। नेपाल से बांग्लादेश को 40 मेगावाट बिजली भारत के ग्रिड के माध्यम से।

• नई ट्रांसमिशन लाइनें। धल्केबर–मुजफ्फरपुर चालू, बुटवल–गोरखपुर, इनरुवा–पूर्णिया, लाम्की–बरेली जैसी लाइनें निर्माणाधीन।

• भारतीय निवेश। अरुण-3 (900 मेगावाट), लोअर अरुण (669 मेगावाट), वेस्ट सेती–सेती-6 (~1,200 मेगावाट) जैसी परियोजनाएँ भारत की कंपनियाँ बना रही हैं।

नेपाल अभी क्यों पीछे?

1. राजनीतिक अस्थिरता। महाकाली संधि के तहत पंचेश्वर (5,600 मेगावाट) दशकों से अटका है।

2. राष्ट्रवाद की राजनीति। नेता अक्सर भारत विरोधी भावनाओं को वोट बैंक के लिए इस्तेमाल करते हैं, जिससे दीर्घकालीन परियोजनाएँ असुरक्षित हो जाती हैं।

3. नियम और समन्वय की कमी। भारत के क्रॉस-बॉर्डर नियमों को ध्यान न देने से परियोजनाओं को बाद में निर्यात अनुमति नहीं मिलती।

नेपाल के लिए सीख

• बाजार गारंटी सुनिश्चित करें। 25 वर्षीय समझौते के आधार पर दीर्घकालीन PPA (5–10–25 वर्ष) करने चाहिए।

• राजनीतिक सहमति। कोसी, गंडकी, कर्णाली जैसी नदियों की परियोजनाओं को "राजनीति से अलग" रखा जाए।

• ट्रांसमिशन लाइन पूरी करें। भंडारण परियोजनाओं के लिए यह बुनियादी शर्त है।

• भारत के नियमों का पालन। शुरू से ही CBTE नियमों के अनुसार निवेश संरचना होनी चाहिए।

• भंडारण + रन-ऑफ-रिवर संयोजन। मौसमी असंतुलन दूर करने के लिए स्टोरेज परियोजनाएँ ज़रूरी हैं।

निष्कर्ष

• भूटान: भारत के साथ साझेदारी ने राजस्व, सामाजिक खर्च और 2025 में ~1 गिगावाट नई क्षमता दी है। कुछ ऋण और देरी की चुनौतियाँ रही हैं, लेकिन सहयोग न्यायपूर्ण और लाभकारी रहा है।

• नेपाल: अपार संभावनाएँ हैं, पर राजनीतिक अस्थिरता और भारत को बलि का बकरा बनाने की प्रवृत्ति ने प्रगति रोकी है। स्थिर नीति और भूटान-शैली का सहयोग अपनाकर ही नेपाल अपनी वास्तविक क्षमता तक पहुँच सकता है।

आँशु: भीम रावल को प्रसारण लाइन, राणा प्रधान मंत्री को स्कुल कॉलेज

नेपाल मा प्रति व्यक्ति आय १,००० डॉलर छ। त्यस लाई ह्वात्त ५,००० पुर्याउने एउटा राम्रो तरिका छ, छिमेकी भुटान मा भएको पनि १० वर्ष जति अगाडि। एउटा ठुलो जलविद्युत आयोजना को निर्माण गरेर बिजुली भारत निर्यात गर्ने। तर त्यस का लागि त प्रसारण लाइन चाहिन्छ। होइन भने निर्यात कसरी गर्ने? त्यही प्रसारण लाइन एमसीसी ले अनुदान मा बनाइदिन्छु भन्दैछ। 

तर प्रति व्यक्ति आय ५,००० डॉलर पुग्नु ठुलो समस्या हो। भीम रावल हरु मार्का कम्युनिस्ट हरु का लागि। गरीबी समाप्त हुन्छ। बंद जमेको पोखरी बग्न थाल्यो भने लाम्खुट्टे हरु कहाँ बस्ने? गरीब छन र न कम्युनिस्ट छन। गरीब नै छैनन भने कम्युनिस्ट हरु कहाँ गएर आगो ताप्ने? 

यस पृथ्वी मा भीम रावल छ भन्ने कुरा चीन लाई थाहा छ जस्तो मलाई लाग्दैन। तर भीम रावल लाई लागिरहेको छ उत्तर तिर चीन को ग्रेट वाल ग्रेट वाल, दक्षिण तिर चीन को ग्रेट वाल भीम रावल। यस्तो पनि हो? 

दरबार हाई स्कुल हो कि त्रिचन्द्र कॉलेज हो, बिभिन्न प्रेसर परेर राणा प्रधान मंत्री ले बनाउन त बनाए, उदघाटन गर्न पनि पुगे, तर उदघाटन गरे पछि घवां घवां रुन थाले। अब जनता का छोरा ले पढ्ने भए, बुद्धि पलाउने भयो, राणा शासन समाप्त हुने भो भनेर। 

यो प्रसारण लाइन बन्यो भने नेपाल मा गरीबी समाप्त हुन्छ र कम्युनिस्ट हरु का लागि मुख लुकाउने ठाउँ पनि बाँकी रहँदैन भन्ने चिन्ता हो भीम रावल को। यस्तो पनि? 

Doshi Chasma

दोषी चश्मा | Doshi Chasma

दोषी चश्मा [Doshi Chashma]

MCC ले मेलम्ची वर्जित गर्छ

MCC: Perspectives 

एम सी सी बहस 

BRI र MCC

Project on Power System Master Plan 2040 in Bhutan

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चार देशमा बायोमेट्रिक आईडि

१० बर्ष भित्र आर्थिक एकीकरण गर्ने निर्णय गरेका चार देश नेपाल, भारत, भुटान, बंगलादेश ले आफ्नो भूभाग का सबै मानिसको चार देशमा बायोमेट्रिक आईडि बनाउने तर्फ सोँच्नु पर्छ। अनि बॉर्डर क्रासिंग, एयरपोर्ट, रेल स्टेशन, बस स्टेशन जस्ता प्रमुख ठाउँ मा स्मार्ट सीसा मा ल्याप्चे लगाए जस्तो छुने गर्न सकिन्छ।  औंठा मा एंटीसेप्टिक ले साफ गर्दै ठयाप्प। अनि एउटा सेंट्रल डाटाबेस मा त्यो अंकित हुन्छ। यसले लॉ एंड आर्डर मेन्टेन गर्न मदत गर्छ नै। आर्थिक गतिविधि मा पनि मदत पुग्छ। बैंकिंग सेवा लाई गरीब से गरीब सम्म पुर्याउन सकिन्छ। बायोमेट्रिक आईडि का आधारमा मानिस हरुको क्रेडिट हिस्ट्री बन्छ। लोन लिन पाउने हुन्छ। सान्तिनो बिजनेस व्यापार गर्न पायो। बायोमेट्रिक आईडि का आधारमा बैंक खाता नभएकाले बैंक खाता खोल्न पायो। भौतिक पूर्वाधार नै नचाहिने नभएको बैंक हरु खुल्छन्। सस्तो स्मार्टफोन मा बायोमेट्रिक आईडि को आधारमा सर्विस दिने खाल का एप्प हरु बनलान। चार देशका सुरक्षा निकाय हरुले एक अर्का सँग सहकार्य गर्न सजिलो हुने हुन्छ। बायोमेट्रिक आईडि ले ecommerce फस्टाउने हुन्छ। कुना कुनामा ecommerce पुग्छ। बायोमेट्रिक आईडि ले निष्पक्ष इलेक्ट्रॉनिक चुनाव गर्न पनि मिल्छ। आफ्नो औंठा त अरुले बोकेर हिड्ने कुरा आउँदैन। चुनाव को नतिजा तुरुन्त आइपुग्छ। चार देशका नागरिकले एक ले अर्का को देशमा वोट चाहिँ खसाल्न पाएन अरु सब पायो। हुन त आर्थिक एकीकरण पछि जसले पनि गर्ने भनेको राजनीतिक एकीकरण नै हो। बायोमेट्रिक आईडि फेरि नागरिकता जस्तो होइन कि कानुन विधि पुर्याउनु पर्ने। सिंपल। बायोमेट्रिक आईडि ले चार देशमा रहेको statelessness को समस्या पनि कंट्रोल गर्न मदत गर्छ। जुन कि अति ठुलो समस्या हो र मानव अधिकार को हनन हो। जुन देशमा व्यापक statelessness छ त्यो लोकतान्त्रिक देश नै होइन।

४३ लाख नागरिकता पत्र वंचित मधेसी

४३ लाख नागरिकता पत्र वंचित मधेसी लाई बटुलेर मात्र एउटा देश बनाउन मिल्छ। न तिनी सँग भारत को नागरिकता छ न तिनी सँग नेपाल को नागरिकता छ, न भुटान को, न सिंगापुर न त स्विट्ज़रलैंड। "नेपाली मुल" का हरु शरणार्थी हुन भुटान बाट भारत हुँदै नेपाल आउनुपर्ने। मधेसी हरु लाई कतै जानै नपर्ने। आफु बसेको ठाउँमा बस्दा बस्दै शरणार्थी भइ जाने।

"नेपाली मुल" का भुटानी शरणार्थी ले शरणार्थी स्टेटस पाउने, मधेसी शरणार्थी ले त त्यो पनि नपाउने। त्यहाँ पनि विभेद।

भुटानमा तराई छैन त

भुटानको दक्षिणमा रहेको समथर भाग भारतमा छ। पृथ्वी नारायण शाहले उसको गोरखा राज्य विस्तारको क्रममा काठमाण्डुका मल्लहरुमाथि पटक पटक आक्रमण गर्यो तर मधेसमाथि आक्रमण गर्ने दुस्साहस कहिले गरेन। १८१६ र १८६० मा ब्रिटिशले जुन बदमाशी गर्यो त्यो नगरेको भए नेपालको तराई भारत देशको अंग हुन्थ्यो। हामी भारतीय होइनौं हामी भारतीय होइनौं भन्ने मधेसीहरु देखेर मलाई वाक्क लाग्छ। मधेसीहरु नेपाली नागरिक हुन सक्छन तर गिन्ती गरेर एक एक मधेसी भारतीय हुन। फिजीमा पनि छन -- फिजीका नागरिक छन तर गर्वका साथ आफुलाई भारतीय भन्छन।

संस्कृति मिल्छ, भाषा मिल्छ। सब थोक मिल्छ। बेटी रोटी को सम्बन्ध छ। भारतीय मुलको भएर पनि भारतसँग त्यसरी भौगोलिक रुपले टाँसिएर बसे पनि नेपालको मधेसीले आफ्नो अधिकार लिन नसक्नु बड़ो शर्मनाक कुरो हो। जब कि नेपाल एउटा भूपरिवेष्टित होइन भारत-परिवेष्टित देश हो। चीन धेरै टाढा छ। तिब्बत चीनको होइन मधेसको हो। तिब्बत सबैभन्दा प्रख्यात दुई मध्ये एक मधेसी गौतम बुद्धको हो।

केपी ओली र सुशील कोइरालालाई दिल्ली नधाइ भात पचदैन, तर मधेसी नेताहरु तिमीभन्दा बढ़ी नेपाली म भन्ने अनावश्यक होड़बाजीमा लाग्छन्। उपेन्द्र यादव intelligent, एउटा पढ़े लेखेको मान्छे हो। तर कहिले काही मुर्ख गोवार व्यवहार गरिराखेको हुन्छ। दिल्लीबाट मान्छे भेट्न आयो भने उ काठमाण्डु बाट भागेर सुनसरी गएर बस्दिन्छ, भेट्नु नपरोस भनेर। हुटिट्याउँले आकाश थामे जस्तो। उ सुनसरी भागदा देशको सार्वभौमिकता जोगिए जस्तो। मान न मान मैं तेरा मेहमान भने जस्तो। केपी ओलीले स्याबास भनेको छैन त। बरु केपी बाजे मैं भेट्छु भनेर ताक परेर बस्छ, बकुल्ला तलाउ छेउ बसे जस्तो।

दिल्ली दक्षिण एशियाको शक्ति केंद्र हो। त्यो मधेसी पर्वते सबैले बुझ्ने हो। कसैले नबुझ्दैमा त्यो यथार्थ गायब भइ जाने होइन। तपाईंले बुझेन भन्दैमा तपाइँ गुरुत्वाकर्षण को पकड़ बाट उम्कीजाने होइन, नत्र वामे कहिले चन्द्र लोक पुगिसकेको।

भुटानमा तराई छैन त।

नेपाल देशमा हिंदी भाषालाई नेपाली भाषाको बराबरीमा नराखेको संविधान मान्य हुने छैन। आधा जनसंख्याको सम्पर्क भाषाको सवाल छ। पुरा जनसंख्याको शिक्षाको सवाल छ। भारतीय अर्थतन्त्रको महत्वको सवाल छ। भारतको ग्लोबल सुपरपावर बन्ने महत्वाकांक्षाको सवाल छ।

सीके राउत सँग मेरो कुरा मिल्दैन त। सीके राउतलाई मधेस अलग देश चाहिएको, मलाई काठमाण्डुमाथि मधेसीको शासन चाहिएको।

The Upper Karnali Deal

This news story has been covered by some major newspapers in Britain and India, but noone is saying Nepal got cheated. What's going on Comrade Narayan Kaji?



Nepal launches hydropower growth plan with $1.4bn deal

the biggest foreign investment deal in its history to build a $1.4bn project on the upper Karnali River...... Investment Board Nepal signed the agreement with Indian infrastructure group GMR for the 900-megawatt dam and tunnel system, which is expected to be the first of at least four such big projects exporting electricity to India as well as helping to end local power shortages. ....... Nepal’s hydropower potential is estimated to be about 80,000MW, of which only 700MW has been exploited. The country is one of the world’s poorest and suffers from long power cuts and a lack of exports, relying instead on remittance income from workers abroad and on tourism. Firewood accounts for three-quarters of the energy consumed ...... “It’s a major change for Nepal in that it’s actually opening up this hydropower on a large scale,” said Peter Young of Adam Smith International, which is advising the Nepalese government and financed by British aid. “It should transform the government’s financial position as well as dealing with the electricity shortage.” ......... Under the “build, own, operate and transfer” contract, the plant’s builders will give Nepal a 27 per cent free equity share in the project and provide Nepal with 12 per cent of the electricity output, also for free, before transferring the project to Nepal at the end of the 25-year operating-life concession. Construction of the project is due to be completed by 2021. ...... The projected total benefits to Nepal of the first four big hydropower plants reach about $17bn – close to the country’s annual gross domestic product – and include royalties, free energy, tax income, dividends, import duty and the value of the projects to be transferred. ...... , the four projects are worth $6.5bn-$8.7bn. “This is an important breakthrough for the country – that it’s finally managed to exploit its hydropower” ..... Bhutan, again with Indian help and with India as a market, has taken a lead over Nepal in hydropower plants, with 1,500MW of capacity already completed. The country plans to increase capacity to 10,000MW within six years

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"Nepal can become a developed nation by supplying power to India."

English: Image of Narendra Modi at the World Economic Forum in India (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

"Nepal can become a developed nation by supplying power to India."
- Narendra Modi

The government of India formally claims it has better relations with Nepal than any other country in the world. It is also true that India-Nepal have a deeper relationship than any two neighboring countries in the world, US and Canada included.

But recently as soon as news surfaced that India was trying to enter into a power trade agreement with Nepal a lot of leaders and commoners in Nepal gave a knee-jerk reaction. There was deep suspicion and mistrust. India was accused of all sorts of wrong motivations.

Where does that come from? It is very important to get to the bottom of it. Because therein lies the key to ending poverty in Nepal.

I think that parody of false nationalism is everything to do with the fundamental incompetence of the leaders of Nepal, be they political or in the bureaucracy.

When a government sends you a draft proposal, the right thing to do is to take it through wide debate and consultation among the elected leaders of the country. The parliament would have been a good place. But to date the letter of the agreement has not been made public yet, not to my knowledge. So what were the false nationalists reacting to? Nothing they had read.

You do homework months in advance to make concrete gains in a Prime Minister level meeting. You make counter proposals to any proposals. You negotiate.

India renegotiated its 1950 like treaty with Bhutan. I am sure it would be willing to do the same with Nepal. Is the 1950 treaty an issue? But not even the Maoists brought that up with India when they were in power. And they waged a decade long civil war on that (and other) issue.

Nepal is not a landlocked country. It is an India locked country.

Just like blaming India for their own incompetence and inadequacies is a staple among many Nepali politicians, the anti-Madhesi prejudice and hatred and systemic marginalization falls in the same category.
India allays Nepal’s fears over hydel proposal

the proposal was a draft for discussion “and would require bilateral negotiations prior to finalisation.” Both sides are free to propose amendments or modifications to the draft ..... Mohan Baidya said that news reports about an export-oriented PDA (power development agreement) with India, “instead of scrapping the already existing unequal treaties on Koshi, Gandak, Mahakali, Upper Karnali, Arun III, High Koshi Dam and Upper Marsyangdi, has come as a shock to all patriotic Nepalese people.” ...... The controversy over the draft has been brewing for several days now. Both the ruling and the opposition parties have come together to oppose it.

A new beginning with Nepal

No two neighbouring countries enjoy a more intimate and a more complex relationship than India and Nepal. India is where Nepalis come to study, work, spend holidays, plan weddings, invest in a second home; yet, India is also blamed for being insensitive, for meddling in Nepal’s internal affairs and often, for taking Nepal for granted. ...... accumulated cobwebs of mistrust ..... the 1950 India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Most Nepalis are unaware that it was Nepal that had wanted this treaty, in order to maintain the special ties with independent India that it had with British India. Nepal’s security concerns had been heightened by the Communist revolution in China and its takeover of Tibet. The treaty provides for an open border between the two countries and allows Nepali nationals to work in India without a work permit, to apply for government jobs and the civil services (except for the IFS, IAS, and IPS), to open bank accounts and buy property. Incidentally, India had waived its rights under reciprocity as a sign of goodwill. The provisions of the “secret” side letters to the Treaty, which required Nepal to consult India on its defence requirements, which Nepalis perceive as unfair and which are often used by politicians to whip up anti-India sentiment, are no longer secret or even observed. ...... Today, the open border is used by Pakistan to infiltrate terrorists and pump in significant amounts of fake Indian currency. Although India has agreed to review and update the treaty, every time the matter is taken up, Nepal sidesteps the issue. ......... accumulated resentment over the 1954 Kosi Agreement and the 1959 Gandak Agreement, cited by successive Nepali regimes as unfair, has rendered progress on hydel cooperation impossible. Three mega-projects — Saptakosi with 5,000MW, Karnali-Chisapani with 11,000MW, and Pancheshwar with 6,500MW — have been languishing for 30 years. When the hydel sector in Nepal was opened up to the private sector, Indian companies (including Tata Power, LANCO, GMR, Jindal, IL&FS, L&T, and GENCO) won 27 survey licences for projects ranging from 100 to 1,000 MW each, but not a single one is even close to beginning construction. ........... help unlock Nepal’s hydel potential, making it one of the richest countries of the region ..... Two-thirds of Nepal’s foreign trade is with India which also accounts for half of Nepal’s foreign direct investment. The Nepali currency is pegged to the Indian rupee. Over the years, India has built highways, optical fibre links, medical colleges, trauma centres, polytechnics, schools, health centres, bridges, etc. For flood protection and embankment construction in Nepal, India provides more than Rs.75 crore annually. To facilitate the movement of goods and people, India is providing Rs.270 crore to build four integrated check posts on the border, Rs.650 crore for extending two railway links out of the five proposed, and Rs.700 crore for the first phase of rebuilding old postal roads in the Terai region. In addition, there is a second EXIM Bank Line of Credit for $250 million available and another $125 million for the power transmission line upgrades. About Rs.1,300 crore is disbursed annually to the 1.25 lakh Indian Army pensioners in addition to other welfare schemes. The provision of iodised salt, conducting cataract and trachoma camps, gifting of ambulances and school buses in the remotest of Nepali villages are initiatives that have made a difference to life in rural Nepal. ........ some Indian political leaders would push for supporting the Madhesis who enjoy a close kinship with Indians in north Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. ..... Nepali leaders publicly adopted anti-India postures — an approach started by the Palace in the 1950s and adopted particularly by the Left parties as a means of demonstrating “nationalist credentials.”

Nepal hopes for deal on power trade

The three-member panel consisting of Nepal’s Finance Minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat, Mr Bhim Rawal of the CPN-UML and Mr Narayan Kaji Shrestha of the UCPN (Maoist) had prepared a draft of the power trade agreement (PTA) for the two governments’ consideration. They had suggested that two countries come to an agreement only on power trade and its transmission. However, an Indian draft that suggested an integrated approach to Nepal’s power development – including hydropower and other forms of renewable energy – was heavily criticised here, forcing Indian Embassy to issue a clarification.

Modi meets Koirala, three agreements signed
A new template for India-Nepal ties

Indians and Nepalese share a common culture and terrain south of the Himalaya. Bound by languages and religions, marriage and mythology, the links of their civilisational contacts run through Lumbini to Bodh Gaya, Pashupatinath to Kashi Vishwanath, and Muktinath to Tirupati. At the people-to-people level, relations between India and Nepal are closer and more multifaceted than between India and any other country. Many partisans of Nepalese democracy also fought for India’s freedom, for which they were jailed by the British, including Matrika Koirala, B.P. Koirala, and Man Mohan Adhikari, who became Prime Ministers of Nepal........ Many Indians believe independent India never had foreign combat troops deployed on its soil. Nepalese troops were the exception. Aside from those recruited to India’s Gurkha Regiment, an outsized Nepalese Army brigade drawn from all its 18 regiments was loaned to India in 1948-49, when Indian troops were deployed in Kashmir and for the integration of Indian States. The commanding officer of this force, General Sharda Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, was the son of the then Prime Minister of Nepal, Maharaja Mohan Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana. Yuvraj Karan Singh’s marriage to Yasho Rajya Lakshmi, Sharda Shamsher’s daughter, was arranged during the General’s stay in India. ..... In spite of per capita income levels declining towards close to half of India’s average, Nepal has done better than India on several Millennium Development Goals (MDG), including infant mortality, maternal health, child malnutrition and poverty reduction rates.... Having developed the confidence over the past decade to be able to work with any democratic electoral outcome in Nepal, India has kept the day-to-day bilateral institutional mechanisms in play. ..... These include defence cooperation and supplies, trade access and transit facilitation, river protection works, augmentation of electricity supply during the lean season, Exim bank credit for the infrastructure sector, and development projects, including construction of Terai roads, integrated check points at important border crossings and cross-border rail links. Many of these need a strong push from the two governments to speed their implementation. There exists excellent two-way cooperation between the respective security agencies to deal with difficult cross-border issues such as terrorism, smuggling (including of fake Indian currency notes), and trafficking. ..... India has been ready to receive Nepalese proposals to revise the antiquated 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship — unequal principally because of the one-way privileges it accords to Nepalese nationals living and working in India. Other tasks include resumption of the Boundary Working Group, signing of the finalised strip maps, and signature or ratification of a host of treaties and letters of exchange ranging from extradition and mutual legal assistance to transit, railways and communications. ........ About a fifth of Nepal’s 28 million resident population lives and works in India. The open border is a “safety-valve” for Nepal. ......... Mr. Modi would do well to propose easing remittances and exchanging currencies, reducing telephone calling costs (calls from India and Nepal to Europe or the U.S. cost less than between the two neighbours), expanding educational opportunities, ensuring more dignified border crossings, increasing cross-border social and cultural linkages, improving road and rail transportation links, relaxing rules for border trade for private consumption, better managing the Das Gaja land at unmonitored border crossing points, and improving coordination between the respective border district officials for prompt resolution of local issues. ....... The big idea on the table is for Nepal to simply tap power from the enormous body of waters that flow into the Bay of Bengal. Hydropower generation in Nepal is, unbelievably, less than half per cent of what can be produced. Nepal can become, by far, the richest country of the subcontinent, on condition that it harnesses this resource. There is recognition in Nepal today that this can transform the social and fiscal dynamics of Nepal by its employment, energy and revenue generation potential. ....... If Nepal awarded production licensing for the development of over 8,000 MW of electricity offered eight years ago to independent power producers on the basis of competitive international bidding — most of them run-of-the-river projects avoiding large-scale inundation, displacement, compensation issues and ecological surprises — at the current rate of investment of $2 million/MW, the foreign direct investment (FDI) could be a staggering $16 billion. Compare this to the $350 million actual inflow of FDI into Nepal over the last 23 years. The free power for Nepal, at a conservative rate of 12 per cent just from these projects, will be more than Nepal’s total current production, besides free equity, royalties and taxes that will flow to its exchequer. If half of Nepal’s hydro potential was to be harnessed, annual revenues could top $40 billion, over $100 million a day. Mr. Ranganathan said that in 20 years’ time his successor would have to visit Kathmandu to raise capital for the bank and not go to New York or London for it. ......... Other big ideas include Indian partnership in cooperative watershed and environment management for the protection of the Himalayan ecosystem, including soil conservation, re-forestation, and more rational land use for horticulture and bio-agriculture. On connectivity and infrastructure, India could build a road bridge over the Mahakali, extend Eximbank loans and provide viability gap funding for the Kathmandu-Terai Fast Track road, the international airport at Nijgadh and new cross-border power grids. When the hydropower revenues kick in, Nepal could build an East-West railway (prospected by RITES), along the present alignment of the highway built by India. It could become economically viable the moment it is connected to Kathgodam in the west and Siliguri in the east, significantly shortening the route from north to north-east India.

Will Modi's Nepal visit mark a change in India's water policy?

Controversies surrounding past treaties and deep-seated suspicions have held hostage mega-projects planned on Nepalese rivers that contribute up to 70% of water to India's Ganges during dry season. ...... In the latest reflection of mistrust, Nepalese politics remains heated following a controversy over a hydropower development agreement recently proposed by Delhi. Nepali politicians from both ruling and opposition parties claimed that the proposal was aimed at securing India's monopoly over Nepal's water resources, an allegation India has dismissed....... Delhi also clarified that Kathmandu was free to amend and modify the proposed document. ...... "India-Nepal relations are constantly being upset by insensitivity and blundering on the part of India and hypersensitivity and proneness to misunderstanding on the part of Nepal," former Indian water resources secretary Ramaswami Iyer wrote in the Indian Express newspaper following the latest controversy. ..... five of the 20 most water-stressed cities in the world are in India and the capital, Delhi, is second on the list...... Satellite images have shown that India's underground water tables have depleted to dangerously low levels.

India's Modi offers Nepal $1 billion loan in regional diplomacy push

Modi is on a two-day visit to Kathmandu to help speed up negotiations on a power trade pact that is at the centre of his new diplomatic drive. ..... Nepal's politicians are at odds over the proposed energy pact. Opponents say it would give Indian firms a stranglehold over Nepal's energy resources and bar other countries, like China, from investment in the sector. Modi sought to allay those concerns.

PM Narendra Modi in Kathmandu: India wants a powerful Nepal

Earlier, India had provided USD 250 million line of credit to Nepal through the Exim Bank of India. ..... Modi said India has won no war without the sacrifices by Nepalese soldiers. "I salute those brave hearts who laid their lives for India," he said...... Invoking Sam Manekshaw, the first Field Marshal in the Indian army, Modi said, "Any soldier who says I am not afraid of death would either be lying or is a Gurkha."

Modi pledges $1 billion concessional line of credit to Nepal

The concessional loan will be extended to Nepal through Indian Export Import Bank.

What Modi had for meal today in Kathmandu?
Nepal accords grand welcome to Modi (Photo feature)
Modi mesmerizes Nepal with eloquent speech (with video)
Maze of mistrust

At least since the Treaty of Sugauli between the-then East India Company and the King of Nepal in 1814-1816, suspicion of each other’s intention has remained the fundamental feature of Indo-Nepal relation. All subsequent treaties, exchanges of letters, memoranda of understanding or official transactions have centered around Nepal’s obsession with its sovereignty and the perception in India that unbridled independence of neighboring countries run the risk of becoming security threats. Sasastra Seema Bal (SSB) is a paramilitary agency tasked with patrolling Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan border. This year, New Delhi reportedly hiked its budget to over three thousand crore in Indian Rupees. Since New Delhi has almost no faith in the PEON’s ability to safeguard its security interests, it operates its independent network of informers, intelligence agencies and sundry other operatives. ..... Without planned and massive interventions upstream in Nepal in natural drainages that contribute over two-third of its flow, Premier Modi’s much-touted Mission Ganga has little future. Unfortunately, Himalayas are young; Mahabharata Ranges soft; and the Shivaliks mere protrusions of gravel. Rivers that flow through these unstable terrains are unpredictable at best. ....... In the early-eighties, professors of river engineering in universities of North India often distributed cyclostyled research sheets in lieu of textbooks. Western publications on the subject were considered to be completely unsuitable for unique nature of Himalayan streams. If global funding agencies and engineering corporations haven’t rushed to exploit Nepal’s supposed hydropower potentials, there must be some reasons behind their hesitation. Unlike commercial calculations behind prospecting for petroleum, investment in hydropower requires arrangements of political economy that only the State can guarantee. Premier Modi may think that India can’t wait forever for Kathmandu to make up its mind. Politicos afraid of PDA, PTA, and PPA will soon discover that these alphabet soups are made of carrots. Sticks remain hidden. But Modi is not too well known for exercising restrain in using instruments of coercion. Such fears seem to have made vested interests of hydro-politics even more panicky. ....... The border issue between Nepal and India has been dominated by the worldview of cartographers for far too long. Largely determined by the victors of a war—the East India Company—two centuries ago, boundary along Nepal-India land border resembles zigzag teeth of a rusted saw that cuts through families, cultures, natural habitats and inseparable economies. Plans of ‘regulating’ such a line are fraught with risks of unintended consequences on both sides of the international border. Level of trust, however, is so low that the proposal has begun to get traction in capital cities of both countries. ........ The Nehru Creed and the Indira Doctrine gave continuity to the imperial outlook of British India, which wanted to have the final say in the internal affairs of Nepal. In the name of advancing its security interests, New Delhi never refrained from micromanaging political economy of Nepal. It has created a mindset in Kathmandu that nothing can happen in this country without New Delhi’s nod. ..... When others are seen to be determinants of one’s destiny, three kinds of responses usually surface. ...... A large section of Nepali population has become indifferent. Forced by circumstances to survive in a very challenging situation, they become Jit Bahadur of Gujarat, Teriya Magar in Mumbai or struggle as ‘nearly Indian’ workers in the Subcontinent, the West Asia or Malaysia. This cohort will like India and Nepal to get even closer, but they have little or no say in the political economy of their own country.......There is a group active in administration, businesses, professions, politics and religion that considers complete submission to Indian hegemony as the best method of securing its personal and family interests. Since their stakes are purely personal, they probably do more harm than good........ The most vocal, and probably also most dangerous, are relics of the Cold War era in Kathmandu that continuously spin cobwebs of ultra-nationalism in the mistaken belief that the net will stop the sky from falling over their heads. Administrators and accountants masquerading as hydropower experts; cartographers pretending to be professionals of political boundaries; journalists in the guise of geo-strategic thinkers; consultants and NGO-entrepreneurs wearing hats of environment and humanitarian activists; brokers and dealmakers posing as creators of wealth—almost everyone in the motley crowd of self-declared nationalists deserve separate adjective. Though diminishing, they still have enough clout to sabotage any deal between India and Nepal. ...... Until the silent majority begins to assert, the opportunists lose their influence, or the pretenders have been made irrelevant, no compromise reached between India and Nepal—irrespective of the merit of the deal—will remain uncontroversial. Premier Modi’s visit has given Singh Durbar a unique opportunity to clear cobweb off its ramparts. It will take a little longer to remove meshes of the mind. But when relationships are as intimate as between India and Nepal, it’s best not to rush anything and make haste slowly.

Air-locked

In the past, when Buddha Air, a prominent Nepali carrier, tried to link Pokhara and Lucknow directly, the Indian side strangely declined to provide the necessary consent on the requested additional entry-exit point west of Bhairahawa. The plan had to be scrapped. The proposed Pokhara-Lucknow flight would have been of a 30-minute duration for an ATR-42 aircraft, had a direct routing (as the crow flies) been provided, but the Indian side’s insistence on following the existing airway scuttled the plans as the additional distance that needed to be traversed undermined its financial viability. ...... There is tacit understanding in Nepali aviation circles that this “airway stalemate” invariably has to do with the all-pervading influence of the Indian defense establishment. The Indian Air Force, which is the de-facto owner of the entire Indian air space, and its generals have simply remained unmindful of Nepali side’s repeated concerns to break out of its southward “air-locked”-ness and in all likelihood have been exerting pressure on its civil aviation agencies to turn a Nelson’s eye towards Nepal’s concerns. Agreed, every nation is free to tend to its national security interests in a manner it deems best but this cannot be an alibi to encroach on a sovereign neighboring country’s interest, like those pertaining to matters of civil aviation. Else, the very idea of international cooperation, as envisaged under the aegis of the international convention on civil aviation, stands utterly undermined. ...... With limited available avenues for augmenting its revenue in a sustainable manner, until large scale export of hydropower materializes in the distant future, Nepal could supplement its coffers by opening up its airspace for over-flights to dig into the proverbial pie of ever-increasing east-west air traffic along the Indian subcontinent corridor—i.e., open a parallel airway to those existing over India that connect south-east Asia to Europe. For this too, India’s willingness to designate the necessary entry and exit points, whether existing or additional ones, is essential.

Mending ties

Can this visit truly transform Nepal-India relations making it a model of inter-state relations in the 21st century? ..... Nepal-India ties cut across all aspects of state-to-state and people-to-people interactions. The people-to-people relation is such that “if one side bleeds the other feels the pain”. For instance, 5,000 Nepalis died in the Uttarakhand floods two years ago. That is why as some politicians were protesting the visit of the Indian Ambassador in one part of Nepal, people from the two sides of the border were exchanging flowers in another part to ensure that politicians do not further enlarge the chasm. The people-to-people side to our relations will continue irrespective of what politicians do. This is the strength of our relation and politicians and diplomats should learn from it........ Small events are blown out of proportions with slogans of “national independence” in Nepal or “insensitivity to Indian interests” in India. ..... unnecessary politicization of relations with India poisons the environment on the Nepali side. Indian elites recognize Nepalis as porters, security guards and Maoists. Nepal reels under protracted political transition, instability and stagnation. This is bad for both. ...... With creative thinking the rivers, roads, dams and the open border could produce mega-models of mutual cooperation. ..... Contrary to their perception as ‘anti-Indians’ Nepalis know very well that India is the only foreign country where they can travel freely, get refuge when they get persecuted and land decent jobs. Indians too have tremendous goodwill for their Nepali brothers and sisters. But Indo-Nepal relations suffer from the mindset that is unable to comprehend the vitality, complexity and sensitivity of our relations. To transform this relation the political and foreign policy elites need to be guided by popular aspirations and tremendous potential in harnessing the unalterable closeness of geography and time-honored history of mutual benefit.

The Gentleman from South

The man from south with a white beard should be given credit for not only becoming the most sought after politician of his time but also a fashion icon! ..... Personally too if we look within the country many Nepalis have had higher education in India and most come back to be involved in the development activities here as opposed to those who head towards the West for higher education. ..... The most important gift that Modi can bring is education for aspiring youth of Nepal at the same cost that Indians pay in their universities. We studied that way, but for our children’s education we need to pay in dollars as international students! Why is this so? Where have the long-lasting relation and the provision in the 1950 treaty gone? The other gift that Modi should bring is the answer to the question on why Nepal’s economy is sliding day by day whereas India’s is booming? Since 1950 India has had “friendly” economic ties with Nepal but India has reaped most of the border benefits.

Let's prosper together

She clarified that Nepal is ‘top priority’ for her government. ..... Modi is a role model for ‘development and good governance’ in India. His development formula of 5T—trade, technology, tourism, talent and tradition—was instrumental in his success in recent Indian elections. His friendly relation with China is a reflection of India’s willingness to put economy first, apart from its ‘neighbor first’ diplomacy...... Nepal too has a development formula comprising 5H—Himalayas, hydro-power, herbal, heritage and human resources. ...... Exemplary relationship with India is of importance as Nepal shares 1,800-km-long open border; six million Nepalis are working in India; all our big rivers cross into Indian territory; and we have a whopping trade deficit. Nepal is moving towards economic prosperity for which peace and stability are preconditions. Nepal wants to upgrade its status to a ‘developing country’ by 2022. It is high-time for Nepal to seek economic and development partnership with India. Efforts should be made by Nepali and Indian leaders to build trust and confidence and open up new development prospects for mutual benefit.

Nepali leaders praise Modi's speech in parliament
We are looking for investment not charity

Anyone who does not understand from history is bound to repeat it, goes the famous line. We have been repeating the history for the last 65 years. ..... Unless we undertake mega projects of national interest on the basis of broader consensus, we are bound to fail.

Biz community expecting a lot from Modi visit

I have a clear viewpoint on the issue. If you are hungry, you eat whatever you get. Our total energy demand is around 3,000 MW. Up to that mark, we should not set any conditions. After that, we can renegotiate with India. We should sign PTA with India without further delay.

Inspiring speech by PM Modi in CA/parliament today.
— Ram Sharan Mahat (@ramsmahat) August 3, 2014

PM Modi's appreciation of d peace process,commitment 2 federal republican constitution, cooperation in eco dev,mention of Lumbini notable.
— Baburam Bhattarai (@brb_laaldhwoj) August 3, 2014

Modi stole the show. He talked very high about Nepal’a rich culture, religion and heritage. He proved he is a statesman and a master orator
— Kamal Thapa (@KTnepal) August 3, 2014

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