Union Cabinet approves power MoU ahead of visit

Guwahati: Ahead of Bhutan Prime Minister Dasho Tshering Tobgay’s visit to India on Thursday, the union cabinet today paved way for a memorandum of understanding between the two countries on energy efficiency and energy conservation.

The cabinet approved the MoU signed between India’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under the union power ministry, Government of India and the Department of Energy and Natural Resources and Royal Government of Bhutan.

Tobgay will make an official visit to India from March 14-18.

He will be accompanied by Aum Tashi Doma; minister for foreign affairs and external trade D.N Dhungyel, energy and natural resources minister Gem Tshering, industry and commerce minister Namgyal Dorji and senior Bhutan government officers, said a Bhutan government release.

Tobgay will meet President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Modi and his cabinet colleagues and later travel to Mumbai to meet Indian business leaders.

Of particular interest to Assam and north-eastern states could be Tobgay’s meeting with business leaders, and representatives of the Indian tourism industry in Delhi and Mumbai. After all, Assam and Bhutan share a 267-km border. Arunachal Pradesh also shares a mountainous border of 217 km.

Indeed, one of the points of discussion could be about plans to develop Gelephu as a major economic hub, that could reap benefits to Assam also. Gelephu borders Assam’s Chirang district in the Bodoland area and is one of the entry points from Assam into Bhutan, the other point being Samdrup Jonkhar.

Gelephu is also considered to be the entry point to the Manas National Park in India and Royal Manas National Park falling in Bhutan.

Meanwhile, the power ministry MoU is a step to enhancing energy efficiency in Bhutan particularly in the household sector, according to official sources.

Under the power ministry MoU, India’s assistance to Bhutan under this MoU will include promoting the star labelling programme developed by the BEE and facilitating the formulation of building codes tailored to Bhutan’s climate conditions based on India’s experience.

It will also entail creation of a pool of energy professionals in Bhutan through institutionalised training programme and training of retailers in disseminating knowledge about energy-efficient products to consumers.

The MoU will facilitate the exchange of information, date and technical expertise related to energy efficiency and conservation between India and Bhutan.

Recognising energy-intensive appliances as significant contributors to increased energy consumption, both countries seek to optimise rising energy demand by encouraging the adoption of high- efficiency appliances.

BEE’s star-labelling programme covers 37 appliances used in daily life.

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