MoU for development of Phukot Karnali Hydro Electric Project (480MW) (GS Paper 3, Economy)
Why in news?
- NHPC Limited (A Govt. of India Enterprise) and Vidhyut Utpadan Company Limited (VUCL), Nepal signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) in New Delhi for development of Phukot Karnali Hydro Electric Project (480MW) in Nepal.
- The MoU was signed in the presence of Prime Minister of India and Nepal.
Details:
- NHPC Limited, a Schedule ‘A’ Enterprise of the Government of India with ‘MINI RATNA’ status, is a premier PSU in India for development of hydropower.
- Vidhyut Utpadan Company Limited (VUCL), Nepal is responsible to develop, build, own and operate large-scale hydropower projects in public-private partnership model in Nepal.
Key Highlights:
- The project will use the flow from the Karnali River for power generation and the generated power will be fed into integrated power system of Nepal.
- The installed capacity of the project shall be 480 MW with average annual generation of about 2448 GWh.
- The key features of the project are a 109 metre high RCC dam and an underground power house where the 06 turbines of 79 MW each shall be housed.
- Additionally, to utilize minimum environmental release one Surface Power House of 6 MW capacity i.e. two machines of 3 MW each is also planned. This project is conceived as a Peaking Run-of-River (PRoR) type scheme.
Way Forward:
- Signing of this MOU is a landmark step towards India-Nepal Joint Vision on Power Sector Cooperation.
Google invests in India's Pixxel to launch hyperspectral satellite constellation
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Why in news?
- India's first private company to launch a satellite into space, Pixxel has raised $36 Million in fresh funding as it plans to build the world’s first and highest-resolution hyperspectral satellite constellation.
- The Series B funding comes from Google along with existing investors Radical Ventures, Lightspeed, Blume Ventures, GrowX, Sparta, and Athera.
What it holds for Pixxel?
- It will also help further the development of Aurora: Pixxel’s AI-powered analytics platform to make hyperspectral analysis accessible for everyone. It plans to deliver actionable climate insights on a planetary scale with its satellite constellation.
- The new investment will boost the company's plans to launch 6 satellites in 2024 and 18 other satellites by 2025.
HSI constellations:
- The fresh round of funding comes against the backdrop of a five-year contract from the US National Reconnaissance Office to provide hyperspectral imagery.
- The company will use on-orbit pathfinder systems and future HSI constellations to collect and provide the data, which will contribute to world-class intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities.
- The hyperspectral satellites can capture images at hundreds of wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum and reveal key data about the health of the planet.
Way Forward:
- Both the hyperspectral constellation and advanced data analytics platform will provide up to 10 times more information compared to today’s multispectral satellites in space and increase the spectral resolution available by 50x.
Nepal Prime Minister seeks Indian investments in mining, agri, energy, hospitality, IT
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Why in news?
- Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ is on a four-day visit to India.
Business opportunities in Nepal:
- He said huge business opportunities are there for investors and sought Indian investments in various sectors such as mining, manufacturing, agriculture, energy, tourism, infrastructure, information technology and hospitality.
- He said that abundance of natural resources, large pool of human capital, a promising market with sound policies and regulatory framework makes Nepal an ideal attractive destination for investment
- Nepal’s foreign investment policy is liberal and forward looking and it has opened almost every sector for overseas investments.
- The modern infrastructure at border areas offers opportunities for cross border investments and industrialisation. Vast investment opportunities are there in the hydro power sector also.
- The 900-MW Arun-III project with Indian investment is nearing completion and several other power projects will certainly generate fresh momentum in harnessing water resources in Nepal.
Key agreements:
- The Indian side agreed to the first trilateral power trade from Nepal to Bangladesh through India for up to 40 mega watt of power, a move that is seen as a significant step towards ensuring greater regional cooperation.
- The two sides signed a number of agreements, including an MoU between NHPC and VUCL (Vidyut Utpadan Company Ltd.) of Nepal, for the development of Phukot Karnali Hydroelectric Project and a Project Development Agreement for Lower Arun Hydroelectric Project between SJVN (India) and Investment Board of Nepal
- In total, India and Nepal signed seven pacts which included a revised treaty of transit.
Bilateral trade:
- Land-locked Nepal relies heavily on India for the transportation of goods and services.
- The country shares a border of over 1,850 kilometres with five Indian states — Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
- The bilateral trade between the countries stood at USD 8.9 billion in 2022-23 as against USD 11 billion in 2021-22.
