India gives 100 MW power supply to Bangladesh, gets 10 GBPS internet

 The Dollar Business Bureau 

Bangladesh has sought additional 100 MW from Tripura power project

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday inaugurated the 100 MW power supply from the ONGC Tripura Power Company (OTPC) in Tripura to Bangladesh. India earlier supplied 500 MW power to Dhaka through West Bengal, but with the commencement of additional 100 MW, the total is likely to escalate up to 600 MW. However, Bangladesh has sought another 100 MW from the Tripura power project. Bangladesh, in turn, will supply 10 GBPS internet bandwidth to India from Thursday onwards. The high-speed internet bandwidth will ensure fast and reliable internet connectivity in Tripura as well as other North Eastern states. The two prime ministers inaugurated the two initiatives through video conferencing. “In the coming days, whatever transmission lines we are going to establish will have been enabled with higher capacity, in order to ensure we work together to meet our energy needs,” the Prime Minister said. “The Eastern gateway is very important for India’s Act East policy. Together with Bangladesh, we want to open the Eastern gateway of the digital world. The opening of the Eastern gateway in collaboration with Bangladesh will bring connectivity to the Eastern region especially Assam, Tripura and Sikkim," Modi said. The decision to provide Bangladesh an additional 100 MW of power supply from Tripura was taken during the 7^th Joint Steering Committee meeting on Power held in Dhaka in 2014. Dhaka will reportedly pay 6.43 taka per unit (₹5.51) on ‘no-electricity, no-payment’ terms. The Indian prime minister said connectivity between the two countries has become smooth through water, air and surface communication. “We want to be connected with Bangladesh though space as well," he said. “Today is an important day in India-Bangladesh ties. Glad that several avenues of cooperation have opened between us,” Modi said in a tweet. Hasina, in her remarks, said during her visit to Tripura almost three years ago, she had discussed getting power from the Tripura’s Palatana project. She thanked her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and Tripura’s Chief Minister Manik Sarkar for their cooperation.  

March 23, 2016 | 05:40pm IST