India to commence 100 MW power supply to Bangladesh.

India will soon begin exporting 100 MW power to Bangladesh in line with what was decided during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit there in June 2015.

“We will shortly be commencing power supply to Palatana in Bangaldesh … This will allow Bangladesh to address severe power shortages in its South-eastern parts,” Vikas Swarup, spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said recently during a media briefing.

India was already supplying 500 MW to Bangladesh. This new step will be in addition to that, Swarup said, adding that this will be enhanced in due course.

In addition, India will be providing internet bandwidth to Dhaka via Tripura through BSNL’s internet port in Cox Bazar in Bangladesh.

“This will improve the internet speed of the entire North-eastern region, while Bangladesh telecom operators will be enabled to effectively monetise their available infrastructure. Currently, Tripura is connected solely with the Siliguri corridor,” he added.

To further deepen ties with Bangladesh, India has offered to provide $2 billion line of credit to the country. A memorandum of understanding on this was also signed earlier this month. This credit line is the biggest ever provided by India to any country and will be mainly focussed on infrastructure development, health and education sectors.

In 2010, too, India had extended a credit line worth $1 billion to Bangladesh.

India will also supplying high-speed diesel to Bangladesh through a pipeline from Numaligarh refinery in Assam to Parbatipur in Bangladesh, Swarup said.

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