India, Nepal sign power trade agreement

India and Nepal have inked a Power Trade Agreement (PTA) that reportedly allows for the exchange of electricity and the opening up new areas of cooperation in the hydropower sector.

Energy Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha and his Nepalese counterpart Rajendra Kishore Kshatra signed the agreement at a function held at the Prime Minister's Office in Kathmandu yesterday, media report said.

The two sides had agreed to sign the agreement during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Nepal in August.

Sinha told media in Kathmandu that the agreement will also provide a permanent forum for interaction between Indian and Nepal in the power sector.

He said, there is also the provision of establishing a joint working group in the PTA to be headed by joint secretaries of the two countries.

He said, the joint group will sit every six months and take up issues not only pertaining to the existing cooperation in power sector but also explore and identify new areas of cooperation.

Kshatra said that the signing of the PTA was the result of India and Nepal's continuous efforts since 2010 to shore up cooperation in the power sector.