New hydropower policy could be last chance for revival of neglected sector

The policy, announced just before the election dates were declared, offers hope for this neglected sector

Six days before the dates for the general elections were announced, the government announced a hydropower policy that had gone through years of debate. The last-minute passage of the policy together with approvals for four power projects worth Rs 31,000 crore could be seen as an effort to revive the power sector and help India meet its climate change targets, since hydropower will be counted as renewable energy.

India currently has 45,400 Mw of installed hydropower capacity, 13 per cent of the country’s power generation capacity. Compare it with the government-owned NTPC’s 41,580 Mw of coal-based power generation, and it