Publication

This brief examines the challenges and opportunities of power cooperation between India and Bhutan. Since 80 percent of Bhutan's total trade is with India, the resulting macroeconomic environment makes it largely dependent on its southern neighbor. Hydro-power perpetuates this economic dependence as it constitutes 45 percent of Bhutan's total exports to India. Promising as this figure is for Bhutan's national economic growth, India and Bhutan have embarked on a second phase of power cooperation, with the aim of generating 10,000 MW of power by 2020.