40. Hydro: The Key to Sustainable Economic Development with Reference to India Bisht V.S. (Proceedings, Hydro 2003, Vol. I, Croatia, pp. 311). Abstract Hydro power in one form or other is one of the oldest energy sources servicing the human civilization. From time immemorial, falling water has been used to provide power for grain and saw mills. Since than hydro power has traveled a long way. The new environmental laws affected by the danger of global warming have made energy from hydro more relevant than ever. Depletion of fossil fuel and their rising prices have compelled the planners to have a fresh look on the power from hydro, wherever possible. For a developing country like India where major energy needs are met by importing petroleum products resulting in outgo of precious foreign exchange, the role of hydro power becomes more pertinent. After the signing of WTO agreement by India, Indian Industry needs to compete globally to stay afloat. In principle, WTO, envisages to enforce new and more constraining ground rules for international trade leading to lowered barrier for export and import. In reality it may throw Indian industries directly in competition with companies from developed economies having sustainable competitiveness advantage derived from a host of elements and economies of scale. Therefore, it becomes imperative for the Indian industry to build up sustainable competitive advantages in the most efficient manner, by exploiting resources available in India, before it is too late. Agreed, competitiveness is not based on any single factor but is derived from a host of factors, natural as well as man made. Man made factor require continuous improvement and up-gradation. On the other hand natural factors result in near perpetual competitive advantage, if exploited in the right direction. Hydropower is one such natural factor which if harnessed in right earnest can be a source of sustainable competitive advantage for the Indian industry. Power is a major input for production of goods and services and constitute a major portion of its cost structure. Study of select Indian power utilities reveal that the overall cost of generation is low for utilities sourcing majority of power from hydro power plants. Study, further reveal that in contrast to old thermal power plants where the cost of generation increases with the passage of time due to increase in the fuel cost, in case of hydro power plant, older the plant, cheaper the generation cost becomes. Cheap and inflation free power from hydro power plants for the Indian industry can lead to sustainable economic development of India. Moreso, as India lacks adequate resources of hydrocarbons and is a net importer of hydrocarbons to meet its energy requirement. The advantage offered by the hydropower to the economy was understood by the developed nations at a very early stage and they have exploited their hydro potential to the maximum extent possible. As compared to an exploitation level of more than 60% of their harnessable hydro potential by the developed nations, the comparative figure for the undeveloped/developing nations hovers in the range of 1–20%. It is storage to note that higher the degree of underdevelopment of a nation, lower is the degree of exploitation of its hydro resources. India is also not an exception. It is blessed with an harnessable potential of 84,044 MW corresponding to an installed capacity of around 150,000 MW. However, only 18% has been harnessed till now. Drastic steps need to be taken by India to develop hydro – a key source of sustainable competitive advantage, which would lead to sustainable development of Indian economy. Hydropower presents an added opportunity to undeveloped/developing nations including India by trading of their carbon credit to the developed nations under the ‘United Nations Framework Convention on Climatic Change’ (UNFCCC). Under UNFCCC the developed nations are permitted to use trading system to help meet their emission targets. As per one estimate the opportunity for carbon credit is of the tune of about US$2.3 trillion by 2012 – a large sum by any yardstick. Thus, the hydropower offers a win-win situation to all the stakeholders of the economy. Top Keywords Civilization, Environmental, Depletion, Fossil. Top |