Context: Prime Minister of India and Bangladesh recently inaugurated the India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFP) in a virtual mode.

About the project

• It is the first cross-border energy pipeline between India and Bangladesh.

• The project is borne by the Government of India under grant assistance to Bangladesh.

• It was initiated in September 2018 to provide 1 million metric tonnes per Annum (MMTPA) of high-speed diesel (HSD) in the Northern West Bengal districts.

• This will reduce the cost, time and the carbon footprint of the supply.

• It will supply HSD initially to seven districts in northern Bangladesh.

• Pipeline will carry diesel from Assam-based Numaligarh Refinery Ltd's (NRL) at Siliguri in West Bengal to the Parbatipur depot of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC).

• The project is jointly implemented by the Numaligarh Refinery Limited of India and Meghna Petroleum Limited of Bangladesh.

• This is the second cross-border energy pipeline between India and its neighbouring countries.

Other projects by India to help Bangladesh

• The Godda thermal power plant in Jharkhand supplies electricity to Bangladesh.

• India is playing a key role in helping Bangladesh access clean and cheap energy from Bhutan and Nepal.

• India has proposed expansion of power trade within the BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal) framework. 

• The Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant in Bangladesh is built under a concessional financing scheme offered by India to Bangladesh.

• This will be Bangladesh’s largest power plant.

• The two countries set up the Bangladesh India Friendship Power Company Limited (BIFPCL).

• BIFPCL is a 50:50 joint venture between India’s National Thermal Power Corporation and Bangladesh Power Development Board.

• India will export Bangladesh power generated from upcoming hydro-power projects in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh once these are commissioned.

Power outages in Bangladesh

• Bangladesh is an energy-deficit country.

• Long power cuts are common even in capital Dhaka, and this has stunted production in key export industries such as the ready-made garments sector.

• Ready-made garments sector accounts for nearly 85% of the country’s exports. 

• Due to daily power outages, many industrial units in Bangladesh reported a fall in production by up to 50% in 2022.

• Result: it affects the country’s export earnings. 

• It suffered during the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the exponential increase in oil and gas prices.

• Bangladesh stopped purchase of gas and shut down many diesel-run power plants.