Public Private Partnership in Hydro-Power Development of India : Prospects and Challenges

India has experienced a sharp increase in energy demand as a result of economic growth and rising per capita energy consumption. The Government of India is focusing on Hydro-power as one of the sources of renewable energy due to concern for climate change and fast depleting coal/oilfields. But, its development has not been commensurate due to shortage of financial resources, lack of power infrastructure, and modern technologies. The successful completion of Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects in roads, airports, and other sectors have given an opportunity to implement it also in hydro-power sector to fill the gap of power shortage especially in remote and backward regions. The water rich states have made PPP policies and guidelines to initiate projects to fill the gap of power shortage. This paper will take an analysis of the status of hydro-power projects in India, PPP policies and hydropower projects initiated through it, and successful examples of world hydro-projects through PPP models that provides immense opportunities in India