India and Bhutan to Strengthen Cooperation in the Power Sector

• Bilateral hydropower partnership is the flagship pillar of India–Bhutan economic ties, with India as the sole buyer of Bhutan's surplus hydroelectricity.
• Cooperation began in 1961, formalised by the 2006 Agreement on Cooperation in Hydroelectric Power, and was reaffirmed in a Feb 2026 ministerial meeting in New Delhi.
• Strategically central to UPSC: intersects GS-II (neighbourhood policy), GS-III (energy security, clean energy), and India's "Neighbourhood First" + Act East doctrines.