A comprehensive analysis of strategies, policies and development of hydropower in India: Special emphasis on small hydro power

Many developing countries like India are facing energy crisis due to increase in industrialization for various development programs. If this increase in demand is supplied from coal based thermal power plants, it will cause environment pollution and high cost of generation. So the best solution is to develop hydropower and small hydro power (SHP) plants in the country. India is endowed with these resources which are both viable and economically exploitable. In fact, hydro power is the second highest contributor of the energy consumed in the Indian power sector. At the present time, it is the only clean energy source that can be commercially developed on a large as well as small scale. Recently, hydropower and SHP have considered as most readily available, renewable and clean sources of electricity. They use the potential energy of rivers and supply more than 20% of total India’s electricity. SHP has also some advantages: They may be connected to conventional electrical distribution networks as a source of low-cost renewable energy. Alternatively, SHP projects may be built in isolated areas that would be uneconomic to serve from a network, or in areas where there is no national electrical distribution network so as to improve the quality of life. Therefore, this paper has been focused on the efforts to analyze the current status, future strategies and policies of hydropower development in India with special emphasis on SHP.