"Transmission link is the key"
Tantra Narayan Thakur, Chairman and Managing Director of PTC India Ltd., a public-private partnership company of India that is developing power trading market in India, with the state utilities as its major clients, was in Kathmandu to participate in the recently held Power Summit, a meeting of Nepali and Indian power traders, producers and financiers. Excerpts from an interview with him taken on the sidelines of the summit:
How is the negotiation going on between PTC and parties in Nepal for purchasing power from Nepal ?
There are many people who are meeting us and there is a lot of interest but things are not moving forward.
What may be the hurdles to go ahead with all these?
Hurdles, if any arises, can be solved. We can sit down and negotiate. I think the main problem is that of the mindset. I confess that in case of India too the mindset was not that open five or six years ago. But now there is no problem in India and there is support from everywhere.
You were saying that NEA never responded to your letters about a certain proposal. What may be the reasons and what was the proposal?
It would be little too harsh to say that they never responded. The dialogue was going on but decisions could not be taken. The proposal was to begin with one transmission link from Butwal to Ramnagar that could be extended up to Ghorakhpur. With this link, the surplus power from Nepal could be fed into the Indian grid at Ramnagar from where it can be taken to other Indian grid. NEA suggested, way back in year 2000, that after Kali Gandaki project came on stream, Nepal will be surplus by about 150 megawatt which India would buy. We agreed, but for that we needed a transmission link. On the Indian side this link was to be set up by PTC and on the Nepal side by NEA. For doing that we needed commitment from the NEA that there would be supply of power over a period of time, because without that people will not finance the project. Perhaps NEA felt that they were not sure about the surplus that they would have or there were some issues within Nepal which they were not sharing with us. But the response didn't come.
How is the problem of cross-border transmission line at present? What are India 's plans about it?
I think we should have transmission link at two or three places between India and Nepal .
Where?
Butwal-Ghorakhpur, Dhalkebar-Mujaffarpur and Anarmani-Siligudi. If Nepal is linked with these three places then power from all parts of Nepal can flow into the Indian grid at different points.
How about the possibility of barter trade between Nepal and India on power instead of haggling over the price of power? After all, the peaking power demand in both the countries falls in different seasons.
This was done in India in a very small way. Punjab during summer takes power from Jammu and Kashmir and during winter it sells to Jammu and Kashmir. The problem there is that the price of power will not be same during all seasons and also during all hours of the day.
But if it is purely barter, i.e. we giving you power and you paying back the same quantity of power so that there would be no price dispute?
In India also there are states in different geography. All our Himalayan states need a lot of power during winters. We also have seasonal diversity in generation. For example, during the monsoons we have a lot of generation in the Himalayan region and also in south India and during non-monsoon we have less generation. But still there will be occasions of surplus and deficit and that may give opportunity to barter power. So, this concept is very good and it is workable. But I think for large volumes of power trade it is always better to have a long term arrangement. However, we are prepared for power barter as well in small volume. Actually we have been trying to get some power to Nepal from the last six months because you have shortage here. But in the absence of transmission arrangement it is not possible. Some transmission link is being augmented and may be we will be able to sell small amount to Nepal and when Nepal has surplus that can go to India. This will be a very small amount. For large amount you have to have regular arrangement.
So, in conclusion, can we say that the transmission link is the key to go ahead with power sector cooperation between the two counties?
If you have transmission link between two countries, things will start moving ahead and confidence building will take place. Then things will start happening and people will come forward to invest. My whole idea was to establish some transmission link between these two countries. Let us start doing it, once you start doing it, things will look up.
 “Talent creation can be facilitated”
Prof. N. M. Agrawal, of Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, India, was in Kathmandu in August when he delivered a talk on talent management in a program jointly organised by Nepal India Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Laxmi Bank. Excerpts from an interview with him:
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Why do you think “Talent Management” is so important for today’s organisation?
To be competitive, organisations require additional knowledge to improve productivity and competitiveness. Only workers with knowledge can add knowledge and generate knowledge. Moreover, knowledge workers are mobile. They are moving to India, China and other parts of Asia where there are good opportunities. Today’s organisations cannot roll ahead losing these talents. Hence, talent management seems to be the core issue for any organisation today. On a more holistic view, the society itself needs to be concerned about how to nurture talent so that it can remain competitive.
Can talent be created?
You don’t create talent; rather it’s the environment that you create for nurturing talent. Talent creation can be facilitated. Individuals have a capability to learn. We should be able to nurture unique competencies and learning capabilities that people have and then see that a proper environment and opportunities are available for them to nurture their inherent talent and capabilities.
Nepal now is facing a serious trouble of brain-drain. A lot of our knowledge workers are going abroad. How can Nepal retain its talented workforce?
It’s only a question of time. SAARC countries can definitely move ahead in terms of talent management. Sri Lanka today has a fairly good IT industry. Within five years, Nepal can also have a good IT industry, provided that other influencing factors go in positive direction. It doesn’t require unique capabilities but rather a systematic understanding of the matter. A good education system is a must which comes as a part of nurturing talent. The moment all these forces begin to move in a positive direction together with a culture for grading performance, Nepal can attract a fairly large pool of talents from within and outside the country.
We are expecting some more research work to spill down to Nepal from India in the IT sector. But that is not happening. What do you think is the reason?
It will not just happen by chance. There is a huge talent scarcity in India as well. A large number of companies in India are moving towards China. India is still looking forward for people who can collaborate and work with them in the neighbouring countries. Given a conducive environment and the availability of talented people, Indian companies can be attracted here because it is easier working in Nepal than in China . But one has got to practically create an environment, examine what we need to do so that the quality of education meets the requirement of the software industries.
How do you perceive Nepali individual behaviour and organisational behaviour?
Nepal has quite a self-sufficient society. It has not learned from the past to be assertive. It needs to be little more assertive and forceful. We need to make sure that people listen to us and make sure that they understand us at the same time. We should tell our younger generation to be more assertive and have faith in their capabilities. We must make them believe that they are capable.
What should organisations do to nurture talent?
They should create a much more professional environment, recruit professionals, behave like professional and help people in being professionals. Leaderships at various levels should invest in the growth of human resources. When senior managers invest time in listening and talking to their employees, making them understand and try to understand them and their aspirations, senior managers are in a way of making individuals to grow. Leadership needs to see organisation as a family. The moment the management wants to commit to the growth of the people, the organisation can go a long way in terms of nurturing professionals and talents.
How much is the finance a hindrance for talent management?
Finance is not a huge burden. One needs the hardware and the experts but that is only a small part of it. The starting point is to understand that talent can help us be different. We cannot sustain the growth without talent and it’s the part of leadership to nurture and facilitate talent to blossom in organisation and society at large.
Is having talent enough? Have not many successful companies failed in spite of having a talented workforce?
Mere talent is not enough. Organisations need to make sure that they create a value system which is in line with the larger value system of the society. So, corporate governance plays a vital role in nurturing talent. Leadership needs to nurture talent but equally important is to see that there is a proper system of corporate governance and the organisational values are in congruence with the larger value which are good for the society at large.
