- Why in news
- On 8 April 2026 the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved Rs 26,069.50 crore for the 1720 MW Kamala Hydro Electric Project in Arunachal Pradesh.
- What it is
- Kamala HEP is a 1720 MW run-of-the-river style hydropower project planned in Kamle, Kra Daadi and Kurung Kumey districts of Arunachal Pradesh. It will be built by a joint venture of NHPC Limited and the state government. It is part of the push to use the Brahmaputra basin's hydro potential in the north-east.
- Capacity and output
- Installed capacity is 1720 MW (8 x 210 MW and 1 x 40 MW), expected to generate 6870 MU of energy.
- Implementation
- It will be built through a Joint Venture Company between NHPC Limited and the Government of Arunachal Pradesh.
- Central budgetary support
- The Centre will give Rs 4,743.98 crore for flood moderation, Rs 1,340 crore for enabling infrastructure, and Rs 750 crore as Central Financial Assistance for the state's equity share.
- Benefits to the state
- The state gets 12% free power and an additional 1% for the Local Area Development Fund.
Don’t confuse with Free power vs LADF: Free power (12% of generation) goes to the host state. The LADF is a separate 1% share of project revenue for local area development.
Don’t confuse with MW vs MU: MW is installed capacity (power at an instant). MU is million units of energy generated over a period.
Economy terms and data: 42 Prelims questions since 2013, rising in recent years; they test what a term or instrument means. In Mains, 12 news-triggered questions.
Why it matters
- Adds firm peak-demand and grid-balancing capacity, helping integrate variable renewables.
- Gives flood moderation in the Brahmaputra valley and builds roads, bridges and social infrastructure in remote districts.
Problems
- Large dams in the seismically active Eastern Himalaya raise safety, ecological and displacement concerns.
- Long build time (96 months) and remote terrain risk cost and time overruns.
Way forward
- Carry out credible cumulative impact assessment of basin projects and ensure local consent and fair compensation.
- Speed up enabling infrastructure and transmission so that the power can be evacuated on time.
Put in your answer
Free power and LADF: Host states of NHPC's Arunachal projects get 12% free power and 1% of project revenue for local development.
Budgetary support for flood moderation: Rs 4,743.98 crore of central support is earmarked for the flood moderation component of Kamala.
- 2013Mains GS3 · Q17Define run-of-river hydroelectricity and how it differs from other hydro projects.
- 2025Mains GS4 · Q2Ethical dilemmas in environmental clearance of projects in sensitive border areas.
- 2018Mains GS4 · Q5Rational policy for dam construction in forested valley inhabited by ethnic communities.
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Hydropower in the Northeast with flood moderation and free power to the state, but project-specific, so UPSC is unlikely to set a question.
Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.