Japan plans to provide nearly $500 million in financing to India to upgrade its power grid, continuing infrastructure cooperation initiated during Abe's era.

Aben's high-speed rail project isn't even finished yet, and Takayuki Sanae is already rushing to help India build its power grid—$500 million for a soundless echo.

The high-speed rail isn't even complete, and Japan is now stepping in again to help India build its power grid.

According to Japanese media reports, multiple Japanese financial institutions will provide financing of up to 8 billion yen (nearly $500 million) for India’s power grid project, aiming to upgrade the grid, enhance security, and promote clean energy development.

This project is part of Takayuki Sanae’s proposed "Asia Energy Cooperation Framework." She is currently visiting India and will officially unveil it during her meeting with Modi.

It's hard to understand why Japan’s Prime Minister remains so determined to support infrastructure projects in India. Abe once ambitiously pledged to help India build a high-speed rail network. Now that he’s gone, the project remains unfinished halfway through—its original budget has nearly doubled, and India has refused to approve additional loans. Japan is now stuck, unwilling to let its initial investment go to waste, resulting in prolonged deadlock.

Now, Abe’s protégé, Takayuki Sanae, is moving on to help India build a power grid—a challenge no less daunting than constructing a high-speed rail. Even without having visited India, most people have seen pictures of Indian power lines: densely packed, chaotic, tangled beyond repair—far messier than a spider’s web.

Due to rampant illegal connections and unauthorized wiring, electricity theft has become commonplace in Indian communities. Equipment frequently burns out from overloading, leading to frequent blackouts and massive losses.

Just like building high-speed rail in India, this isn’t a problem that can be solved simply by technology. Even if Japan lays down the entire power grid, Indians will still find ways to steal electricity—driven by necessity, every penny saved counts.

Power infrastructure cannot be resolved merely by building more power plants. Unified dispatching, standardized management, and well-developed supporting facilities are all essential—and none of these are easy to achieve in India.

But since Japan and India share such similar interests, naturally we should support their enhanced cooperation.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1869592577399177/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.