Recent Developments:
- India’s President visit to Sweden
- Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Sweden on Technical Cooperation in the Railway Sector.
Write a note on areas of cooperation and their potential and progress between India and Sweden. (200 Words)
The ties between India and Sweden were established in1949 and are founded on shared democratic values.
- Health: MoU signed for cooperation in mental health, care for elderly. Good scope of cooperation in the field of control of communicable diseases and antibiotics.
- Cooperation in environment: sustainable urban development, integrated solid waste management, air and water quality management, clean production and technology, climate change including CDM and environmental health.
- Cooperation in Renewable Energy Nearly 48% of Sweden’s energy comes from renewable sources. India can duly harness their expertise. In pursuance of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in Renewable Energy signed between the two countries in April 2010, cooperation has commenced in the areas of technologies and/or resources based on Solar Energy, Hydrogen/Fuel Cells, Geo-thermal, Small Hydro and Clean Energy.
- Science and Technology Cooperation: With India’s large pool of skilled scientists and Sweden’s strength in innovations, there is excellent potential for cooperation in the area of science and technology. Some of the areas being covered include: assessment of food quality etc.
- Sweden is also a leader in smart grid technology and as a result its T&D losses are in single digits. India’s T&D losses, on the hand other, go up to 35%, depending on the condition of the State Electricity Board (SEB) in question, with over half of that loss coming from technical issues of obsolescence and grid management. Thus, India can utilise their expertise.