India's Ministry of Power is preparing a set of guidelines for cross-border trade of electricity, with draft regulations from the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC). This will regulate cross-border trade in electricity between India and Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Nepal, by creating a uniform framework.

Current cross-border trade in electricity between India and its neighbors operates under short-, medium-, and long-term bilateral memoranda of understanding and power trade agreements.

The planned cross-border energy trade framework is envisaged to harmonize the extant laws, rules, and regulations covering cross-border trade in electricity, to promote a common platform for all stakeholders, according to a CERC report. The Indian Energy Exchange Ltd. and Power Exchange India Ltd. are forecast to benefit from these regulations.

India currently imports 1,450 megawatts (MW) from Bhutan, and exports around 500 MW to Bangladesh and 300 MW to Nepal. India's Ministry of Power estimates energy trade to ramp up by 2036, with more imports from Bhutan and Nepal, and exports of as much as 2,000 MW to Bangladesh and 1,000 MW to Sri Lanka.

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