India Makes $7 Billion Push for Rural Electrification to Improve Livelihoods

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources India (Delhi, India)--The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in India has recently approved an outlay of $6.95 billion to fund an ambitious initiative to supply electricity through separate feeders for agricultural and rural domestic consumption to provide round-the-clock power supply.

The Indian cabinet ministers also approved spending $5.26 billion on an integrated power development initiative, which involves strengthening sub-transmission and distribution systems. This scheme is aimed at ensuring around eight hours supply to agricultural consumers and 24-hour electricity to households.

The Power Ministry expects that a dedicated feeder line would also help reduce India's aggregate transmission and commercial (AT&C) losses to 22% from the present 27%. According to the ministry, separate electricity feeders would ensure that farmers receive optimal electricity, and its availability in rural households also improves. It will also ensure that users are billed correctly and technical and commercial losses due to power-theft are reduced.

The cabinet also decided to merge the previous government's rural electrification program, Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) and Restructured Accelerated Power Development Reform Program (R-APDRP), which is primarily focused at high-load urban areas, with Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) and Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS), respectively.

In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strategy of accelerating development of infrastructure along the country's frontier, the cabinet also approved $822 million for the North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project for the states of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and Nagaland. The project is aimed at strengthening the intra-state transmission and distribution systems in the region.

India, under leadership of Modi, aspires to emerge as an economic super-power. But, the fact that about 400 million people in the country lack access to electricity, a number larger than the combined population of the US and Canada, poses a serious challenge before the government.

Reliable power supply to the villages in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha and several other states in the eastern and northeastern region can open new avenues for economic development as small and cottage industries can flourish at village levels. States like Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Arunachal Pradesh require special attention, as more than 20% of the rural populations in these states lack access to electricity.

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