What is the issue?
- Recently, Indian PM announced the completion of electrification of all census villages.
- In this context, a look at the efforts of electrification process in India becomes imperative.
How did electrification process evolve in India?
- The vision and blueprint for electrifying the country was formulated by BR Ambedkar in early 1940s.
- He was then the chairman of the Policy Committee on Public Works and Electric Power, established in 1943.
- By 1945, Dr Ambedkar and his team had studied the problems and opportunities for electricity development in India.
- They pursued provinces and states to impart a national perspective to electricity development.
- Ambedkar's belief was that cheap and abundant electricity can only be provided through a centralised system.
- He felt this was essential to ensure the success of industrialisation and bring about socio-economic development.
- Electricity was dominated by the private sector and followed a decentralised model during pre-Independence era.
- But the committee favoured the state enterprise in development of electricity supply using the best technology of the time.
- Accordingly, the Electricity Supply Act got enacted in 1948.
- India started carrying out electrification according to the plan formulated by the Ambedkar committee.
How did village electrification go?
- During plan periods in the 1950s, there was focus on village electrification, primarily to support rural industries.
- From mid-1960s to late-1980s, the focus shifted to pump-set energisation.
- But not much progress could be achieved in electrifying villages and households.
- Rural electrification increased to only 6% in 1973, 30% in 1991 and 43% in 2001.
- Also, electric utilities were suffering from huge losses.
- With over half the population without electricity access in 2001, the government launched the Rural Electricity Supply Technology Mission.
- This aimed at enhancing electricity access in a targeted manner, using both grid and off-grid technologies.
- It was followed by major policy reforms with the passage of Electricity Act, 2003.
What is the present scenario?
- Rural electrification got the impetus since the enactment of Electricity Act, 2003, which obligated both Centre and states to enable electricity access.
- It led to the launch of large-scale electrification effort in 2005 by the central government.
- Efforts to create access to electricity for all households and provide free connections to all below poverty line households were taken up.
- In its latest report, World Energy Outlook 2018, the International Energy Agency called India a “star performer”.
- This was in terms of achieving the milestone of providing power to each village.
- Around half a billion people have gained access to electricity in India since early 2000s.
What is the case with household electrification?
- While villages were getting electrified during the last decade and a half, household electrification was lagging.
- The government launched the Saubhagya Scheme, or the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana, in September 2017.
- It aimed at connecting all non-electrified households by March 2019.
- It’s a first-of-its-kind scheme focusing on household electrification, regardless of economic status.
- It aims to cover 30 million households in rural areas, of which 20 million have been connected.
Source: Financial Express
