India Electrified – The Fact and Exaggeration | GS III | Current Affairs

What is the issue?

Recently, the Union government had declared that all villages across India have been electrified.
While all villages have been electrified, as much as 17% of the 18 crore rural households remain without power connections.

What is the current electrification scenario?

Village Electrification - With electricity reaching Manipur Leisang village recently, every village in India is said have been successfully electrified.
This hence completes the mission of the union government piloted “Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana” (DDU-GJY).
Significantly, more than 18,000 villages have been electrified since 2014.
But this doesn’t mean all rural houses have been provided with power connections, as merely 10% coverage is sufficient to call a village electrified.
Household Electrification - As much as 17% of the 18 crore rural households remain without power connections.
Hence, the government has already initiated its “PM Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana” (Saubhagya), which aims for universal household electrification.
It is indeed a big achievement that every village has been electrified, but the task ahead for electrifying all houses is far bigger a challenge.
Additionally, India’s rural poverty is so striking that the poorer households may not be able to sustain an electric connection even under heavy subsidy.

What does the statistics say?

Quality of supply - As per government sources, as of December 2017, only six out of 30 states had 24 hour-power supply in rural areas.
Over 50% of electrified rural households in UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal don’t even get 12 hours of supply in a day.
Households without a connection - UP tops the list with a striking 44% of the population living without electricity.

Variations among connections across states

Source: Indian Express

India Electrified – The Fact and Exaggeration