Q+A: Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya)

“Saubhagya” is a central government initiative to provide electricity connections to the remaining un-electrified houses both in rural as well as in urban areas, to achieve universal electrification in the country. The households in remote and inaccessible areas, where grid lines extention is not feasible, solar power pack and battery will be provided to such households.

Under the scheme, the electricity connections for un-electrified poor households will be free of cost, however other households will have to pay Rs 500 for electricity which will be recovered by power distributions companies in ten instalments along with electricity bills. The key aspect is that, though the connections to the poor are provided free of cost, the cost of electricity will have to be paid by the consumers themselves and the scheme do not have any provision for free electricity.

Some relevant questions are as follows:

How is Saubhagya different from existing initiatives for the power sector?

This question has two aspects:

 How ‘Saubhagya’ is different from ’24X7 Power for all’ initiative?

‘24×7 Power for All’ initiative covers all the components of the power sector, including Power generation, transmission and distribution, energy efficiency, the financial health of distribution companies etc.

Depending upon the various interventions required across the power supply chain, a State/UT specific action plan is created in order to ensure 24X7 power for all. However, without the electricity connections to un-electrified houses, the goal of 24X7 will be elusive. Here comes the role of Saubhagya initiative. So Saubhagya will address the issues related to energy access.

How it is different from DDUGJY and IPDS

The objective of Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana is the establishment of basic electricity infrastructure in rural areas. Apart from that, it will also focus on the augmentation of existing infrastructure and the metering of existing feeders in order to improve quality and reliability of power supply.

Similarly, in case of urban areas, the objective of Integrated Power Development Scheme is to ensure the establishment of the basic infrastructure.

However, in both rural and urban areas, some households are not yet connected despite the availability of basic infrastructure. The main reason is the poor economic condition due to which poor people are not able to pay initial connection charges.  Soubhagya initiative will address issues of entry barrier by providing electricity connections to un-electrified houses in rural and urban areas.

What will be the implementation mechanism?

Power distribution companies will prepare the project proposals, once the project is sanctioned, distribution companies will execute the project. In order to speed up the implementation, information technology will be used for the identification of the beneficiaries. Also, public institutions such as gram panchayat will be authorized to collect an application form,  as well as revenue related to the electrification.

How will the initiative be useful for daily life?

Electricity availability will have a positive impact on living standards.  So the usage of Kerosene for the lightening purpose will be reduced, leading to less pollution. Also, electricity is pre-requisite for modern health service and economic development.

How the initiative will lead to employment generation and subsequently economic development

Once the un-electrified houses are electrified, Kerosene will not be used for lighting purposes. This will not only reduce the subsidy burden but will also help in reducing the imports of petroleum products. Since electricity is the base infrastructure for communication services, once households are electrified, this will help in improving the access of all the kind of communications like Radio, Television, Internet, mobile etc. Therefore people in remote areas can get information regarding new government initiatives, new agricultural techniques, seed quality and market prices. This will help in improvement in agricultural production and subsequently additional income for farmers. Also once the remote areas are connected with market, farmers can explore various possibilities such as agro-based small industries.

Apart from that electricity facility will help in the development of local industry which will generate both direct and indirect employment opportunities. Also, the electricity accessibility will have positive externalities on the rest of economy.

Discussion

One of the major reasons behind the slow progress on household electrification is lack of awareness about the government initiatives. Therefore government is spreading awareness through Radio, Print Media, Television, Sign Boards etc. Apart from the awareness through multimedia campaigns, the distribution companies would also organize camps in rural areas to spread awareness. The awareness campaign also intends to involve School teachers, Gram Panchayat members, local literate/educated youth.

The initiative will address the existing challenges in the universal electrification. The key, however, lies in implementation. With proper execution, the initiative can be a game-changer not only for economic development but also for better living standards.