Solar Study Lamp assembly centre at Bhojpur village

Speed Post News Network

Patna : Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Government of India, R K Singh launched a number of initiatives for the welfare of the underprivileged on April 14, 2018, on the occasion of 127^th Birth Anniversary of Bharat Ratna Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar. l

Singh expressed the Government’s commitment to provide 24X7 power supply to all. He said that every household in country will get electricity connection by December, 2018, under ‘Saubhagya’. Emphasising the importance of renewable energy for rural areas, the Minister said, “Off-grid solutions will empower the local women and provide a reliable source of electricity for school going children rnabling them study and progress well. It will help in integrating the deprived sections of society with the mainstream.”

Singh inaugurated Assembly & Distribution Centre for Solar Study Lamps at village Mahuli in Bhojpur. The local women Self Help Group (SHG) will assemble Solar Study Lamps at this centre and distribute them to underprivileged students who do not have access to electricity. Thus the Centre will not only provide kerosene-free affordable illumination to students, but also empower rural women with the skills to assemble, distribute and repair solar lamps, he said.

This initiative is part of the Government of India’s scheme of providing 70 lakh Solar Study Lamps in five States where rural household electrification levels are low. In Bihar, the target is to provide more than 18.84 lakh underprivileged students with Solar Study Lamps. Around 4.57 lakh such lamps have already been distributed to students of the State.

Singh also laid the foundation (remote) for a solar photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturing plant in Sherghati block of Gaya district. This plant will be first of its kind in the State and will be entirely owned and operated by local women Self Help Group Federations. For this purpose, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Bihar Rural Livelihood Promotion Society (BRLPS) – Jeevika, IIT-Bombay, and the Cluster Level Federation of women self-help group members, according to a PIB release.

Initiating the Government of India’s Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, Singh flagged off the UJALA van from Ara. The van will travel across Bihar distributing the LED bulbs and spreading awareness about energy efficiency and energy conservation. As part of this initiative, 16,000 Indian villages with a significantly large number of low income households will be able to buy LED bulbs for a special price of Rs 50 under the Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) programme. In Bihar, 635 villages will benefit under this programme.

The Gram Swaraj Abhiyan is launched by the Government to promote social harmony and apprise rural communities of various government welfare schemes and initiatives. The campaign will be implemented between April 14  and May 5, 2018, in 16,000 villages across India.

The event was graced by the officials from Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, EESL, IIT Bombay, Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society – Jeevika and District Administration of Bhojpur.