Manmohan : Solar lanterns to be promoted

Solar lanterns to be promoted across the country. In the backdrop of rising crude prices and concerns over climate change, Dr. Singh was chairing the meeting of the Energy Coordination Committee. The Centre would promote the use of solar lanterns across the country, he said. The meeting decided that in rural areas grid connectivity be explored for solar energy. Villages should have access to both conventional and non-conventional sources. Committee members stressed that kerosene lanterns be replaced with solar lanterns on account of India's import dependence on crude, the high fiscal subsidy for kerosene and the environmental benefits of solar energy.

Japanese Model of Energy Efficient Buildings

Solar Photovoltaic Energy in Buildings


Japanese housing manufacturers characterise their industrialised houses enhancing their sales with green features integrated into their products in response to the society's increasing demand for the environment-friendliness. Since 1994, the Japanese government had implemented a series of residential PV incentive program until the end of 2005. Today, the housing manufacturers tend to install a PV system as a standard feature rather than merely an option and particularly, the roof of the industrialised housing is well furnished with the PV panels instead of traditional roof shingles or clay tiles, which are called Kawara. Sekisui Chemical uses 5 ft. x 3 ft. (152.4 cm x 91.4 cm) 205-watt crystalline custom-framed modules manufactured by Sharp. The typical size of their building integrated PV systems is 4.2 kW and generates 4,200 kWh per year in Nagoya. Misawa Homes uses multicrystalline modules from a number of manufacturers, e.g. MSK, Kobe Steel and BP-Solar. Sanyo uses their 190-watt high efficiency HIT modules (half c-Si and half a- Si) that are produced in-house; thus, the use of its own PV modules may make the production of PV solar housing more efficient. PanaHome uses crystalline Kyocera PV modules, which typical size of system is 3 kW, which is also being applied to their PV solar community developments. Panahome offers a 10 year-warranty on the PV system (modules and inverter) like other PV housing competitors in Japan and a 25 year-warranty on modules alone.

Net metering and time zone contract

Japanese housing manufacturers mostly locate the solar photovoltaic (PV) power generating system on the rooftop, either tilted or flat. The manufacturers often recommend an active use of all electric homes equipped with PV systems that benefit from the net metering and the time zone contract which are already being put in effect in Japan. Users can sell the surplus electricity generated by PV systems to an electric power company of the region. Based on the time zone contract, Japanese power companies buy the surplus electricity in unit of kWh from users at a higher price estimated at approx. 26 JPY/kWh ($0.25 CAD/kWh) in the day time and sell electricity to users at approx. 6 JPY/kWh ($0.06 CAD/kWh) at night.

Costs

Sekisui Chemical Co. is successfully producing "Net Zero Utility Cost Housing"; in which the users can enjoy the economical benefit from the installation of an induction heating (IH) cooking heater, CO2 heat pump (Eco-Cute) and a PV system. The cost of the 1 kW PV system is estimated at ¥ 490 000 (CAD$ 4 760). The payback period is considered to be 16 years where actual design life is about 30 years or more. In Japan, the average size of a PV system is 3.8 kW.

Sekisui Chemical claims that the cost of their rooftop PV system is 20 to 30% lower than those of other competitors in Japan, because this housing manufacturer is able to negotiate lower PV components costs through large PV purchases with Sharp (PV manufacturer). The installation cost of a PV roof system that is installed after construction of a house, is usually 40 to 50% of the total rooftop PV system cost. However, Sekisui Chemical can reduce the cost to only 20% because of their in-factory completion. The company explains that PV modules are installed inside the factory before the shipment. Sekisui Chemical Company produces about 4 500 new houses equipped with a PV system annually: about 1/3 of their customers select a house equipped with a PV system, a relatively higher ratio compared with 1 to 2% of the national average in Japan. This may indicate that the Japanese housing manufacturers’ cost-performance marketing strategy1 is effective in increasing the sales of PV solar homes.

Sanyo is manufacturing HIT PV panels, a hybrid technology using a blend of amorphous and crystalline silicon: their PV performances are claimed to be 20 to 30% above their competitors. Sanyo Homes benefit from this Sanyo subsidiary.



1 Japanese housing manufacturers attempt to educate their clients to appreciate the distinguishing features of their high-cost and high-performance (i.e. high "cost-performance") housing, in which a wide variety of amenities are installed as standard equipment rather than options.

Building integration approaches

Most manufacturers offer a variety of PV panel dimensions which are usually integrated on South facing sloping roofs. Sekisui Chemical installs Sharp 205-watt modules that are fixed to tailored black frames and sealed to the roofing by making use of a "quick connect" device. Misawa also designs roofs that are entirely composed of PV panels and occasionally, openable windows are seamlessly integrated into the PV rooftop.

Power export metering/Net metering

Power export metering
Many electricity customers are installing their own electricity generating equipment, whether for reasons of economy or environmental reasons. When a customer is generating more electricity than required for his own use, the surplus may be exported back to the power grid. Customers that generate back into the "grid" usually must have special equipment and/or safety devices to protect the grid components (as well as the customer's own) in case of faults (electrical short circuits) or maintenance of the grid (say voltage potential on a downed line going into an exporting customers facility).

This exported energy may be accounted for in the simplest case by the meter running backwards during periods of net export, thus reducing the customer's recorded energy usage by the amount exported. This in effect results in the customer being paid for his/her exports at the full retail price of electricity. Unless equipped with a detent or equivalent, a standard meter will accurately record power flow in each direction by simply running backwards when power is exported. Such meters are no longer legal in the UK but instead a meter capable of separately measuring imported and exported energy is required. Where allowed by law, utilities maintain a profitable margin between the price of energy delivered to the consumer and the rate credited for consumer-generated energy that flows back to the grid. Lately, upload sources typically originate from renewable sources (e.g., wind turbines, photovoltaic cells), or gas or steam turbines, which are often found in cogeneration systems. Another potential upload source that has been proposed is plug-in hybrid car batteries (vehicle-to-grid power systems). This requires a "smart grid," which includes meters that measure electricity via communication networks that require remote control and give customers timing and pricing options. Vehicle-to-grid systems could be installed at workplace parking lots and garages and at park and rides and could help drivers charge their batteries at home at night when off-peak power prices are cheaper, and receive bill crediting for selling excess electricity back to the grid during high-demand hours.


Net metering

The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with North America and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page.

Net metering is an electricity policy for consumers who own (generally small) renewable energy facilities, such as wind, solar power or home fuel cells. "Net", in this context, is used in the sense of meaning "what remains after deductions" — in this case, the deduction of any energy outflows from metered energy inflows. Under net metering, a system owner receives retail credit for at least a portion of the electricity they generate. Most electricity meters accurately record in both directions, allowing a no-cost method of effectively banking excess electricity production for future credit. However, the rules vary significantly by country and possibly state/province; if net metering is available, if and how long you can keep your banked credits, and how much the credits are worth (retail/wholesale). Most net metering laws involve monthly roll over of kWh credits, a small monthly connection fee, require monthly payment of deficits (i.e. normal electric bill), and annual settlement of any residual credit. Unlike a Feed-in Tariff or time of use metering (TOU), net metering can be implemented solely as an accounting procedure, and requires no special metering, or even any prior arrangement or notification.[1]

Net Metering is generally a consumer-based renewable energy incentive. While it is important to have Net Metering available for any consumer that interconnects their renewable generator to the grid, this form of renewable incentive places the burdens of pioneering renewable energy primarily upon fragmented consumers. Often over-burdened energy agencies are not providing incentives on a consistent basis and it is difficult for individuals to negotiate with large institutions to recover their Net Metering credits and/or rebates for using renewable energy.
In the U.S.A., as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, under Sec. 1251, all public electric utilities are now required to make available upon request net metering to their customers.

[2]: ‘‘(11) NET METERING.—Each electric utility shall make available upon request net metering service to any electric consumer that the electric utility serves. For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘net metering service’ means service to an electric consumer under which electric energy generated by that electric consumer from an eligible on-site generating facility and delivered to the local distribution facilities may be used to offset electric energy provided by the electric utility to the electric consumer during the applicable billing period.

In Canada, some Canadian provinces have net metering programs.
The United Kingdom government is reluctant to introduce the net metering principle because of complications in paying and refunding the value added tax that is payable on electricity, but pilot projects are underway in some areas.

Time of use metering
Further information: Smart meter
Time of use (TOU) net metering employs a specialized reversible smart (electric) meter that is programmed to determine electricity usage any time during the day. Time-of-use allows utility rates and charges to be assessed based on when the electricity was used (ie, day/night and seasonal rates). Typically the production cost of electricity is highest during the daytime peak usage period, and low during the night, when usage is low. Time of use metering is a significant issue for renewable-energy sources, since, for example, solar power systems tend to produce energy during the daytime peak-price period, and produce little or no power during the night period, when price is low.

Market rate net metering
Further information: Vehicle-to-grid
In market rate net metering systems the user's energy use is priced dynamically according to some function of wholesale electric prices. The users' meters are programmed remotely to calculate the value and are read remotely. Net metering applies such variable pricing to excess power produced by a qualifying systems.

Market rate metering systems will be implemented in California starting in 2006 and under the terms of California's net metering rules will be applicable to qualifying photovoltaic and wind systems. Under California law the payback for surplus electricity sent to the grid must be equal to the (variable, in this case) price charged at that time. It can never be negative, meaning you cannot make money from selling the electricity back. If you generate more electricity than you use then over a period of a month you will be billed zero and not make any money, in effect you give away your extra energy if you do not use it.

Net metering enables small systems to result in zero annual net cost to the consumer provided that the consumer is able to shift demand loads to a lower price time, such as by chilling water at a low cost time for later use in air conditioning, or by charging a battery electric vehicle during off-peak times, while the electricity generated at peak demand time can be sent to the grid rather than used locally (see Vehicle-to-grid). No credit is given for annual surplus production.

Australia
Main article: Feed-in tariffs in Australia
Australia's "feed-in tariff" is actually net metering, except that it pays monthly for net generation at a higher rate than retail, with Environment Victoria Campaigns Director Mark Wakeham calling it a "fake feed-in tariff".[3] A feed-in tariff requires a separate meter, and pays for all local generation at a preferential rate, while net metering requires only one meter. The financial differences are very substantial.

Victoria
From 2009, householders will be paid 60 cents for every excess kilowatt hour of energy fed back into the state electricity grid. This is around four times the current retail price for electricity.

Queensland
Commencing in 2008, the Solar Bonus Scheme pays 44 cents for every excess kilowatt hour of energy fed back into the state electricity grid. This is around three times the current retail price for electricity.

Canada
Ontario

Ontario allows net metering for up to 500 kW, however credits can only be carried for 12 consecutive months. Should a consumer establish a credit where they generate more than they consume for 8 months and use up the credits in the 10th month then the 12 month period begins again from the date that the next credit is shown on an invoice. Any unused credits remaining at the end of 12 consecutive months of a consumer being in a credit situation are cleared at the end of that billing.[4]

British Columbia
Areas of British Columbia serviced by BC Hydro are allowed net metering for up to 50 kW. At each annual anniversary the customer is paid 8.16 cents / kWh if there is a net export of power. Systems over 50 kW are covered under the Standard Offer Program.[5] FortisBC which serves an area in South Central BC is currently studying the implementation of net-metering.[6] The City of New Westminster which has its own electrical utility does not currently allow net-metering.

United States
Several bills are pending that require utilities to provide net metering. They range from H.R. 729 which allows up to 2% net metering to H.R. 1945 which has no limit, but does limit residential users to 10 kW, a low limit compared to New Jersey and Colorado's 2 MW limit, the two states with laws most favorable to consumers in 2007.[7] By March, 2009 only six states did not allow net metering, and seventeen plus Washington D.C. have no limit on the number of subscribers using net metering. Only two, Arizona and Ohio, have no limit on the power limit for each subscriber (see table).

California
Consumer Net Metering is available in California and is presumed to be highly favorable to smaller systems that displace the highest cost electricity, and systems wherein the user's demand load may be managed so that there is a net production of electricity during high cost periods. This can be done, for example, by chilling water during off-peak times for air conditioning use during high demand periods, or by pre-cooling the thermal mass of the building during low cost periods.
A hiccup has occurred in California legislation (SB1 - 2006), in that new (after Jan. 1, 2007) residential solar systems are singled out to be billed on TOU schedules, and at least one utility (Southern California Edison (SCE)) has rate structures which are punitive to the solar customer, particularly for smaller systems that cannot keep up with peak demands. This faulty legislation created a disincentive to new solar installations, and/or windfall profits to SCE. This has since been remedied through legislation.

Colorado
No limit on enrollment, system size is limited to 2 MW, excess is credited to customer's next bill; utility pays customer at end of calendar year for excess kWh credits at the average hourly incremental cost for that year.[8]

Florida
Passed by Florida Public Service Commission 4 March 2008, system size is limited to 2 MW, with compensation up to the account's electrical consumption as trued up at end of calendar year. Excess production is not compensated.

Kansas
Kansas does not have a consumer Net Metering incentive, but does have a renewable metering incentive on the wholesale level that provides the wholesale commerce of renewable energy at 150% of the avoided cost. Thus, the incentive one receives in this case is dependent not upon the price ofelectricity per kWh, but upon the price of wholesale electricity.
The Kansas Solar Electric Co~operatives [K-SEC] was founded January 2005 by Eileen M. Smith, M.Arch. VITAE as a non-profit and non-competitive renewable electricity cooperative. K-SEC Phase I Demonstration is structured around Kansas House Bill 2018 passed in 2003 by Kansas Representative Tom Sloan. See Kansas Statutes Annotated Chapter 17-4661 and 17-4655

The K-SEC program has the goal of installing 1,000 MWp building-integrated photo voltaic [BI-PV] solar electricity by 2018. This translates to approximately 100,000,000 sq ft (9,300,000 m2) of BI-PV solar roofing or one million sqft BI-PV roofing in 100 of the 105 counties of Kansas. This will require 70,000 to 100,000 sq ft (9,300 m2) BI-PV per county per year for ten years. K-SEC will not sell the solar systems, but they are going to lease consumer rooftops in exchange for a high-tech battery back-up system for fifty years. K-SEC will manufacture, install, monitor, maintain and sell the electricity wholesale. K-SEC will provide numerous job opportunities to rural and urban Kansas communities from manufacturing to solar system design, installation, maintenance, monitoring and electricity sells.

The foundational structure for the K-SEC Program is the Kansas Solar Electric Buildings Registry and GIS Database. A list is being compiled of Kansas homes and buildings that have unshaded roofing surface that could accommodate 100 sq ft (9.3 m2) to 50,000 sq ft (4,600 m2) of BI-PV solar materials. The rooftops must have south to southwest facing or flat rooftops.

The K-SEC Program is important for Kansas where 72.5% of the electricity Kansas presently consumes is generated by coal-fired power plants. In 2004 and 2005 projects totaling a 55% increase in coal-fired power plants were proposed in Kansas.

New Jersey
No limit on enrollment, system size is limited to 2 MW, excess is credited to customer's next bill at retail rate; purchased by utility at avoided-cost rate at end of 12-month billing cycle.[10]

North Carolina
In North Carolina initial net metering rules were put in place in 2005 to prohibit systems that include backup battery power, but due to consumer feedback the restriction was lifted in July 2006.

Texas
Residential
In Texas' deregulated electricity market, credit for electricity exported to the grid is awarded at the discretion of the Retail Electric Provider (REP), the company responsible for the retail sale of electricity to end-use customers.[11] Green Mountain Energy offers to purchase up to 500kwh per month at full retail rate with additional outflow compensated at 50%.[12] Austin Energy buys back exported energy at the "current fuel charge" and participants in the GreenChoice program are compensated at the Green Power rate of charge.
Commercial

The limit on system size is 100 kW for qualifying facilities; 50 kW for renewables. The treatment of net excess is purchased by utility for a given billing period at avoided-cost rate. It applies only to all integrated IOUs (Investor Owned Utilities) that have not unbundled in accordance with Public Utility Regulatory Act § 39.05; does not apply to municipal utilities, river authorities and electric cooperatives [14].

Net purchase and sale
Net purchase and sale is a different method of providing power to the electricity grid that does not offer the price symmetry of net metering, making this system a lot less profitable for home users of small renewable energy systems.

Under this arrangement, two uni-directional meters are installed—one records electricity drawn from the grid, and the other records excess electricity generated and fed back into the grid. The user pays retail rate for the electricity they use, and the power provider purchases their excess generation at its avoided cost (wholesale rate). There may be a significant difference between the retail rate the user pays and the power provider's avoided cost.[]

Germany and Spain, on the other hand, have adopted a price schedule, or Feed-in Tariff (FIT), whereby customers get paid for any electricity they generate from renewable energy on their premises. The actual electricity being generated is counted on a separate meter, not just the surplus they feed back to the grid. In Germany, for the solar power generated, a feed-in tariff of somewhat more than 2 times the retail rate per kWh for residential customers is being paid in order to boost solar power (figure from 2009). Wind energy, in contrast, only receives around a half of the domestic retail rate, because the German system pays what each source costs (including a reasonable profit margin).

Related technology
Sources that produce direct current, such as solar panels must be coupled with an electrical inverter to convert the output to alternating current, for use with conventional appliances. The phase of the outgoing power must be synchronized with the grid, and a mechanism must be included to disconnect the feed in the event of grid failure. This is for safety - for example, workers repairing downed power lines must be protected from "downstream" sources, in addition to being disconnected from the main "upstream" distribution grid.

"NET METERING" : Celebrate Energy Conservation Week

Tue, December 15, 2009 7:40:11 AM
From: DEVENDRA AGARWAL
To:radhakant jha

Cc: Reliance Infrastructure Ltd.

Dear Mr. Jha,
What we need is "distributed generation" and not large "centralised generation". As a utility company, you can facilitate this by ensuring "NET METERING" (two way metering), at each and every consumer end (however small he may be), to enable him to generate electricity by "clean renewable resources".

Stop empty slogans and do something concrete to save the planet, else your children will "CURSE" you for the dooms day.

I am copying this message to my friend Mr. R. K. Jha in Delhi to have this be heard in the corridors of power in New Delhi.

Regards
DEVENDRA AGARWAL
DGA-KMG ENERGY PVT LTD
MUMBAI 400063 - INDIA
Tel: +91 (22) 28402995
Cell + 91 9820192863

To: d_agarwal@dga-group.com
Sent: Monday, December 14, 2009 9:00 PM
Subject: Celebrate Energy Conservation Week


India vows to reduce carbon emission intensity 20-25% by 2020!!

And we as Indians should do our bit to achieve it.

As we all know, the highest contributor to the carbon emissions is Electricity Usage and Generation. Hence, Energy Conservation not only plays crucial part in reducing the emissions, but also reduces depletion of natural fuels. Energy Conservation is need of the hour and key to Environmental well being. Energy Conservation is a noble cause and it is been upheld all over India and Globally.

We at Reliance Energy are celebrating the Energy Conservation Week from December 14th to December 20th. On behalf of Demand Side Management Department and Reliance Energy, we wish you a Happy Energy Conservation Week!! On this occasion we all should resolve to support and adopt the cause of Saving our Planet by conserving energy.

Let’s spread this message to all near and dear once and wish them a Happy Energy Conservation Week by sending an E-card. By wishing them show that you Care!, for them, for our society and for the Environment.



Warm Regards,

Pramod Deo
Demand Side Management
Reliance Infrastructure Ltd.

Too little developmental work in remote areas of the country

There has been too little developmental work in remote areas of the country and as a result a large number of people feel alienated, which has given rise to a number of  menaces.

Lead us to light from darkness in Chakauti

http://chakauti-rkant.blogspot.com/

Solar Lanterns light up Chakauti Homes

Rural Technical Education

BPL students in six states to get IT training at Panchayat level from IGNOU and local employment

IGNOU is starting programmes to educate and train youths from below poverty line families in tribal areas of six states early next year. After clearing the certificate or diploma courses, mostly on Information Technology, employment will be provided to trainees.

The Certificate Programmes are for six months each, the Diploma Courses will be for one year. The programmes will be conducted through a Common Service Centre (CSC) in each village panchayat of the six states - Orissa, MP, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

All programmes will be carried out online from application to certification stages. For this, the process is on for hiring services of trained teachers from nearby areas to teach and guide the IGNOU students in every village panchayat.

The successful students will be employed in various industries in East Zone of India. Initially, the programmes will be run from a hired house until the construction of the Regional Institute for Vocational Education and Training for East Zone (RIVET-EZ), gets completed and handed over to IGNOU. The RIVET-EZ is part of development programmes of IGNOU through education and training to the grassroots.

For the North East states, a RIVET-type IGNOU Institute of Vocational Education and Training (IIVET) is already functioning at Shillong, Meghalaya. Four more RIVETS will be set up soon for other zones of the country.

Saurshakti: Solar Power Lights Up even Hawker Shops

The kerosene and petromax lamps at hawker shops had been in our streets during evenings for years now। They had been a hawker’s basic necessity for their shops. A hawker had to spend around 250-300 rupees every month for these lights? Parting with this big chunk of money from the handful that he earned became quite a burden। Accolades to Saurshakti, who understood this difficulty faced by the hawkers and came up with a fine solution – replacing the fuel lamps with solar power.

Saurshakti is an organization which was born with a novel idea of providing ‘energy for all’ through renewable energy. Saurshakti aims to serve every village, town and city in India with efficient energy solutions. With its vision in mind, Saurshakti initiated the project to support villagers and street hawkers with their lanterns। The main aim of the project is to completely eliminate the recurring fuel expenditure. Moreover, there are environmental benefits attached to solar energy। Also, the user gets to work in a fume free environment।
The first step towards energy efficiency was Saurshakti's solar lantern project in Delhi. Over 100 hawkers have opted for Saurshakti's lanterns which have given them a breather with their expenses. The brighter solar lamps have enlivened their surroundings, gotten rid of the risk of health hazards and brightened the faces of the hawkers.

Replicating the success and spreading awareness across the country is a big task in the hands of Saurshakti now. The equipment is priced around 2000 rupees. The lanterns can easily serve the users for almost 15 years.

भारत में ९० % लोगों को बिजली नहीं प्राप्त होता है

…Out of 5,93,731 inhabited villages (as per 2001 census), 4,73,136 (almost 80%) have been electrified upto Mar 08.…But in the government’s book, a village is considered electrified if even
10% of households have electricity. That means 90% of the population could remain powerless”….

August 20 -Akshay Urja Diwas- India targets 26,000 MW from renewable sources

The Government of India has set a target of generating 14,000 MW additional power through renewable resources in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, taking the total generation to more than 26,000 MW. The target of power generation for the 10th Five-Year Plan was only 12000MW. India is one of the luckiest countries, where there is plenty of sunshine throughout the year. Govt will establish a solar thermal energy project at Nagpur. Govt. will also establish many special economic zones (SEZs) exclusively for renewable projects at various locations of the country. The Haryana government's decided to implement a new scheme to provide 90 per cent financial assistance for installation of solar water heating systems in non-profit social institutions like orphanages, old age homes, working women's hostels and juvenile homes.

Let there be light

http://sierraclub.typepad.com/carlpope/2009/08/let-there-be-light.html

Rural India Development Project:

Rural India Development

Government's Rural & Solar Programmes

National Solar Mission : To increase the use of solar energy and to make it affordable, Government of India will launch the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission on 14th November 2009।

Rural Development: The special programmes for the development of rural and urban areas will be accelerated. The Government was successful to some extent in improving the infrastructure in rural areas through Bharat Nirman. But there is still a wide disparity between the development of rural and urban areas. To this end, the allocations under Bharat Nirman have been increased substantially in 2009. The Governement will set more ambitious targets for schemes for house construction and telecommunications in rural areas.

Rural Admnistrative Machinery: Government will make special efforts to strengthen the administrative machinery for our rural programmes. Those who live in villages and semi-urban areas should get services similar to the residents of urban areas. Communication and Information Technology can go a long way in achieving this objective.

National Solar Mission - Mega solar power programme

The Central Government announced a mega solar power capacity addition plan to make India the global leader in solar energy to match with the worldwide focus on climate change and exploring renewable energy sources to meet the emerging power needs of India.

The  National Solar Mission, aims to add 20,000 MW of solar energy generation capacity by 2020 and make it as cheap as the electricity from conventional sources. The mega plan would seek an investment of nearly Rs. 1 lakh crore over a 30-year period. To start the whole thing in a big way, the Government will make a huge outlay of Rs. 4,000 to 6,000 crore in the XI Plan. The outlay will be doubled during the XII Plan (2013-17).

The objective is to ensure  a capacity addition of one lakh MW by 2030 and two lakh MW of solar power by 2050. It would also seek solar power cost reduction to achieve grid tariff parity by 2020.

Experts have been faced with the challenge of producing solar power as cheaply as from coal or hydel sources by reducing the cost of solar power generation to Rs. 4-5 per kWh by 2017-20. The objective is to achieve rapid scale up to drive down costs, to spur domestic manufacturing and to validate the technological and economic viability of different solar applications.

SBI's "Grameen Shakti'

SBI launches group micro insurance plan

State Bank of India introduced group micro insurance product in association with SBI Life Insurance named 'Grameen Shakti' for the weaker sections of the society.

It is meant only for members of Self Help Groups (SHG) and will provide life insurance cover at a very affordable cost of Re 1 per day. The scheme, will remain open for 45 days between August 1 and September 14, 2009.

A dual-benefit life insurance plan provides cover for 5 years and the premium payable is Rs 361 per annum per member (inclusive of service tax) for a sum assured of Rs 30,000. On death of the Group member, the nominee receives the sum assured, and on the other hand, on maturity of the plan the group member, if alive, receives 50 per cent of the premium paid for a 5 year term.

The scheme is available to a person between 18 to 50 years of age and is linked to SBI. No medical check up is required for joining the Scheme.

Government of Bihar receives a public grievance

Chief Secretary, Public Grievances Cell, Government of Bihar

Thank You!
Your application has successfully forwarded to Public Grievance Cell for further processing. It is being forwarded to the concern department for necessary action within four weeks from today.
Your Grievance Number is: CSPGC/BIH/00176. Note it down for future reference.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To,
The Chief Secretary,
Public Grievances Cell,
Government of Bihar,
Cabinet Secretariate Department, Old Secretariat,
Patna - 8000015
Tele/Fax No. : +91 612-2215409



Subject: Village Chakauti in Sitamarhi District - Dark Corner of India

Dear Sir,

While we are all busy building India and its image, there are a few dark corners long neglected. I have been visiting my home Village Chakauti in Bokhra Block (earlier in Nanpur Block) in Sitamarhi district,Bihar, where the villagers had deposited their initial money for electic connection years back to the Electric Supply Division Sitamarhi in 2001-2002. However, no action was ever taken on the ground to electrify the village.


2. The plight of the village, lack of proper education, agricultural backwardness, complete lack of infrastructure, not to talk of any industrialisation, unemployment among its youth and the sheer helplessness of all the villagers is directly attributed to the non electrification of the Village. While all the villages around Chakauti are electrified, the Village Chakauti is the lone one in the area groping in the dark, facing huge number of problems due to non electrification.

3. Earlier, on July 4, 2007, after my visit to the village I had written letters to Secretary(Power), Government of India and received the following reply from Ministry of Power:

" GOI has launched Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana for electrification of un-electrfied villages, intensive electrification of electrified villages and to provide free connections to BPL families. A project under the scheme has been sanctioned for the district Sitamarhi also. Chakauti village was not included under the project by the state for electrification as it was declared as electrifed earlier However, during detailed survey during implementation of the sanctioned project, it was found that the village has got de-electrified.

A supplementary project has been prepared to cover the village.The RGGVY was for X Plan only. The proposal for continuation of the Scheme for XI Plan is under consideration of the Govt. The supplementary project will be sanctioned after approval of the scheme. "

4. I find that two years have gone by since then. No sign of any action is seen in the village despite anouncements from Hon'ble Prime Minister of India such as

"My vision of rural India is of a modern agrarian, industrial and services economy co-existing side by side, where people can live in well equipped villages---.Rural incomes have to be increased. Rural infrastructure has to be improved. Rural education and health needs have to be met. Employment opportunities have to be created in Rural India."and

from Dy. Chairman of Planning Commission : "One of the critical constraints which holds back our growth is the lack of infrastructure"

5. The villagers of Chakauti have high hopes of action from the Government of Bihar. Could you kindly look into it?


Best Regards.

Yours sincerely,
(A Villager)
July 17, 2009

Rural Housing

Govt. plans to construct 120 lakh houses in the next five years under the Indira Awas Yojana.

Rural Roads

Govt. plans to build an additional 45,000 km of rural roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana in the next five years.

Rural Employment

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is being expanded to include small and marginal farmers. Under the scheme, in addition to creation of assets such as reservoirs and dams, Govt. will take up projects to develop water resources, agriculture, environment and forests, fisheries, dairy farming and carpentry. Govt. has made a budget provision of Rs 39,080 crore for National Rural Employment Project.

Rural India to get Broadband

Rural India is all set to take a giant infotech leap forward.

The government has drawn out a grand scheme to put nearly 5 lakh villages across the country on the high-speed wireless broadband map in the next five years. The initial phase would cover about two lakh villages in 5,000 blocks. In January, the government placed an order with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) under the USO fund scheme for providing 8.5 lakh rural broadband connections. "Under this scheme BSNL gets a subsidy of up to 40 per cent on computers," said a BSNL official, who did not wish to be quoted. This is besides the subsidy it gets on installing and maintaining the broadband connections. The government would continue this subsidy for wireless broadband.

Villages in blocks and talukas that already have necessary infrastructure such as tower and power would be identified for rolling out the network. There are two lakh such villages. Bids would be invited from telecom service providers, and the successful ones would be given financial subsidy.

The subsidy will be provided from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) that is raised through a 5 per cent levy imposed on telecom operators' revenues. It is meant for supporting telecom services in rural areas. At present, USOF has a corpus of Rs 18,192 crore.

The department of telecommunications (DoT) has decided that primarily WiMAX technology would be used for wireless broadband connections. WiMAX enables broadband access at a download speed of up to 75 Mbps through wireless.

DoT has already awarded a contract to BSNL under USO fund scheme to install 7,800 towers in rural areas for providing broadband connections through WiMAX. "My priority is to provide world class telecom services to the masses across the country at competitive and affordable prices. We will accomplish universal coverage of both voice and broadband connectivity," said union communications minister A Raja. But what about the cost? The government plans to subsidise even computer hardware for both individual subscribers as well as rural information technology kiosks.

In recent months, the government has held discussions with telecom operators, Internet service providers, and others to formalise modalities of tender procedures, technology selection, and benchmark settings, the official said . "The kiosks shall have at least one Internet browsing enabled work station, a printer and a scanner," an official, who did not wish to be identified, said.
Among other things, the broadband network would connect all panchayats or elected council of village elders, across the country. This is aimed at dovetailing panchayats with the larger national e-governance initiative.

Out of about 2.5 lakh panchayats across the country, only 30,000 have been provided with broadband connectivity, so far. For villages without power, the official said, the government favours financial subsidy to telecom providers for setting up solar, wind or diesel hybrid solutions to run broadband networks.

Rural electrification to curb population growth

Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad pleaded for rapid electrification of villages in India to accelerate curb the population growth of the country by ensuring access to television.

"Electricity in our villages can help control population growth. Electricity will lead to television in houses, which will lead to population control. When there is no light, people get engaged in the process of population growth," he said while addressing a function on World Population Day. "Don't think that I am saying this in a lighter vein. I am serious. TV will have a great impact. It's a great medium to tackle the problem," he added. "When light will reach (villages), 80 per cent of population growth can be reduced through TV," he said, adding that the current United Progressive Alliance (UPA) central government is working to ensure greater rural electrification.

The minister said that population growth needs to be controlled as it will have positive impact on "all Indians". "It is the duty of all MPs, ministries and of all individuals to help in curbing the population growth," he said adding that India contributes to 17 per cent of the global population but the land area of our country is just 2.5 per cent of the total land available in the world. India with over a billion people is second only to China in terms of sheer number of people and experts believe if the current trend of growth continues, then the country may surpass China by 2030.

Budget - a Clear Shift for Rural Development

http://www.rural.nic.in/gramin_bharat.htm

Sun light during night

रात का सूरज
Capture the sun and save it for the night with a solar light! For decoration or lighting purpose, or both, solar lights come in a variety of models suitable to your specific needs.

Uses: While solar lights come in many styles, all perform the same essential function. A solar light shines in the night without fussy electrical cords crossing around. Take a look at some popular types of solar lights for home usage:

Landscape: Illuminate paths and gardens with a solar light array.

Motion: Safety and security are foremost. This solar light deters prowlers, but also lights the way for you and your guests.

Deck: The party's not over when the sun goes down. These solar lights have stored keep the festivities going deep into the night.

Floodlights: Give your house a gentle wash of solar light to accent its architectural features.

Spotlights: This outdoor solar light put the focus on your home or landscaping. Illuminate a beautiful statue, or keep a dark corner of the yard safely lit.

Hassle Free Energy: Without wires crowding the outdoor sockets, a solar light set keeps the lawn clean and safe for kids. The convenience begins when you set up your solar light. Simply dust off the collecting panels on your solar lights and they will shine through many nights to come. What's more, solar lights have no affect on electricity bills. For safety, landscaping, or both, outdoor solar lights bring the warmth and clarity of the day into the beauty of the night. Consider the numerous models and decide which solar light is right for you. What is an LED?

Solar lights are equipped with LED's.

An LED, or Light Emitting Diode, contains a chemical compound that gives off light when an electric current passes through it. They've been around for many years, but only recently has the technology advanced so that they can be made bright enough to actually use as an independent light source.

How much light does an LED produce?

LEDs put out a tremendous amount of light for their size and energy draw. They create almost no heat and use very little electricity. In general, an LED uses about 1/10th the power of an incandescent bulb and they are up to 90% more efficient than both fluorescent and neon bulbs of similar wattage. Best of all, an LED will last thousands of hours; some have been tested to over 50,000 hours (vs. a standard flashlight bulb that will only last a few hundred hours).

A common mistake is to compare wattage between LED units and their incandescent and fluorescent cousins - wattage is a function of power consumption, not brightness.

What are the advantages of Solar Lighting?

An advantage of buying solar lights is that LED bulbs will never burn out during the lifetime of the product. Low voltage incandescent and fluorescent systems will need bulb replacements often and add cost and inconvenience to the product.

1-2 LEDs(equivalent to a night light) ::::::::::::::::::::: 3-5 LEDs(equivalent to a desk light)
6-8 LEDs(equivalent to a porch light) :::::::::::::::::::: 9 LEDs and Up(equivalent to a flash light)

Budget - a Clear Shift for Rural Development

To fuel rural growth, Govt. is going to spend more than Rs 1,000,000 crore in the coming year, which includes a 37 per cent jump or an additional $65 billion. Most of this is going to go into the government’s schemes like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and Bharat Nirman, which in effect puts more money in the hands of rural consumers.

Government is trying to create new markets in Rural India. We have to look at ways by which we can evolve new distribution strategies, offer value-added products and drive consumption in rural India.

Domestic demand and consumption has been the key driver for economic growth in India. Till now, most of the domestic consumption demand was based out of the big cities with the top eight cities accounting for almost 40 per cent of total demand. Household savings in India is among the highest in the world and statistics suggest the poor are forced to save a much higher share of their income than the rich.

With this budget and its huge spending on rural India, the Govt. has set ambitious targets of halving poverty by 2014, adding 12 million jobs a year and bringing 50 per cent women under self-help groups. If this holds true and if 70 per cent of India which resides in towns and villages have more money in their pockets and spend more on consuming value-added products, it has the potential to bring about a change in the economy.

So, whether it is on solar energy, lights, or the consumer goods, increased consumption in rural India will create new jobs required for providing these value-added products and services. After many years, the philosophy for driving growth is bottom-up rather than spending on ‘trickle-down effect.’ We are focusing on moving with the majority rather than the affluent minority. Thus, this budget is a clear shift in terms of its ambitious vision for driving economic growth.

Rural Roads

Govt announces Rs 12,000-cr for rural roads

The government announced budgetary support of Rs 12,000-cr for developing rural roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in the General Budget 2009-10 stepping up the allocation for the programme by 59 per cent over Budget Estimate 2008-09 to Rs 12,000 cr. PMGSY. It aims at providing connectivity to all villages with a population of 1,000 with all weather roads by 2009. 1,46,185 km of roads has been proposed to be constructed in 2009. Govt. proposes to make full farm-to-market connectivity by upgrading 1,94,132 km of the existing 'Associated Through Routes', with an investment of Rs 48,000 cr. In addition, an allocation of Rs 6,500 crore has been made as loan for PMGSY through the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund window of NABARD.

Women's Empowerment- Rashtriya Mahila Kosh

Corpus of Rashriya Mahila Kosh increased to Rs 500 cr

The women's Self Help Groups movement is bringing about a profound transformation in rural areas and today over 22 lakh such groups are linked with banks. Making employment generation as the stepping stone towards women's empowerment, the Government increased the 'Rashtriya Mahila Kosh' i.e the corpus of the women's Self Help Groups to Rs 500 crore from the existing Rs 100 crore, in the budget for the year 2009-2010.

The Government proposes to enroll at least 50 per cent of all rural women in the country as members of SHGs over the next five years and link these SHGs to various banks.

Contact details:

The Executive Director, Rashtriya Mahila Kosh , 1, Abul Fazal Road, Bengali Market,
New Delhi-110 001 Telephone Number:- 011-23354619/23354620/23354628
Fax:- 011-23354621 E-mail: ed_rmk@nic.in" Website : www.rmk.nic.in

Loaning Operations of Rashtriya Mahila Kosh

The Rashtriya Mahila Kosh is engaged in providing loans to eligible organisations for on lending to poor women. The lending operation ecompasses following stages:-

1. Formulation of schemes and their approval by Governing Board,

2. Spreading of awareness about RMK’s policies and schemes amongst NGOs through IEC Activities in a planned manner.

3. Selection of the scheme by potential NGO partner

4. Forwarding of loan application in prescribed form alongwith all requisite, information and document.

5. The NGOs/Borrowing organisations (BO) submit the loan proposal in the prescribed format designed by RMK with other documents as per enclosures.

6. Once it received by RMK, the dispatch clerk enters it in Letter Reciving register, stamp & number it. It is put up to Executive Director who marks it to concerned Deputy Director who deals with the concerned State. Then Dy. Director marks it to the concerned dealing assistant.

7. The dealing assistant enters it in Loan Receipt/Sanction/Rejection Register.

8. Scrutiny of loan applications - During the scrutiny of the loan application, the RMK satisfies itself about the following matters:-
a. Whether the organization fulfills eligibility criteria as prescribed,

b. Whether organization fulfills eligibility norms as prescribed,

c. Whether all the requisite documents have been received,

d. Whether all the necessary information/clarification as required for appropriate decision have been received,

e. If there is anything wanting in regard to points as brought out above, the NGO is requested to furnish the same.

9. However, on receipt of all documents, information and clarifications decsion is taken either to decline the proposal or to refer it for pre-sanction study by the RMK officials or nominated institutional monitor.

10.The pre-sanction monitoring of the loan proposal can either be conducted by a RMK official or nominated institutinoal monitor (at present Agricultural Finance Corp. Ltd.). The monitor visits the organisation and check all the books and registers such as Cash Book, General Ledger, Vouchers, SHG Profiles, SHG Savings Register, SHG Loan Register of the borrowing organisation. He also visits the Self-help Groups promoted by the organisation, interact with SHG members, verify all the records maintained at SHG level, assess the demand of loan of SHGs. After Pre-Sanction study has been received in which the monitor has recommended the amount of loan to be sanctioned, an appraisal note is prepared for placing the same before in-house/loan committee with the recommendation to sanction the amount of loan by the concerned Deputy Director considered deem fit taking into account earlier track record, if any, of the applicant and also any other information in his/her possession about its operations or otherwise.

11. The In-house/loan committee after considering all the relevant facts of the case as contained in the appraisal note sanctions or defers or declines it. The concerned applicant is conveyed the decision of the in-house/loan committee.

12. On sanction of the loan by the in-house/loan committee RMK conveys information about loan sanctioned vide sanction letter which contains terms & conditions of the sanction, details of the documents to be executed in Delhi by the authorized representative of the applicant and a guarantor to be duly witnessed by two persons and other undertakings/ resolutions to be submitted by it before release of first installment.

13.After receipt of necessary documents like disbursement certificate, utilization certificate, list of borrowers part I & II, quarterly progress reports, demand pronote, pre-receipt, application for 2nd & subsequent drawals & appendix thereto, the post-sanction monitoring study is conduted by the monitor to verify the end use of the funds, adherence to the terms & conditions of the sanction letter and quality of utilization of funds. The monitor visits the organisation, verify the related documents, entries in book registers, bank accounts, disbursement registers and adherence to the terms & conditions of the sanction letter and quality of utilisation of funds etc. The monitor also visits the groups benefited out of the Ist installment of loan, verify the assets created out of RMK loan. Depending upon the recommendations of the monitor, RMK either releases the IInd installment of loan or recalls the loan.

Abundant Sunshine

Solar lanterns will light up rural households

The average number of sunny days in India ranges from 250 to 300 days a year, with a solar energy equivalent to or greater than the country’s total energy consumption. Energy efficiency is critical to India's large and growing population. Solar lanterns, which make the most of the country’s natural and abundant sunshine, could be a practical and clean energy alternative to kerosene lamps in village communities. Solar energy has the potential to improve the living conditions of poor rural households in India as well as contribute to the country’s future energy security.

By using solar lanterns, there will be substantial saving compared to the kerosene and electricity costs. Expenditure on kerosene and electricity will drop significantly after solar lanterns are introduced. Each household is likely to make savings ranging from Rs 7,200 to Rs 12,000 approx annually. The solar lanterns will particularly benefit school-aged children and women. With five to six hours of light supplied daily by the solar lanterns, study hours will increase which will have a positive influence on the children’s performance at school. Women will also be able to perform their routine household work both indoors and outdoors during power outages.

The use of solar energy will contribute to India’s future energy security, particularly in rural areas where the technology that converts sunlight directly into electricity offers a decentralised alternative to uncertain electricity supplies.

In India, approximately 70 per cent of rural areas lack electricity. Even out of electrified villages, 70 percent of the villages connected to power grids do not receive power because the power companies redirect electricity to major towns and cities. Over 60 per cent of rural households use kerosene lamps for lighting. Kerosene lamps are not only expensive, they are also inefficient, potentially dangerous and a major source of greenhouse gases.

If implemented efficiently, renewable energy projects could not only improve the quality of life for India’s rural poor but also enhance sustainable use of the environment.

Empowerment of Rural Women

Be a Member of SEWA (SELF EMPLOYED WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION)

Organising in Rural Areas

The basis of obtaining higher wages is the capacity and power to bargain. However, the workers in the villages of Bihar have neither this capacity nor the power, because they are weak and vulnerable due to absolute lack of employment. In a situation where there is an unending supply of labour and no employment, the workers are unable to get any wage , not to talk of obtaining higher wages.

If workers are to empower themselves and increase their bargaining power, the only viable strategy is one of increasing local employment opportunities. This is the strategy followed by SEWA for its rural members.

Rural organising has focused on:

Increasing employment opportunities for women and thus increasing women's bargaining power.

Developing women's assets.

Capacity-building and leadership development of rural women.

Providing food & social security

Becoming self-reliant both in economic terms and in terms of running their own economic organisations.

Ecoregeneration through employment for rural women.

Collaborating with government's rural development programmes.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

SELF EMPLOYED WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION
Elaben Bhatt Founder of SEWA, First General Secretary
Bhanuben Danabhai Solanki President
Jyotiben Mecwan General Secretary
Namrataben Bali Treasurer

Address: SEWA Reception Centre , pp. Victoria Garden , Bhadra,
Ahmedabad - 380 001. Phone : 91-79-25506444, 25506477, 25506441
Fax : 91-79-25506446Email :mail@sewa.org

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shri Sanjay Kumar
SEWA Bharat 7/5, 1st Floor,South Patel Nagar, NEW DELHI .Tel: 011- 25841369 / 25840937 mail@sewabharat.org


Ms. Madhuri Sinha
General Secretary, SEWA Bhagalpur, Press Building, Bhagalpur- 812002,
Tel: RES – 0641-2422404 sewabgp@sancharnet.in


Ms. Nutan Sinha
General Secretary, SEWA- Munger,Shram Bharti Khadigram, P.O. Khadigram, Munger- Bihar, Tel: 06344-2222206 sewa_munger@sancharnet.in

Dark Corner of India -Chakauti‏

Reminder

Sent: 02 July 2009 20:39PM

To:

Secretary(Power)
Govt. of India,
Shram Shakti Bhavan
New Delhi - 1

Subject: Village Chakauti in Sitamarhi District - Dark Corner of India

Dear Sir,

While we are all busy building India and its image, there are a few dark corners long neglected. I have been visiting my home Village Chakauti in Bokhra Block (earlier in Nanpur Block) in Sitamarhi district,Bihar, where the villagers had deposited their initial money for electic connection years back to the Electric Supply Division Sitamarhi in 2001-2002. However, no action was ever taken on the ground to electrify the village.


2. The plight of the village, lack of proper education, agricultural backwardness, complete lack of infrastructure, not to talk of any industrialisation, unemployment among its youth and the sheer helplessness of all the villagers is directly attributed to the non electrification of the Village. While all the villages around Chakauti are electrified, the Village Chakauti is the lone one in the area groping in the dark, facing huge number of problems due to non electrification.

3. Earlier, on July 4, 2007, after my visit to the village I had written a similar letter to former Secretary(Power) and I received the following reply from Ministry of Power, Government of India:

" GOI has launched Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana for electrification of un-electrfied villages, intensive electrification of electrified villages and to provide free connections to BPL families. A project under the scheme has been sanctioned for the district Sitamarhi also. Chakauti village was not included under the project by the state for electrification as it was declared as electrifed earlier. However, during detailed survey during implementation of the sanctioned project, it was found that the village has got de-electrified. A supplementary project has been prepared to cover the village.

The RGGVY was for X Plan only. The proposal for continuation of the Scheme for XI Plan is under consideration of the Govt. The supplementary project will be sanctioned after approval of the scheme. "


4. I find that two years have gone by since then. No sign of any action is seen in the village despite visionary anouncements from Hon'ble Prime Minister of India such as

"My vision of rural India is of a modern agrarian, industrial and services economy co-existing side by side, where people can live in well equipped villages-----------.Rural incomes have to be increased. Rural infrastructure has to be improved. Rural education and health needs have to be met. Employment opportunities have to be created in Rural India."

and from Dy. Chairman of Planning Commission :

"One of the critical constraints which holds back our growth is the lack of infrastructure"

5. The villagers of Chakauti have high hopes of action from the Government. Could you kindly look into it?

Best Regards.

Yours sincerely,

( A Villager )

July 3,2009

India's Action Plan on Solar Energy

India's National Action Plan on Climate Change, first announced last year, includes plans to install up to 200 GW of solar generation capacity by 2050. The first 20 GW of solar capacity is planned to be installed by 2020.

In the first phase of the plan extending through 2012, the government plans to deploy 100 MW of solar cells on public sector buildings, promote utility-scale photovoltaic projects and set up local solar manufacturing parks.

The plan envisions 1 GW installed solar generation capacity by 2012, up from almost nothing in 2008, according to a research note from Barclays Capital.

The government aims to spend an estimated Rs.97,973.88 crore (US$20 billion) over the next 30 years on the plan. About Rs.4,899 crore ($1 billion) will be spent in the next five years.

As part of the plan, India intends to set up two or three solar manufacturing parks consisting of polysilicon manufacturing plants to make solar cells capable of generating up to 2 GW per year.

As part of the plan, India intends to set up two or three solar manufacturing parks consisting of polysilicon manufacturing plants to make solar cells capable of generating up to 2 GW per year.

Solar PV capital costs relative to India's per capita GDP currently make India an attractive market for commercial/industrial applications and we expect growth in this segment to be significant. India is currently not a major solar market, but this new proposed programme has the potential to attract several project investors for large scale utility projects.

Rural Infrastructure - Essential for survival of India

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh : Our growth potential will be realized only if we can ensure that our infrastructure does not become a severe handicap.

Dy. Chairman – India Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia: One of the critical constraints which holds back our growth rate is really the quality of infrastructure

Ex – Finance Minister P. Chidambaram : Infrastructure development is essential to sustain high growth rates in future


World Bank’s “ Global Competitiveness Report 2007-08 " : ‘Inadequate supply of infrastructure in India’ - India ranked 48th out of 131 counties in the Global Competitive Index 2007 - Ranked 67th on the quality of infrastructure - India lags behind in infrastructure facility usage compared to US & China.

Rural India Development Project:

Dr. Manmohan Singh,
Hon'ble Prime Minister of India



"My vision of rural India is of a modern agrarian,

industrial and services economy co-existing side by side,

where people can live in well equipped villages-----------.

Rural incomes have to be increased.

Rural infrastructure has to be improved.

Rural education and health needs have to be met.

Employment opportunities have to be created in Rural India."

Rural India Development Project: Solar Power System for Home

Solar Power System for Rural India Development Project:

http://www.tatabpsolar.com/Pragati_3.pdf

Follow up under RGGVY for Electrification of Chakauti‏, the dark corner of India

Sent: 13 June 2009 17:44PM

To: Director (RE),
Ministry of Power,
Shram Shakti Bhavan,
New Delhi


Dear Director,

Kindly refer to your letter dated August 10, 2007 regarding electrification of my home village Chakauti in Sitamarhi District.

Now as the 11th Plan is already mid way through, and as I am planning to return to the Village, could you kindly apprise me of the progress on the project.

Best regards,

Yours sincerely

(A Villager resident abroad)

Government of India promises Electrification of Chakauti

Subject: Electrification of Chakauti
Date: Fri, August 10, 2007 4:31 pm

To:
A villager resident abroad,

Dear Sir,

This has reference to your e-mail to Secretary, Ministry of Power regarding electrification of your home villages Chakauti in Sitamarhi district.

The matter has been got checked up. GOI has launched Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana for electrification of un-electrfied villages, intensive electrification of electrified villages and to provide free connections to BPL families. A project under the scheme has beensanctioned for the district Sitamarhi also. Chakauti village was not included under the project by the state for electrification as it was declared as electrifed earlier. However, during detailed survey during implementation of the sanctioned project, it was found that the village has got de-electrified. A supplementary project has been prepared to cover the village.

The RGGVY was for X Plan only. The proposal for continuation of the Scheme for XI Plan is under consideration of the Govt. The supplementary project will be sanctioned after approval of the scheme.

Best regards.

Yours sincerly

Director (RE)
Ministry of Power

New comment on Government of India promises Electrification of Chakauti....
Dharmendra Thakur has left a new comment on your post "Government of India promises Electrification of C...": 

This has been a great news for fellow villagers. I hope people of Chakauti will no longer be in dark. Lets hope for a brighter tommorrow. Things will change once people living outside village will contribute their part for the upliftment of the village. 

Regards,
Dharmendra Thakur
dharmendra.thakur@gmail.com 

Solar Power System for Home

Planning to Create Electricity through Solar Power System for Home

STATUS OF RURAL ELECTRIFICATION- Waiting for govt. to solve Bihar’s energy crisis :

Out of 67,513 villages in Bihar, 19,233 are not electrified which means

Percentage of Villages Un electrified : 29%


Total number of rural households in Bihar: 126,60,007

Households not electrified: 120,10,504

Percentage of un electrified rural households : 95.23%




Number of water pumps in Bihar : 1352200

Number of Pumpsets running on state electric supply : 278963

Percentage of pumps running on diesel = 80%


I believe my plan to Create Electricity by installing Solar Power System for Home will work.


I would like to invite advice/ suggestion for success of the plan.



Gobind

Rural India Development Project

Development of Villages in India is long awaited. Low availability of job opportunities, shortage of electricity, good roads and rail linkages, inadaquate medical facilities and insufficient financial resources have so far kept villages unattractive for settling. I hope that through the new National Rural Policy being initiated by the UPA Govt., villages all over India would benefit and would raise the viability of villages among the people there who tend to move away from these villages to the slums of Mumbai and Delhi for earning their bare livelihood, bereft of all human dignity and necessity.

I plan to work for my village,  and I believe that there are possibilities of sustained development there.