<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><root available-locales="en_US," default-locale="en_US"><static-content language-id="en_US"><![CDATA[<p>For the longest time, <em>'roti, kapda aur makaan' </em>, the adage popularised by Indira Gandhi in the 1960's has stood to represnt the bare necessities of life in rural India. The essentials of food, clothing and shelter symbolise the aspirations, needs and wants of Indian villagers. 2012, and 'bijli' (electricity) has also one of the basic tenets of the timeless adage. Despite the utmost significance electricity plays in our lives, it is here that India is weighed down in its surge for global supremacy. <br><br>Although electricity is generated in massive quantities, the country still falls short of meeting the national consumption and power requirement, and a serious deficiency of power supply in the rural areas is a grave impediment to growth. As the demand for electricity in India is increasing at rapid pace, a McKinsey report states that the demand for power in India will soar up to as much as 315,000 megawatt (MW) (15,600 MW capacity addition per annum) by 2017. <br><br>In previous years, the demand for electricity in India reached magnanimous proportions with a Base Load Requirement of 861,591 million units (MU), which when compared to the Base Load Availability of 788,355 MU resulted in a 8.5 per cent deficit. During peak hours, the demand shot upto 122 gigawatts (GW), which against the availability of 110 GW led to a 9.8 per cent deficit in the sector. What makes the situation acutely grim is the fact that India, though one of the world's largest energy consumers that boasts of an installed capacity of more than 185 GW, remains unable to meet the total power needs of the country to such an extent that 300 million citizens are left without power with one-third of rural populace and about 6 per cent of urban populace going without electricity every day.<br><br><strong>The Good, The Bad And The Possibility</strong><br>One of the major areas of concerns which hampers electrification in the rural sector is the shortage of many fuels thus leading to a scarcity of power. Other reasons such as a huge divide in urban-rural supply ratio, lack of grid discipline, inefficient use of electricity by the end consumer, inadequate power generation capacity and slow pace of rural electrification also add to the challenges thus making the rural population the major losers in this raw deal. Continuous power cuts, unreliable voltage stability and high fluctuations add to the hold-up which creates an unconstructive environment for the people.<br><br>A number of government reports state that of all the power that is available for consumption, about 24 per cent is lost due to transmission and distribution problems while theft and billing discrepancies contribute to another 10 per cent of power loss. A cumulative estimate of Rs 1,00,000 crore is spent on power backup solutions which coupled with the additional Rs 30,000 crore spent on operating inefficient power back-ups reflects the sorry state of affairs that plague the power sector. <br><br>Rural electricity supply in India has been lagging in terms of service, (measured by hours of supply), as well as penetration, which are barriers of economic growth. However, there's always 'light at the end of the tunnel', and there is good news for the electrification sector as well. Most recent data suggests that expenditure on electricity has been reported by 67 per cent of the rural population and 94 per cent of the urban population in 2009 (Government of India, 2011), which is an increase from 56 per cent and 93 per cent respectively when surveyed in 2006 (Government of India, 2008).<br><br>It is only through a strong focused approach by the government, fast policy initiatives, public private partnership, innovation in technology, improved power generation techniques and awareness in masses on energy saving, that the mission of 100 per cent Rural Electrification can be fulfilled. In a country like India where the majority of the population resides in villages it is very significant to understand the role of rural development to thereby register the overall socio-economic growth of the nation on a global platform. Playing a significant role in rural development, rural electrification resources can bring about a sea-change in the outlook for the country. <br><br>Providing, at the very minimum, services such as lighting and communications, rural electrification at a household level can increasingly meet the aspirations of the rural populations to own other household appliances. It is through rural and household electrification that one can increase the livelihood of womenfolk — more akin to reading and earning income — while also acting as a catalyst in increasing productivity whether agriculture or labour, providing better healthcare, increasing public safety and enhancing educational prospects.<br><br><strong>Power Of Smart Alternatives </strong><br>As far as the power solution market in India is concerned, the demand for power and its supply concentration fluctuate over the year with the gap being widest in the summer with huge consumption of electricity as opposed to winters where the demand and supply spectrum comes down. India abounds in its natural resources and with the advent of renewable energy demands, the country's scope to harness solar energy becomes plentiful where with about 300 clear, sunny days across the country, India's solar energy harness can possibly provide an output of approximately 5 Petawatt-hours per year. <br><br>While the power sector in India has made remarkable progresses over decades, a lot is needed to bring it up to the national level of sustainability. This is where the need for specialised power backup solutions comes in. Having witnessed tremendous growth in the past five years, the power backup sector has now become one of the leading generators of power. With India's economy set to grow at a brisk pace and the looming power deficit situation, the demand for alternate or backup power solutions in the form of generator sets, power inverters and UPS solution is expected to witness a healthy growth in the coming years.<br><br>It is here that one needs to understand that there is also a need to enhance and promote pertinent usage of solar based lighting solutions across the country which if utilised properly can be the answer to the country's energy woes. The usage of solar photovoltaic which converts solar radiation into electricity using solar cells thus producing electricity is currently accountable for about 1 per cent of the total energy demand of the country which if harnessed properly can provide the country with all its energy needs. Another method called the Solar Thermal Power Systems which uses concentrated solar radiation as a high temperature energy source to produce electricity using thermal route, is also on advent which is more akin to large scale productions and energy usages. <br><br>As per a report by the International Energy Agency, the adoption of more energy-efficient lighting systems can prevent a cumulative total of 16 Billion tons of carbon from being added to the world's atmosphere over the next 25 years. In India where a majority of rural areas are still bereft of electrification and the only sustainable source of energy for them is the age-old method of burning Diesel and Kerosene to sustain power for lighting purposes, LED based solar lighting solutions can pave the way for better rural development while reducing the carbon footprint on the atmosphere. In a country where most of the rural businesses have to be wound up by dusk because of lack of electricity, usage of energy efficient avenues like LED based solar lights can pave a way for the contribution of the rural society into the economy of the country. <br><br>The way ahead in future is through the LED based solar solutions which if used effectively can work as a boon for the energy starved but solar abundant country. While factors such as high luminosity, energy sustenance, longevity and monetary sops by government work a long way in making it a preferred medium of rural energising, steps should be taken in to bring down the cost of the model to make it a viable option for the rural population. '<em>Roti, kapda, makaan aur bijli</em>', is the new mantra for rural emancipation, which if implemented judiciously can help make India the economic superpower it is yearning to become.<br><br><em>Sudhir Kalla is President, Marketing and Sales of Luminous Power Technologies</em></p>