Assistant Professor, Public Administration
Online published on 11 July, 2017.
Development of any country can be judged and gauged by the quantum of electricity consumed by it, as it is one of the most important indicators of development. Electricity is a vital input to industry, agriculture and all the segment of economy. It is a precursor to the progress and prosperity of the nation. Electricity is the most powerful instrument of economic and social development.1
In rural areas, it can bring about far reaching changes in the methods of irrigation and farming, and create conditions for the growth of industries and commerce, and the provision of amenities mainly associated with urban areas. Indeed, the impact of electrification may go even deeper. It can operate as a strong force for the introduction of ‘urbanism’ in rural communities and thus, reducing the rural urban distance.i It is because of these direct and indirect potentialities of electricity that there is a general demand for electrification of rural areas. This demand has been increasing in intensity and, of late, has become especially strong, amounting almost to a pressure on the polity of region or state.2
