Rural Electrification in India

It is a well-known fact that there is an urgent need to re-energise India's rural economy, including both agricultural and the non-farm sector. A number of recent initiatives on rural electrification intend to augment the rural infrastructure level, which could contribute in improving the poverty scenario. Rural Electrification is a vital programme for socio-economic development of rural areas. The objectives are to trigger economic development and generate employment by providing electricity as an input for productive uses in agriculture and rural industries, and improve the quality of life of the rural people. India is a country with numerically dominant rural population, where in its approx 638 thousand villages inhabit 72.2% of its human resource. About 40% of the total energy is in rural areas, in which the domestic sector constitutes the major energy demand and its consumption accounts for 55–60% of the energy used. [Kamalapur G D et al 2006]. This paper focuses on various aspects of Rural Electrification in India, its features, impact and strategies needed.