Electricity supply and distribution to consumers in rural and urban areas fall under the jurisdiction of State Governments and distribution utilities, as electricity is a concurrent subject. The Government of India has supported State efforts to expand access to quality power through major schemes, including the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), launched in 2014; the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya), launched in October 2017, and the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), launched in 2021.
According to information reported by States and Union Territories (UTs), all inhabited un-electrified census villages in the country were electrified by April 28, 2018. Under DDUGJY, a total of 18,374 villages were electrified, along with 49,25,124 Below Poverty Line (BPL) households. Subsequently, under DDUGJY and Saubhagya, electrification of all willing households was completed by March 31, 2019, as reported by States/UTs. During the Saubhagya period, 2.86 crore households were electrified. Both DDUGJY and Saubhagya were closed on March 31, 2022.
The objective of DDUGJY was to connect every inhabited un-electrified census village with electricity and strengthen the rural electricity distribution system. Saubhagya aimed to achieve universal household electrification by providing electricity connections to all willing un-electrified households in rural areas and all willing poor households in urban areas by March 2019.
The definition of an “electrified village” follows the Rural Electrification Policy, 2006. Under Saubhagya, however, electrification of all households was undertaken, an effort that continues under RDSS.
Under RDSS, on-grid electrification works amounting to Rs. 6,521 crore have been sanctioned for 13.65 lakh households. These include households belonging to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) identified under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN); Scheduled Tribes (STs) under the Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DA-JGUA); Scheduled Castes (SCs) under the Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana (PM-AJAY); and households in remote and border areas under the Vibrant Village Programme (VVP), wherever feasible. Out of the sanctioned works, 2.93 lakh households have been electrified to date.
This information was provided by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Power, Shri Shripad Naik, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
