Rajasthan tops solar electrification under Saubhagya: Centre

Rajasthan has the maximum households electrified through the solar-based standalone system, while hill states of Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir had nil beneficiaries under the initiative.

Under the Saubhagya scheme, as many as 1,23,682 households were electrified through solar-based standalone system in Rajasthan, followed by Chhattisgarh (65,373), Uttar Pradesh (53,234), Assam (50,754), Bihar (39,100), Maharashtra (30,538), Odisha (13,735), Madhya Pradesh (12,651), Power Minister R K Singh told the Lok Sabha.

He said solar-based standalone system for electrification of households were not provided in Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Jammu and Kashmir.

Under the Saubhagya Scheme, 2.817 crore households were electrified up to March 31 last year, including 4.16 lakh through solar-based standalone systems, Singh said.

The minister said Centre had launched Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana – 'Saubhagya' in October 2017 with the aim to achieve universal household electrification by providing last mile grid connectivity and electricity connections to all households in rural and all poor households in urban areas across the country.

It also entailed provision of solar based standalone systems to un-electrified households where grid extension is neither feasible nor cost effective, the minister said.

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