This is how solar energy changing rural Odisha

Apart from fulfilling basic electricity needs, solar energy system is empowering villagers

GN Bureau | June 17, 2015


#solar energy   #odisha   #odisha villages   #solar lights   #solar lights odisha   #undp solar energy   #undp  


Nuapada, a village in Odisha with more than 250 residents largely living in poverty  had not seen electricity from the power grid even after 68 years of independence. A solar lamp has replaced the stone deity of a god as the village’s most recognisable landmark. Courtesy goes to the Balangir Renewable Energy Centre, set up in 2012. The centre was established as a partnership between the ministry of new and renewable rnergy and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which seeks to expand access to clean energy in rural India where an estimated 75 million rural households surviving without electricity.

At night, village elders and women gather below the lamp in the village centre. Youngsters charge their mobile phones using solar lanterns.

Families are also able to save more, no longer needing to pay between Rs 200 to Rs 300 every month on kerosene. In Salepali village of Kalahandi district, a 300W solar system provides electricity to 33 households.

More such stories are coming from villages from as many as six districts of Western Odisha.

Here is a photo blog on the UNDP success story


 

 

Comments

 

Other News

When police data becomes the algorithm

For decades, policing has followed a familiar sequence: a crime occurs, the police respond, an investigation produces records and those records become part of the institutional memory of the criminal justice system. Artificial intelligence is beginning to alter that sequence. Instead of merely recording

Before India voted, the framers worried about the referee

“We are making a Constitution forever and not only for today.” Shibban Lal Saksena said this in the Constituent Assembly on June 15, 1949. He was warning that a ruling party might one day choose a loyalist to run India’s elections. Seventy-seven years later, the Supreme Court is wrestli

Delhi moves to real-time traffic management

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi, has approved implementation of the ITMS Project by Delhi Police at an estimated cost of Rs.1,789.52 crore, inclusive of taxes. The project will cover 42 identified traffic corridors and will be implemented in three

MDR on UPI: Can sustainability come without weakening the network?

The extraordinary transaction volumes and value (₹29.82 Lakh crore in August 2026 alone) of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) have made it not only an Indian success story, but a global one. In 2024, UPI accounted for nearly 49% of the world’s real-time payment transaction volume, with more th

The Xi-Trump summit: The unending rivalry

Diplomacy is akin to an art, wherein the summitry, conflict resolution and negotiations form apt constituents of the entire context of deal making and “playing for keeps” in the international arena. The Xi-Trump summit in Washington last week, in which the American president broke all conside

“Indians, yet treated like outsiders”

Moving to Delhi-NCR for education can be an exciting experience for students from Northeast India. It gives us a chance to meet new people, experience a different culture and become more independent. But living away from home also comes with challenges that people who have not experienced them may not al

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter