In a major change to the power sector, PM Narendra Modi announced the Saubhagya Yojana and inaugurated the Deendayal Urja Bhavan in New Delhi on Monday. The launch of ‘Saubhagya - Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana' is a big step towards BJP’s ‘power-for-all’ target.
But What Is the Saubhagya Yojana All About?
The Saubhagya scheme aims to provide free electricity connection to poor families. The total outlay has been pegged at Rs 16,320 Cr which is to be funded largely by Centre, PM Modi said. The scheme also aims to achieve the following:
- Substitution to kerosene
- Improvement in educational services
- Improvement in communications
- Improvement in public safety
- Increased job opportunities
- Better quality of life, especially for women in daily chores
Less than 3,000 villages remain unelectrified from 18,000 villages that were without power three years back.PM Narendra Modi
Power Minister R K Singh said at the launch of Yojana that India will achieve the target of ‘power-for-all’ by December next year, while all villages will be electrified by the end of this year, much ahead of the schedule. PM Modi, in 2015, had announced his target of 1000 a day to electrify over 18,000 villages that are devoid of electricity.
According to GARV portal, out of the 18,452 villages, 14,483 villages have been electrified so far. The electrification work is in progress for 2,981 villages, while 988 villages are uninhabited.
The portal also indicates that out of the 17.92 core households in the rural areas, 13.87 crore families got an electricity connection. As many as 4.05 crore families are yet to be provided with electricity connection.
(With inputs from PTI)
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