Page 78 - web version Annual Report-2022

Sustainable Energy Catalysing Rural Transformation

India has reported 100 % villages as electrified, however about 250 m ie one fifth are without grid
electricity and further electricity is not readily and in assured way available for productive use and in
public service facilities. Government has signal role both in promoting and using renewable energy (RE)
apart from by way of financial and institutional support including increasing innovation, lowering costs,
the significant role in remote areas are (a) improved quality of public services delivery (b) demonstration
impact and visibilisation of technologies for private use. The low level of human development and the
increasingly difficult access villages have to quality education, healthcare and livelihood options
constrains escaping generational ‘handicap” of life abilities. One of the key challenges in our villages
continue to be related to access to predictable and affordable access to energy. Solving “energy poverty”
is critical for creating local jobs and improving human and social development opportunities. Energy
access is key to address rural poverty, both for local place-based employment and also for critical
enablers of assured basic services health, safe drinking water, education. Despite rapid expansion of the
electricity penetration in India, there continues to be gaps in quality and consistency of grid supply. There
is need and numerous opportunities for innovations around use of clean energy and efficient appliances
for improving the quality of health-care services, education of children, smartening the rural
agriculture-production systems reducing drudgery and enhancing productivity, etc. Assured energy to
power local public service delivery - like health sub-centres, ICDS centres, schools will go a long way in
removing multi-dimensional poverty. New opportunities and models are emerging in production of power
both solar and bio-energy farming (ethanol), creating income generating options in villages and also
meeting overall country goals on sustainable energy. Sustainable/Renewable Energy use to powering new
opportunities in rural areas require whole-system approach with efforts required in (a) surfacing,
prototyping rural-fit technologies and incubation support, (b) customised financial products both for
delivery and uptake (c) delivery models for villages; engagement of (d) government as role model and
scaling (e) enterprises for solutions (f) reliable service provider network to build customer/client
confidence is critical. Simultaneously efforts are required for adoption, uptake at community end.

TRIF Action:

TRIF has three broad areas of engagement, inter-related action aimed at sustained income increase from
deployment of Sustainable Energy solutions situated within local habitat development and place-based
employment opportunities :

Clean Energy for ensuring access to basic services in villages through public system delivery,

Clean Energy as an enabler for improving Rural Production Systems and creating local jobs,

Clean Energy as a source of income,

Enabler for smooth public system delivery of health and education services to rural communities
This we feel is critical, rural communities control on pathways for increased income and
intergenerational mobility is critically dependent on access to public services particularly health and
education; various research have indicated health as the single biggest driver for household’s descent in
poverty and education is the defining contributor driver to lifetime earnings.

The term ‘whole system approach’ (WSA) has entered common parlance to describe the analysis of
interdependent elements of a complex system in order to deliver benefits to the whole system.

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