In the first phase of the Gram Ujala plan, 15 million LED bulbs will be distributed in villages in 5 states

India launched Gram Ujala on Friday, an ambitious plan to provide the world's cheapest LED bulbs in rural areas at a price of only 10 rupees, further advancing its climate change strategy and strengthening its self-reliance.

United Power and New Energy and Renewable Energy Minister Raj Kumar Singh initiated the plan, which has no government support or subsidies. In the first phase of the start of Alah in Bihar, 15 million LED bulbs will be distributed in Alah (Bihar), Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Vijwada (Andhra Pradesh), Nag Villages in Pur (Maharashtra) and western Gujarat.

These bulbs are provided by Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL), a subsidiary of State-owned Energy Efficiency Services Ltd.

Mint earlier reported a proposed plan to provide 600 million LED bulbs in rural areas at a price of 10 rupees each. According to EESL, India is currently the world's second largest LED market in terms of value, and the Ujala plan may help avoid 9,428 megawatts of peak power demand.

CESL said in a statement: "The Gram Ujala project will be fully funded through carbon credits, and this will be the first such project in India."

According to the United Nations' Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), the plan will require carbon credits. In addition, according to the new plan, the incandescent and CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) bulbs of rural consumers will be taken back.

“According to the plan, rural consumers will receive 7-watt and 12-watt LED bulbs with a three-year warranty without submitting working incandescent bulbs. The Gram Ujala plan will only be implemented in villages in 5 districts, and consumers can replace up to 5 LED bulbs," the statement said.

The government's previous Ujala (Unnat Jyoti, a universally affordable lighting company) plan has reduced the price of LED bulbs from around 310 rupees in 2014 to 70 rupees.

Under the new program Gram Ujala, the income from carbon credits will contribute 60 rupees per LED bulb, and the remaining 10 rupees will be paid by rural consumers.

“In addition, carbon credit documents will be sent to the validators recognized by the United Nations for inclusion in the Shine activity plan. Carbon credits will be prepared under the Shine activity plan and can be verified under voluntary carbon standards, depending on the buyer’s needs. It will also find carbon credit buyers through open procedures based on preliminary discussions with the market," the statement added.

In addition to helping improve energy supply in rural areas, the mandatory domestic manufacturing clauses for the procurement of LED bulbs through the program will accelerate India’s efforts to become an integral part of the global supply chain, as the company hopes to move its production lines out of China.

The Ministry of Electricity of India stated in a statement: "If all 300 million lamps in India are replaced, total energy savings will reach 40.743 billion kWh/year, avoid peak demand of 22,743 MW/year, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 37 million tons per year. "

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