Power for all: electricity access challenge in India

India has led the developing world in
addressing rural energy problems. By late 2012, the national
electricity grid had reached 92 percent of India s rural
villages, about 880 million people. In more remote areas and
those with geographically difficult terrain, where grid
extension is not economically viable, off-grid solutions
using renewable-energy sources for electricity generation
and distribution have been promoted. The positive results of
the country s rural energy policies and institutions have
contributed greatly to reducing the number of people
globally who remain without electricity access. Yet, owing
mainly to its large population, India has by far the world s
largest number of households without electricity. More than
one-quarter of its population or about 311 million people,
the vast majority of whom live in poorer rural areas, still
lack an electricity connection; less than half of all
households in the poorest income group have electricity.
Among households with electricity service, hundreds of
millions lack reliable power supply.