Saubhagya scheme completes four years

• Saubhagya is one of the largest household electrification drives in the world.
• The scheme was launched in 2017 to ensure electrification of all willing households in the country in rural as well as urban areas.
• Government today said that two crore 82 lakh households have been electrified so far under the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana – Saubhagya.

Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana – ‘Saubhagya’

• Under the scheme, free electricity connections to all households (both APL and poor families) in rural areas and poor families in urban areas are being provided.
• REC Limited (then known as Rural Electrification Corporation) had been designated as the nodal agency for the Saubhagya scheme.

Objective of scheme

• The scheme aims to provide energy access to all by last mile connectivity and electricity connections to all remaining un-electrified households.
• It cover rural as well as urban areas to achieve universal household electrification in the country.

Salient features:

• Free metered connection for economically poor households and a charge of Rs. 500 (adjusted in electricity bills in 10 monthly instalments) for households other than poor, only after release of connection.
• Establishing camps in villages/cluster of villages for on spot registration.
• Use of Mobile App for identification of beneficiaries and electronic registration including requisite documentation.
• Web based near real-time monitoring and updating of progress.
• SPV based standalone systems for households located in remote/difficult areas.
• Communication plan for creating awareness about the scheme and its benefits.
• Flexibility to States in mode of implementation (Departmental/Turnkey/Semi-turnkey).