October 21, 2004

By C.R.Bhattacharjee, 21/10/04

What happens when being off-grid is a necessity and not an option? India has nearly 25000 villages, located in islands or remote areas distant from habitation, where power from grid lines is not techno-commercially feasible. These villages, where population generally varies between 100-1000 are usually inhabited by financially weaker sections of society whose inability to pay for cost of power is a key factor. Their demand for power is primarily for lights to replace kerosene followed by small requirement for water supply.…