The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in partnership with Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society’s JEEViKA programme, under “Lighting a Billion Lives” campaign has started working towards providing affordable clean energy products to local women based self-help groups (SHGs) in selected districts of Bihar.
Currently, the program has provided access to solar home lighting systems (SHLs) and clean cooking stoves to over 50,000 households. Districts like Gaya, Khagaria, Madhubani, Purnea and West Champaran have been benefited by the initiative.
Bihar’s energy minister, Bijendra Yadav underlining the initiatives taken by Bihar to promote renewable energy said, “We are also working on a plan that entails setting up of solar plants on roofs of government buildings including schools”.
“The TERI-JEEViKA project demonstrates that a strong decentralised model, which brings together the state government agency, local communities and the private sector, can plug the energy gap that exists even in grid-connected villages,” said TERI director Ajay Mathur.