Questions/Answers

-The Jyoti Gram Yojna, a programme of the Government of Gujarat, involved the supply of 24 x7, 3-Phase, Power Supply to the villages and regulated Power supply to the Agricultural area by separating the existing common rural feeders. -The core objective of separation of feeders is to achieve socio economic and socio cultural development of rural Gujarat. -Feeder separation refers to supply of electricity to agricultural consumers and to non-agricultural consumers (domestic and non-domestic) separately through dedicated feeders. -The programme started in 2003 and all the 18065 villages and 9700 petaparas (suburbs) attached to the villages of Gujarat for non-agricultural activities have been provided 24 x7, three phase electricity access. The work involved creating 2117 JGY (Village) feeders and 5097 11 KV Agricultural dominant feeders. The Scheme was implemented with massive investment around INR 1290 Crores (12.9 Billion). The scheme involved erection of 56308 KM new H.T. line, 22,146 KM new LT Line, 18,7124 new Distribution Transformers with required manpower and material. -Various study and research reveals that the JGY has been executed as designed and has greatly improved the access to electricity and made 24 hours of supply available to all classes of people in villages and brought socio-economic and socio-cultural development in Gujarat. The quality of supply has shown improvement in all dimensions. -The initiative is first-of-its-kind in India which conceptualized segregating agriculture and non-agriculture load to meet various objectives and Gujarat is the first state in India to take this innovative step. -Government of India has accepted Gujarat's Jyotigram project as a flagship scheme for the 12th five-year plan and named it as the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gramjyoti Yojana (DDUGJY scheme). The Union government’s (DDUGJY) is the first and largest replica of Gujarat's Jyotigram Yojna for implementing feeder separation scheme in other States of India.

Quality power distribution is most essential service in today’s era where almost everything and anything heavily dependent on reliable and sustainable energy. Earlier rural areas were subjected to load shedding on account of demand supply gap and owing to limited availability of power, the supply to agriculture sector, being non-remunerative and mis-utilized, was being regulated. Accordingly, it was not possible to supply 24 hour 3-phase power supply to rural areas on agriculture feeders. Therefore, in order to manage the power supply situation, the Government of Gujarat initiated the “Jyotigram Yojna”. The “Jyotigram Yojna” (JGY) has many objectives, listed as under: -Socio-economic development in rural areas by providing electricity access to all house holds -Improving quality of life in rural areas by providing Reliable and Quality Power Supply. -Addressing rural underdevelopment in all its dimensions with the improved provision of Electricity services. -Creating environment for building education institutions, Medical facilities, Industrial development at village level by providing 24 x 7 three phase quality Power Supply -Promoting reverse migration of population from city area to rural area -Optimization of use and conservation of Ground Water Resources by management of electricity for irrigation purpose -Technically, the Jyoti Gram Yojana was formulated with an aim to Bifurcate all Rural feeders into: A) Jyoti Gram Feeders for supplying 3-phase, 24 x 7 electricity to all villages (Residential, Commercial & Industrial Load) and B) Agricultural Dominant Feeder catering solely to demand for agricultural purposes with DSM. -JGY aimed at making available three-phase quality power supply for 24 hours to all the 18,065 villages and 9,700 petaparas (suburbs) attached to the villages of Gujarat for non-agricultural activities.

-The selected category for the nomination filed is ‘Reaching the poorest & most vulnerable through inclusive service & partnerships’ -Before the implementation of the Jyotigram scheme, the insufficiency and unreliability of electricity supply was quite severe and tends to restrict the overall economic development. Rural households and non-agricultural consumers faced a dismal power supply situation where frequent power cuts, voltage fluctuations and transformer breakdowns were the norm rather than the exception. The rural feeders were subjected to load shedding on account of demand supply gap. -After implementation of the programme and based on many studies conducted, the Jyotigram Yojna has brought Socio-economic prosperity and socio-cultural well being of the rural population of Gujarat. -Because of the access of reliable 24 x7, 3-phase Electricity to the people of all classes in all villages, people are able to connect themselves with other part of the world through TV, Mobile phones, Computers and internet. Electricity Connections to the people Below the Poverty line (BPL) were provided free of cost and at concessional affordable tariff rates for their socio-economic development -Due to the availability of 24 x 7 electricity, the use of electronic media has led to development of awareness with respect to health and family planning issues; government programmes and related income generation opportunities; and gender equality. The level of drudgery at household level has comedown significantly.Women need not remain awake in the night to collect water & are able to use many electrical appliances at household level. Number of commercial enterprises in villages has gone up. Medicines, dairy products and cold drinks have become easier to store. Industries have benefited in the form of increased production due to reduced interruptions and less dependence on diesel generators. -This innovative and unique programme in the Sate of Gujarat has resolved many issues of people through inclusive service of electricity to the entire population including the poorest and the most vulnerable. Benefits to the Society are as: -A major boost to the commercial and educational activities resulting in a vibrant rural economy. -Reduction in migration from rural areas to Urban areas -Increase in working hours in villages -Enhancement of opportunity for local employment -Development of local dairy as milk and milk products can be preserved for longer period. -Increased momentum in industrial activities such as diamond polishing, agro-processing, cottage/home industries and small scale industries -Modern medical equipment installed in health facilities in the rural areas have improved healthcare facilities. -A revolutionary impact on the equity of and access to education in rural areas. -Greater exposure of the rural population to different parts of the world through the electronic media increasing access to knowledge and information. -Regulated and better quality of power to agriculture enables optimum use, management and conservation of ground water resources. -Extensive use of computers due to assured power supply has resulted in better service and transparency in Banks, Post and Panchayat Offices in rural areas.

-The Jyotigram Yojna has created sustainable development and improved people’s lives. After the implementation of the Jyotigram Yojna, village households get continuous, 3-phase, 24 hours power supply in a day; which makes them enabled to initiate micro-small businesses, connection to other parts of the world through Computer internet, TV and Phones, improving health of their children through medical facilities, giving them education, entertainment, cultural development, etc. Agricultural area gets regulated power supply to irrigate their crops achieving more yield to earn good money and food security. Impact on some of the areas are mentioned here under: -Freedom and Flexibility: The Jyotigram Yojna has created assured electricity and better lights, due to which households have complete control over their time, giving them flexibility to carry out activities at the time of their convenience. Lights also mean longer day. The duration of the effective day for many households has been extended. Day starts early and extends beyond 10.00 P.M. Additional time is available for other activities like reading books, stitching and repairing of clothes and cooking. Women in several villages were of this opinion. -Bridging Rural-Urban Imbalances: Earlier, relatives and friends of the villagers living in urban areas were avoiding their visit to rural areas as they had to live without electricity. But now with availability of electricity round-the-clock, they can have all comforts and facilities in the rural areas also. Now they come to villages for social occasions and even during vacations. -After a hard day of work, people have time for entertainment by listening to Radio, reading books and watching Television. This has enabled the villagers to increase their knowledge and come in contact with the outside world -Impacts on Livestock Sector: significant benefits to animal husbandry sector due to Jyotigram Yojna.

-The Jyotigram Yojna has created sustainable development and improved people’s lives. After the implementation of the Jyotigram Yojna, village households get continuous, 3-phase, 24 hours power supply in a day; which makes them enabled to initiate micro-small businesses, connection to other parts of the world through Computer internet, TV and Phones, improving health of their children through medical facilities, giving them education, entertainment, cultural development, etc. Agricultural area gets regulated power supply to irrigate their crops achieving more yield to earn good money and food security. Impact on some of the areas are mentioned here under: -Improved Access to Amenities:- Assured electricity has improved access to amenities like education, health, water supply & sanitation and street lights. Better access and quality of these amenities have positive impacts on living standards of rural people. -Women save their time: After the study it has been found that Women feel that they save time in household work now. “Due to irregular supply of electricity, earlier it was not possible to store anything in the fridge. Now, I can store milk, vegetables, etc. in the fridge. I can make ‘ghee’, curd, etc. out of stored milk.” Women can go to temples in the late evenings -Better participation and cohesiveness among villagers: Now, during religious festivals and cultural functions people can participate openly. Children can play in the streets till late nights. People can sit together and discuss about various issues pertaining to their villages till late hours in light. -Increased Comfort and Convenience: Due to the Jyotigram, Electrical appliances have enhanced resulting in the comfort and convenience of many of the rural population. Lights and fans have made life more comfortable. You can rest in the afternoon during hot summer under a fan. They had to sleep outside in the night, where mosquitoes did not allow them to sleep. Now, their nights are cooler and peaceful. -Storage of medicines, vaccines, injection is possible: Health facilities are better than before. Now, Public Health Centres (PHC) are working and staff is willing to stay in villages, and therefore, villagers have access to PHCs whenever they require. Earlier doctors in the villages had to refer the patients to other doctors in nearby towns, as in the absence of electricity they could not treat patients properly. -Safety and Security: Electricity has helped in safeguarding the life of the people from attack of wild animals, insects & snakebites. People can now sleep peacefully at night, which enables them to be more productive in their work during the day. The occurrence of theft has reduced due to the provision of streetlights.

-The availability of power supply in rural areas was inadequate and unreliable in many parts of the India. The distribution utilities resort to frequent load shedding in rural areas to mitigate the gap between supply and demand, which affected power supply to agricultural consumers as well as non-agricultural consumers owing to common distribution network. In rural areas of the India, the agricultural and non-agricultural load (domestic and non-domestic) are typically catered through common distribution network. -Feeder separation refers to supply of electricity to agricultural consumers and to non-agricultural consumers (domestic and non-domestic) separately through dedicated feeders. This arrangement allows the distribution company to regulate power supply to agricultural consumers as and when needed for effective Demand Side Management (DSM). -The Jyotigram Yojna helps in flattening of the load curve by shifting the agricultural load to off-peak hours and thus facilitates peak load management to give 24 hours 3-phase Power supply to all villages. The Jyotigram Yojna has created a positive impact on rural Gujarat and brought Socio-economic and Socio-Cultural Development inspiring other states to follow the model.

-By now it is well accepted that the problems of rural underdevelopment in all its dimensions can be addressed with the improved provision of energy services. Further it is to be borne in mind that ‘Reliable and adequate energy supplies, if not guaranteeing economic growth and employment generation, their absence typically limits growth’. Recognizing this, the Government of Gujarat initiated implementation of JyotiGram Yojna. -Rural areas in most part of India did not get reliable electricity. Low revenue recovery, mostly from agricultural consumers, poor infrastructure and high transaction cost on the part of the utility forces the electricity distribution companies to control revenue losses through rationing of electricity. Even if other rural consumers such as domestic, commercial and industrial are ready to pay a fair price, they were denied the privilege for technical reason, i.e., same distribution infrastructure serving all consumers. -To solve this technical problem, Gujarat Government took a bold step and brought an innovative solution of separating agricultural feeder from the rest. The scheme is known as Jyotigram under which uninterrupted and round the clock electricity supply is provided to rural non-agricultural consumers through a dedicated infrastructure. The programme started in 2003 and all the 18,065 villages and 9,700 petaparas (suburbs) attached to the villages of Gujarat for non-agricultural activities have been provided 24 x7, three phase electricity access.

-The Jyotigram Yojan is an original innovation by Gujarat and the scheme was dedicated to the nation by President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam in 2006. -According to Wikipedia, Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) has commended the scheme saying Jyotigram scheme has radically improved the quality of village life, spurred non-farm economic enterprises, and halved the power subsidy in agriculture. -Government of India has accepted Gujarat's Jyotigram project as a flagship scheme for the 12th five-year plan and named as the DDUGJY scheme for implementing the same in other states of the country. -The initiative is first-of-its-kind in India which conceptualized segregating agriculture and non-agriculture load to meet various objectives and Gujarat is the first state in India to take this innovative step.

-The work included separation of all 11 KV rural feeders in to 2117 JGY (Village) feeders and 5097 11 KV Agricultural dominant feeder. The Scheme has been implemented with massive investment around INR 1,290 crores. The scheme involved erection of 56308 KM new H.T. line, 22,146 KM new LT Line, 18,7124 new Distribution Transformers, 4131 special designed transformers erected and above 1.7 million poles for connecting rural households, schools & colleges, banks, panchayat offices, post offices, shops, floor mills, hospitals, co-operative society, milk federations, cottage industries, STD PCO’s, commercial centers etc. through separate feeders. -Large quantity of line material like Poles, Conductors, Insulators, steel raw material for support structures, transformers, wires and cables were procured to erect above huge infrastructure across the state. -To erect total 7166 (2096 + 5070) feeders, all the Offices from Corporate Office, Zone Offices, Circle Offices, Division Offices and Sub-division Offices across the Gujarat worked together with a great co-ordination for purchase of the material, outsourcing the contracts for fabrication of steel raw items for support structures, Out sourcing contracts for labor work for erection of HT LT line and Transformer centers. All the activities of line erection was supervised by the Engineers of the Sub-division offices and monitored at different levels up the Government on daily basis.

Yes

-The initiative is first-of-its-kind in India which conceptualized segregating agriculture and non-agriculture load to meet various objectives and Gujarat is the first state in India to take this innovative step. -The Government of India has accepted Gujarat's Jyotigram project as a flagship scheme for the 12th five-year plan and named as the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gramjyoti Yojana (DDUGJY scheme). -The Union government’s (DDUGJY) is the first and largest replica of Gujarat's Jyotigram Yojna for implementing feeder separation scheme in other States of the country.

-After passing of a decade of the completion of the Jyotigram scheme since 2006, all the villages are getting the 3-phase power supply continuously without load shedding. -Various studies have been conducted and research papers have been published on this boon. -It reveals that the average employment level has gone up and migration level has come down. -Ownership of consumer durables at household level has gone up for refrigerator, cassette player and Television. -Use of energy efficient lights (CFL) has gone up. -Overall absenteeism and drop out, especially from schools, have come down. Interests and initiatives on adult education have gone up. -With change over from an unreliable supply system to continuous and quality supply of power to villages, the JGY Programme has benefited & brought socio-economic prosperity in the rural Gujarat. -This facts shows that initiative is sustainable.

-The initiative is similar to the existing solution such that utility companies were already having expertise of managing electricity network such laid, hence utility companies did not face many hurdles in transition process from old system to newer system. -The plant and equipments used for implementation of initiative were already being used since long back by utility companies. Hence there was no need to disseminate extra knowledge or skill enhancement during transition. -Looking to above factors, the initiative is sustainable and it is already in practice in state Gujarat since its inception and afterwards other states also joined for implementing this initiatives. Thus this initiative which was first implemented by state Gujarat has over the time been adopted by states across India.

Yes

-Yes, the initiative has been formally evaluated, it has attracted many scholars and researchers across the globe to conduct the study and do impact analysis on various sectors. -Various studies have been conducted and research papers have been published on this boon and they are easily available on the internet -Third party study of Jyotigram was carried out by 1 Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. 2 Centre for Environmental Planning & Technology (CEPT) (Dec’04) 3 Confederation Of Indian Industries through IRMA, Anand. (Sept’05) and Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) has commended the scheme saying Jyotigram scheme has radically improved the quality of village life, spurred non-farm economic enterprises, and halved the power subsidy in agriculture.

Outcome of the formal evaluation performed by the Confederation Of Indian Industries through IRMA, Anand. (Sept’05) -Economic Impact on Households: Employment level increased. Migration from the rural areas came down by 33% -Impact on Education: Drop out of Girl child reduced by 80% School absenteeism reduced by 13% Average duration of study for girls and boys at home increased by 92% and 81% respectively. -Socio-cultural Impact on Households: Awareness increased significantly in Health, nutrition and family planning issues. Government programmes. -Impact on Rural Women Increase in time spent of rural women on education by 90% Entertainment by 88% Social activities by 43% Income generating activities by 18% Time spent on performing household chores reduced by 26%. -Impact on Rural Industries Increased Momentum in Industrial activities such as diamond polishing, toiletries, agro processing, etc. 53% of families have a scope to work during night times. Outcome of the Study performed by the Indian Institute Of Management, Ahmedabad: -This is a remarkable achievement when compared to other states, where even urban supplies do not show the same hours of supply -The quality of supply has shown improvement again on all dimensions. While all areas have shown improvement, there has also been significant convergence so that areas earlier with lower quality (typically areas more distant from towns) have shown the highest improvements, pointing to a convergence in terms of the quality of supply. -The JGY has achieved its immediate objective of ensuring near 24x7 supplies in the rural areas completely including in the peak summer months -Overall per capita household incomes have grown at rates between 8% and 9% per annum over the period since the JGY -The use of electrical gadgets has gone up substantially due to the impact of the JGY -Voltage quality, attendance to complaints, reduction in breakdown of electrical equipment show significant and sustained improvements -Impact on farm output and on non-farm output have also been significant across all regions and Gujarat as a whole -The independent influence of JGY on the dynamism of rural Gujarat is significant. -The overall conclusion is that the JGY has been executed as designed and has greatly improved the access to electricity and made available near 24 hours of supply. -The programme needs support and needs replication elsewhere -The contrast of the Gujarat achievement with many other states, means that there is sincere consideration for those in rural areas. The current method of managing the supplies in many other states with restricted supplies is to impose power cuts, often quite asymmetrically – while capital and important towns may have better supplies, others especially rural areas would suffer much. This has been avoided completely by Gujarat not only because of the JGY, but because of the state’s commitment to supply the demand and not “manage” by cutting off demand. Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) REPORT:- A new report by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) has commended the Jyotigram Yojna launched by the Gujarat government in 2003 that provides 24-hour power supply to villages in the state. The report, titled 'Feeding a Thirsty World: Challenges and Opportunities for a Water and Food Secure Future', has been published as the institute's input for the 2012 World Water Week in Stockholm from August 26 to 31. The report mentions achievements of the Jyotigram Yojna launched by the Narendra Modi government in September 2003 while warning about water scarcity and its impact on food production for the estimated global population of 9 billion by 2050 Recalling the power-deficit situation before the Jyotigram Yojna was launched, the report notes the situation has now changed across rural Gujarat. "Under the programme, rural Gujarat has been completely rewired. Villages are given 24-hour, three-phase power supply", the report says.

Study conducted by Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) -The beneficiary households were selected based on the indicators like economic status, socio-cultural/ occupational groups, gender and geographical spread. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS software package. Respondents were drawn from varied income groups and various occupational profiles. -Qualitative research was undertaken to investigate perceptions of the beneficiaries on their socio-economic development due to ‘Jyotigram Yojna’. For this, Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) were undertaken in four villages drawn from four separate districts of the state. 54% males and 46% females were considered for the sampling. -Impact of Jyotigram on Income of Households (Domestic Users) Economic Impacts -Impact of Jyotigram on Income from Various Occupations, Impact on Annual Expenditure Patterns, Impact of Jyotigram on Employment Opportunities, Impact of Jyotigram on Migration of Different Population Segments, Impact of Jyotigram on Duration of Migration, Change in Average Number of Electrical Appliances in a Household Socio-cultural Impacts -Impact on attention and willingness to study, Impact on duration of study, Impact on school absenteeism, impact on school drop outs, Impact on Adult education, Impact on awareness development, Impact of TV on awareness development, Impact on Reduction of Drudgery, Impact on Safety and Security, Media Entertainment, Impact on Social Activities, Effect of Jyotigram on Women empowerment, Impact on Activity Profile of the Rural Women, Quality of Life Improvement Impact of Jyotigram Yojna on Rural Commercial Activities -Increase in Usage of Electrical Appliances, Effect of Increasing Use of TV on Business, Effect of Use of Electricity and Electrical Appliances on Business Impact of Jyotigram Yojna on Rural Industrial Activities -Impact of Reliable Electricity Supply in industry, Impact on Activities Profile of Rural Women, Effect of Increasing Use of TV on Business, Effect of Use of Electricity Appliances on Business

“Jyotigram” scheme is one of the project which was massive in scale and size and it involved many stake holders for successful implementation within stipulated time as under -Gujarat Electricity Board (before unbundling of SEB) and after unbundling GUVNL with its four DISCOMs namely PGVCL, MGVCL, DGVCL, UGVCL, were the utilities to implement the Jyotigram scheme. -The Government of Gujarat was the key stake holder responsible for conceptualizing the initiative in association with state electricity utility company. The Energy and -Petrochemical department and the Finance department were incorporated for smooth execution for the purpose of fulfillment of requisite legal and statutory compliances. -GETCO:- Gujarat Electricity Transmission Corporation was involved for up-gradation and enhancement of existing 66 KV substation capacity and re-routing, erecting new transmission lines requisite for the execution of project. -Engineers, technical line staff and all employees of the electricity distribution company at various levels -Outsourcing Agencies, Contractors for labour work for erection of line network and fabrication of support structures -Manufacturers of various materials like conductors, poles, transformers, insulators, nut bolts, steel items, cable, wires, fuses, switches, etc -Labors for multiple types of associated jobs and service agencies. -Various stakeholders from local government and society such as district, taluka and village level local government authorities, NGOs, Industries groups were involved for awareness, assistance and propagation of the scheme agenda and execution.

-To maintain the network after its erection, its periodical operation and maintenance is required. -Also to cater to 24 hours power supply, enough power procurement agreement with generators is required. Gujarat has managed this since last decade after the implementation of Jyotigram scheme to give 24 hr power supply across 365 days. -As the lifestyle improves in villages, the energy demands also increases and to meet it, necessary augmentation of transmission and distribution network is required. -To implement the scheme, a time bound procurement process for procurement of line materials is required to be managed. Any delay in the procurement process will delay the implementation of the programme. -People should be made aware about the use of LED lamps in place of conventional incandescent lamp for energy conservation. Energy efficient appliances should be promoted in villages for saving usage of energy.