Saubhagya: Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana
The Prime Minister has launched the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana, or Saubhagya scheme in October, 2017. The aim of this scheme is to provide power to all homes. The Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana aims to provide power connections to all the estimated four crore households which currently did not have a power connection. The outlay for this scheme would be over INR 16320 crore. These connections would be provided free of cost.
The beneficiaries for free electricity connections would be identified using Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data. However, unelectrified households not covered under the SECC data would also be provided electricity connections under the scheme on payment of Rs. 500 which shall be recovered by DISCOMs in 10 installments through electricity bill. The Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC) is the nodal agency for the implementation of this scheme throughout the country.
The total outlay of the project is Rs. 16,320 crore while the Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) is Rs. 12,320 crore. The outlay for the rural households is Rs. 14,025 crore while the GBS is Rs. 10,587.50 crore. For the urban households the outlay is Rs. 2,295 crore while GBS is Rs. 1,732.50 crore. The Government of India will provide largely funds for the Scheme to all States/UTs.
The solar power packs of 200 to 300 Wp with battery bank for un-electrified households located in remote and inaccessible areas, comprises of Five LED lights, One DC fan, One DC power plug. It also includes the Repair and Maintenance (R&M) for 5 years.
The expected outcome of the Scheme is as follows:
- Environmental upgradation by substitution of Kerosene for lighting purposes
- Improvement education services
- Better health services
- Enhanced connectivity through radio, television, mobiles, etc.
- Increased economic activities and jobs
- Improved quality of life especially for women
Status
A total of 2.817 crore households were electrified since the launch of Saubhagya, up to 31.03.2021. Thereafter, the States reported that some households remained to be electrified, against which, States reported electrification of 4.43 lakh households. Accordingly, a total 2.86 crore households have been electrified. The scheme stands closed on 31.03.2022. As per the SAUBHAGYA portal, a total of 29 States/UTs participated during scheme period.
State-wise Electrification of Households
| # | State | Total |
| 1 | Andhra Pradesh | 181,930 |
| 2 | Arunachal Pradesh | 47,089 |
| 3 | Assam | 2,326,656 |
| 4 | Bihar | 3,259,041 |
| 5 | Chhattisgarh | 792,368 |
| 6 | Gujarat | 41,317 |
| 7 | Haryana | 54,681 |
| 8 | Himachal Pradesh | 12,891 |
| 9 | Jammu & Kashmir | 377,045 |
| 10 | Jharkhand | 1,730,708 |
| 11 | Karnataka | 383,798 |
| 12 | Ladakh | 10,456 |
| 13 | Madhya Pradesh | 1,984,264 |
| 14 | Maharashtra | 1,517,922 |
| 15 | Manipur | 108,115 |
| 16 | Meghalaya | 200,240 |
| 17 | Mizoram | 27,970 |
| 18 | Nagaland | 139,516 |
| 19 | Odisha | 2,452,444 |
| 20 | Puducherry | 912 |
| 21 | Punjab | 3,477 |
| 22 | Rajasthan | 2,127,728 |
| 23 | Sikkim | 14,900 |
| 24 | Tamil Nadu | 2,170 |
| 25 | Telangana | 515,084 |
| 26 | Tripura | 139,090 |
| 27 | Uttar Pradesh | 9,180,571 |
| 28 | Uttarakhand | 248,751 |
| 29 | West Bengal | 732,290 |
| Total | 28,613,424 |