In a possible recognition for the work the Piyush Goyal led Power Ministry is doing, India has improved its rank by 73 places since 2014 in the World Bank’s electricity accessibility rankings.
India is currently ranked 26, a much improved standing as compared to 99 in 2014. This was reportedly achieved due to the efforts of the power ministry to try and ensure power for each and every citizen of the country. It was reported that 13,000 of the 18,452 villages which did not have power, now have an access to electricity.
According to Piyush Goyal, if a person asks for an electricity connection, he would be able to get one within 24 hrs if power infrastructure is available. In the event of its unavailability he would be able to get a connection within a week. Goyal also claimed that by 2019, every household would be provided with an electricity connection, three years ahead of schedule.
We had earlier reported how the Power Ministry and its auxiliaries have been making steady reforms to try and revive a once ailing sector. A few of the measures undertaken are:
- The UDAY Discom scheme where the Center would restructure the debt of the state owned Discoms by assuming as much as 75% of the debt and issuing bonds in return at a lower rate of interest.
- Selling or shutting down loss making, old units and increasing the efficiency of the remaining units
- Promoting the renewable sector
- Creating a Mobile APP to help users track the electrification progress in India for greater transparency
- India becoming the net-exporter of electricity for the 1st time
