SAUBHAGYA YOJNA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday unveiled ‘Saubhagya – Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana’ in New Delhi. The scheme is aimed at providing ‘last mile electricity connectivity to all rural and urban households’.

The scheme is touted to cover all rural families after expected electrification of all villages by December end this year. It will provide subsidy on equipment like transformers, meters and wires. Under the scheme, free electricity will be provided to the poor families which have been identified using the 2011 census. Electricity connections to Above Poverty Line families will cost Rs 500, payable in 10 equal monthly installments.

The scheme was listed on the agenda of Cabinet meeting held earlier this week.

The government has been working hard to electrify all villages in the country and wants to achieve 24X7 power for all by 2019.

Modi also inaugurated Deendayal Urja Bhawan in the national capital on the occasion of birth centenary celebration of RSS ideologue Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya.

September 25 is also the birth anniversary of Deendayal Upadhyaya.

The scheme includes:

  • Access to electricity to all willing households

  • Substitution to keroseane

  • Improvement in educational services

  • Improvement in communications

  • Improvement in public health

  • Improvement in public safety

  • Increased job opportunities.

  • Better quality of life, especially for women, in daily chores



 

(With inputs from agencies)