The Critical Minimum Effort for Energy Poverty Challenge in India

Abstract

The Socio-Economic and Caste Census of 2011 shows the extent of deprivations of rural India. Around 73.4 % of families are residing in rural India, where over 77 million households depend on kerosene for lighting; 1 million use wood and as many as 1.2 million households in India remain completely in the dark. Improvement in - Access, Availability, Adequacy, and Quality of energy can contribute to poverty reduction from various aspects. From a policy-making perspective increasing access to modern energy services require, first, the integration of energy access into national development strategies, and then strong and sustainable financial, institutional, and technology frameworks must be set up. The restatement of the theory of critical minimum effort is to make a plan for the effort that needs to break the environment of inertia of energy poverty. This paper discusses the minimum effort necessary to achieve a steady secular supply of basic energy requirements for people in need. It is alarming fact that today billions of people lack access to the most basic energy services, electricity, and clean cooking facilities, and, worse, this situation is set to change very little over the next 20 years. This paper explains how to set the needed change in the orientation and execution for the service delivery mechanism of energy. Aims: The restatement of the theory of critical minimum effort as a plan to achieve a steady secular supply of basic energy requirements for people in need. Study Design: Descriptive analysis. Place and Duration of Study: Macro-level analysis on India based on Socio-Economic and caste census of 2011. Methodology: Review-driven theoretical analysis. Conclusion: Restates those large-scale actions are needed to take people out of the vicious circle of energy poverty.