7 Years of UJALA Scheme

Why in News

Recently, the Ministry of Power has successfully completed seven years of distributing and selling LED lights under its flagship UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All) programme.

  • The initiative evolved into the world’s largest zero subsidy domestic lighting programme with more than 36.78 crore LEDs distributed across the country.

Key Points

  • About:
    • Launched in 2015 and initially labeled as the LED-based Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP), it aims to promote the efficient usage of energy for all i.e., its consumption, savings and lighting.
    • Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a government company under the administrative control of the Ministry of Power, has been designated as the implementing agency for this programme.
    • Every domestic household having a metered connection from their respective Electricity Distribution Company is eligible to get the LED bulbs under the Scheme.
  • Achievements:
    • UJALA succeeded in bringing down the retail price of LED (Light-Emitting Diode) bulbs from INR 300-350 per bulb to INR 70-80 per bulb.
    • Apart from making affordable energy accessible to all, the programme also resulted in massive energy savings. As of today, 47,778 Million kWh per annum energy has been saved.
    • Further, there has been 3,86 crore tonnes of reduction in CO2 emissions.
    • It provides an impetus to the domestic lighting industry. It encourages Make in India as domestic manufacturing of LED bulbs has increased from 1 lakh per month to 40 million per month.

Other Initiatives Related to Energy Efficiency/Conservation

  • Gram Ujala: Under the initiative, LED bulbs will be distributed at a highly subsidised rate at Rs. 10 across 2,579 villages in five states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka.
  • Perform Achieve and Trade Scheme (PAT): It is a market based mechanism to enhance the cost effectiveness in improving the Energy Efficiency in Energy Intensive industries through certification of energy saving which can be traded.
  • Standards and Labeling: The scheme was launched in 2006 and is currently invoked for equipment/appliances.
  • Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC): It was developed for new commercial buildings in 2007.
  • Street Lighting National Programme: EESL replaces the conventional street lights with LEDs at its own costs.

Source: PIB