India has taken up a massive energy efficiency mission under which it will switch over to LED bulbs by the end of 2018, which would result in a saving $ 6 billion per annum, says Union Minister for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy, Shri Piyush Goyal. 

Speaking at the Harvard College US India Initiative Conference in Mumbai today, Mr. Goyal said 4.59 crore (45.9 million) LED bulbs have been distributed till now under the Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP). When all the 71 crore (710 million) conventional bulbs are replaced by LED bulbs it will result in a saving of 100 billion units of electricity" he said. The Centre has set a target to distribute over six crore LED bulbs through State-run Energy Efficiency Services Ltd.

The Minister said the LED programme was being implemented in a mission mode and the state-run Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), has been successful in bringing down the price of LED bulb to a quarter of what it was priced a year and a half ago. . We have been able to procure LED bulbs for about Rs 73 per piece as of June, down from Rs 310 in February 2014, a reduction of 76 per cent" he said. 

Mr. Goyal said states like Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, which have large deposits of coal are energy starved. Providing electricity to each household is the mission of the government, he said. It is a big challenge, but we have to take it up as a collective responsibility". 

Speaking about rural electrification, the Energy Minister said Prime Minister has given me a target of 1,000 days to reach electricity to 18,000 villages that are not electrified till now. But, I am confident that we will accomplish this mission within 730 days". 

Piyush Goyal asserted that his Ministry is working with utmost transparency and said that people can now check in real time how many villages are electrified, using the specially created app Garv Grameen Vidyutikaran. 

Calling for creating a smart energy efficient India, Mr. Piyush Goyal exhorted the youth to lead the world and leave a healthier legacy for generations to come. 

Business Standard