The government of India has launched the “Gram Ujala Scheme” to provide the cheapest LED bulbs in rural areas.
It offers the world’s cheapest LED bulbs in rural areas at a mere ₹10.
It also proposes to take back the incandescent and compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) bulbs of the rural consumers.
The scheme does not come with the government’s support or subsidy.
It will be financed entirely through the carbon credits.
That will be claimed under the “United Nations’ Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)”.
This is the first such scheme in India.
The scheme was launched by the Union power and new and renewable energy ministry.
In the first phase, the scheme was launched from Arrah district in Bihar.
In this phase, around 15 million LED bulbs will be distributed in the villages of Arrah (Bihar), Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh), Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Nagpur (Maharashtra), and western Gujarat.
In the year 2014, the previous Unnat Jyoti by Affordable Lighting for All (Ujala) scheme had cut the LED bulb prices.
India is currently the second-largest LED market across the world by value.