UJALA completes 7 years of energy-efficient and affordable LED distribution

What is the News?

The Ministry of Power has successfully completed seven years of distributing and selling LED lights under its flagship UJALA programme.

What is UJALA Scheme?

Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LED for All (UJALA) Scheme was launched in 2015.

Under the scheme, LED bulbs, LED tube lights and energy efficient fans are being provided to domestic consumers for replacement of the conventional and inefficient variants.

Implementing Agency: Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a government company under the administrative control of Ministry of Power has been designated as the implementing agency for this programme. 

Advantages of LED Bulb over CFL and ICL: A 7W LED bulb provides same amount of light as a 14W Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) and a 60W Incandescent Lamp (ICL). It thereby saves almost 90% energy as compared to ICLs and 50 per cent in case of CFLs.

What has the UJALA Scheme achieved in the last 7 years?

Firstly, the programme has evolved to be the world’s largest zero subsidy domestic lighting programme that addresses concerns like high electrification cost and high emissions that result from inefficient lighting. 

Secondly, the scheme has been successful in a) bringing down the retail price of LED bulbs, b) massive energy savings and c) reduced annual household electricity bills.

Thirdly, it has provided support to the domestic lighting industry and Make in India, as domestic manufacturing of LED bulbs has increased from 1 lakh per month to 40 million per month.

Fourthly, the programme has also garnered attention from top management schools of India. It is now a part of Leadership case study in Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad. Furthermore, it is also under consideration for being included in the curriculum of Harvard Business School.

Source: This post is based on the article ‘UJALA completes 7 years of energy-efficient and affordable LED distribution ’ published in PIB on 6^th Jan 2022.