Author(s): Sushma Muralie, Teena Singh and Parveen kaur
Two-thirds of the Indian population resides in rural areas, with 50% of the Indians employed in agriculture, contributing to 20.2% of our G.D.P. (G.O.I.). While agriculture remains the primary source of income for rural Indians, the recent trend of rising income from rural micro-enterprise sectors is definitely of interest. Fortunately, both these sectors can use energy from sustainable resources like solar energy to meet their requirements. As per available records, 90% of rural households are connected to the grid. Despite this, supply gaps continue leading to the emergence of a market for sustainable energy sources to meet their requirements. Solar energy farming, both grid-connected and non-grid connected, can be used by farmers to operate pumps to irrigate their farms and excess energy produced to be sold to the grid. As far as micro-enterprises in rural India are concerned, the availability of cheap power can lead to mechanization and increased productivity. Some livelihood solutions based on solar energy launched so far include sewing machines, looms, milking machines, threshers, welding machines, cold storage units, and many more. The Government of India, the Ministry of Renewable Energy, through its various flagship programs, policy initiatives, is making an effort to create awareness and incentivize the acceptance and subsequent use of solar energy-based livelihood solutions in rural India. Harnessing solar energy can help farmers and people engaged in other livelihood activities in rural India earn a steady income. Based on secondary research, we examine the opportunities and challenges in the adoption of both solar energy farming and solar energy-based livelihood solutions in rural India. This paper concludes with a discussion on the potential role of the private sector in the development of the solar energy-based rural micro-entrepreneurial ecosystem.