Solar applications cater to the requirements of both home and business entities today. In urban areas, the shift to green products is primarily to reduce dependency on grid power. However, in rural areas, the shift to green products is vital for improving quality of life, given the limited availability and access to conventional power. The growing popularity of green products, creates business opportunities and does societal good too. The telecentres (inclusive of Common Service Centres (CSCs)) located at the grassroots have a great potential to tap these opportunities.
Relevance of solar applications for telecentres
The services provided by the telecentres are based to a large extent on the availability of the power supply. In most cases, telecentres lack reliable grid based power supply during the complete hours of their operation. Alternate sources of power such as generator/ inverter are generally used, which increase the cost of service delivery to the citizens. The same chronic lack of availability also causes tremendous lighting difficulties for the rural communities and households served by the telecentres. In such a scenario, solar applications that generate power for running the telecentres and also provide lighting opportunities to the communities served by the telecentres have great potential.
Pilot initiative on "solar applications for the CSCs"
A pilot initiative to test and demonstrate the utility of solar applications to meet the power requirements of the CSCs and provide lighting opportunities to the communities they serve has been initiated. The pilot is being taken up at 15 select CSCs spread over the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
The stakeholders involved in implementation of the pilot include - The Energy Resources Institute (TERI) (as part of its Lighting a Billion Lives (LaBL) programme), Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) (as part of its India Development Gateway initiative) and the respective Service Centre Agencies (SCAs) of the selected CSCs.
The stakeholders involved in implementation of the pilot include - The Energy Resources Institute (TERI) (as part of its Lighting a Billion Lives (LaBL) programme), Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) (as part of its India Development Gateway initiative) and the respective Service Centre Agencies (SCAs) of the selected CSCs.
Solar applications identified
- Solar lanterns – 30 Nos.
- Solar charging stations (SCS) (total capacity of 330 Wp/380 Wp) – generate power to charge solar lanterns, provide mobile charging facility (20 ports) and back up power to run the computer for 3 hours. In the case of Jammu and Kashmir, due to low insolation and extreme weather conditions, the solar lanterns have been provided with Li-Ion batteries and the size of the solar power modules is bigger. The total wattage of the system is 380 Watts as against 330 Watts in the case of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
Business opportunities provided through the solar facility
An opportunity to generate additional sources of income for the CSC is created through
- The renting of solar lanterns.
- Provision of mobile phone charging for the local community.
- Sale of solar lanterns.
- In addition, extra solar power will be available for operating limited equipment, thus providing opportunities to do business during peak business hours. It also reduces the need for fossil fuels.
Photo Gallery
Video Gallery
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Title: Lighting moments of critical health care |
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Description: A doctor of the Primary Health Centre (PHC), Sareni, Uttar Pradesh, shares his experiences on the utility of solar lanterns, in addressing the lighting requirements essential while handling critical child birth cases.
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| ...more videos | |
Pilot CSC locations
Name of the Service Centre Agency – NICT
| Name of VLE | Village name/ census code | CSC code | Block | Tehsil | District |
| Mr Rahul Kamdar | Jamgod (02781900) | MP032800109 | Dewas | Dewas | Dewas |
| Mr Mahendra Patel | Sunwani Mahakal (02785000) | MP032800115 | Dewas | Dewas | Dewas |
| Ms Bharthi Sarwate | Ghandarvpuri (02763200) | MP032800205 | Sonkatch | Sonkatch | Dewas |
| Mr Yogendra Singh Rathod | Chota Tigriya (02785600) | MP032800117 | Dewas | Dewas | Dewas |
| Mr Montesh Dave | Pirkaradiya (03182800) | MP043400307 | Sanwer | Sanwer | Indore |
Name of the Service Centre Agency - SREI
| Name of VLE | Village name/ census code | CSC code | Block | Tehsil | District |
| Mr Chandra Kant Trivedi | Sareni (03762700) | UP075101706 | Sareni | Lalganj | Rae Bareli |
| Mr Vinod Kumar Bajpai | Nerthuwa (03677200) | UP075100502 | Shivgarh | Mahrajganj | Rae Bareli |
| Mr Diwakar Singh | Govindpur (03762500) | UP075101713 | Lalganj | Lalganj | Rae Bareli |
| Mr Gyanendra Dubey | Purejilaldubey (03692500) | UP075101507 | Singhpur | Tiloi | Rae Bareli |
| Mr Pappu Yadav | Saripur (03716000) | UP075100210 | Amawan | Rae Bareli | Rae Bareli |
Name of the Service Centre Agency – J & K Bank
| Name of VLE | Village name/ census code | CSC code | Block | Tehsil | District |
| Mr Showkat Ali Bhat | Water wani (1419) | KBUD0019 | Budgam | Budgam | Budgam |
| Mr Mohd Hussain Mattoo | Mah Kulgam (2740) | KKUL0030 | Devsar | Kulgam | Kulgam |
| Mr Shakil Ahmad Bhat | Saloora (1128) | KGAN0009 | Ganderbal | Ganderbal | Ganderbal |
| Mr Nasir Mehmood | Latti (4233) | JUDH0012 | Dudu Basant Garh | Chenani | Udhampur |
| Mr Saleem Jaffer | Jathi Ranka (3256) | JDOD0003 | Assar | Doda | Doda |
Field experiences
The initial response of the VLEs and rural communities to the utility of the solar facility is encouraging. The renting of solar lanterns and mobile charging has just been initiated in all the CSCs where the installations have been completed. The rents charged range from Rs 1 – 10 / solar lantern/ day, depending upon the demand and the frequency of renting by a customer. The mobile charging fee ranges from Rs 1 – 5/mobile charging. At times, free service is also provided for customers.
The monthly income generated by the VLEs through renting of solar lanterns and mobile charging range from Rs 300 - 2900. The major users of the solar lanterns include shop keepers and roadside vendors, households (for domestic chores and children’s studies), farmers (for field visit during late evenings), primary health centres and during functions like marriages, etc. The mobile charging facility users were mostly those customers who visited the CSCs seeking services and village youth. The most attractive advantage, as expressed by VLEs, is the power generated to charge their inverters. This extra power helps them to extend their business timings by 2-4 hours. It was found that even during cloudy days, the unit was able to charge the solar lanterns and mobiles. The utility of the solar facility is expected to improve as the awareness among the rural communities' increases.
The monthly income generated by the VLEs through renting of solar lanterns and mobile charging range from Rs 300 - 2900. The major users of the solar lanterns include shop keepers and roadside vendors, households (for domestic chores and children’s studies), farmers (for field visit during late evenings), primary health centres and during functions like marriages, etc. The mobile charging facility users were mostly those customers who visited the CSCs seeking services and village youth. The most attractive advantage, as expressed by VLEs, is the power generated to charge their inverters. This extra power helps them to extend their business timings by 2-4 hours. It was found that even during cloudy days, the unit was able to charge the solar lanterns and mobiles. The utility of the solar facility is expected to improve as the awareness among the rural communities' increases.
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