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Water and Sanitation | Banishing darkness from Indian villages by Shailaja Sharma

Banishing darkness from Indian villages by Shailaja Sharma

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published Published on Feb 1, 2012   modified Modified on Feb 1, 2012

Eureka Forbes, known for its water purifiers, is now out to banish darkness from Indian villages with its solar lighting products. Its Eurodiya brand of solar bulbs are made with US-based Nokero (short for ‘no kerosene’) that makes affordable solar bulbs, panels and chargers for communities that have no access to electricity.

Over 85,000 villages (or 63% of rural India) are without electricity. Eurodiya is expected to be an alternative to kerosene lamps on which rural households spend Rs3 a day (or Rs1,095 a year). In recent years, Philips and Mirc Electronics (of Onida fame) have also launched solar-powered lanterns and LED lights for rural India.

A Eurodiya bulb, once fully-charged through the day, can be used for up to six hours at a stretch, and is break-resistant and rain-proof. Priced Rs599, Eurodiya can be bought through micro finance schemes. Eureka Forbes has already piloted Eurodiya bulbs in Pune, Bhopal, Indore and certain parts of the North East, and is rolling them out across India now.

The firm will sell the bulbs in some Asian countries as well.

Overall, the bulbs are expected to contribute 5-7% to the total revenues in the second year of operation, says AV Suresh, the official concerned.

Eurodiya will mark Eureka’s opening salvo in solar solutions for homes. In the pipeline are generators to power refrigerators, water purifiers, fans and mobile chargers. Eurodiya will be an umbrella brand covering solar lanterns and emergency torches in the Rs1,000-2,500 range made by third parties.

Reaching out to villages with minimal help from distributors will likely prove a challenge, says Suresh. So, the company is setting up its own network of individual sellers and partnerships with NGOs.

Tie-ups with India Post and ITC’s e-Choupal network are in works. “In the first two years, we are looking at reaching at least 20, 000 villages. We are working with NGOs, students, colleges. We are also talking to gram panchayats (village councils) and the government on how we can take this ahead,” says Suresh.
 
 

DNA, 1 February, 2012, http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_banishing-darkness-from-indian-villages_1644420


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