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Indira Nagar is a small hamlet of Panchayat Soda in District Tonk, Rajasthan consisting of 13 houses and about 190 inhabitants who are mainly farmers. Most of the families have small landholdings that are cultivated for a single rain-

fed crop of pulses and groundnut every year; others work as labourers in nearby towns.

An initiative by Minda NexGenTech Ltd and the local sarpanch Ms Chhavi Rajawat set into motion a series of events, starting with setting up of a solar power based micro grid that led to transformation in the village. The initial investment for setting up the power plant was done by Minda NexGenTech Ltd with the intention of providing electricity to the village and also empowering them through income generation opportunities such as grinding of lentils (pulses), stitching, and educating the womenfolk.

Prior to installation of the solar plant, light meant smelling and inhalation of fumes from kerosene lamps. Activities such as cooking, washing utensils, stitching, and fertilizer mixing were not possible after sunset. However, the 240-W (watt) solar power plant installed by Minda NextGen Tech Ltd provides basic lighting to all houses in Indira Nagar. The arrival of power has also sparked the entrepreneurial spirit among women. Evening hours are now spent under energy-efficient LED bulbs grinding pulses and stitching to supplement family incomes. Access to energy has enhanced studying hours for children, facilitated women’s education initiatives and in general, brought about a social revolution in the village.

The solar power plant is based on the BOM (built, operate, and maintain) working model with each household contributing 150 rupees as the monthly charge for usage. This has resulted in minimal financial impact on the villagers as more or less the same amount was earlier being paid for kerosene (3 litres), and charging of mobile phones. Some initial hesitation and obstacles were overcome thanks to the active support rendered by village local Mr Harji Lal Bairwato. He addressed the villagers’ concerns and issues, and took the responsibility for collection of revenue, distribution of pulses, and initiating a stitching and educational centre for womenfolk with guidance and assistance from the local panchayat and Minda NexGenTech Ltd.

A case study on Indira Nagar

CAse study 1

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Minda NexGenTech Ltd is proud to have played a role in bringing happiness to the villagers by creating income generation opportunities. The initiative of providing Rs 5/kg for grinding of pulses started with support from the villagers and the panchayat has resulted in an additional income of about Rs 547 per month per household.

Objective of the activities initiated through the solar power plant Basic lighting and mobile phone charging•Generation of additional income and better standard of living•Removal of kerosene lamps •Better health, safety, and education•

Technical specifications of the solar power plant

Component Specifications

PV module 1 × 240 W

LEDbulbs 1.5W×2(LEDbulbs)

Mobilechargingpoint 5.5–6V(Singlepoint)

Battery 2nos,12V-150Ah(amperehour),tubularlead–acidbattery

Othercomponents Transmissiondistributionbox,householddistributionboxinterconnectingwires/cables,separateswitches,batteryboxandelectricalaccessories

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Activities initiated Pulse grinding

This activity involves participation of women beneficiaries from 12 households using extra productive hours during the evening/night time. Each woman collects 5 kg of pulses every alternate day from the distribution centre. The grinding of pulses is done in addition to their daily chores using the LED lighting provided by the solar power plant.

Sewing centre

This involves girls from Indira Nagar who are in the age group of 10-18 years. A local representative conducts regular training sessions enabling them to learn a new trade and also generate additional income to support their families. The sewing machines were procured using the collections from the monthly charges from each household.

Education centre

During the evenings, women gather in Harzi Lal’s courtyard and learn to read and write under energy-efficient LED lamps powered by our solar plant. Local students Shivraj and Savara have inspired and mobilized the villagers to become educated.

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enabling village-level entrepreneurs Minda NexGenTech Ltd has adopted an approach to combine energy access in rural areas with sustainable rural development. It is envisaged that VLEs (village-level entrepreneurs) will invest and operate the micro grids to provide basic lighting and mobile charging facilities to rural households for a monthly rental. The monthly rental collected from each household is utilized for maintaining the power plant, repayment of EMIs, and to generate returns against investments made for installation of the power pslant.

Conclusion The use of solar power along with the various initiatives and innovations has provided numerous opportunities to the villagers to utilize the available natural resources for their benefit. The overall impact has been an opportunity to build the future of the villagers, and to provide not only light, but sustainable, all round rural development.