Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday will launch a new scheme, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, for power sector reforms in rural areas with a view to ensuring round the clock eletricity supply to farmers and rural households.
"Prime Minister will be launching Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) on July 25 in Patna," Power Ministry said in a release.
The ministry said that the "earlier scheme for rural electrification viz. Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) has been subsumed in the new scheme as its rural electrification component".
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The Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana had been launched by previous UPA government to provide electricity connections to all rural households in the country.
The new power scheme focuses on feeder separation (rural households and agricultural) and strengthening of sub-transmission and distribution infrastructure including metering at all levels in rural areas, the ministry said.
"This will help in providing round the clock power to rural households and adequate power to agricultural consumers," it said.
The scheme is one of the flagship programmes of the Power Ministry and will facilitate 24x7 supply of power, it said.
The scheme approved by the central government draws its inspiration from the similar pioneering scheme implemented by the Government of Gujarat, the release said.
The major components of the scheme are feeder separation; strengthening of sub-transmission and distribution network; Metering at all levels (input points, feeders and distribution transformers); Micro grid and off grid distribution network & Rural electrification- already sanctioned projects under RGGVY to be completed.
The scheme has an outlay of Rs 76,000 crore for implementation of the projects under which the Centre shall provide grant of Rs 63,000 crore.
A total of Rs 14,680 crore worth projects have already been approved out of which projects amounting to Rs 5,827 crore have been approved for Bihar state.
Under this scheme, an agriculture intensive state like Bihar shall benefit from works of feeder separation. Thousands of kilometres of new lines shall be laid and hundreds of new substations have been planned.
