Energy for Rural Areas

Although some planners have of late questioned the validity of the hitherto accepted correlation between the per capita consumption of energy and the standard of living of a country in respect of affluent societies, there is no doubt that it holds good for a developing country like ours. Any integrated plan for rural development must, therefore, take into account the energy requirement to sustain the growth rate envisaged. This aspect has been rather neglected in the past and the vast majority of our countrymen are dependent on a very meagre supply of energy, that too from non-commercial sources like firewood and cowdung.