Electrifying India Positive, But Won’t End Energy Poverty Soon

Achieving total electrification in India by the end of March, as the Modi administration promised, won’t solve the country’s energy poverty problem, researchers said.

Just four years ago, an estimated 40 million households in India were still living without access to electricity and more than 100 million were using wood or cow dung for cooking, according to the Council on Energy, Environment & Water think tank in Delhi.

During the past 17 months, the government has been reaching out to connect the most remote areas of the country, tasking workers with carrying electric poles, transformers, and wires on their ...