Rural Electrification and Livelihood Generation for Women Enterprises in Rural India: Experience of Implementing Two-Stage Biomass Gasifiers

As per 2011 census, nearly 44% of rural households do not have access to electricity in India and those who have access suffer from unreliable electricity supply affecting education, income generation and access to information. For lighting, one-third households rely on kerosene, which provides poor quality light and is damaging to health. Lack of access and reliable supply undermines the ability of the households and micro/small enterprises to move out of the vicious cycle of energy poverty. In rural India, several of these enterprises are owned and managed by women entrepreneurs and self-help groups, which were established for income-generating activities and empowerment of women. In 2005, Government of India initiated a large, national rural electrification programme to provide electricity to all villages and households. It has been recognized that grid supply may not be feasible or cost-effective for every village, and hence, due attention is being given to renewable-based decentralized distributed generation systems, such as biomass gasifiers. This paper provides insights regarding experience of developing two-stage biomass gasifier for Indian conditions through an innovative technology transfer and intellectual property rights sharing agreement and its field implementation through partnerships with the state government and community-based organizations in the state of Odisha and Madhya Pradesh. This technology will provide reliable electricity to women groups owned livelihood activities, increasing the income generated by them, and electrify rural households.