Drivers and barriers to rural electrification in India – A multi‐stakeholder analysis

Abstract

Roughly 400 million people in India had no access to electricity in 2011. With concerted efforts by the government, the electrification progressed fast to achieve near universal electrification in 2019. Despite the commendable progress, multiple challenges continue to afflict the sector. If policies and actions to sustain electrification and encourage development are to be successful, understanding the nature of drivers and barriers is essential. However, there has not been any systematic attempt to comprehensively identify and analyze the drivers and barriers to rural electrification. This study tried to identify and systematically prioritize the drivers and barriers, based on their strengths, for centralized grid and renewable energy (RE)-based mini-grids using a common analytical framework. The drivers and barriers were first identified through an exhaustive study of literature and consultations with electricity sector experts. Thereafter, their strengths were analyzed based on a perception survey with sector actors. The research provides lessons that despite achieving near-universal electrification, there are barriers to the advancement and sustenance of central grid and mini-grids. The results specify that driver and barrier elements with higher scores are across the political, economic, and financial categories. In contrast, institutional and social categories are ranked lower. The overall ranking indicates that enabling policies and government support to be the most significant driver for grid expansion. For RE-based mini-grids, convergence with livelihood programs and electricity for irrigation are perceived as strong drivers. The high cost of electricity and customers’ inability to pay are perceived as barriers for both central grid and mini-grids.