Safer and affordable solar lamps for rural households

New Delhi (PTI): Rural households in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh with no electricity will now have the option to use safer and affordable solar lamps instead of the polluting kerosene ones.

D.light Design, a lighting and power company, has joined hands with UK-based NGO Shell Foundation to deliver affordable and high quality lighting solutions to rural households living without adequate electricity in the country.

The project, funded by the Foundation, is being initially rolled out in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, according to a joint statement issued by the two.

The portable lanterns will be made available in two variants priced between Rs 800 and Rs 1,600 and are up to 10 times brighter than the kerosene ones and provide up to 32 hours of lighting, an official of the D.light Design claimed.

The company aims to provide clean source of light to 10 million rural homes in India by the end of 2010.

Shell Foundation analyst Simon Desjardins said: "Renewable energy technologies represent the best option for poor consumers in most rural markets in India primarily because of their lower cost and usage flexibility relative to government grid extension schemes, kerosene lanterns, or diesel generator sets."

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