GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF POWER

LOK SABHA
STARRED QUESTION NO.48
ANSWERED ON 28.11.2024

HOUSEHOLDS ELECTRIFIED UNDER SAUBHAGYA

*48. SHRI MOHITE PATIL DHAIRYASHEEL RAJSINH:

PROF. VARSHA EKNATH GAIKWAD:

Will the Minister of POWER

be pleased to state:

(a) the details of total number of willing un-electrified households in rural

areas and all willing poor households in urban areas that were electrified under
Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya) in the country including
State of Maharashtra during the last five years and the current year;

(b) whether the Government has launched Revamped Distribution Sector

Scheme (RDSS) and if so, the details of the primary objectives of RDSS and
measures/steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to improve power
distribution sector;

(c) the manner in which the said scheme aligns with India’s vision of providing
reliable, affordable and quality power to all citizens;

(d) the details of the specific targets set to reduce losses in the distribution
sector through the said scheme and strategy adopted by the Government to
achieve these targets;

(e) the current status of the implementation of RDSS and number of States
adopted the said scheme;

(f) the total funds allocated under the said scheme and the manner in which
funding is being distributed among participating States; and

(g) the manner in which the said scheme benefitted the consumers in terms of
reducing power outages and improving the reliability of electricity supply?

ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF POWER

(SHRI MANOHAR LAL)

(a) to (g) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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 STATEMENT

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (g) IN RESPECT OF LOK

SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.48 FOR REPLY ON 28.11.2024 REGARDING
HOUSEHOLDS ELECTRIFIED UNDER SAUBHAGYA ASKED BY SHRI MOHITE
PATIL DHAIRYASHEEL RAJSINH AND PROF. VARSHA EKNATH GAIKWAD.
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(a) : Government of India launched the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar
Yojana (SAUBHAGYA) in October, 2017 with the objective to achieve universal
household electrification for providing electricity connections to all willing un-
electrified households in rural areas and all willing poor households in urban
areas in the country.

As reported by the States, around 2.86 crore households have been

electrified since the launch of SAUBHAGYA, up to 31.03.2022. For the State of
Maharashtra, a total 5,89,242 households were electrified which included
5,42,914 and 15,790 number of households through grid in Rural and Urban areas
respectively and 30,538 households in rural areas through off-grid mode. All
sanctioned works have been completed under SAUBHAGYA and scheme stands
closed as on 31.03.2022. Further, under Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme
(RDSS), electrification works for 9,036 households have been sanctioned for the
State of Maharashtra under PM-JANMAN (Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya
Maha Abhiyan) and DA-JGUA (Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan).

(b) to (g) : RDSS was launched by the Government of India, in July 2021. The
main objective of the scheme is to support Distribution utilities i.e.
DISCOMs/Power Departments (PDs) to improve the operational efficiencies and
financial sustainability of distribution sector so as to provide quality and reliable
supply of power. The scheme envisages reducing the Aggregate Technical and
Commercial (AT&C) Losses to 12-15% at pan-India level and Gap between
Average Cost of Supply and Average Revenue Realised (ACS-ARR Gap) to Zero by
2024-25.

Total outlay of RDSS is Rs 3,03,758 Cr including Gross Budgetary Support

(GBS) of Rs. 97,631 Cr. The scheme duration is for 5 years (i.e. FY 2021-22 to FY
2025-26). 48 DISCOMs across 30 States/ UTs have participated under RDSS.

AT&C Losses and ACS-ARR Gap for a utility are the key financial and
operational indicators of its performance. Losses directly impact the cash flow
and affects their financial position thereby forcing them to supply costly
electricity to consumers. Reduction in AT&C losses and ACS-ARR Gap improves
the finances of these utilities, which will enable them to better maintain the
system and buy power as per requirements; benefitting the consumers.

..........2.
 -2-

To address these losses, mandatory pre-qualifying criteria have been

prescribed under the scheme which includes timely publishing of audited annual
accounts & quarterly accounts, timely release of subsidy and Government
department dues by States/UTs, no new creation of regulatory assets, pre-paid
metering in Government establishments, timely payment of GENCO dues and
timely publishing of tariff & true up orders. Based on performance of the utility
against parameters mentioned under Result Evaluation Matrix, which include
achievement against major financial & operational parameters, they are
evaluated. Thus, assistance has been linked to performance.

Further, projects worth Rs. 2.77 lakh crore have been sanctioned under
RDSS for loss reduction and smart metering works (State-wise details placed at
Annexure). Sanctioned infrastructure works are at various stages of
implementation and physical progress of ~17% has been achieved till date.

DPRs for the proposed works are submitted by the utilities, keeping in view
the specific issues faced by them, with the approval of the State Cabinet after
recommendation of the Distribution Reforms Committee (DRC) which are
subsequently approved, as per scheme guidelines, by the Monitoring Committee
constituted under RDSS. The maximum financial assistance for loss reduction
works given to utility is 60% of the approved project cost, while for special
category States it is limited to 90%. Further, grant is also provided for Smart
Metering works, as per the scheme guidelines, based on number of feeders,
distribution transformers and consumers proposed to be metered.

In addition to above, other initiatives taken to improve power distribution

sector include Electricity (Late Payment Surcharge and Related Matters) Rules
2022, Rules for implementation of Fuel and Power Purchase Cost adjustment
(FPPCA) and Cost reflective tariff so as to ensure that all prudent cost for supply
of electricity are passed through, Additional Borrowing space of 0.5% of GSDP to
the States linked to power sector reforms, Additional Prudential Norms for
lending by Power Finance Corporation (PFC) Limited and REC Limited based on
the performance of the utilities etc.

As a result of reform measures undertaken, the AT&C loss of distribution

utilities at the national level has reduced from 25.5% in FY 2013 to 15.37% in FY
2023 and the ACS-ARR gap has reduced from Rs. 0.84/kWh in FY 2013 to
Rs.0.45/kWh in FY 2023. Further, the hours of supply for rural areas has improved
from 12.5 hrs in FY 2014 to 21.9 hrs in FY 2024. Similarly, for urban areas it has
improved from 22.1 hrs in FY 2014 to 23.4 hrs in FY 2024.

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 ANNEXURE

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN PARTS (b) TO (g) OF THE STATEMENT LAID IN

REPLY TO STARRED QUESTION NO. 48 ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON
28.11.2024 REGARDING HOUSEHOLDS ELECTRIFIED UNDER SAUBHAGYA
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State-wise cost of projects sanctioned under RDSS

Sanctioned Sanctioned
Sanctioned Sanctioned
Cost of Sanctioned GBS of Total
cost of GBS Loss
State/Discoms Loss total Outlay Metering GBS in
metering Reduction
Reduction (Rs. Cr.) Works Rs Cr.
(Rs. Cr.) (Rs. Cr.)
(Rs. Cr.) (Rs. Cr.)
Andaman & Nicobar
54 462 516 12 416 428
Islands
Andhra Pradesh 4,128 10,687 14,814 815 6,412 7,227
Arunachal Pradesh 184 1,034 1,217 54 930 985
Assam 4,050 3,395 7,444 1,052 3,055 4,107
Bihar 2,021 7,320 9,341 412 4,392 4,804
Chhattisgarh 4,105 3,964 8,070 804 2,379 3,183
Delhi 13 324 337 2 194 196
Goa 469 247 716 95 148 243
Gujarat 10,642 6,089 16,731 1,885 3,653 5,538
Haryana 0 6,797 6,797 0 4,078 4,078
Himachal Pradesh 1,788 2,327 4,115 466 2,094 2,560
Jammu & Kashmir 1,064 4,771 5,835 272 4,294 4,566
Jharkhand 858 3,344 4,202 191 2,006 2,197
Karnataka - 4 4 2 2
Kerala 8,231 3,011 11,243 1,413 1,807 3,220
Ladakh - 876 876 788 788
Madhya Pradesh 8,911 9,516 18,426 1,504 5,709 7,213
Maharashtra 15,215 17,209 32,424 2,840 10,326 13,165
Manipur 121 615 737 38 554 592
Meghalaya 310 1,232 1,542 86 1,109 1,195
Mizoram 182 319 500 61 287 348
Nagaland 208 461 668 60 415 474
Puducherry 251 84 335 56 51 107
Punjab 5,769 3,873 9,642 960 2,324 3,284
Rajasthan 9,715 17,427 27,142 1,686 10,456 12,142
Sikkim 97 416 514 30 375 405
Tamil Nadu 19,235 9,568 28,803 3,398 5,741 9,139
Telangana - 7 7 4 4
Tripura 319 555 874 80 500 580
Uttar Pradesh 18,956 21,612 40,568 3,501 12,967 16,468
Uttarakhand 1,106 1,697 2,803 310 1,527 1,837
West Bengal 12,670 7,223 19,893 2,089 4,334 6,423
Grand Total 1,30,671 1,46,465 2,77,136 24,173 93,327 1,17,500

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