CSR: Climate Smart Villages inaugurated in Jharkhand to support rural communities

Jharkhand, India: Schneider Electric India Foundation (SEIF), a socially committed arm of Schneider Electric in India has inaugurated two Climate Smart Villages in Gumla District, which is a designated aspirational district of Jharkhand, in collaboration with PRADAN (Professional Assistance for Developed Action), a prominent NGO that works to improve lives of underprivileged rural families. The Climate Smart Village initiative is designed to empower rural India, with a specific emphasis on uplifting tribal farming communities with the use of renewable energy.

Access to essentials like healthcare, education, food security, livelihood opportunities, safety, and clean water is crucial for socio-economic development. Energy is pivotal in enabling access to these necessities. In rural India, many areas still lack reliable electricity access, relying on polluting diesel power, which incurs high costs and environmental hazards. Even in electrified areas, challenges like power limitations and unreliable supply hinder essential services.

Recognizing these challenges, Schneider Electric has developed an innovative, efficient, reliable, and cost-effective “Climate Smart Village Solution”. Schneider Electric through PRADAN implemented the solution in two villages in the Gumla District of Jharkhand to power productive loads such as irrigation pumps, oil expeller, rice huller, groundnut sheller, flour/spice grinding mill, and electric rickshaws. This India for India (i4i) system also supplies reliable power to households, runs streetlights, and meets other community needs ensuring 100% capacity utilization by efficiently directing power to various loads.

The Climate Smart Village Solution in Sehal and Chatti villages features 40 kW and 45 kW solar arrays with innovative IoT-enabled smart power management systems. This system ensures 100% capacity utilization of the solar panels by diverting power to different loads based on demand, benefitting the 110 families in the two villages. These enhancements have also led to new economic opportunities, such as a 2X increase in farmers’ income, reduced migration, and a decrease in carbon emissions by 60,000 kg/year.

As part of their livelihood improvement program in 2019, Schneider Electric and PRADAN have already installed 800+ solar irrigation pumps impacting the lives of 16000+ women farmers.

Speaking on the launch, Deepak Sharma, Zone President- Greater India & MD & CEO, Schneider Electric India, said, “Schneider Electric believes in the crucial role of India’s rural development in achieving the goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047. While significant strides have been made in placing rural India at the forefront of the country’s developmental journey, accelerated access to essential services like healthcare, education, food security, livelihood opportunities, safety, and clean water is vital to creating a real impact. The development in Sehal and Chatti Village as part of the Climate Smart Village program is a testament to Schneider Electric’s dedication to empowering rural communities through renewable energy, advancing a fair and inclusive energy transition, and enabling sustainable access to energy for all.”

Saroj Mahapatra, Executive Director, PRADAN, added, “We take immense pride in this collaboration with Schneider Electric India Foundation to inaugurate the 2 Climate Smart Villages in Jharkhand. Across these 2 villages, communities would be using solar power for Irrigation, Agro-processing, Households, and other community requirements. The success of our joint initiatives has inspired us to continue this partnership in other states, and together, we will make rural India more sustainable and empowered.”

The Climate Smart Village initiative empowers rural communities through renewable energy in three key areas: sustainable agriculture, livelihood opportunities, and household electricity access. Schneider Electric is committed to continuing its efforts to support and uplift India’s rural communities ensuring sustainable and innovative energy solutions are developed & deployed that foster growth for all, thereby making a strong contribution to India’s Viksit Bharat mission.