India Adds Over 1.5 Lakh Megawatt Installed Power Capacity In Last Seven Years

The ministry of power said that India added 1,55,377 megawatt (MW) to the installed power capacity in the country in the last seven years.

According to the ministry, India had a massive power deficit of 16.6 per cent in 2007-08. Even in 2011-12, it was 10.6 per cent.

“Through the multi pronged, comprehensive and aggressive interventions of the government, this deficit is nearly wiped out, consistently over the last 3 years: .4 per cent in 2020-21, .7 per cent in 2019-20 and .8 per cnt in 2018-19,” the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said that this transformation from an acute power deficit country, to a situation of demand being met, except for an extremely marginal shortfall of less than one per cent, has been made possible by schemes like Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) and Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya) scheme brought in by the current government to address the deficit situation.

The Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), was brought in on 25 July 2015 for infrastructure push in the rural sector – setting up transmission and sub-transmission systems. The Integrated Power Development Scheme ( IPDS), was brought in on 20 November 2014 to fill in power infrastructure gaps in urban areas.

The Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya) scheme launched on 25 September 2017, had the vision to take electricity to every household (willing) and has been able to give electricity connections to 2.8 crore households which were hitherto in darkness.