Illuminating the lives of school children

Idea Cellular supports women in self-help groups to set up solar urja lamp assembly units, which helps provide solar lamps to children across schools

In rural India, where power supply can be erratic, the lack of electricity can deprive a child of the right to education. Idea Cellular, an Aditya Birla Group company, has taken up this challenge through a novel scheme – by supporting women in self-help groups to set up Solar Urja Lamp (SoUL) assembly units. About 1,000 women and youth have become solar entrepreneurs – they are trained to assemble, distribute and repair the solar lamps. The initiative spans more than 30,000 villages across 12 states and has had multiple benefits.

The project has helped provide 525,000 solar lamps to children from over 2000 schools across 9 states. This has led to a 10 percent improvement in school attendance and pass percentage, with more children reading and writing. The SHGs and other beneficiaries have earned Rs.40 million from the project. In addition, the use of solar lamps has also helped reduce kerosene consumption by 3.6 million litres in a year, thus helping to reduce environmental impact and air pollution.