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INDIA: Forum Addresses Rural Energy Security

Prime Sarmiento

MANILA, Jun 9 2008 (IPS) - For poor rural women in India, access to energy connotes having the means to own a non-polluting stove and lantern that can help them cook, do household chores and earn a living. And yet even these basic needs are barely met – a majority of these women still spend much of their time and effort collecting firewood and cow dung for cooking and lighting.

Gender and poverty issues should be among the priority areas in developing an Indian energy policy, according to industry experts who participated in the Asian Clean Energy Forum organised here last week by the Asian Development Bank (AsDB) and the U.S. Agency for International Development. The consensus was that increased access to energy would lift these women from poverty.

In a report presented during the Forum, Soma Dutta, Asia regional network coordinator for the Amsterdam-based ENERGIA International Network on Gender and Sustainable Energy, says that only 45 percent of India’s 70 percent rural population have access to electricity, and over 80 percent still rely on firewood as their main cooking fuel. The long hours and big effort spent just gathering firewood give these women little time for education or employment, she adds.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) defines energy poverty as the "inability to cook with modern cooking fuels and the lack of a bare minimum of electric lighting to read or for other household and productive activities at sunset." By this definition, these Indian rural women could be classified as being energy poor.

India is hailed as among the world’s fastest growing economies, with annual GDP expanding at an impressive 8 to 9 percent. Energy demand has risen in line with the growing economy, making India one of the world’s biggest energy consumers. India is also a net oil importer – domestic production can barely meet surging demand. This is why energy security is one of the priority programs of the Indian government.

Energy security, however, does not only mean covering the shortfall in energy requirements, but also giving a majority of the people access to energy. And that should go beyond giving people access at basic level, says economist KV Ramani.


"Beyond basic means giving them enough energy that they can use for their livelihood," Ramani said in an interview held on the sidelines of the Forum. He adds that in drafting any policy on energy development, the government must consider how it affects the women – as it is the mother and daughter who are usually tasked to provide the energy needed for the family.

One of the effective ways of improving women’s – especially poor women’s – access to energy is to give them the means to purchase a stove, says Dutta. Stoves are very important for women from poor households where 80 percent of total energy consumption is for cooking.

SEWA Bank, a bank that provides ‘microloans’ to poor women in the eastern state of Gujarat, tried to address this problem by launching Project URJA in 2006. Through Project URJA, SEWA has managed to extend loans to women – – enabling them to buy solar-powered lanterns and smokeless gas stoves. The women used these products not only to do household chores but also to earn extra income by selling vegetables in the market or opening up tea stalls.

Project URJA has had some success in improving women’s access to energy in Gujarat, according to Dutta.

 
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