Magsaysay Awardee lights up village households

BANGALORE: The state will soon see electricity in 1,000 village households and 10 schools thanks to the efforts of Applied Materials Inc and SELCO Solar Pvt Limited which is a social enterprise spearheaded by Magsaysay Award Winner Harish Hande.The collaboration on Monday announced an action plan to provide solar lighting systems to 1,000 village households and 10 schools. The households identified do not have reliable access to electricity and cannot afford solar lighting systems.“It is such partnerships with which we can provide lighting to poor households,” said Hande while appreciating the commitment shown by the Applied Materials Foundation.Speaking at the event Aninda Moitra, country president for Applied Materials India stated that approximately 400 million people in the country have no access to reliable electricity. One lakh villages are isolated from the national grid. “They use fuels like coal and kerosene in their houses which causes health and environmental concerns,” he said and added, “We are proud to be associated with SELCO and what it stands for.”The project was initiated in May and has already reached 202 households and four schools. Following its grassroots philosophy of identifying need at the sources, SELCO customises products for villages and installs them with a regular warranty and after sales service. The project is expected to impact 10,000 individuals and generate 279 KW hours of clean energy.