Yogi Adityanath to launch Centre's UJALA scheme for Uttar Pradesh on Ambedkar Jayanti

Centre's 'Unnat Jeevan by Affordable LEDs and Appliances' (UJALA) scheme for Uttar Pradesh will be launched by state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Power Minister Piyush Goel on April 14.

Under the scheme, consumers can buy 9 Watt LED bulbs, BEE 5-star rated energy efficient fans and LED tube lights at nearly half the market prices. Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under Ministry of Power has designed a system of 5-star rating of the products.

The token distribution of UJALA appliances will take place at 22 zonal offices of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) from April 14, the birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar, the chief architect of Indian Constitution.

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The full swing distribution will begin across the state from May 1 at all DISCOM offices and billing counters. The UJALA scheme is being implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture under the administration of Ministry of Power, Government of India.

The 9W LED bulbs will be available at Rs 60 a bulb, energy efficient LED tube lights will be available at Rs 230 per tube light and energy efficient fans will be available at Rs 1,150 each.

The pre-booking for the energy efficient appliances has already started at e-Suvidha centres and UPPCL billing counters. In line with UJALA, the state government will also sign agreement to distribute 10,000 Solar Agricultural Pump-sets across the state.

The UJALA scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 5, 2015 with a target of replacing 77 crore inefficient bulbs with energy efficient LED bulbs. Currently, over 22 crore LED bulbs, 16 lakh LED tube lights and 6 lakh energy efficient fans have already been distributed across 25 states and 7 Union Territories.

This has led to daily energy savings of more than 8 crore KWh, resulting in avoidance of over 5,956 MW of peak demand. The estimated cumulative cost reduction in bills of consumers per day is Rs 32.45 crore and the scheme has also resulted in daily carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reduction of 65,800 tonnes.