Saubhagya Yojana: Scheme brought positive changes in people's lives in remote areas

The Union government`s "Saubhagya Yojana" has positively impacted people`s lives, including the Ease of Living, education, income generation and health besides triggering a social change, a report said.

Public Policy Research Centre, a right-wing think-tank headed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)`s Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, on Tuesday released a report on how Saubhaya Yojana has changed people`s lives in remote areas of Madhya Pradesh.

The study was conducted in 36 revenue villages and many more habitations of seven districts of western, central and eastern Madhya Pradesh.

"The report not only documents the immediate tangible benefits that people are experiencing in their everyday life but also strives to assess the behavioural changes both at an individual level and community level and also how electricity is fundamentally impacting the way people think and plan for their future," Sahasrabuddhe said while releasing the report.

The reports said that 35 per cent of the people purchased TV sets within three months of electrification, while with charging facility at home people have increased their mobile phone usage and have started using them for entertainment purposes as well.

With electrification, people are using internet for education and children have started using social media, the report said.

The report also claimed that electricity has strengthened relations, increased family income and has provided security to the people.

The report revealed that the Saubhagya scheme has changed and enhanced the self-esteem of the people in a village near Guna district where young men were unable to find a bride as their parents were not willing to marry their daughter in a village where there was no electricity.

"With electricity, the villagers now express a sense of pride that their young men would now find good matches and a necessity as basic as electricity would not hinder their lives," a case study done by researchers said.

The scheme provides energy access to all through last-mile connectivity and envisages electricity connections for all the remaining un-electrified households in the country.