Cooking and Lighting Technology Mission (CALTEM)

Anil K. Rajvanshi

Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI)

P.O. Box 44, Phaltan-415523, Maharashtra

E-mail : nariphaltan@sancharnet.in

1. PROBLEM :

  1. It is a matter of shame for all of us that even after 55 years of independence there are 63% of rural households in India which use only kerosene for lighting. Majority of the kerosene lamps are hurricane type lamps, which produce very poor light of about 60-70 lumens (lm) (a 100 W bulb produces ~ 1300 lm and for reading about 200 lm/m2 or lux is sufficient). In some states like Bihar, Assam etc. about 90-95% rural households use only kerosene for lighting. Thus there are estimates that 90-100 million rural households do not have electricity and with frequent blackouts and brownouts even larger number probably use kerosene for lighting. Similarly, rural areas in India use about 180 million tons of biomass fuel for cooking through very inefficient and smoky cookstoves. Cooking and lighting energy constitute 75% of total energy used in rural areas. Yet the quality of end product (heat and light) leaves much to be desired and the rural poor are still living in stone ages. Our mass media rarely highlight this plight of rural poor who have the same aspirations as the rest of the country of getting clean fuel like liquid petroleum gas (LPG) for cooking and good high lumen light source. With electricity shortfall of about 15,000 MW/year in India; poor grid infrastructure in rural areas and ever increasing petroleum imports for the country it is safe to say that the lives of rural poor will remain in a primitive state for a long time to come. A country, which proudly claims to have made great strides in developing world class rocket technology and software, can certainly create technologies to improve the quality of life for the rural poor.

  2. A recent paper produced by NARI has shown that with the use of high technology from the emerging areas of nanotechnology and biotechnology it is possible to produce devices for generation of cooking and lighting energy by an efficient use of the locally available raw materials.

  3. It is therefore envisaged that the future of cooking and lighting energy will be based on liquid and gaseous fuels obtained from locally available biomass sources. Thus production of ethanol, biodiesel and pyrolysis oil will form the backbone of cooking and lighting fuel. Similarly supply of biogas from extremely efficient biogas digesters together with efficient storage system will be the basis of clean cooking energy. The details are again given in the enclosed paper.

  4. According to our preliminary calculations (details are given in the paper) this mission will have the capability of creating Rs. 30-40,000 crores/yr industry in terms of liquid fuel supply and end products for cooking and lighting. The implications of this for creating rural wealth are tremendous. Prosperous rural areas will help the country with its sustainable development and augers well for its stability and security.

2. WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE :

  1. A technology mission for cooking and lighting (CALTEM) should be set up on the lines of existing technology missions for other areas. The mandate of this technology mission should be to bring adequate light (~ 100-200 lux) and user friendly and clean cooking system, backed by fuel supply chain to every rural household by 2015.

  2. Since it is envisaged that major part of the energy will come from renewable sources, it is appropriate that the technology mission should be housed in MNES. However a non-governmental official should run it so that continuity and accountability are maintained. The core group of technology mission will consist of govt. officials from the ministries of Rural Development, Environment, Power, DST, CSIR, MNES etc. Besides it should also have representatives of a few NGOs and captains of industry who are involved in rural development (e.g. Hindustan Lever, Mahindra and Mahindra, Birla Group etc.). This group which is a mixture of Govt., NGOs and corporate sector will have a better chance of getting the technologies in rural areas rapidly than a purely government venture.

  3. Some of the areas that CALTEM can work on are as follows :

i) R & D for producing better lighting and cooking technologies. This will be based on very high technology inputs from emerging areas of nanotechnology and biotechnology. Thus this activity could be funded by MNES, CSIR, DST etc. The recently started Millennium Technology Initiative Mission program of CSIR will be very conducive to this activity since Govt. labs, Corporate sector and NGOs can work together for rapid development and deployment of cutting edge technologies in rural areas.

ii) Development and deployment of liquid and gaseous fuel program. This will include ethanol, bio-diesel, pyrolysis oil and biogas programs. The development will include R & D, scale up of technologies and efficient fuel delivery system to rural households.

iii) CALTEM should also encompass the Rural Electricity Supply Technology (REST) mission that the Prime Minister has recently started and which is being managed by Ministry of Power. The mandate of REST mission is to supply electricity to all rural areas by 2012 AD Most of the electricity will go in providing lighting to these areas.

iv) CALTEM should try to bring under one umbrella all the various programs on cooking and lighting scattered under different ministries. It is suggested that the funds given for cooking and lighting energy in different ministries should all be clubbed together and is made available for this technology mission.

As can be seen from this small list, CALTEM has the potential of touching almost all aspects of rural life. Hence there is a potential of producing overall rural development by this program. It is also quite possible that CALTEM will provide an impetus for scientific community to do excellent R & D for India’s development. It is hoped that this can be the beginning of a major effort of bringing light and hope to the lives of rural poor.

 

June 2003

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