Gandhiji’s Charkha goes Solar

On December 6, 2018, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shri Yogi Adityanath inaugurated a three-day long Khadi Exposition 2018, in Lucknow. At the event Navneet Sehgal, Principal Secretary, Khadi and Village Industries Board (KVIB) and Atul Bagai, UN Environment Country Head, India, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, under the aegis of Chief Minister on solar-based livelihood and rural enterprises. “On Gandhiji’s 150th birth anniversary, the Khadi Charkha has been modernized and made renewable. Solar charkha’s have been distributed in UP villages and are boosting women’s livelihoods. Rural employment generation in Uttar Pradesh is very important and in this context Khadi and Village Industries Board (KVIB) and UN Environment have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on solar-based mini grids to enhance income generating activities in 100 villages in UP,” said Shri Yogi Adityanath.

The Chief Minister also announced several incentives to promote rural employment such as sanctioning of loans up to `150 crore for solar-powered charkhas, leaf-based plate making machines, and electric-powered pottery wheels. He also encouraged farmers in Uttar Pradesh to transition from chemical fertilizers and pesticides to Zero Budget Natural Farming. The MoU signed between UN Environment and the KVIB focusses on rural electrification-based employment generation and provides value-added services on the strength of reliable electricity in rural areas of Uttar Pradesh. “The potential of solarbased mini grids on income generating opportunities for rural people of Uttar Pradesh is huge. Together with UN Environment we have identified activities which will be implemented in 100 villages or hamlets as a pilot project and thereafter scaled up to 10,000 villages,” said Navneet Sehgal, Principal Secretary, KVIB.

Source: http://in.one.un.org/un-press-release/gandhijis-charkhagoes- solar/