In line with strengthening the electricity supply and empowering the rural communities through best practices and environmentally sustainable methods, Smart Power India is planning to install mini-grids along 1,000 hamlets of Nagaland.

Smart Power India (SPI), a subsidiary of the Rockefeller Foundation, in association with the Nagaland Government, GIZ, Mithun Rural Development Foundation (MRDF), and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), hosted a round-table discussion in Dimapur.

The meeting comprehensively discussed the micro-enterprise development and powering public infrastructure following the installation of solar mini-grids in Mon District on February 2022 and to derive lessons for scaling the project to 1,000 villages of Nagaland.

It is worth noting that the first three mini-grids of northeastern regions were set up at Chenwetnyu, Longkei, and Totok Chinga villages of Nagaland’s Mon District. The mini-grids was installed by the Mithun Rural Development Foundation (MRDF) in collaboration with Smart Power India (SPI) and District Administration of Mon.

The Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Mon – Ajit Kumar Verma, expressed gratitude toward the organizations, such as Smart Power India, GIZ, NABARD, and WRI for supporting the project.

“Now, electricity is available 24×7 in the three mini-grid villages and is used to power livelihoods, streetlights, health centres, schools, and homes. In the last nine months, over 70 new micro-businesses based on agri-processing, non-timber forest produce processing, biofloc fisheries, livestock feed, carpentry, metal works, and handicrafts have been incubated,” he added.

Besides, the Managing Director of Mithun Rural Development Foundation (MRDF) – Vijay Bhaskar, remarked that the project aims to provide training and enable the youth to set up micro-enterprises and encourage reverse migration leading to an economic boost.

The General Manager of NABARD – Tiakala Ao, highlighted the significance of financing the productive use of energy towards developing rural livelihoods and increasing local incomes.