The blindingly-white salt flats of Kutch have one of the most inhospitable terrains in India. Yet, the Agariya (Salt-pan Workers in Little Rann of Kutch) community migrates there for six to eight months and works through the searing summers to produce 70 per cent of India’s salt.

For decades, they have relied on diesel pumps to extract brine from the ground, spending as much as two-fifths of their annual revenue to procure fuel. But those who switched to solar-powered hybrid pumps experienced a 66 per cent increase in savings. As salt pan worker Jamnaben Amarsinhbhai Taretiya says, “The sun that was always there has now become a gold mine for us.”

Kick-starting the diesel pump was labour-intensive, so men usually did it. Jamnaben, however, does not have to depend on men to run the pump anymore—she can turn it on with the flick of a switch.

Jamnaben is one of the many women whose lives have been transformed with access to reliable and sustainable energy. In remote regions, like the salt flats of Kutch, it is cheaper and more efficient to deploy distributed renewable energy technologies—such as mini-grids, solar pumps, and other standalone productive power systems—rather than extend centralised, grid-based power.

Electrical appliances also ease the burden of household chores, which usually fall on women. Clean energy for cooking saves the time spent gathering dirty fuels such as firewood or cow dung and reduces exposure to indoor air pollution—responsible for 3.8 million premature deaths a year. Light at night makes it possible for women and girls to work and study.

Indeed, access to reliable electricity and the consequent time savings enable women to avail of opportunities for skill-training, which can help them to earn an income as an employee or even start their own business. A World Bank paper reports that household electrification in rural India led to a significant albeit small increase in women’s non-farm self-employment and had a positive effect on girls’ schooling.

Read the full article about empowering women by Deepali Khanna and Reema Nanavati at The Indian Express.