Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar brought joy to millions through his batting exploits. After his retirement, he is about to do the same through Spreading Happiness Foundation, a joint initiative of the cricketing icon and Schneider Electric India.
The foundation, an NGO, is working towards providing access to energy by installing solar home lighting systems to identified beneficiaries for free.
Ravi Bhushan, head, skill development and entrepreneur projects for corporate social responsibility at Schneider Electric, said, "In the initial phase the target is to provide this benefit to 25,000 villagers across India and 735 households in coastal Karnataka by this year-end."
Of these 735, 278 houses in Kundapur taluk of Udupi district have been provided with access to energy by mid-November, said Prashant Shetty, assistant manager, CSR-Schneider Electric south India in charge. Of the 278 houses, 150 are in Kollur village panchayat; 100 are in Jadkal Village Panchayat and 28 are in Chitur village panchayat.
The next target is to provide solar home lighting systems to 456 houses in Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannada district. On November 30, 201 houses in Elaneeru, Malavanthige and Kariyalu in Malavanthige village panchayat will be provided lights. As many as 209 houses in Sulkeri, Sulkerimogaru, Piliya, Navara, Badga Karnaduru, all in Aladangadi village panchayat and 46 houses in Naravi village panchayat will be provided solar lighting in December. "The beneficiaries have been identified. Once we receive the material, the villagers will be provided with solar lighting,'' said Shetty.
As part of the initiative, Schneider Electric India will install its In-Diya Lighting System which is an innovative and flexible solution to bring reliable, efficient and green lighting to people living with no or unreliable electricity.
The initiative has already been rolled out as a pilot project in Velunje, Nashik, Maharashtra and is currently impacting over 1,000 villagers. It is expected to light up the lives of many more in the next couple of years.
The starting point of the initiative was Sachin's introduction to Schneider Electrics' In-Diya Lighting System - an innovative, affordable and flexible solution to bring reliable, efficient and green lighting to people living with no or unreliable electricity. In-Diya is a specially designed LED based lighting system that can operate on main power supply and/or solar power, and provides backup ranging from 8 - 15 hours for indoor use. In-Diya can illuminate a room of 12'X12' for all normal activities and provide 50,000 hours of lighting across its life-cycle.
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