7th grader raises funds to distribute free LED bulbs to poor

Meera Vashisht, an Indian origin girl living in the US, has raised around Rs 1.4 lakh through crowd funding to distribute LED bulbs to underprivileged sections in India.
Vashisht, who learnt about India's 'Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for all' (UJALA) programme while working on her 7th class science project, collected USD 2,079.51 with the help of her parents and reached out to 500 people in her vicinity in Houston, Texas (US), the Power Ministry said.
She purchased LED bulbs from the Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), the implementing agency for UJALA, and distributed them to residents of JJ clusters in Keshavpuram in New Delhi today, it added.

Six hundred families will benefit from 1,800 LED bulbs to be provided under the UJALA scheme from the funds collected by Vashisht.
"LED bulbs use less than half the energy of an incandescent bulb and runs for over 7-8 years. I am very happy to have been able to carry out the distribution of LED bulbs and hope to inspire young minds across the globe for working towards energy efficiency," she said.
Vashisht also believes that her effort will result in lighting up 46 houses for one year, reducing electricity bills by Rs 2,500 and most importantly there will be significant reduction in CO2 emissions every year, the Ministry said.

Under UJALA, over 12.60 crore LED bulbs have already been distributed across India, which is leading to a daily energy savings of about 4.48 crore kWh and resulting in avoidance of about 3,278 MW of peak demand, it added.

Through the scheme, the estimated cumulative cost reduction of bills of consumers, per day, is Rs 17.94 crore and is part of the governments efforts to spread the message of energy efficiency in the country.
Project Manager of UJALA scheme in Delhi Jitender Kohli said: "It is inspiring to see the young generation taking lead in conserving the environment."
The UJALA scheme will play a key role in huge energy savings in the state by use of energy efficient LEDs. LEDs, in long term, serve as a cost effective and a safe alternative to the traditional lighting, he added.