Govt to launch two schemes to provide farm pumps, fans tomorrow

The Centre will launch two schemes tomorrow including distribution of energy efficient, smart agriculture pumps, aimed at saving subsidy worth Rs 20,000 crore.

It will also launch a scheme to provide energy efficient fans that aim to save Rs 700 a year on consumer power bills every year.

A farmer can operate the SIM-enabled agriculture pumps from their homes using mobile phones.

"Power Minister Piyush Goyal will launch the schemes for distribution of energy efficient smart agriculture pumps and fans tomorrow in Andhra Pradesh," a Power Ministry press release said.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will be present on the launch of the two schemes, namely National Energy Efficient Agriculture Pumps Programme and National Energy Efficient Fan Programme at Vijayawada.

These schemes will be implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), a PSU under the Power Ministry.

National Energy Efficient Agriculture Pumps Programme will help farmers in replacing age-old energy guzzlers agricultural pumps across the country with the new-age energy efficient agricultural pumps, with a 5-star rating.

These pumps will be enabled with smart control panel and a SIM card, giving farmers the flexibility to switch-on and switch-off these pumps from their mobile phones and from the comfort of their homes, it said.

Through these new-age energy efficient SIM-enabled agricultural pumps, Power Ministry is looking at 30 per cent savings in energy by 2019.

This will boil down to an annual savings of about Rs 20,000 crore on agricultural subsidies or a saving of 50 billion units of energy every year.

Under the National Energy Efficient Fan Programme, ceiling fans of 5-star rating 50 Watts (from leading companies such as Usha and Bajaj) will be provided at Rs 60 per month on EMI basis and Rs 1,250 per unit on upfront payment basis.

With the usage of these energy efficient fans, consumers will be able to save Rs 700 every year on their electricity bills. This means, a consumer can recover the cost of this energy-efficient ceiling fan in less than 2 years, the statement said.

The energy-efficient ceiling fans cost Rs 1,440 to a consumer who uses the installment route, while those who pay upfront can buy this fan for Rs 1,250. A total of two ceiling fans can be bought on one electricity bill from domestic category consumers only.