Why you shouldn't be bedazzled by Modi's LED claims

A Nov 2013 pilot project in Puducherry led to the distribution of 6.5 lakh LED bulbs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is proud of the government’s scheme to distribute millions of low-cost, energy-efficient LED bulbs. And why not: Modi told the Lok Sabha on 7 Feb that the distribution of 21 crore LED bulbs had helped households save ?11,000 crore in electricity bills. Even the name bears his unmistakable imprint: “Unnat Jeevan by Affordable LED for All”, whose acronym is UJALA, Hindi for illumination.

Unfortunately, these numbers are mostly fiction.

First, a brief history. As with many other schemes that Modi has hogged the credit for, UJALA was designed and piloted by