The last village to be provided with grid electricity access was also in Pakol village in Manipur’s Churachandpur district. The state-run Rural Electrification Corp. (REC) was the nodal agency for executing the ₹75,893 crore scheme. Rural electrification has been the holy grail for successive governments. As many as 63,955 villages were provided electricity in the 10th five-year plan (2002-07) and 45,955 villages in the 11th plan (2007-12). However, problems remain considering that the state-owned electricity distribution companies (discoms), which are responsible for supplying electricity to households, are in a perilous financial condition.

Source: Mint December 29, 2019 18:10 UTC