Activity 3(a) Work Package 2
Analyzing Rural Energy Transitions and Inequities

Survey Data

Publications

--- TERI-NFA Working Paper(s)

Other Publications under NFA

--- Research papers/articles

  • Going beyond incomes: Dimensions of cooking energy transitions in rural India
    Energy, Volume 68, 15 April 2014, 470–477

    Ritika Sehjpal, Aditya Ramji, Anmol Soni, Atul Kumar

    Most studies on household energy choices have considered income and education as suitable proxies for socio-cultural contexts, primarily because the available data on household energy is from census surveys which are mainly household consumption surveys, not focused energy surveys. Acknowledging the existing data constraints, a more focussed household energy survey was designed for rural India with the aim of better understanding determinants of current energy use patterns, energy choices, to measure the impacts of these factors, and importantly, arrive at key policy insights. This paper revisits the definition of access to include for reliability and quality going beyond conventional understanding. It also relooks at the role of gender in household energy choices. Having established that apart from income, sociocultural factors may have a greater role in determining household energy choices, the model results indicate electricity access would have a positive impact on cooking energy choices only after meeting a minimum threshold requirement. As women move towards more formal employment, the odds of choosing cleaner fuels increase significantly. Thus, while macro-policies may provide important guidelines and the necessary framework, implementation strategies need to be designed at the local level through a participatory approach making energy an integral part of the development paradigm.


  • Sustainable energy transitions is fundamental for growth and development in rural India
    Green Growth and Development Quarterly, Volume 1, Issue 1, October 2012, 18-24

    Aditya Ramji

    Ensuring access to energy and security within an equitable green economy is critical. This sense of urgency arises from the current concerns of climate change and the existing scale of energy deprivation. Re-envisioning sustainable development for the 21st century, therefore, requires more than environmentally benign economic growth— instead, it requires a broadening of clean energy entrepreneurship and innovation to encompass new regions, new technologies, and new approaches...... Read more


  • Energy Inequality Across Regions in India
    Green Growth and Development Quarterly, Volume 2, Issue 1, October 2013, 32-35

    Aditya Ramji and Ritika Sehjpal

    Energy inequality can be studied1 at various levels — between rural and urban, between income classes, and across regions. Differences in the pattern of energy consumption exist across regions. Energy inequality can be measured in terms of type of fuel used, quantity of energy used (useful energy or primary energy), prices of fuel and energy access. Energy inequality is closely linked to concepts of energy access and energy poverty, in fact, poverty itself. To understand the level and magnitude of inequality, the Gini coefficient as well as the Atkinson Index has been calculated across regions of India based on the National Sample household consumption survey (66th round, 2009–10)........ Read more


  • Rethinking Energy Access: What it means to the Common man
    Energetica India, November-December 2012

    Aditya Ramji and Ritika Sehjpal

    Access to clean energy fuels is a challenge among rural households and the use of traditional biomass fuels for cooking is predominant among rural households. Ensuring equity and access are critical. It is not just sufficient that a fuel is available but it is equally important that there exists aminimum level of physical infrastructure to ensure easy availability to a household when the requirement arises. It is also important to facilitate a shift to cleaner fuels such that the overall benefits of energy access are greater in terms of additional health and livelihood benefits......... Read more


--- Policy Briefs

Coming soon...

--- Other publications under NFA

Coming soon...


  • '2011. Tanushree Bhattacharya, Richa Kapoor, 'Energy Saving Instruments - ESCerts in India', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 10.1016/j.rser.2011.10.007

There exists a large potential in India as far as achievement of energy efficiency is concerned and it is up to the Indian policy-makers, regulators and obligated entities to ensure that India realizes this potential to the fullest. A deep commitment towards this effect is not only beneficial for the country as a whole through reduction in its carbon foot print and reduced dependence on fuel imports but will also increase the competitive edge of our industries vis-à-vis other countries. One of the instruments for improving the overall energy efficiency that has emerged in recent times is energy saving certificates (ESCerts). The staying power of European examples in Italy, UK and France has demonstrated that ESCerts can help initiate more efficiency projects. This paper discusses ESCerts as an instrument for reducing the energy intensity of the high energy intensive Indian industries under the light of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 and Perform Achieve and Trade scheme (under NMEEE) and suggests a way forward for the ESCerts market in India.

Full Text

Events

Workshop on 'Analysing Rural Energy Transitions and Inequities'
Date: 29 September 2014
Venue: Magnolia Hall, IHC, New Delhi

Workshop on Analysing Rural Energy Transitions and InequitiesThe Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) organized a workshop on 'Rural Energy Transitions and Inequities' on September 29, 2014 as part of TERI's study on 'Energy: Incentivizing Energy Transitions Towards Sustainable Energy Pathways', supported by the Norwegian Framework Agreement. The Workshop highlighted some of the key findings emanating from the study that involved a primary household survey across six states in the country. It sought to first understand the existing patterns of energy consumption in rural India and how the socio-economic parameters affect these energy choices. In addition, it examined the factors that determine the extent of energy transitions, the current status of access to clean fuels, and inequities that would help prioritize the options to enable transition towards clean energy in India.

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Others - 'Dissemination of project findings through other national / international platforms'

  • The Rural–Urban Divide, Air Pollution, and Climate Policy
    May 7-8, 2013

    TERI participated in a workshop organized by CICERO, Oslo, Norway, from May 7-8, 2013. The workshop was a part of the Large Developing Economies Project, of which TERI is a partner, and provided inputs on energy access and energy security especially with regard to the challenges faced in India.

    A presentation on the work carried out under the project was made in the meeting. It covered issues on energy access in India, case studies from the field, and analysis of the data collected during the project.

    Linking issues to identify the potential for climate policy with poverty reduction
    Studies on climate policy impacts will be increasingly important in the days to come as the seriousness of the climate challenge is taking hold. Will climate policy be an additional burden to the poor or provide new opportunities for income, growth, and improved livelihood? These are some of the fundamental questions that we have worked on in the project, which is titled 'Large developing economies: Current and future contributions to climate change'. The aim is to establish data and methods by making joint analysis of policies and income distribution feasible.

    In the context of poverty, the focus of the project has been on the urban–rural income gap, which has increased during the last decades and has been a major factor behind poverty in China and India.