| This research aims at exposing the nature and magnitude of the rural energy crisis and the importance of energy issues in rural development. The scale, severity, and duration of the Indian rural energy problem have been described in detail, and factors that appear most relevant for developing and utilizing energy sources have been identified. The study recognizes that energy policy is one aspect of the overall development policy of the country. However, energy is also an important variable in every activity connected with development, and therefore, how energy policies are devised and implemented influences the results attained in national development goals.;The vast heterogeneity of the rural areas of India inhibit sweeping generalizations and uniform methods of assessment. Therefore, where appropriate, specific examples have been included to draw attention to the differences in attitudes, methods, and means of approaching the problem of rural energy planning. The obvious linkages are the particular problems of rural energy and the general problems of rural poverty and destitution. The "software" components, such as local social organizations and cultural/economic system level considerations, have also been included. The agricultural sector has received relatively more encouragement than other sectors of rural India, which accounts for the large number of irrigation improvements, fertilizer production and distribution facilities, and warehousing schemes that are in place all over India, especially in the more progressive states. However, the rural households have suffered much neglect, whether the consideration is rural electricity or any other energy-related project in rural development. In the area of household energy, which accounts for 70% of all energy used in India, the country is drifting toward a crisis situation. In computing the rural energy needs, the contributions made by rural women in the development and use of energy have been largely ignored. This important sector has been given adequate and separate consideration in this research to highlight the amount of animate energy contributed by rural women.;Indian rural energy is supply constrained, rather than demand driven. The substantial use of noncommercial energy, the low price elasticity due to subsistence-level use, the low extent of rural electrification, the low-level government investment and policy commitments, and the public policy preference of urban over rural considerations are still major problems of the rural energy situation. The discussion and analysis point to a number of possibilities and opportunities available for improving energy planning and its impact on rural India. |
