Although government is making heavy investments in hydro-power dams and extending the grid across the country to provide electricity, it needs to broaden its scope and focus more on investing heavily in other renewable energy sources particularly off-grid solar energy.

Access to electricity in the country stands at 24 per cent in urban and less than 7 per cent  in rural areas and of the population with access, more than 90 per cent cannot afford to use electricity for cooking or to meet other key energy needs due to high power tariffs. They remain stuck on using biomass to meet most of their key energy needs.

Increased investment in off-grid solar energy would not only improve access to affordable and clean energy, especially in rural households, but it will also help to reduce carbon emissions from use of fossil fuels, especially in urban centres, thereby addressing of the biggest drivers of climate change.

Read more: Daily Monitor