Government of India appeals to consumers to switch to LED bulbs, not get influenced by incorrect surveys
Government of India appeals to the consumers to switch to LED bulbs and support its efforts to save energy. The Ministry of Power said on Thursday that the Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for all (UJALA), Government of India’s energy saving initiative has already resulted in 5,57,00,270 KWh worth of energy savings and reduced over 45,000 tonnes of carbon emissions. Consumers should not get influenced by surveys presenting incorrect information about the distribution process of the UJALA scheme.
Recently, there was a survey conducted by an independent research organization Localcircles.com stating that a significant number of citizens in the country are not aware of the process of obtaining a LED bulb under the scheme. The Ministry has clarified that UJALA has benefitted more than 5 crore citizens across 18 states and 4 UTs in India, which has been possible only through robust distribution and awareness mechanisms. The Ministry has also ensured that awareness of its UJALA programme reaches every beneficiary, irrespective of their social and economic background.
The online survey by Localcircles.com presents an incomplete picture of the UJALA scheme. The online survey claims to be conducted across 20 plus states and 56 cities. However, there are four states where the scheme has not taken off owing to necessary state government approvals. The Ministry of Power is engaging with the respective state governments and ensuring that the scheme is rolled out soon. The survey also ignores states like Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, where the scheme has been successful. The survey has also been conducted in cities like Noida and Ghaziabad, where the scheme is yet to take off.
Further, the survey does not indicate the break-up of the 13,165 votes received, is an incomplete representation of the 5 crore beneficiaries who have already purchased the LED bulb under the scheme.The results of the online survey show that the publicity material should be in regional language. The Ministry of Power, along with the State Information Department, DISCOM Publicity department and several other partners to ensure that the common man is made aware of the scheme through various platforms and in respective local language of the state. In every state where the scheme is functional – Traditional media such as Television, Radio and Newspapers; Out of Home media such as Hoardings, Communication Vans, Posters, etc.; and Digital platforms such as website, Social Media, Mobile App and microsite are used to spread awareness about distribution of these bulbs
The primary claim of the online survey is that the consumers are not aware of the process of obtaining a LED bulb. The Ministry has developed and actively promoted a dashboard, which provides the real-time update of number of bulbs distributed and the cities/towns/villages the scheme is presently operational. Also, each distribution centre is geo-tagged for consumers to ascertain the exact location. The dashboard can be viewed at www.ujala.gov.in or downloaded from the Google or Apple store. The dashboard details are mentioned in all the publicity material released by the Government of India
For queries received on Twitter and Facebook about the location of distribution kiosks, the Government of India actively directs consumers to the said site. The Ministry has urged consumers to visit the dashboard and identify the location of the nearest distribution centre along with lodging complaints to the Ministry on any challenges faced, including faulty bulbs.Lastly, the online survey claims that the bulbs be marked by specific identification to discourage pilfering. It should be noted that all LED bulbs distributed under the UJALA scheme have the scheme’s name and a disclaimer “Not for resale” and takes stringent action against perpetrators
Refuting these claims, the Ministry of Power has stated that such surveys discourage the consumers from genuine appeals to switch to LED bulbs and hamper the efforts of the Ministry in executing the same.While the Ministry encourages citizen engagement initiatives, it is imperative that the representation of the population, especially for such national schemes is correct and captures the consumer sentiment correctly.
