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The proposed project will provide support services at national level to GVEP partner activities and India's Remote Village Electrification Program. The project also aims to provide the ICT tools that can facilitate coordination and optimal allocation of resources of various agencies working in rural developmental activities. This has been demonstrated for Tsunami Relief work by JANASTU under an IDRC grant to coordinate the work of various NGOs by providing the KM and GIS tools so that NGOs and the government officials know what each is doing in a given area.

Energy is an essential component to many development issues such as education, health, gender equality, income generating activities etc and provision of access to clean modern fuels and energy services can bring about multiple and synergistic development impacts. Energy is relevant to and underpins all the MDGs as articulated succinctly by DFID and UNDP and the same is reproduced below.

Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Energy inputs such as electricity and fuels are essential to generate jobs, industrial activities, transportation, commerce, micro-enterprises and agriculture outputs. Most staple foods must be processed, conserved and cooked, requiring heat from various fuels.

2 Achieve universal primary education

To attract teachers to rural areas electricity is needed for homes and schools. After dusk study requires illumination. Many children, especially girls, do not attend primary schools in order to carry wood and water to meet family subsistence needs.

3 Promote gender equality and empower women

Lack of access to modern fuels and electricity contributes to gender inequality. Women are responsible for most household cooking and water boiling activities. This takes time away from other productive activities as well as from educational and social participation. Access to modern fuels eases women’s domestic burden and allows them to pursue educational, economic and other opportunities.

4 Reduce child mortality

Diseases caused by unboiled water, and respiratory illness caused by the effects of indoor air pollution from traditional fuels and stoves, directly contribute to infant and child disease and mortality.

5 Improve maternal health

Women are disproportionately affected by indoor air pollution and water- and food-borne illnesses. Lack of electricity in health clinics, illumination for nighttime deliveries, and the daily drudgery and physical burden of fuel collection and transport all contribute to poor maternal health conditions, especially in rural areas.

6 Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

Electricity for communication such as radio and television can spread important public health information to combat deadly diseases. Health care facilities, doctors and nurses, all require electricity and the services that it provides (illumination, refrigeration, sterilization, etc) to deliver effective health services.

7 Ensure environmental sustainability

Energy production, distribution and consumption has many adverse effects on the local, regional and global environment including indoor, local and regional air pollution, local particulates, land degradation, acidification of land and water, and climate change. Cleaner energy systems are needed to address all of these effects and to contribute to environmental sustainability.

8 Develop a global partnership for development

The World Summit for Sustainable Development called for partnerships between public entities, development agencies, civil society and the private sector to support sustainable development, including the delivery of affordable, reliable and environmentally sustainable energy services.

Provision of energy services through Remote Village Electrification Program (RVEP) of MNES, Govt of India can stimulate development in many other socio economic sectors. The growth in energy services has to support the growth in other developmental inputs for achievement of MDGs. The development of remote communities is largely dependent on government funding and it is desirable that electrification plans are linked to goals and priorities in other sectors such as roads, water supply, sanitation, education, health etc. The KM and GIS tools from this project provide the necessary information and coordination support to various development agencies.