Rural energy access has been a persistent issue in India causing the country to become one of
the most energy poor nations of the world. Despite the launch of several heavily funded
programs for the provision of electricity and modern fuels to rural areas, majority of the
country‘s village households remain neglected and deficient in energy. Calls have been made
for the reconstruction of policies, programs and institutional frameworks that engage in
dispersion of energy to the rural poor. Such policies, programs and institutional frameworks
vary across different states within India. These differences need to be understood in depth to
formulate suitable mechanisms for energy access. In particular, social and economic aspects
of energy access need to be studied to overcome barriers in providing energy to the rural poor.
This study discerns how different states are performing in terms of providing sustainable
energy access to rural people. It conducts an analysis of the socio-economic sustainability of
energy access to the rural household in six states of the country (Andhra Pradesh, Himachal
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal) over the course of two time
periods(1996-2002, 2005-2011), with the aid of key performance indicators. Results indicate
that all the states have improved their energy access conditions over the past few decades.
However, the rates of growth are vastly different and some states still continue to remain
highly inadequate in their performances. Punjab has consistently been the most successful
state while West Bengal continues to be the most energy-poor state despite a reasonable
growth in energy sustainability. The possible reasoning behind these disparities could be
dissimilarity in economic development between the states, size and population density of the
states, isolation of villages and ineffectiveness and inequity of subsidy schemes. These needs
further exploration at individual state level. Transition to less-expensive and easily installable
renewable technologies, communicating benefits of modern energy to rural population and
channeling subsidies towards lower income groups can improve reach of modern energy
towards the rural poor of India.