In a move to make available lED bulbs at cheaper rates, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday that the price of these lights would be brought down to Rs 44 per unit in coming days.
“We will encourage the ‘Make in India’ campaign and aim to bring down the prices of lEDs to Rs 44 per unit. Earlier I had talked about it in lighter vein. But now this is the new target for us,” Goyal told reporters here.
The state-run EESl has been able to procure lED bulbs for Rs 73 as of June, down from Rs 310 in February 2014, a reduction of over 75 per cent. Goyal also urged the representatives from the lighting industry to reduce retail prices of lED bulbs, which are still ruling as high as Rs 300.
He was speaking at an event organised by Energy Efficiency Services limited (EESl) to mark the distribution of three crore lED bulbs under Government flagship initiative, the Domestic Efficient lighting Programme (DElP). “The scheme is running in six states - Rajasthan, Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh -- and is rapidly expanding across all other states,” an EESl press release said.