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Bharatiya Janata Party · 2019
Claim
Accurate
Delivery
Delivered
The claim is a record claim and it holds. UJALA was launched in 2015 and the Ministry of Power told Parliament on 28 November 2024 that Energy Efficiency Services Limited 'has distributed around 36.87 crore LED bulbs across the country, leading to about 4800 crore kWh (units) of energy saved per year, Rs. 19,153 crore monetary savings per year, avoided peak demand of 9,586 MW and reduced 3.9 crore tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.' The detail most worth noting is how it was financed: 'Government of India has not allotted any budget for the UJALA Scheme. EESL is implementing the programme through its own funds (debt and equity)' — bulk procurement collapsed LED prices and consumers paid for the bulbs.
“India has become a net exporter of electricity and has achieved maximum production of coal and maximum distribution of LED bulbs.”No CAG performance audit published
No CAG performance audit covering this scheme has been published. The absence of an audit is not evidence that the claim is either accurate or inaccurate.
No CAG audit of the UJALA programme has been tabled in a report we hold. The impact estimate the ministry cites is from a study by The Energy and Resources Institute.
No audit period to plot — no CAG performance audit covering this scheme has been published.
36.87 crore LED bulbs distributed; about 4,800 crore kWh saved and ₹19,153 crore of monetary savings a year
EESL has also distributed 77 lakh LED tube lights and 24 lakh energy-efficient fans. TERI's study puts the average annual saving per household at ₹1,300 to ₹1,800.
Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 482, Objectives of UJALA Scheme — answer by the Ministry of Power
A note on the claim. This entry was imported as a 2019 promise to "replace inefficient bulbs with LEDs". UJALA was launched in January 2015 and is not promised in the 2019 manifesto; what the manifesto does is claim it as an achievement, in a sentence about the energy sector: India "has achieved maximum production of coal and maximum distribution of LED bulbs." That record claim is what this entry checks.
It holds. The Ministry of Power told the Lok Sabha on 28 November 2024: "As on date, EESL has distributed around 36.87 crore LED bulbs across the country, leading to about 4800 crore kWh (units) of energy saved per year, Rs. 19,153 crore monetary savings per year, avoided peak demand of 9,586 MW and reduced 3.9 crore tonnes of CO2 emissions per year." A further 77 lakh LED tube lights and 24 lakh energy-efficient fans have been distributed.
Two things make this programme genuinely unusual in this corpus.
It cost the exchequer nothing. "Government of India has not allotted any budget for the UJALA Scheme. EESL is implementing the programme through its own funds (debt and equity)." Households bought the bulbs, often on instalment through their electricity bill; the state's contribution was aggregation. Bulk procurement at guaranteed volumes cut the price of an LED bulb from around ₹300-400 to under ₹70, and that price collapse spread far beyond the scheme itself into the open retail market — an effect the 36.87 crore figure does not capture.
And the savings estimate has an outside check. The ministry cites "independent study by The Energy and Research Institute (TERI)" finding household bills fell by "between Rs.1300 to Rs.1800" a year. That is real money for a household spending ₹500 a month on electricity.
Two cautions on the numbers, neither of which changes the verdict. The energy-saving figures are modelled — bulbs distributed multiplied by assumed hours of use and wattage difference — rather than metered, and they assume every distributed bulb replaced an incandescent one still in service. And "maximum distribution" is a superlative the manifesto does not define; the answer offers no international comparison.
The claim was about distribution, and 36.87 crore bulbs distributed at no budgetary cost is the strongest delivery record in this corpus. Our verdict is accurate.
BJP Sankalp Patra 2019 — Lok Sabha election manifesto
“Through this Sankalp Patra, you would get a glimpse of the challenges of the yesteryears, the indomitable efforts made by 130 crore Indians to overcome those challenges and our collective vision for the future… There are two commitments that I am extremely passionate about — doubling of farmer income and housing for all, by the year 2022.”
Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 482, Objectives of UJALA Scheme — answer by the Ministry of Power
“UJALA scheme launched in 2015, aims to provide energy-efficient LED bulbs to domestic consumers at an affordable price. Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of CPSEs under the Ministry of Power is the implementing agency for UJALA. As on date, EESL has distributed around 36.87 crore LED bulbs across the country, leading to about 4800 crore kWh (units) of energy saved per year, Rs. 19,153 crore monetary savings per year, avoided peak demand of 9,586 MW and reduced 3.9 crore tonnes of CO2 emissions per year… As per independent study by The Energy and Research Institute (TERI), the switch to LED bulbs has significantly reduced household electricity bills. The annual saving for a household averaged between Rs.1300 to Rs.1800. Government of India has not allotted any budget for the UJALA Scheme. EESL is implementing the programme through its own funds (debt and equity)… Till now, EESL has distributed 77 lakh LED tube lights and 24 lakh energy-efficient fans under the scheme.”