Parliament Question: Electrification in Bihar

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.903 ANSWERED ON 04.12.2025 ELECTRIFICATION IN BIHAR †903. SHRI TARIQ ANWAR:

SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY:

Will the Minister of POWER

be pleased to state:

(a) the current status of electricity supply in Bihar including Katihar district and the number of schemes launched for electrification during the last three years;

(b) the number of villages and households yet to be fully electrified in the said State;

(c) the current status regarding the availability and adequacy of infrastructure such as transformers, power lines and substations in rural and urban areas;

(d) whether the Government has received reports of frequent power outages or low voltage in rural Bihar;

(e) if so, the steps taken/being taken by the Government to strengthen rural distribution infrastructure and ensure reliable power supply; and

(f) whether the Government has the data regarding the actual beneficiaries against the targets of schemes such as ‘Saubhagya’ and ‘Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana’

(DDUGJY) in Bihar including Katihar district, if so, the details thereof? A N S W E R THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF POWER (SHRI SHRIPAD NAIK)

(a) to (d) : Electricity being a concurrent subject, the supply and distribution of electricity to the all consumers, including ensuring the availability and adequacy of infrastructure such as transformers, power lines and substations in rural and urban areas, is the responsibility of respective State Government/ power distribution utility. As reported by the State, there is sufficient availability and adequacy of power infrastructure in the rural and urban areas of Bihar. Further, as reported by the State, there is no large scale issue of frequent power outages or persistent low voltage in rural areas of Bihar.

As per report available through National Feeder Monitoring System (NFMS), the daily average hours of supply in the rural areas of Bihar during quarter 2 of FY2026 was 22.22 hours.

Government of India has supplemented the efforts of the States/ UTs through schemes like Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS) and Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana

(SAUBHAGYA), to help them achieve the objective of providing quality and reliable power supply to all households in rural and urban areas. As reported by the States/UTs, all the inhabited un-electrified census villages in the country were electrified by 28th April, 2018.

A total of 18,374 villages were electrified under DDUGJY including ……..2.- 2 - 2,906 villages in the State of Bihar and 934 villages in Katihar district. Further, under DDUGJY and thereafter under SAUBHAGYA, electrification of all willing households was completed by 31st March, 2019 as reported by the States/ UTs. A total of 2.86 crore households were electrified during SAUBHAGYA period including 32,59,041 households in the State of Bihar. Both the schemes stand closed as on 31.03.2022.

Government of India is further supporting States/ UTs for grid electrification of left- out households during SAUBHAGYA, under the ongoing scheme of Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), launched in July, 2021. In addition, works for on-grid electrification of all identified households belonging to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) under PM-JANMAN (Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan) and tribal households under DA-JGUA (Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan) have been sanctioned under RDSS as per the scheme guidelines. Till date, works amounting to Rs. 6,521 Cr. have been sanctioned for electrification of 13.65 lakh households including Rs. 301 Cr. for electrification of 42,621 households in the State of Bihar.

(e): Government of India has facilitated the upgradation and creation of distribution infrastructure by distribution utilities through allocation of funds under various schemes such as DDUGJY, where central assistance was provided to ensure electrification of all villages and strengthening of distribution infrastructure in rural areas; (b) IPDS, where the strengthening of distribution network in urban areas was taken up as a key measure in power distribution and (c) SAUBHAGYA for electrification of households. Overall Rs. 1.85 lakh crore was spent for strengthening the distribution system of the country.

Government of India has launched Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) with the objective of improving the quality and reliability of power supply to consumers through a financially sustainable and operationally efficient Distribution Sector. The scheme focuses on improving the technical and commercial losses in the distribution sector through result-oriented investments in upgradation of distribution network including network strengthening and system automation. Projects worth Rs. 2.83 lakh crore for distribution infrastructure works including smart metering works have been sanctioned under the scheme inclusive of Rs 12,581 crore for the State of Bihar and Rs 278 crore for Katihar district. The sanctioned works comprise of new/ upgradation of substations/ Distribution Transformers, agriculture feeder segregation, upgradation of conductors, household electrification works etc.

(f) : Scheme wise electrification status in the Katihar District of Bihar is given below:

DDUGJY 2,13,906 Below Poverty Line (BPL) Households electrified SAUBHAGYA 3,47,597 Households electrified ***********