Nokpai Speech

DC Speech

Roundtable Minigrids Dimapur

Roundtable Report

A working paper from Cambridge University’s Energy Policy Research Group decisively concludes that to fully realise the benefits of electricity to the socio-economic empowerment of women, the quality of the electricity provided is far superior to counting electrified households in determining progress in gender parity. Ashish Kumar Sedai, Rabindra Nepal and Toraj Jamasb’s paper titled ‘Electrification and Socio-Economic Empowerment of Women in India’ assesses the causal effect of access and hours of electricity on women’s empowerment. The study finds that just having access to electricity is not enough to empower women and the quality of electricity affects women’s positions on all four dimensions that enable empowerment; specifically women’s labour force participation, education, health, and exposure to electronic media. A high quality energy supply is a central tenet of MRDF’s model, as budding entrepreneurs need to have confidence in the electricity in order to base their livelihoods on it. Every villager that connects to our solar mini-grids receives 24*7 electricity as well as a three-phase connection. In fact, the 7.5 HP rice huller that we recently installed in Longkei village was the first three-phase connection in all of Mon district, testament to the unparalleled level of service we intend to provide in the region.

Furthermore, the study argues that “electrification alone is unlikely to ensure significant progress in important dimensions of women’s empowerment, in particular, for decision-making ability and economic freedom. Sustained efforts in improving women’s earning opportunities, education, [and] household income […] are important for improving their agency and empowerment. These enabling factors can be improved in other ways besides electrification.” This re-enforces MRDF’s consistent view that electricity access is just the beginning, and we engage deeply with the tribal communities and local entrepreneurs to ensure that the rewards of electricity access are fully realised. We also specifically target women entrepreneurs to help with incubation, further demonstrating the socioeconomic benefits of the work we do.

The link to the full paper can be found here: https://www.eprg.group.cam.ac.uk/eprg-working-paper-2012/

Crossing from Assam into Nagaland’s Mon district, the difference between the two regions was stark. Even after making the journey repeatedly during the course of my internship at Hamara Grid, it never failed to surprise me. Along with the sudden absence of paved roads, the police checkpoint that greeted us at the border served as a reminder that though tensions have eased, the state is yet to return to normal. The conflict has constrained development in the region, particularly in Mon, whose economic conditions lag behind those of the other districts in the state. Electricity tends to last only a few hours a day, stifling the growth of small businesses and leading to over 90% of the workforce engaging in agriculture as their primary source of income. Through the installation of solar mini-grids in the 132 villages across the district, the Hamara Grid team was hoping to change that.

The view of the solar mini-grid installed by Hamara Grid in Chenwetnyu village, Mon district, one of the three pilot villages. While thirty to forty years ago, a lack of access to electricity was not a binding constraint for a poor person to participate in the economy, today it is. Particularly since the outbreak of COVID energy has become an enabler of fundamental aspects of development, especially agricultural productivity, health, education, and job creation. But if there is one lesson that has stood out to me from the past three months, it is that the quality and reliability of that electricity is arguably as important. Unreliable service harms production and profits, and increases the appeal of outward migration for enterprising individuals looking for infrastructure they can have confidence in. To ensure livelihood growth and an increase in village GDP, villagers need a secure platform on which to build there micro-enterprises. I was lucky enough to meet multiple local entrepreneurs who, though still adapting to using electric machines, were enthusiastic about taking up the new opportunities their grid connection had given them.

Reliable electricity access is also particularly important in improving social outcomes. Light extends the effective work day, allowing women to leave certain household chores for the night. If the power supply is erratic, these benefits will fail to materialise; electrified households receiving no electricity at night will fare little better in this regard than households without a grid connection. Equally, though research shows that women in unelectrified households hardly undertake any reading irrespective of their education level, a reliable supply is crucial in ensuring educational outcomes improve. The solar grid, with 24*7 service and a back up generator, guarantees this. Finally, while working in Chenwetnyu village I was struck by how many women of the village would go out for firewood, from the early hours of the morning until 4-5pm. India in fact burns 22% of the world’s biomass, the largest of any country and a disproportionately high figure on a per capita basis. Switching to electric alternatives allows time to be devoted to more productive activities instead, while reducing exposure to harmful pollutants from the burning of biomass fuels, which women are especially exposed to.

Boing Konyak, of Totokchinga village, welcomes us into the hut housing his newly installed 7 HP electric rice mill. Mon is home to the Konyak tribe, notable for their tattooed faces, heads, necks, and backs, earned through headhunting. The umbrella term conceals the immense cultural richness of the district. There are 28 different Konyak dialects, each of which represent a people with their own practices and cultural motifs. Yet the influence of foreign missionaries has precipitated one of the most dramatic social transformations to have taken place in any tribal society. Once largely animist, the Konyaks are now 98% Christians; each of our inauguration ceremonies were bookended by a prayer to the Lord. Many of the traditional practices have dwindled, in some cases for the better – the last recorded case of headhunting was in the 1980s, and tattooed faces in the village are few and far between – but in many instances for the worse. As youth outward migration has increased, Konyak craft practices have not been passed on and knowledge of them is diminishing. Some also fear that the traditional tribal songs will be replaced by Bollywood ones. Hamara Grid is working to harness the solar grid to preserve these practices. Partnering with industry specialists, work has begun to provide work to local artisans and hopefully build an artisanal hub that will promote these invaluable techniques and knowledge well beyond the lifespan of the solar grid.

While practicing a traditional dance, Totokchinga villagers don weapons, detailed sashes and elaborate headdresses, all made by the locals. This is just the beginning. Solar energy infrastructure is beneficial in and of itself, but if sustainable and enduring development is to be realised the quality of service provided by the mini-grids must be harnessed. The villagers in Totokchinga, Longkei, and Chenwetnyu are the first in the whole of Mon district to have access to three-phase electricity and attuning to that is never a straightforward process. Providing funding to buy new machines is not the only issue. As I leave Mon for the last time, the Hamara Grid team is pivoting towards building the confidence of budding entrepreneurs to take the leap towards electrifying their livelihoods. It will take time, but the close ties formed between the team and the Konyak communities over the past few months gives me confidence that the project will continue to blossom in all its many faces, strengthening the commitment of all parties involved.

Santiago Tricks is an 18-year old budding writer with a particular interest in sustainable development and global affairs who recently completed a three-month internship at Hamara Grid from December 2021-March 2022. He has a place to study under the History faculty at King’s College, Cambridge starting in October, 2022.

The Government of Nagaland represented by the Mon District Administration and Mithun Rural Development Foundation (MRDF) signed a 20-year agreement to set up Mini-Grids in rural Nagaland on 24th January 2022.

The program aims to provide reliable access to electricity for the last mile and promote the adoption of green energy sources, covering 1000 villages in the next seven years.

In a pioneering initiative to deliver last-mile access to electricity in rural areas of the north-eastern state of Nagaland, the Mon District Administration and Mithun Rural Development Foundation (MRDF) inaugurated their first of the three mini-grids at Totokchingha village yesterday. It was inaugurated by N. Thongwang Konyak, MLA, Mon District. The two other solar mini-grids at Chenwetnyu and Longkei will be inaugurated in March 2022. The two organizations recently signed a 20-year agreement to set up Mini-Grids in rural Nagaland in January this year.

Today’s event was attended by Deputy Commissioner, Mon, Thavaseelan K, IAS; General Manager NABARD, Tiakala Ao; Senior Director at Smart Power India, Samit Mitra; Managing Director, MRDF, Vijay Bhaskar; Senior Manager, MRDF, Shyamal Bera along with Director of Operations, MRDF, Sudeshna Mukherjee; Senior Manager, World Resources Institute (WRI), Namrata Ginoya, and MLA, N. Thongwang Konyak among others.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Commissioner, Mon, Thavaseelan K, IAS Nagaland said, “The first three grids have been financed by Smart Power India. These are just the first of the several mini-grids that are going to be installed in the Mon district. This project will make power available 24×7”. He added “NABARD is supporting livelihood interventions. It has set up a revolving fund, which is going to be used to support entrepreneurs. Eventually, this fund would grow bigger to support entrepreneurs across the Mon district.”

Managing Director, MRDF, Vijay Bhaskar said, “In the next 3-4 years, we will install mini-grids for all 130 villages in Mon district. This pilot will be eventually scaled across all villages in Nagaland. We are following a PPP model of partnership – public, private, and people, people being the most important part. Smart Power India has given us a roadmap to do this in the next seven years. We will put all efforts to make this vision a reality.”

General Manager, NABARD, Tiakala Ao stated “We are sponsoring a group of beneficiaries from Totok Chingha, Longkei, and Chenwetnyu where they will be exposed to bio floc and fish farming in another district in march. This training will bring an economic boom to this region as it is going to attract reverse migration enabling rural youth to set up microenterprises here. The future looks promising.”

Senior Director, Smart Power India, Samit Mitra said, “This is a complete village integrated development program that is not only about lighting loads, but also about enterprises, livelihoods, productive loads, all things that contribute to the overall well-being of the community. This is the first time we have undertaken a project with MRDF to expand our footprint of mini-grids in North-East India. We have funded 3-4 plants to initiate the program so that there’s proof of concept on the ground here that other organizations can replicate and scale across Nagaland and beyond. We are hopeful that this program will meet its objective of providing livelihoods and increasing the earning potential of villages in the Mon District.”

The inaugurated mini-grids aim to enable last-mile clean energy access, improve livelihoods, support women entrepreneurs, and increase the GDP of the state while reducing GHG emissions. Smart Power India will play an important role in supporting the entire program framework and value chain including design, delivery, and facilitating financial and market linkages. The WRI will be facilitating the impact measurement of the project.

About Smart Power India (SPI):
SPI, a subsidiary of the Rockefeller Foundation, was established in 2015 to develop and scale sustainable models to accelerate electricity access and spur economic development amongst the rural underserved communities. It is committed to creating knowledge and accountability in the public domain through robust evidence-based research and providing field and analytical support to the Government, private sector, implementers, and other donors in their pursuits for rural electricity access. SPI develops and disseminates relevant knowledge in the rural electricity access and services space to promote research and innovation and partner with policymakers, practitioners, and academic institutions to come up with actionable insights and innovative strategies.

While SPI’s work covers the spectrum of supply and demand-side issues of rural electricity, its focus is the last-mile customer. SPI exchanges knowledge by promoting and facilitating platforms for networking, knowledge sharing and collaborative research, networking, knowledge-sharing, and collaborative research.

About MRDF
Mithun Rural Development Foundation (MRDF) is an SPV floated specifically for rural development of North-East India through the platform of renewable energy-based mini-grids. The first phase of their work is in the 132 villages of Mon District of Nagaland.

Dimapur, Feb. 24 (EMN): In a pioneering initiative to deliver last-mile access to electricity in rural areas of the north-eastern state of Nagaland, the Mon district administration and Mithun Rural Development Foundation (MRDF) inaugurated the first of the three mini-grids in Totokchingha village was inaugurated by MLA N Thongwang Konyak on February 23.

An update from Smart Power India informed that two other solar mini grids in Chenwetnyu and Longkei would be inaugurated in the month of March 2022. The two organisations recently signed a 20-year agreement to set up mini-grids in rural Nagaland in January this year.

Speaking at the event, Thavaseelan K stated that the first three grids were financed by Smart Power India adding that they are first of the several mini-grids to be installed in the Mon district. He stated that the project would make power available 24×7.

“Nabard is supporting livelihood interventions. It has set up a revolving fund, which is going to be used to support entrepreneurs. Eventually, this fund would grow bigger to support entrepreneurs across the Mon district,” he added.

MRDF managing director, Vijay Bhaskar, informed that they would install mini grids in all 130 villages of Mon district in the next 3-4 years. He added that the pilot project would be eventually scaled across all villages in Nagaland.

“We are following a PPP model of partnership – public, private and people, people being the most important part. Smart Power India has given us a roadmap to do this in the next 7 years. We will put all efforts to make this vision a reality,” Bhaskar said.

Nabard general manager, Tiakala Ao, stated that the bank is sponsoring a group of beneficiaries from Totok Chingha, Longkei and Chenwetnyu for their visit to other districts in March, where they would be exposed to bio floc, fish farming.

She stated that the training would bring an economic boom to the region as it is going to attract reverse migration thereby enabling rural youth to set up micro-enterprises in the district.

Senior director of Smart Power India, Samit Mitra, stated that it is a complete village integrated development programme that is not only about lighting loads but also about enterprises, livelihoods, productive loads, all things that contribute to the overall well-being of the community.

“This is the first time we have undertaken a project with MRDF to expand our footprint of mini-grids in North-East India. We have funded 3-4 plants to initiate the programme so that there’s proof of concept on the ground here which other organisations can replicate and scale across Nagaland and beyond,” he said.

He expressed hope that the programme would meet its objective of providing livelihoods and increasing the earning potential of villages in the Mon district.

It mentioned that the inaugurated mini-grids aim to enable last-mile clean energy access, improve livelihoods, support women entrepreneurs, and increase the GDP of the state while reducing GHG emissions.

It added that Smart Power India would play an important role in supporting the entire programme framework and value chain including design, delivery, and facilitating financial and market linkages. The WRI would be facilitating impact measurement of the project.

TNM NewsDesk Feb 24, 2022

In an initiative to deliver last-mile access to electricity in rural areas of Nagaland, the Mon district administration and Mithun Rural Development Foundation (MRDF) inaugurated their first of the three solar mini-grids at Totokchingha village, a press release stated on February 24.

The mini-grid was inaugurated by MLA N Thongwang Konyak on February 23. The two other solar mini grids at Chenwetnyu and Longkei will be inaugurated in the month of March.

The two organizations signed a 20-year agreement to set up mini solar grids in rural Nagaland in January this year.

Speaking at an event on February 24, Thavaseelan K, deputy commissioner, Mon said: “The first three grids have been financed by Smart Power India. These are just first of the several mini-grids that are going to be installed in the Mon district. This project will make power available 24×7.”

He added: “NABARD is supporting livelihood interventions. It has setup a revolving fund, which is going to be used to support entrepreneurs. Eventually, this fund would grow bigger to support entrepreneurs across the Mon district.”

Vijay Bhaskar, managing director at MRDF said: “In the next 3-4 years, we will install mini-grids for all 130 villages in Mon district. This pilot will be eventually scaled across all villages in Nagaland. We are following a PPP model of partnership – public, private and people, people being the most important part. Smart Power India has given us a roadmap to do this in the next seven years. We will put all efforts to make this vision a reality.”



Tiakala Ao, general manager at NABARD said: “We are sponsoring a group of beneficiaries from Totok Chingha, Longkei and Chenwetnyu who will be visiting another district in March, where they will be exposed to bio floc, fish farming. This training will bring an economic boom to this region as it is going to attract reverse migration enabling rural youth to set up microenterprises here. The future looks promising.”

Samit Mitra, senior director at Smart Power India said: “This is a complete village integrated development programme that is not only about lighting loads, but also about enterprises, livelihoods, productive loads, all things that contribute to the overall well-being of the community. This is the first time we have undertaken a project with MRDF to expand our footprint of mini-grids in Northeast India. We have funded 3-4 plants to initiate the programme so that there’s proof of concept on the ground here which other organizations can replicate and scale across Nagaland and beyond. We are hopeful that this programme will meet its objective of providing livelihoods and increasing the earning potential of villages in the Mon district.”



The inaugurated mini-grids aim to enable last-mile clean energy access, improve livelihoods, support women entrepreneurs, and increase the GDP of the state while reducing GHG emissions.

Dimapur, January 24 (MExN): The Mon District Administration, Government of Nagaland and Mithun Rural Development Foundation (MRDF) has signed a 20-year agreement to set up solar mini-grids in rural areas of Nagaland.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed to deliver last mile access to electricity in the ‘economically constrained villages,’ a press release informed.

The first three mini-grids would be installed in Longkei, Totok Chingha and Chenwetnyu under Mon district by as early as February 2022 and it envisages to cover 1000 villages in the next 7 years, it said.

Calling the agreement a landmark development, it informed that the MoU is also aimed at encouraging the use of a clean energy platform to increase local household incomes by 15-20% per annum and for enterprises by 20% in the targeted villages.

Other goals of the initiative are to improve livelihoods, support women entrepreneurs and increase the GDP of the state, while reducing GHG emissions aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and reduce the carbon footprint along with generating green jobs.

The set up of the mini-grids will aim to develop the community through an Integrated Village Development Programme involving all members of the community and not just the customers, the release said.

The local administration will help facilitating coordination between the Village Council/Village Development Boards and MRDF, it added.

It was further informed that the Smart Power India (SPI) would play an important role in supporting the entire programme framework and value chain including design, delivery and facilitating financial and market linkages, the release further noted. A subsidiary of the Rockefeller Foundation, SPI was established in 2015 to “develop and scale sustainable models to accelerate electricity access and spur economic development amongst the rural underserved communities.”

The MRDF is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) floated specifically for rural development of North-East India through the platform of renewable energy based mini-grids to service the electricity access needs and is supported by organisations such as Smart Power India (SPI), ONGC and NABARD.

The release quoted Vijay Bhaskar, Managing Director, MRDF as saying that the association is “aimed at arriving at a sustainable and holistic model of rural economic development based on DRE mini-grids, which can be implemented and scaled to about 1000 villages of Nagaland.”

“The MoU is aimed at sustainable socio-economic development through DRE,” stated Jaideep Mukherji, CEO, SPI, further stressing on the importance of reducing carbon footprint “which would require a collective effort from every level of the society.”

Extending full support to the MDRF and SPI’s efforts, Deputy Commissioner Mon, Thavaseelan K also informed that the targeted “clusters are economically backward and DRE mini-grid interventions will bring an all-round development to the region as they will integrate clean, high-quality and reliable energy with livelihoods, agriculture, health, education and public infrastructure.”

The District Administration is also assisting MRDF by coordinating the efforts of various departments such as health, education, renewable energy, rural development with the work in the villages, the release added.

In a landmark development, Mon district administration, State government and Mithun Rural Development Foundation (MRDF) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly undertake an initiative to set up solar mini-grids in economically-constrained villages to deliver last-mile access to electricity.

MRDF is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) specifically designed to service electricity access needs of North-eastern States and is supported by organisations like Smart Power India (SPI), ONGC Ltd and NABARD. The goal of the initiative is to enable last-mile clean energy access, improve livelihoods, support women entrepreneurs and increase GDP of the State, while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

SPI will play an important role in supporting the entire programme framework and value chain, including design, delivery and facilitating financial and market linkages. The programme envisages to improve access, covering 1,000 villages in the next seven years. The first three mini-grids will be set up in February in the villages of Longkei, Totok Chingha and Chenwetnyu in Mon district.

The MoU aims to align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and reduce carbon footprint while generating green jobs over the next 20 years. The initiative aims to encourage use of a clean energy platform to increase household incomes by 15-20% and for enterprises by 20% in the targeted villages. The highlight of the MoU is the strong support that the local administration has brought to the initiative.

For the first time, the setup of the mini-grids will aim to develop the community through an Integrated Village Development Programme involving all members of the community and not just the customers. The local administration will facilitate coordination between village councils/village development boards and MRDF.

The district administration will also assist MRDF by coordinating the efforts of various departments like health, education, renewable energy and rural development with the work in the villages.

Mon deputy commissioner Thavaseelan K said, “We fully support MRDF and SPI in their efforts to improve the living conditions of our people in the villages. These clusters are economically backward and decentralised renewable energy (DRE) mini-grid interventions will bring an all-round development to the region as they will integrate clean, high-quality and reliable energy with livelihoods, agriculture, health, education and public infrastructure. They will also help in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25-40 tons per village per annum, which is an encouraging milestone to achieve.”

Talking about the memorandum, SPI CEO Jaideep Mukherji and senior director Samit Mitra said they were glad to be a part of the joint initiative that aimed at sustainable socio-economic development through DRE. Stressing reduction of carbon footprint, they said this would require a collective effort from every level of the society. They added that they looked forward to working with MRDF and the State government establish a solar PV-based mini-grid to encourage clean energy generation. MRDF managing director Vijay Bhaskar said the association with the stakeholders was aimed at arriving at a sustainable and holistic model of rural economic development based on DRE mini-grids, which could be implemented and scaled to about 1,000 villages of Nagaland.

“We hope that communities can achieve holistic wellbeing as a result of the initiative,” he remarked. This was stated in a press release.