Vedanta Group joins forces with India high commission to make UK more energy efficient

The Indian High Commission in London and metals tycoon Anil Agarwal led Vedanta Group will be among the first to adopt India's UJALA scheme of replacing all their old lamps with energy-saving LED bulbs in the UK.

Minister of state for power, coal and renewable energy Piyush Goyal presented them with their first set of LED bulbs during the launch of the Energy Efficiency Services Limiteds (EESL) expansion plans in the UK, which have been branded as UK Joins Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA).

"India has been able to replace 560 million bulbs with LED in two years. There is no reason why we cant use the same distribution network in the UK and have a similar scale up," Goyal said at the launch in London yesterday.

"UJALA offers a great business opportunity in the UK, which can also become a base to foray into other countries in Europe. We can start with the London-listed Vedanta Group and I don't see any reason why UJALA cannot become a way of life in London, which is such a global city," he said, setting a target for the EESL to replace 100 million incandescent bulbs with LEDs in the UK by March 2019.

The EESL, under the Indian power ministry, is a joint venture of four state-run entities - Power Grid, NTPC, Rural Electrification Corporation Limited and the Power Finance Corporation Limited.

In the UK, it has been offered office space to operate from the Indian High Commission in London, which also becomes the first Indian mission in the world to adopt UJALA and replace all its bulbs to LED.

"This is a tremendous initiative taken by the government of India, which is now being replicated in the UK. It is reflective of the nature of the symbiotic nature of the India-UK partnership," said Indian High Commissioner to the UK Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha.

Goyal, who concluded his UK and Europe tour yesterday, also oversaw the signing of memoranda of understanding between the Indian High Commission and EESL as well as between the Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers Association (IEEMA) and British Electrotechnical and Allied Manufacturers Association (BEAMA) for closer energy alliances between India and the UK.

The National LED programme was launched by prime minister Narendra Modi in January 2015. Under this scheme, consumer can buy five LED bulbs at the rate of Rs 20 each by showing monthly electricity bills or ID cards.