Uttar Pradesh (UP) Minister for Power, Srikant Sharma, said on Sunday (24 December 2018) that the state will achieve 100 per cent electrification by the end of this month, reports Economic Times.

"We will give new year gift to poor consumer by illuminating their homes,” said the Minister. UP is one of a few large states in which a substantial number of households are being covered under the Saubhagya scheme.

The Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya) scheme, launched by PM Modi in September 2017, aims to electrify all the remaining households in the country by March 2019. It has already covered over two crores households.

The scheme builds upon the successful completion of the government’s Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) which achieved 100 per cent electrification of all villages in India in 2018.

Under the Saubhagya scheme, close to seven lakh households are receiving an electricity connection every week. It should be noted that since the launch of the scheme in UP on 11 October 2017, over 67 lakh households have been electrified.