NEW DELHI: The government has started supplying electricity to every village in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced, a tall achievement that now shifts attention towards improving the quality of supply and connecting every household to the grid.Modi said it was a historic day for India that will transform the lives of people for generations. “I am delighted that every single village of India now has access to electricity,” the PM tweeted. Electricity supply to all villages is a key political plank for the ruling party which faces polls in major states starting in the months ahead and general elections next year. In the past, Modi has criticised Congress for not doing enough during decades of its rule.The task has been completed before the target date, said Piyush Goyal, who was in charge of the power sector before being rewarded with a Cabinet rank and given the railways portfolio. Goyal congratulated his successor RK Singh for completing the task. Villages were earlier deemed electrified if a power line reached the area. However, the definition has been changed now.Avillage is now considered electrified only if the Gram Panchayat certifies that the basic infrastructure has been provided to the inhabited area, including Dalit hamlets, and 10% of the households are electrified, according to Central Electricity Authority (CEA).The government is now aiming to supply electricity to every household and ensure reliable supply to individuals and commercial establishments. While electricity has reached villages, the quality of supply remains an issue because loss-making state distribution companies often cut supplies to reduce losses. This understates actual demand for power.Some states are still not able to meet demand. According to the latest CEA data, in 2017-18, the northern region had a peak shortfall of 2301MW, of which Uttar Pradesh alone accounted for 2213 MW or 10% of the state’s peak demand. Jammu & Kashmir was short by 20%.In addition to the shortfall in supply, many towns and villages face power cuts due to poor transmission infrastructure and problems with transformers. Further, many households in electrified villages do not have an electricity connection.This prompted the government to launch the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana, or Saubhagya, to ensure electrification of all willing households in the country in rural as well as urban areas.The scheme, launched in September 2017, aims to connect all households to the grid by the end of this year. The total outlay of the project is Rs 16,320 crore while the Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) is Rs 12,320 crore.The outlay for the rural households is Rs 14,025 crore while the GBS is Rs 10,587.50 crore. For the urban households, the outlay is Rs 2,295 crore while GBS is Rs 1,732.50 crore. The government will provide largely funds for the scheme to all states/UTs.