Did you know that India gets more than 300 sunny days, every year? Indeed, the nation gets bombarded by more terawatts of solar energy every year, than most other countries across the globe. Still, a large fraction of citizens living in rural regions of the nation still do not have electricity in their homes, while so much surplus solar radiation is being wasted. Isn't that a great irony of fate?

Or is it?

Could the scenario be changed, by offering electricity to citizens in the rural regions via affordable pricing models that they could afford? Well, a Bengaluru-based company is trying out such a strategy now. If the business model succeeds, then it can certainly be put to good use, for lighting up a large number of rural Indian households, even in the remotest of locations.

So, what's this big plan, which can be expected to revolutionize the solar energy industry, across the country? Let's have a look at the various steps of it:

1. Customers are offered solar modules and associated equipment at discounted prices, as per tariffs offered in the state. They make a small down payment, and are then asked to decide a monthly installment plan that they would be able to support on their income.

2. The company assists the customer to install the solar PV modules and necessary wiring in his home.

3. The customer pays for the energy he uses, by topping up his account with the company using his mobile phone. This usage of mobile fund transfer as a payment process has not been used on a large scale in India before, but the process is so simple for the end users that customers should be able to use it without any problems.

4. Each payment that the customer makes for using energy generated by the solar energy system, also counts towards the price of the solar power modules, batteries, and wires that the company has supplied to them. Once the complete price of the system is paid to the company, the customer does not have to pay for the energy any longer. From then on, they get completely free energy.

The pilot project utilizing this method has been launched in the state of Karnataka. If it succeeds, then the company running the project plans to replicate it in other states, especially in the rural regions. Let us hope it does happen. A system like this could end the dark days (no pun intended) for citizens living in remote, rural regions across the country, and that too, without burdening them too much with expenses.