With talks about a second Green Revolution in eastern India high up in policy agenda, this article explores the role of access to affordable energy in such a revolution. It draws on recent research in West Bengal to underscore the point that farmers face acute energy constraints to pump groundwater in a region that is otherwise flush with both surface and groundwater resources. A large part of the solution, therefore, lies in the domain of rural electrification and more specifically electrification of tube wells and removal of administrative hurdles in connecting tube wells to the grid. The government of West Bengal has taken two steps in the right direction and we posit that if implemented well, it will unleash another round of Green Revolution in the state.
With talks about a second Green Revolution in eastern India high up in policy agenda, this article explores the role of access to affordable energy in such a revolution. It draws on recent research in West Bengal to underscore the point that farmers face acute energy constraints to pump groundwater in a region that is otherwise flush with both surface and groundwater resources. A large part of the solution, therefore, lies in the domain of rural electrification and more specifically electrification of tube wells and removal of administrative hurdles in connecting tube wells to the grid. The government of West Bengal has taken two steps in the right direction and we posit that if implemented well, it will unleash another round of Green Revolution in the state.
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