Category Archives: Business & Economy

Aam Ladki spreads Lucknow’s charm with the power of the web

Business & Economy, Inspiration / Positive News and Features

This ‘aam ladki’ is unleashing the power of web to spread Lucknowi charm across the globe .

The road to entrepreneurship isn’t easy. Supreet Bhatia knew this but she was determined that nothing could deter her from achieving her entrepreneurial dreams. She aspired to become her own boss, and take on the world of e-retail by storm, and she took her first steps in 2014. She left her career in Marketing Communications and founded Lucknowi Andaaz , an online apparel store, for spreading the magic of Lucknow’s exquisite hand- embroidered Chikankari apparel.

Today, in a span of just 3 years, she has established her online portal as a brand, which is well known for its quality handcrafted products and timely delivery not just in India, but across the world.

When we asked Supreet what motivated her to give up her initial fears and drive towards her ambitious project, here is what she had to share.

When did you decide that you want to sell online?

I was an avid online shopper since the onset of online retail culture in India. I started off with a blog where I shared my online shopping experiences to break stereotypes, which eventually led to the business idea of online retail. I was looking for trusted ecommerce builders to help me create the online presence for my business and found a partner in GetMeAShop ; they took over my digital challenges and created my digital shop, while I focused entirely on sourcing the best Lucknowi collections.

Was there a moment when you considered giving up?

No. The undying spirit is what makes for a successful entrepreneur, and I think of myself as one. Yes, there were times I wanted to handle all roles myself but I never thought of giving up. In fact, I decided to delegate tasks and opted and formed right partnerships, and this made my journey in the business world smoother.

What has been your greatest reward which kept on inspiring you?

Independence to take my own decisions, to make my own mistakes and learning from them. Another greatest reward is customer satisfaction. Happy customers inspire me to leave no stone unturned when it comes to providing the best. In Feb 2016, I got the opportunity to share my brand’s story through Facebook India to encourage local marketers to sell online, and I consider it a big achievement for the 27-year-old-me.

Keeping in mind the social and cultural bondages which generally trim down the freedom, confidence and boldness of women, what advice do you have for small business woman entrepreneurs from small towns & cities?

Stop thinking, start acting and take charge. Become self dependent. You want to be treated equal to men, then start acting the same way. Take your own responsibility, work hard and don’t give up. Women have greater courage, intelligence and a knack for entrepreneurship; they just have to stop underestimating themselves. I’m from a small town myself and have always given maximum priority to my work, and I am happy about it.

Where do you see yourself and your business (es) in the next 5 years?

5 years is a long time to plan ahead. I take one day, one challenge at a time. I’m quite spontaneous that way. When an idea strikes, there’s nothing stopping me so who knows what’s in store for Lucknowi Andaaz in the time to come.

Press Release by GetMeAShop via Brandwire.in

source: http://www.economictimes.indiatimes.com / The Economic Times / ET Home> News> BrandWire> Technology> Internet & Apps / Brand Story by GetMeAShop / Brandwire / May 22nd, 2017

British-era train re-run planned for eco-tourism boost in east UP

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All, Travel

Lucknow :

Thirty years after it undertook its last journey, and has been since stationed under a shed, a British-era train would start chugging soon once again. Only this time, its run would be curtailed from earlier 22.4km to 10km and it would ferry eco-tourists and won’t be laden with wooden logs.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath is keen to re-start the vintage train to give eco-tourism a boost in eastern UP. Railways has already completed the survey of the track and has found it fit for operation.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath is keen to re-start the vintage train to give eco-tourism a boost in eastern UP

The train would run through the thick foliage of the lush green Sal trees in Laxmipur range of Maharajganj forest division which is famous for the Sohagi Barwa Wildlife Sanctuary having huge population of antelopes besides rare and endangered birds and wildlife.

This British-era train used to run on the 22.4km long track between Ikma and Chauraha that was laid in 1922 and got commissioned in 1924. It was the first track in the country which was laid in a forest only for transportation of timber. A raised platform and a beautiful yard still exist at Ikma.

“The track is still there though now most of it is covered with vegetation,” said Kuruvila Thomas, a forest official in Gonda.

Four engines and compartments of the train had been lying in Ikma since the train stopped operation in 1986. One of the engines, however, was brought to Lucknow Zoo in 2008.

The vintage train that used to run on a narrow gauge track of .625 metre had 56 bogies and four engines. Moreover, the train also had a saloon.

While the train earlier used to run on steam engine, it will now be driven by a diesel one.
The track that runs along Taungya villages has a parallel road alongside on which there is heavy movement of people all day through.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Lucknow News> Politics / TNN / November 08th, 2017

I have the power

Business & Economy, Leaders
Raid alert: As MD of Kanpur Electric Supply Company Limited, Ritu Maheshwari conducted raids on a regular basis to curb power theft / courtesy: Uma Maheshwari

The new collector of Ghaziabad comes with the distinction of having revived a debt-ridden electric utility.

The new district magistrate of Ghaziabad — among the slew of transfers in the Uttar Pradesh government last month — is difficult to track down. The little breathing space Ritu Maheshwari gets between meetings and team briefings is devoted to her son’s preparations for school exams. That this officer’s days are long and busy is nothing new, given that in her previous stint she was feted for successfully ushering in power distribution reforms in a country weighed down by an average annual loss of $16.2 billion due to power theft.

Maheshwari joined the civil services in 2003 after completing a degree in electrical engineering at Punjab Engineering College. She had her first major breakthrough in 2011, when she was posted as the managing director of Kanpur Electric Supply Company Limited (KESCO). The debt-ridden utility had run up losses of nearly 30 per cent, brought about by distribution losses, thefts, and tampering of meters. All that was about to change soon.

“I had just returned from maternity leave and had expected an easier posting, but when I got this (KESCO) instead, many of my peers advised me against taking it up. But I decided to go ahead. After I joined, I was told the company would soon be disinvested and I needn’t take on too much pressure. But I decided that it was still possible to turn this company around, and I worked on it. I wouldn’t say it was a complete makeover, but we made some headway,” Maheshwari says during a telephonic interview.

By the time she left KESCO, the losses had almost halved. During her 11-month stewardship, she replaced nearly one-third, or 1.6 lakh, of the mechanical meters with smart ones. She credits the turnover not to any big moves, but rather small actions instead. “We went on regular raids. The office staff was made to understand that it wasn’t okay to sit idle and turn a blind eye to instances of power theft.”

Nearly 8.4 million of UP’s 29 million households have non-metered power supply, while another 11.2 million have no electricity, according to a Bloomberg report. Distribution companies do not want to upgrade grids without recovering current losses. Recently, a tender was floated for the purchase of five million smart meters for UP and Haryana. The public-sector Energy Efficiency Services Ltd, which aims to halve distribution losses to 15 per cent across India by 2019, was in charge of the international bidding process. Maheshwari was heading this project until July 2017.

She believes that technology is the best defence against power theft — if the systems are seamless, and the processes automated, accountability will increase and it will become that much harder to steal. “I feel that while there were checks against power theft earlier too, the automatic meters made a world of difference by bringing in transparency,” she says.

A reduction of even one per cent in distribution loss translates into a profit of $10 billion for the company, so a difference of 15 per cent was nothing short of extraordinary. Maheshwari was also involved in the development of Urja Mitra, an app that gives real-time information on power supply across the country. After a successful trial run in Kanpur, it was rolled out countrywide in April 2017.

“After I got involved, many power companies are putting up their audited sheets on a three-month basis, where the public can find out how much power has been consumed, and the losses incurred by the companies,” she says. As the distribution losses fell, the company was able to improve supply too.

Such drastic reforms, unsurprisingly, were met with opposition initially. Consumers in Kanpur protested when forced to take up legitimate connections and fall under the revenue net. The powers-that-be weren’t pleased either. “I did face resistance from the political milieu, and had to pull up employees who had become corrupt. Some took money to tip off violators ahead of raids against power theft… they would remove the illegal power hooks before the team arrived. We countered this with surprise raids.”

In 2014, Maheshwari’s work inspired filmmakers Deepti Kakkar and Fahad Mustafa to produce a documentary titled Katiabaaz (Powerless), focusing on the power situation in Kanpur, a seat for leather industries, which require heavy-duty electricity.

After Kanpur, and stints as the district magistrate of JP Nagar, Ghazipur, Pilibhit and Shahjahanpur, Maheshwari wants to focus on fighting pollution control in her current posting at Ghaziabad.

So, how did she tackle the bullies and naysayers at work?

“My degree has stood me well all this time. There have been times where I’ve had to tackle patriarchal attitudes at work, but people realise that I have good knowledge of this [power] sector, and it isn’t easy to hoodwink me. I think, eventually, anyone trying to do some good work is given the space to do so.”

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / BLINK / Home> Cover> BLINK / by Payel Majumdar Upreti / October 06th, 2017

Ginger Hotels enters Lucknow

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All, Travel

Mumbai :

Ginger Hotels, the dominant budget hotel chain from the Taj Group, has opened a property in Lucknow.

“Ginger Hotel Lucknow is a 72-key property located within a short drive from the airport and railway station.

Ginger is the pioneer and the largest chain of branded budget hotels in the country,” Ginger Hotels managing director and CEO Rahul Pandit said in a statement.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Companies / PTI / Mumbai – October 03rd, 2017

SIDBI launches incubation centre for financial inclusion at IIML

Business & Economy
SIDBI’s chairman and managing director Mohammad Mustafa (in blue) and IIML director Ajit Prasad (in black) at the launch of SIDBI Centre for Innovation in Financial Inclusion

Lucknow :

The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) on Friday launched a technology business incubator at the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow for nurturing high impact technologies for achieving, expanding and furthering the financial inclusion. Named as SIDBI Centre for Innovations in Financial Inclusion (Sci-Fi), the centre aims at fostering innovation, research and entrepreneurial activities in financial technology (FinTech).

The Sci-Fi seeks to explore and understand FinTech and financial inclusion by turning ideas into reality through the incubation process. IIML will provide required managerial and technological resources and support to make the incubation process successful. The center will develop research artifacts, promote research collaboration, and serve as a resource center to unlock entrepreneurial potential, and will follow three objectives — capacity building to and spearheading research on FinTech and financial inclusion, promoting discussion on Fintech and financial inclusions among stakeholders, and mentoring FinTech start-ups that will create products and services for financial inclusion.

The incubator at IIML, said SIDBI chairman and managing director Mohammad Mustafa has endeavored to bring together three great national development missions of Start Up India, Universal Financial Inclusion and Digital India under one roof. The centre, fully funded by SIDBI, will be guided by a governing board consisting of eminent representatives from financial inclusion, FinTech and venture capital domains, and headed by IIML director Ajit Prasad.

Prasad during his address recounted how the UP chief minister lauded IIML as a jewel in the crown of UP but at the same time also sought IIML’s contributions to the state of UP. “I was short of words then. I am glad now that SIDBI Centre will generate hundreds of jobs,” Prasad told the audience.
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source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Lucknow News / Isha Jain / TNN / October 27th, 2017

REPL bags contract for Kanpur smart city

Business & Economy

New Delhi:

Real estate and infrastructure consultant REPL today said it has bagged a contract for management of the smart city project in Kanpur.

The Kanpur Municipal Corporation has appointed Rudrabhishek Enterprise Pvt Ltd (REPL) as project management consultant to develop and implement the smart city project, the company said in a statement.

Second city in UP

REPL’s CMD Pradeep Misra said it is the company’s second smart city project in Uttar Pradesh after Varanasi. REPL is already working on the Indore smart city project.

“We are sure that we will be able to leverage our experience and learning of our other smart city consultancy works for developing smart city of Kanpur which will enhance the industrial and social growth of city,” he added.

REPL will assist Kanpur Smart City Ltd in various phases of project implementation.

Project implementation

This will include activities such as preparation of detailed project reports, coordination with various appointed consultants, project prioritisation and phasing, preparing capital investment plan, implementation roadmap, conducting feasibility studyetc.

“The retrofitting development will not only improve the core infrastructure and quality of life but also assure a sustainable and inclusive development with the integration of smart ICT solution,” REPL said.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> News> National / Press Trust of India / October 04th, 2017

City architect to design India’s highest airport

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

Buddhist prayer wheels, colourful flags, scriptures and sculptures of monks will greet tourists at the new Leh airport which is being designed by one Australian and two Lucknow-based architects.

The highest commercial airport in the country, the revamped Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport, will open doors to those seeking serenity in Leh, soon.

The project has been initiated by the Airports Authority of India and involves three architecture consultants—Paul Mutton from Australia-based Guida Moseley Brown Architects and Vipul and Harsh Varshney from Lucknow-based Sthapati Associates. They have already started work on the airport.

The final designs have been submitted and approved and the Lucknow-based architects recently met the aviation minister in Delhi to take him through the project.

Keeping the philosophy of ancient Buddhist wisdom intertwined with modern ethos, the design closely incorporates Buddhist design elements in the structure.

According to the artist’s impressions shared with TOI, there are Bodhisattvas, mandalas and thangkas (spiritual symbols), Buddhist-Tibetan prayer wheels and prayer flags all around the airport’s interior and exterior. It has been designed to visually stimulate the tourist.

Whether it is the Himalayas- and Buddhist stupa-inspired pitch roof or the 30-foot-high prayer wheel sculpture and colourful Leh-styled giant Buddha, all elements beckon the tourist’s curiosity even before landing on the ground.

It is not just the facade and architecture that promise to wow the tourist, technology has been incorporated in such a way that the terminal is sustainable and environment friendly.

Placed at 3,256 metres above mean sea level, the airport terminal building has been planned across 16,500 square metres. While photo-voltaic cells for roof and external lighting will reduce 60% of electrical load, cavity walls will be built for thermal insulation. Besides, recycled water will be used for landscaping, and multi-function heat pump air-cooled chillers will produce chilled water all the year long. For other sanitary requirements, hot water will be produced with the same technology.

“The desert-like terrain and the harsh cold weather were two most important factors that had to be considered while designing the airport. They presented great difficulty as well, because the ambient temperature goes down to -16 degrees Celsius and freezes water. To prevent this, we had to use 45% of glycol water mixtures in the chillers of air conditioners,” says Vipul Varshney, founder of Sthapati Associates.

The design incorporates the capacity of five aerobridges, Zen landscaping (for dry climate), intricately engraved wooden pagodas and a cluster of eight stupas at the entrance, introducing the passengers to Buddha’s land.

Recounting the experience of designing the project, Varshney says, “Because of site contours and assuring minimum carbon footprint, the whole building has been designed in different levels to minimize cutting and filling of land.

The height difference between the main approach road and the runway was almost 10 meters. This is why four levels with four lounges and two separate security check areas have been designed so that passengers don’t feel any gradient difference.”

The difficulty of approach and climatic constraints propelled the design to be simple yet colourful, using pre-manufactured material to the maximum which will be assembled at the site. The use of glass and other destructible construction materials has been minimized so that airport functioning is not hindered due to their unavailability, owing to difficulty in ferrying material from the main land. The typical vernacular artefacts and landscaping will be produced by local craftsmen.

The current terminal is capable of handling 250 peak-hour domestic passengers with annual handling of 0.2 million people. Its own recorded traffic witnessed a rise of 14.6% passengers in the past five years.

“This called for expansion and revamping of the current saturated terminal to meet increased traffic demands,” she adds.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Lucknow News / by Yusra Husain / TNN / October 08th, 2017

Urvashi Sahni, founder of SHEF, wins social entrepreneur award

Business & Economy, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All

Urvashi Sahni, founder of Study Hall Educational Foundation, was awarded the Social Entrepreneur of the Year award 2017 for her work in educating India’s most disadvantaged girls

Urvashi Sahni is an Ashoka Fellow, an honorary member of the Clinton Global Initiative and a non-resident fellow at the Centre for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution in the US.

New Delhi:

Urvashi Sahni, founder and chief executive of Study Hall Educational Foundation (SHEF), was awarded the Social Entrepreneur of the Year award 2017 for her work in educating India’s most disadvantaged girls.

She won the award, beating candidates from more prominent non-profit organizations including Akshaya Patra. Commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu presented the award to Sahni.

Jointly founded by Jubilant Bhartia Foundation and Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship in 2010, the award recognizes promising and high impact social entrepreneurs implementing practical and sustainable solutions.

Sahni was chosen from over 100 applicants. The other two finalists for the award were Safeena Husain of Educate Girls and Madhu Pandit Dasa of the Akshaya Patra Foundation.

SHEF has demonstrated a business model of education for inclusion, empowerment and leadership building for India’s most disadvantaged and girls at risk. It has scaled its model across 993 government schools of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, training 24,000 teachers in the process and impacting 501,000 girls.

To ensure that women from ultra poor communities have the resources to keep their daughters in schools, Sahni has started Didi, a catering and tailoring venture that has captured the Lucknow market for corporate meals and has doubled the incomes of its women employees.

Accepting the award, Sahni said the perfect tool for changing mindset is education. “Education should be broader, deeper and wider. Until then we cannot call ourselves a fully democratic country,” she added.

Sahni is an Ashoka Fellow, an honorary member of the Clinton Global Initiative and a non-resident fellow at the Centre for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution in the US.

In an emailed response before she won the award, Sahni said in her girls education programme, the organization uses the government curriculum but makes sure that it is infused with critical feminist pedagogy or a gender-empowering methods of education. “We have also added a separate programme called ‘critical dialogues’ in the official curriculum,” she said.

Sahni said the biggest challenge to remain sustainable is building teams that believe in the idea, the mission, the underlying philosophy, the culture of the enterprise and above all a culture of entrepreneurship. “Having a secure flow of funding is important too, but in my opinion if the social entrepreneur has invested enough in building a strong team, they will ensure the flow of funding. I work very hard at building my team in the ways described above. We are a learning organisation and that is what sustains us,” she said.

To be a successful social entrepreneur, passion is more important than expertise, Sahni said. “Expertise is sterile without passion. But passion alone can only go so far and will burn itself out if it isn’t guided by expertise. Passionate social entrepreneurs, either seek out and develop the expertise they need to execute their ideas, or then find people who have the expertise. But they are very good and fast learners themselves. In our case, we are all thinking and learning all the time and working at developing the expertise we need and reaching out to other partners who have the expertise we don’t have,” she said.

Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship is a sister organization of the World Economic Forum. The Foundation provides unique regional and global platforms to promote social entrepreneurship as a key element to advancing societies and addressing social problems innovatively and effectively. It also fosters a peer global community of social entrepreneurs.

Jubilant Bhartia Foundation, established in 2007, is the not-for-profit organization of the Jubilant Bhartia Group. It focuses on conceptualizing and implementing the Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives (CSR) for the Group. The Jubilant Bhartia Foundation’s activities include various community development works, health care programs, cultural and sports events, an environmental preservation initiative, vocational training, women empowerment and educational activities.

Seema Chowdhry contributed to the story.

The promoters of HT Media Ltd, which publishes the Hindustan Times and Mint, and Jubilant Bhartia Group are closely related. There are, however, no promoter crossholdings.

source: http://www.livemint.com / Live Mint / Home> Companies / by Asit Ranjan Mishra / Thursday – October 05th, 2017

‘Lucknow Has Come Up Big Way on the Map of Indian Hospitality Industry’

Business & Economy, Travel, World Opinion

Pankaj Gupta has recently appointed as the General Manager at Renaissance Lucknow Hotel. With his new association with Renaissance Lucknow Hotel, Gupta aspires to provide unmatched guest delight to the citizens of Lucknow and take the Hotel to new heights. BW Hotelier spoke to Gupta to know more about his plans.

WITH OVER 17 years of experience in hospitality operations, Pankaj Gupta has recently appointed as the General Manager at Renaissance Lucknow Hotel. With his new association with Renaissance Lucknow Hotel, Gupta aspires to provide unmatched guest delight to the citizens of Lucknow and take the Hotel to new heights. BW Hotelier spoke to Gupta to know more about his plans.

Expressing his views on the hospitality market of Lucknow, Gupta said, “With just 300-400 rooms in branded 4-5 star category till 2016 to almost 1200 rooms by the end of 2017 Lucknow has come up big way on the map of Indian hospitality industry. This is the only a good sign for the city since it can be looked at the destination for holding large city wide conferences, events and can cater big social events as well.”

How Renaissance Lucknow Hotel does plan to promote the Tourism? Answering to this Gupta said, “We closely work with some of the most reputed Inbound and domestic tour operators who operate regular itineraries on Heritage arc, Buddhist circuit and Golden Triangle extension. Apart from this our global loyalty program Marriott Rewards brings the well-travelled leisure travelers to Renaissance Lucknow.”

According to Gupta, brand Renaissance itself is the biggest USP of the hotel since it is the only second Renaissance hotel in India after the success of first one in Mumbai from Marriott International. “While most of the other hotels are pure business brands, Renaissance globally is known to provide experience beyond business through features like RENmeetings, Navigator, Rlive. Apart from this our guests always compliment us for our location, mesmerizing view of Gomti river front and Ambedkar Park from almost all parts of the hotel and the human touch full of compassion and hospitality that team demonstrates all the time,” he told us.

“Within such a short time of my tenure with Renaissance Lucknow I have been fortunate to welcome and host some of the most respected personalities from sports, politics and Bollywood,” Gupta added. Gupta plans to take forward the hotels’s reputation as the most premium ultra-modern hotel in city of Nawabs and to be the most preferred hotel for our niche guests who wish to explore and discover something unusual every time they go to a luxury hotel.

source: http://www.bwhotelier.businessworld.in / BW Hotelier.com / Home> News> Opinion> Interviews / by Sakshi / October 16th, 2017

How Kanpur’s IAS officer battled power theft, introduced digitisation of power

Business & Economy, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders

Ritu Maheshwari’s UDAY initiative slashed the combined financial losses states to Rs. 40,295 crore in the year to March 31.

Mumbai:

An IAS at the Kanpur Electricity Supply Co. has been making headlines for halving the company’s losses by digitising power to prevent power theft.

The tale of Ritu Maheshwari, a graduate from the Punjab Engineering College, who steered away the losses of Kanpur Electricity Supply Co., is one of courage to change the system and of embracing technology to drive that change.

According to a report in Bloomberg, upon her appointment at the company in 2011, Maheshwari installed new meters across almost a third of the company’s customer base. The devices recorded the daily power consumption and exposed leaks in the distribution system, in real-time.

The company that was incurring a distribution loss of 30 per cent when she joined, currently records 15 per cent loss now. “I managed to change 160,000 meters of 500,000 amid protests from pilfering consumers that drastically brought down the city’s distribution losses, which were at 30 percent then,” she said in an interview with Bloomberg.

However, like in every other sphere of life, corruption and protection of interests of the power thieves, led to her transfer after 11 months.

In a country where power loss due to illegal tapping is rampant, Maheshwari’s efforts re-iterate the need for digitisation of power. The woman, whose story was filed in 2014 Bollywood movie ‘Katiyabaaz’, was recently leading Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to help out loss-incurring state power departments.

Maheshwari’s UDAY initiative slashed the combined financial losses of these states to Rs. 40,295 crore in the year to March 31 — about 22 per cent lower than the previous year, according to the power ministry.

This strategy has gained popularity among retailers like Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd , in Delhi and Mumbai, who found their losses minimizing.

It has led to the upgradation of power grids with hi-tech meters, transformers, automation and new wiring supplied by companies such as Schneider Electric SE, Landis+Gyr Group AG, and Nokia Oyj.

Currently, the government is contemplating investing about USD 50 billion in the power transmission and distribution industries in the next five years through 2019, according to former power minister Piyush Goyal.

Digitization of power so far covers only about 10 percent of the consumption side of electricity use in India, according to Schneider Electric. In states like Uttar Pradesh, where losses amount to 35 percent for distribution companies, 29 million rural households receive electricity without meters, while 11.2 million are left without power, according to government data.

India issued its first tender to buy 5 million smart meters in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana on August 1. “This is a pilot project where 4 million smart meters will go to Uttar Pradesh and the rest to Haryana,” said Saurabh Kumar, of Energy Efficiency Services Ltd, the agency handling the energy efficient programs on the government’s behalf.

“The next two years will be very crucial as several states need to move from poor metering to smart metering,” said Maheshwari who was heading that program till two weeks ago.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Business & Economy / September 12th, 2017