Approximately 300 million people in India are estimated to lack access to energy with an even higher number experiencing intermittent access. Since a majority of the population resides in rural areas, energy access acquires strategic importance for poverty reduction, quality of human capital, livelihood opportunities, inclusive economic development and social justice.

With the mandate of the Companies Act, 2013, companies can facilitate equitable and sustainable energy access in communities that lack energy access or face intermittent access, through CSR. However, while the market potential of clean energy has been discussed and deliberated by many reports, the CSR angle has not seen much review.

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