📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Bollywood Hungama
National
Vidyut Sakhis: How Rural Women in Uttar Pradesh Are Gaining Economic Independence
✍️ The Times of India
🗓 19 Sep 2026, 12:48 AM
👁 10
The Vidyut Sakhi initiative in Uttar Pradesh is enabling rural women to earn a livelihood by managing electricity-related services, marking a significant step toward grassroots empowerment.
In villages across Uttar Pradesh, a growing network of women known as Vidyut Sakhis is quietly transforming the rural economy. These women are being trained and engaged to handle electricity-related tasks in their communities, creating a new avenue for local employment.
The initiative focuses on equipping rural women with the skills needed to manage basic power services, thereby reducing dependence on male-dominated technical roles. By participating in this model, women are not only earning a steady income but also gaining social recognition within their villages.
Officials associated with the programme describe it as a practical approach to grassroots empowerment. The Vidyut Sakhis serve as a bridge between electricity departments and rural households, ensuring smoother service delivery while strengthening women’s financial independence.
The model reflects a broader push to bring women into the formal energy workforce at the village level. As more women join the initiative, it is gradually reshaping perceptions around women’s roles in rural infrastructure and utility management.
The initiative focuses on equipping rural women with the skills needed to manage basic power services, thereby reducing dependence on male-dominated technical roles. By participating in this model, women are not only earning a steady income but also gaining social recognition within their villages.
Officials associated with the programme describe it as a practical approach to grassroots empowerment. The Vidyut Sakhis serve as a bridge between electricity departments and rural households, ensuring smoother service delivery while strengthening women’s financial independence.
The model reflects a broader push to bring women into the formal energy workforce at the village level. As more women join the initiative, it is gradually reshaping perceptions around women’s roles in rural infrastructure and utility management.