How a Simple Solar Lantern is Lighting Up 30000 Homes in Rural India

Reaching every dark place with a solar lantern. 

Inspired by a design his wife Deepali came up with for a solar lantern, entrepreneur Sachin Dhande developed ‘Bhaskar’, a compact, lightweight, and durable solar-powered lantern. It can be strapped to the knee — a boon for farmers working in fields after dusk — or hung on a bicycle. But its features go beyond design viability. 

The solar lantern is bringing hope to rural India with its clever engineering. In fact, it is the main source of electricity for Padma Shri Rahibai Soma Popere’s community. 

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The motivation to come up with a design like this stems from Dhande’s growing-up years in a lower middle-class household, where he studied by the light of kerosene lanterns. He was motivated to innovate a solution that would help students continue their studies and empower rural communities to become more self-reliant.

According to reports, Bhaskar has a lifespan of six to eight hours in bright mode and up to 24 hours in dim mode. The lantern’s minimal wiring and intuitive design make it a favourite choice in villages where repair shops are hard to come by. But even in the event of damage, the Bhaskar ATMs save the day. At these centres, trained locals earn a small fee to repair lanterns. 

Currently, Bhaskar is lighting up more than 30,000 homes in India’s hinterland. 

Edited by Khushi Arora

Source 

Pune Inc.: The startup’s creator is illuminating the planet one solar lantern at a time by News Now Nation, Published on 11 April 2023.