Power to the People

The report identifies a significant investment opportunity in India's rural Base of the Pyramid (BoP) market, estimating the aggregated potential market for decentralized renewable energy services and energy products at INR 97.28 billion (US$2.11 billion) per year. Despite high upfront costs compared to subsidized conventional fuels, companies in this sector have seen an average annual gross revenue growth of 36 percent since 2004.

• India's rural Base of the Pyramid (BoP) market consists of 114 million households, representing 76 percent of rural residents and nearly 60 percent of the total population. Based on 2004/2005 data, these consumers spent INR 224 billion (US$4.86 billion) annually on energy needs.
• As of 2005, energy access for the rural BoP remained limited, with approximately 45 percent lacking reliable electricity and relying on kerosene, while over 85 percent primarily used firewood and dung for cooking.
• The estimated annual aggregated potential market for the four studied sectors is INR 97.28 billion (US$2.11 billion), comprising INR 94.06 billion (US$2.04 billion) for decentralized renewable energy services and INR 3.22 billion (US$70.1 million) for energy products.
• Clean energy products and services may require upfront investments three to ten times higher than conventional sources like kerosene and firewood. However, companies profiled in the report have experienced an average annual gross revenue growth of 36 percent since 2004.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Power to the People. https://www.wri.org/research/power-people

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Power to the People. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/power-people.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Power to the People |url=https://www.wri.org/research/power-people |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendpower, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Power to the People}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/power-people}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }