India sets out to light up UK with 100 mn LED bulbs

London: Around 100 million incandescent and CFL bulbs in the United Kingdom will be replaced by LED bulbs of EESL by March 2019, Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday.

The Indian government will draw up a "very smart" strategy to achieve the target, including tie-ups with large corporates.

"Today, we have set up a target of replacing 100 million bulbs in the UK with LEDs. It is a very ambitious target. It is a mind-boggling number... That 100 million bulbs in London will be sold in a foreign country, in a foreign land," the minister said.

The minister was speaking during the launch of?Energy Efficiency Services Ltd's (EESL) affordable lighting scheme in the UK.

For the company, this will truly be a "very very big challenge".

"I already had conversation with my colleagues of EESL and has given some ground realities and guidance. One is they should tie up with large corporates that have immediately seen benefits of energy saving and we will target Indian companies like the Tatas and other companies which have invested in India and helped create so much value and?business and jobs in the UK," he said.

EESL is a joint venture among four central PSUs - NTPC, PowerGrid, REC and PFC - and under the administrative control of the power ministry.

???"We are reaching out to the supermarket for discoms for selling the bulbs," the minister said. "We are thinking of expanding our set-up here and talking to large users. We can talk to all the supermarket chains."

With zero cost and zero investment mode, he is optimistic that more people will go for it.

The minister sees a big business opportunity in London, which can become a base for foraying into the rest of Europe.

Goyal also spoke of a favourable business response to EESL by Austria.

India?has so far replaced 560 old incandescent bulbs by LED bulbs. The minister hinted at a need for rechristening EESL.

Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal, who was present during the launch, announced that every bulb of all the units of his group will be replaced by LED bulbs.

EESL aims to replace 77 crore incandescent bulbs in the residential sector throughout the country by 2019.