August 17, 2026 · Bigsna Gill

Presence without performance

We conducted an 850-household study across six villages in Gujarat and Rajasthan to understand how energy shapes rural livelihoods and everyday life. The study found that grid connections, water systems and irrigation infrastructure exist across all six villages - but their performance varies and in most villages it is often unreliable, inconsistent and poorly coordinated. 88% households have an active electricity connection, but only 29% reported near-continuous supply in the last month. Water schemes have been initiated in several villages, but in one village, the infrastructure needed to support the scheme has failed to materialise year after year. Irrigation pumps are widely used but agriculture feeders supply power only ~70% of the time. The gap, then, is not simply the absence or presence of energy and infrastructure, but how well the infrastructure that exists actually works. This distinction defines the kinds of interventions needed and where innovation can make the greatest difference.

The problem

These gaps show up differently across rural life - affecting how people work, access water, manage livestock, cope with heat and maintain their health and wellbeing. Four interconnected areas emerged where energy-enabled solutions could make a meaningful difference.

Where the challenge shows up

Each area reflects a different expression of the underlying resilience challenge — and a different set of opportunities for innovation.

Heat Stress & Thermal Comfort

90%

of India's land area is already exposed to dangerously high temperatures - spanning nearly 60% of districts, which is home to three-quarters of the population.

National context

380M

of India's workforce (75%) works outdoors or in poorly ventilated indoor settings with high heat exposure.

National context

65–85%

of households surveyed depend on outdoor livelihoods. Cooling-appliance ownership sits below 30% overall and below 10% in most villages. Grid reliability varies between 12-24 hours and 90% households don't have backup power sources.

Field study, 2026 — 850HHs, six villages, Gujarat & Rajasthan

The barrier: Outdoor workers - farmers, livestock rearers, wage labourers - have no shelter from the heat, and workers in informal settings lack ventilated spaces. At home, an unreliable grid means even a fan cannot run through the day, leaving little thermal relief indoors either. Women bear the compound effect: biomass cooking, water and fuel collection, livestock care and agricultural work expose them to heat indoors and outdoors alike.

The cost: By 2030, India stands to lose 5.8% of total working hours (≈34 million jobs) to heat stress. An estimated 24 days of paid work lost a year - close to a tenth of annual income for outdoor workers.

Where innovation can play a role:

Energy-efficient cooling for informal & weak-grid settingsHeat-resilient materials & prefab structuresHousing & infrastructure retrofits

The opportunity for innovation lies in connecting these systems rather than addressing each constraint in isolation. An appropriate solution may improve more than one outcome at a time - if it is adapted to the local context - suited to how people, infrastructure and livelihoods function in the village.

Back to Hub