The SanvaadGarh Sunday Special | July 06, 2025
Now, when the lights go out in a dusty village in Gaya, Bihar, they don’t call the electricity board. They call Nirmala Devi, a 36-year-old mother of three, who climbs rooftops, replaces wiring, and fixes solar inverters often in a saree, with a toolkit slung over her shoulder.
“I used to be scared of wires,” she laughs. “Now I teach girls how to handle them.”
Once a daily wage earner, Nirmala is one of thousands of “solar sisters”— rural women trained as solar engineers, entrepreneurs, and clean energy champions. From Gujarat’s salt flats to Chhattisgarh’s forest villages, these women are quietly powering a green revolution — one solar panel at a time.
The Rise of India’s Solar Women
Over the past five years, India has prioritized decentralized solar energy in off-grid villages. Programs like Barefoot College in Rajasthan and SwitchON Foundation in West Bengal train women with minimal formal education in solar technology, electrical repairs, wiring, maintenance, and micro-entrepreneurship.
“We realised women stay in the village while men migrate,” says Reva Singh, a trainer at Barefoot College. “Training women empowers the entire community.”
Wires, Wages, and Dignity
Trainees start small — installing solar lanterns or maintaining rooftop panels for schools and anganwadis. Many now run micro-enterprises, renting battery-powered lanterns for weddings, charging phones for ₹5, or partnering with self-help groups to provide solar home kits.
In Gajapati, Odisha, for example, Meena Bhoi, a 22-year-old tribal woman, earns over ₹12,000 monthly maintaining solar setups for five villages. “I’m not just a helper, I’m a businesswoman now,” she says.
Breaking Barriers: Caste, Class, and Gender
What began as an experiment is now a sustainable ecosystem. Many women have become trainers, traveling to other states to establish training hubs. In 2025, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy announced plans to expand the PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana to include women-led solar installation teams, with pilots in Madhya Pradesh and Assam.
Why This Matters
While global climate debates continue, these women act without fanfare, reducing kerosene fires, enabling study after dark, ensuring grid-independent power, and gaining dignity through labor—most importantly, controlling their own futures.
“Earlier, we waited for someone to fix things. Now, we do it ourselves,” says Nirmala Devi. “Even the men ask us what to do.”
The Bigger Picture
India’s clean energy shift must be inclusive. While large solar parks dominate policy, women-led, decentralized models ensure the transition reaches the last village. These solar sisters are not just technicians—they’re trailblazers, mentors, and symbols of a new kind of power.
So, the next time you switch on a solar lamp, ask: Who wired your light? Chances are, it was a woman from a village who learned to harness sunlight — and break barriers — in the same breath.
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