On 25th June 2020, the State Government of Uttar Pradesh had announced a Solarising City Scheme for 5 UP cities. It was seen as a clear shift of focus towards Renewable ENergy in the state. It was a welcome decision where the government saw solar energy as a reliable source to lighten up 5 cities. One year after the announcement of the scheme, we saw an opportunity for the public, media and political mobilization to push the government for not only a better implementation of the programme in 5 chosen cities, but also to either expand or commit to revision of the notification for the inclusion of Kanpur, Agra, Lucknow and Meerut. Since the identification of cities included in the initial announcement was based upon their cultural relevance, it seemed appropriate to launch a campaign on UP’s diversity in all aspects, especially the widely celebrated and rich composite culture & heritage. Hence, the strategy was to bring this cultural diversity and rich heritage of UP to the forefront and then urge the government to include other cities of cultural importance into the original notification. Thus, the tactics were focused on celebrating the common identity of the state and mobilizing key departments such as the Ministry of Culture and Tourism so that the Ministry of RE would agree to an expansion. Since the assembly election is approaching in the state, it also seems fruitful to bring employment opportunities within the RE sector into the public discourse.

1. An annual report on the implementation of the Solar Policy with an easy-to-understand dashboard.

2. Inclusion of other UP cities under UP Solarising Scheme, on the basis of their cultural,historical and economic relevance.

3. Increasing the Subsidy for all investments into the RE Sector including at least 50% State Government Subsidy on Household Rooftop Solar installation.

4. Incentivising public banks to ease the process of loaning for rooftop installation.

5. Incentives to families opting for rooftop solar in all Government Welfare Schemes.

6. Install solar energy units in all new buildings, societies, etc. and retrot when necessary to fulfill community area energy requirements (parks, elevators, gyms, stairs, etc.)

7. Mandatory installation of Solar Energy in all government oces at district level.

Announcement of a roadmap by December 2022 to bring key energy intensive departments, i.e. Health and Education, Small Scale Industry and Agriculture, to shift their energy needs to renewables.

1. Incentives in the form of Subsidy to manufacturing units.

2. Capacity building of SHGs for manufacturing Solar PV Plates and providing them easy and subsidized loans to initiate small scale manufacturing units.

3. Promoting Research on Indigenous Technology in manufacturing low cost equipment.

4. Promote study of solar technology in the state education curriculum.

5. Promote solar skill development program in ITI program.

1. Notification to appoint one million Surya Mitras across UP by the end of 2022 to strengthen maintenance of Solar Energy Units installed in rural areas.

2. Announcement of a roadmap within 6 months after the formation of the new government for investments in the RE sector to target at least one million employment opportunities on all levels.

3. Provide state allocated funds to promote entrepreneurship in the solar sector.