In rural Uttar Pradesh, an electricity bill is acquiring a new meaning. It is no longer merely a monthly household expense or a reminder of consumption. For thousands of women associated with self-help groups, the electricity bill has become an opportunity to earn, build confidence and participate directly in the rural economy.The Yogi government initiated the transformation in the form of Vidyut Sakhi programme, an initiative that brings together women’s livelihoods and public-service delivery. Implemented through collaboration between the Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission (UPSRLM) and the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL), the programme has created a village-level network of women who collect electricity bill payments from consumers while earning commissions for the service.The scale of the initiative is significant. Around 16,000 Vidyut Sakhis are actively engaged in electricity bill collection after recharging their e-wallets, while 31,681 women have been identified for the programme across Uttar Pradesh. Together, Vidyut Sakhis have facilitated the payment of 1,53,62,709 electricity bills, resulting in the collection of nearly Rs 3,500 crore in electricity revenue. In the process, the women have collectively earned approximately Rs 45.4 crore in commissions.Behind these numbers lies a larger story: the transformation of rural women from beneficiaries of development programmes into active participants in the delivery of essential public services.
The concept: turning a public service into a livelihood opportunity
The fundamental idea behind Vidyut Sakhi is simple but powerful. Rural women who are already organised into self-help groups can be trained and connected with an essential service—electricity bill collection. Instead of consumers travelling to distant electricity offices or payment centres, a trained woman from the local community becomes the point of contact.The model therefore addresses two problems simultaneously. For the consumer, it brings an important service closer to home. For the woman, it creates an opportunity to earn without leaving her village.This is particularly significant in rural areas, where women’s participation in paid employment can often be constrained by household responsibilities, mobility and the absence of nearby employment opportunities. A livelihood that operates within the village allows women to earn while continuing to manage their families and other responsibilities.The programme consequently represents a shift in the approach to women’s empowerment. Empowerment is not limited to providing financial assistance or forming self-help groups. It increasingly means creating sustainable opportunities through which women can earn, transact, interact with institutions and become financially independent.
From Self Help Groups(SHGs) to economic participation
The foundation for the Vidyut Sakhi model has been laid by the self-help group movement. Through UPSRLM, rural women are organised into groups that provide them with a platform for savings, credit, training and livelihood activities.Once women become part of this institutional network, they can be connected with a wider range of economic opportunities. Vidyut Sakhi is one such opportunity. Women selected for the programme receive training and are integrated into the electricity bill collection system. Using the electricity department’s e-wallet platform, they collect payments from consumers and facilitate digital transactions. Consumers receive confirmation after the payment is processed.The process may appear routine, but its social and economic significance is much greater. A woman who earlier participated in a self-help group primarily as a member can now become a service provider in her village. She interacts with households, handles digital transactions, maintains financial records and deals with a government-linked service system.In other words, the programme gives women not only an income but also experience, skills and institutional exposure.
Rs 45.4 crore in commissions: the income story
The strongest indicator of the programme’s economic impact is the income generated by the women themselves. Vidyut Sakhis have collectively earned about Rs 45.4 crore in commissions through electricity bill collection. For women in rural communities, even a regular supplementary income can make a meaningful difference to household finances.The commission-based model also creates a direct relationship between effort and earnings. The more payments a Vidyut Sakhi facilitates, the greater her potential income. For electricity bills of up to Rs 2,000, a Vidyut Sakhi earns a commission of Rs 20 in rural areas and Rs 12 in urban areas. Across thousands of transactions, these commissions accumulate into a meaningful livelihood stream.The importance of this income extends beyond the individual woman. When a rural woman earns, the money often contributes to household expenditure, children’s education, healthcare, savings and other family requirements. Thus, a small transaction at the village level can contribute to a broader cycle of household economic security.
Employment without migration
One of the most important strengths of the Vidyut Sakhi model is its location. The programme does not require women to migrate to cities or even travel long distances for employment. Their workplace is essentially their own village and surrounding community.This addresses one of the biggest challenges in rural women’s employment: the gap between women’s willingness to work and the availability of employment that is compatible with their social and household circumstances. A woman may have the ability and desire to earn but may not be able to take up a job several kilometres away. Vidyut Sakhi provides an alternative. She can provide a service locally, earn an income and remain connected to her family.In fact, this makes the model particularly relevant for inclusive rural development.
Convenience for consumers
The programme’s benefits are not restricted to women. Before the expansion of village-level bill collection, consumers in several rural areas could have to travel to electricity department counters or designated payment centres to deposit their bills. This involved time, travel expenses and inconvenience.The Vidyut Sakhi network brings the service closer to the consumer. A household can approach a Vidyut Sakhi in the village or nearby area, make the payment and receive confirmation of the transaction. This is particularly valuable for elderly consumers, women managing households and residents of villages located far from conventional payment centres.Thus, the programme turns a livelihood initiative into a last-mile public-service delivery mechanism. The woman benefits economically, while the consumer benefits through accessibility and convenience.
A third beneficiary: the power sector
There is another important dimension to the programme—the electricity department itself. The collection of more than 1.53 crore bills and nearly Rs 3,500 crore in revenue demonstrates the potential of a decentralised network for improving electricity payment collection.Instead of relying exclusively on conventional counters and payment centres, the power department gains thousands of community-level points through which consumers can make payments. The Vidyut Sakhi therefore becomes a local link between the electricity consumer and the power utility.This three-way benefit makes the model particularly significant: Women receive livelihood opportunities. Consumers receive convenient services. The power department receives an additional channel for revenue collection. Such models demonstrate how welfare-oriented programmes can be designed to generate economic value rather than merely distribute benefits.
Digital empowerment alongside financial empowerment
Another important feature of Vidyut Sakhi is the role of digital technology. Women use an e-wallet-based system to facilitate electricity bill payments. This means that participation in the programme requires them to become familiar with digital transactions and financial processes.For rural women, this exposure can have a multiplier effect. A woman who learns to use digital payment systems for her work can gradually become more comfortable with other digital financial services. The experience can strengthen her ability to manage money, maintain transaction records and interact with technology-based government and financial platforms.Therefore, Vidyut Sakhi is not merely a bill collection programme. It is also a mechanism for digital inclusion and financial literacy. The transformation is especially meaningful because technology is being introduced through an economic activity that has a clear purpose and immediate benefit for the woman.
UPSRLM: building the larger ecosystem of women’s livelihoods
The success of Vidyut Sakhi cannot be viewed in isolation. It forms part of a broader livelihood ecosystem created through the Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission.The self-help group movement has created a large institutional platform through which rural women can be connected to credit, training, entrepreneurship, producer activities, public services and other livelihood opportunities. The central philosophy is to move women from dependence towards economic participation.This distinction is important. A woman who receives assistance remains a recipient. A woman who runs an enterprise, provides a service, earns income and manages transactions becomes an economic actor.UPSRLM’s approach seeks to create precisely this transition. Vidyut Sakhi fits naturally into this framework because it does not require the creation of an entirely new business infrastructure for every woman. Instead, it connects existing community institutions—self-help groups—with an existing public requirement: electricity bill payments.
Women as agents of development
Perhaps the most significant change brought about by programmes such as Vidyut Sakhi is the changing perception of rural women. Women are increasingly becoming visible in roles traditionally associated with formal institutions, markets and service delivery.A Vidyut Sakhi is not simply collecting money. She is representing a service in her community. She is handling transactions, interacting with consumers, using digital tools and maintaining a relationship with the electricity system.Economic activity can also strengthen women’s decision-making within households. When a woman contributes to household income, her role in financial decisions can become more significant. Over time, regular earnings can contribute to greater financial independence and social confidence. The empowerment therefore goes beyond the commission earned on an individual electricity bill.
A model with potential beyond electricity
The larger lesson from the Vidyut Sakhi initiative is that rural women can become effective partners in delivering essential services when appropriate training, technology and institutional support are provided. The same community-based model can potentially support other services where last-mile connectivity is important.The success of Vidyut Sakhi shows that the village itself can become a platform for employment. Rather than expecting rural women to leave their communities in search of jobs, development programmes can bring economic opportunities closer to them.This is particularly important for a state as large and diverse as Uttar Pradesh, where millions of people live in rural areas.
From beneficiary to entrepreneur, from household to community
The journey of the Vidyut Sakhi is ultimately a story about changing the meaning of empowerment. It begins with a self-help group, moves to training, introduces a woman to a digital payment system, gives her an opportunity to earn and eventually places her in direct contact with the community and a public utility.The figures tell the story of scale: more than 31,000 women identified, over 16,000 actively engaged, more than 1.53 crore bills facilitated, nearly Rs3,500 crore collected and Rs45.4 crore earned by women through commissions. But the real achievement lies beyond these statistics.Every bill collected by a Vidyut Sakhi represents a small economic transaction that simultaneously strengthens a woman’s livelihood and improves access to public services. Collectively, these transactions are creating a new rural employment model—one in which women do not have to leave their villages to participate in the economy.The Vidyut Sakhi initiative therefore illustrates a broader philosophy of rural development: when women are given skills, technology, institutional support and an opportunity to earn, they do not merely become beneficiaries of development—they become its agents.Through the livelihood mission and programmes such as Vidyut Sakhi, rural Uttar Pradesh is witnessing this transition in real time. Electricity bills, once seen only as household obligations, are now helping illuminate another dimension of rural development—women’s economic independence, dignity and participation in the local economy.
