Solar Lantern Lending and IoT Tracking Platform for Off-Grid Rural Households

Objective: To enable reliable access to clean, affordable lighting for off-grid rural households by digitizing and monitoring the community-based solar lantern lending process.

Millions of people in remote Indian villages still lack reliable access to grid electricity, relying on expensive and polluting kerosene lamps for basic lighting. This affects children’s education, women’s safety, and community productivity, directly impacting vulnerable groups in states with high energy poverty. The project aligns with SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy by targeting energy access gaps in off-grid and underserved rural areas.

The proposed solution is a technology-enabled solar lantern lending system managed by local self-help groups or village committees. The student team will design a low-cost IoT-based tracking platform integrating QR-coded lanterns, a user-friendly mobile/web interface for inventory management, and SMS-based notifications for borrowers without smartphones.

Key features include: (1) IoT-enabled device tracking for real-time status and geo-location of lanterns; (2) digital lending ledger with unique user IDs (Aadhaar-free); (3) SMS-based lending/return reminders; (4) open-data dashboards for utilization and impact reporting; (5) integration with local field agents for maintenance alerts. The working prototype will be piloted in 1-2 partner villages with real community feedback.

Measurable social impact includes tracking the number of households benefitting, lantern utilization rates, reduction in kerosene use, and improvement in study hours for children. The solution is designed for scalability by enabling adoption by NGOs, CSR arms, and gram panchayats, with potential for open-source deployment and wider rural replication.