Oorja’s Climate-Smart Farming Services for Smallholders

Smallholder farmers in the Indo-Gangetic plains of northern India are on the frontlines of the agrarian and climate crisis. This region has a high concentration of people living in poverty. The rural population relies on agriculture for food security and livelihood. Millions of farmers face declining agricultural productivity due to high input costs, environmental degradation, and climate change. Crop yields are ca. 50% lower than potential, contributing to low and irregular income of less than $100 per month per household. Due to weak grid electricity access on farms, farmers rely heavily on diesel engines, notably for irrigation and agro-processing. This is both operationally expensive and environmentally destructive. They lack reliable, affordable and clean energy alternatives for running agricultural machinery. Only 65% of farms have reliable electricity connections needed for energy-intensive activities. This forces 30 million Indian farmers to rely on expensive and polluting fossil fuels for on-farm energy, accounting for 12% of the country’s total diesel consumption. Given their limited access to financial and social capital and high dependence on the agriculture sector, the rural poor are highly exposed, sensitive to changes in weather, and have low adaptive capacity to climate change and climate-induced extreme weather events. Lifecycle costs for solar energy are substantially cheaper than fossil fuel, but it remains inaccessible to most farmers due to high upfront capital costs. Smallholders also lack knowledge of scientific methods of cultivation, leading to the overuse of fossil-based fertilisers, pesticides and agrochemicals. This damages soil quality and water supplies besides declining farmers’ agricultural productivity and making them vulnerable to climate risks.

Globally, around 600 million smallholder farmers bear the brunt of climate change. Approximately one in three of India’s 120 million farmers rely on fossil fuels for their on-farm energy needs, contributing to the agriculture sector’s large carbon footprint (14% of the country’s emissions). Smallholder farmers and their dependents face extreme poverty due to socio-cultural barriers that limit access to gaining new knowledge and modern technologies. Oorja addresses the problems of limited energy access, high reliance on fossil fuel and fossil-derived chemical inputs and climate sensitivity of smallholder farmers. With increased access to clean energy and modern agronomic knowledge, small and marginal farmers can be empowered and engaged in more sustainable ways of farming, reducing their carbon footprint through agriculture.

Oorja’s solution is a farm-based package of services powered by decentralised solar PV energy, using a unique Pay Per Use (PPU) business model. Oorja offers solar irrigation and agro-processing services to smallholder farmers with no upfront cost and an affordable tariff structure, and climate-smart farm advisory services.

We have pioneered the community-based Pay-Per-Use business model in the agricultural sector in India. This model removes the entry barrier of the upfront cost of technology acquisition, making solar technology accessible, affordable, reliable, and convenient for low-income customers. It also ensures the operations and maintenance of solar assets are taken care of, ensuring the solar equipment is utilised for its full lifetime of 20 years. We undertake end-to-end project development, from site identification to installation to operations and maintenance of assets. We have a cluster-based operational model where assets are installed within an expanse of farmland (1-5 km), and serviced by a local field team. Each cluster comprises 4 solar pumps and a mill based on demand assessment. We identify potential sites through a multi-stage site selection process including data-driven demand assessment followed by technical audits and installation of the solar assets at selected sites. A group of 15-20 farmers with adjoining land pay a small membership fee to avail our Pay-Per-Use services.

Oorja deploys community solar assets which include a solar PV-powered pump and mill of typical size of 5 HP powered by a 5 kWp PV array.  We deploy solar BLDC or AC submersible or surface pumps of 5 HP capacity at the farm which can deliver up to 250 m3 of water per day, and sell irrigation-as-a-service at fixed tariffs. Water is metered using a flowmeter and sold on a volumetric basis (per m3 of water delivered). For our solar milling service, we deploy multipurpose pulverisers of 5 HP capacity that can mill around 40 kg per hour of wheat flour. Pulverisers are integrated with the same solar PV array that is used to power the solar pump to maximise the utilisation of the installed solar PV. 

Farmers using Oorja’s irrigation services also receive climate-smart agronomy advisory for crop diversification, precise application of inputs, and sustainable farming techniques. They are trained in scientific and precise cultivation techniques, enabling them to operate with a lower environmental footprint. This enables them to increase crop yields and grow crops in all three seasons, doubling their income and improving their ability to adapt to climate change.

Oorja’s target customers are low-income rural farmers from weak-grid regions of the Indo-Gangetic plains of India, more specifically, smallholder farmers who own less than 1.5 acres of land and earn $60-100 per household. They rely on agriculture for subsistence and ca. 50% of their income. Most of them are engaged only in one or two growing seasons, practise flood irrigation and grow staple crops such as rice, wheat and maize. They rely heavily on diesel for fossil fuel for their on-farm energy needs for irrigation, million and to run agricultural machinery. Electricity supply from the grid is not an alternative for most of these farmers as the electric grid does not reach into farms and where it does, supply is erratic and of poor quality. They also lack knowledge of scientific methods of cultivation leading to overuse of fossil-based fertilisers, pesticides and agrochemicals (NABARD, 2022).

Oorja has developed its portfolio of agri-energy services in response to the pressing needs of small-scale farmers. Through the use of our services, we are enabling smallholders to transition away from diesel fuel, saving up to 60% on on-farm energy costs. Providing them access to year-round affordable irrigation helps users to diversify from staple crops to other high value crops and grow a third zayed crop that can be lucrative. Integration of solar pumps with agro-processing equipment allows high utilisation of solar PV generation. Agro-processing service is provided for grinding flour, pulses, and spices into food products locally at lower than market prices.

Farmers using Oorja’s irrigation services also receive climate-smart agronomy advisory. Through this service, we aim to partially transition farmers from the usage of chemical inputs to natural or locally-made inputs, reduce consumption of chemical inputs, increase the adoption of modern scientific or agronomic farming techniques, such as System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and System of Wheat Intensification (SWI), apply precise quantities of inputs and increase yields, provide access to early warning systems for extreme weather and appropriate seed varieties to increase the climate resilience of smallholders, help them adapt to changing climatic conditions such as high temperatures, drought, floods, pests, etc. and boost their household income. Farmers are trained in scientific and precise cultivation techniques, enabling them to operate with a lower environmental footprint. There is both a focus on avoidance of carbon emissions (climate mitigation) as well as climate resilience in this solution.

Oorja has built a qualified, dedicated, passionate and professional team of 70+ members working together in pursuit of a common mission. We are a diverse and international team of solar engineers, community mobilisers, financiers, agronomists, farmers, scientists and development professionals. 80% of the team are based at our rural project sites working hand-in-hand with customers. Our unique strength is that many of us are farmers with first-hand experience of the challenges faced by smallholders. Oorja’s solution was conceptualised after consulting 500+ farmers and their communities. Using their feedback, we conceived a human-centric solution focusing on decarbonising agriculture. The company is professionally managed with an outstanding management team educated at Cambridge University, Imperial College London, Columbia University and Institute of Rural Management Anand. At the field level, Oorja has several teams that look after specific functions. Our Business Development team is experienced in marketing and lead generation, and is responsible for finding and selecting promising sites for our solar projects. They conduct focus group discussions and individual surveys to assess the demand for the services, and acquire land for the final installation of the solar equipment. The Sales and Collections team is responsible for promoting service utilisation, training Operators and collecting payments. The Engineering team takes care of installation, testing and commissioning of the solar projects. The Farmer Advisory team consists of in-house agronomists who provide training and demonstrations on best practices for each cultivation step, from soil preparation to precise irrigation to harvesting. We also hire Operators from the local rural communities to look after the day-to-day operations at our project sites. They take care of all day-to-day operations including service delivery, payment collections, and resolving customer queries and complaints, etc.

We pioneered the use of the Pay-Per-Use model in the agriculture sector in India. Having deployed close to 150 solar energy projects together has equipped us with the necessary experience to scale up 100x. We have raised over $2.6 million in blended finance and have fostered partnerships with technology providers, foundations, large research organisations, and NGOs to achieve our mission. We have gained considerable market traction in Uttar Pradesh, India, and our model is ready for replication across new geographies within India, South East Asia and Sub- Saharan Africa. We have a laser focus on low-income marginalised farmers who are extremely vulnerable to climatic risks and our north star is increasing their agricultural productivity and income while improving their climate resilience.

Oorja’s Pay-Per-Use model effectively bridges the investment gap for agri-energy infrastructure by turning farming needs into services. Under this model, the company installs, owns and operates solar-powered infrastructure for income-generating activities such as irrigation. Our solar irrigation, milling and agronomy advisory services are operational in six districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. We have 148 operational solar projects with a total installed solar PV capacity of over 600 kWp. Currently, 1,769 farmers are accessing our solar irrigation services, bringing 2,200+ acres under sustainable irrigation. When pumps are not running, Oorja has used clean electricity to run 17 solar mills and offer milling services to 1,688 community members. So far, our solution has impacted 27,000+ beneficiaries (including farmers’ families). 80% of our users come from historically marginalised communities and 100% are BoP farmers. 

Oorja’s intervention has helped farmers strengthen their livelihoods and become increasingly aware about modern and sustainable agricultural practices, locally made inputs and high-value crops. Access to year-round affordable irrigation has enabled users to diversify from staples to other crops such as vegetables, fruits and herbs. This forever ends their reliance on fossil fuels - 67% of our customers don't use diesel pumps any more and we recorded a 96% reduction in diesel consumption among our users. We have cumulatively saved 91,000+ litres of diesel to date and abated close to 2,200 MTCO2e emissions. 47% of irrigation service users expanded to cultivating a third season in 2022. From 2020-2022, Oorja’s customers have experienced a yield increase of up to 30% and earned up to 26% more compared to farmers who rely on diesel - implying the steady growth in farmers’ income and quality of life. Users have experienced reduced drudgery, time savings, and convenient on-farm services, contributing to climate resilience and agricultural productivity. 

The climate-smart agronomy advisory has played a crucial role in improving smallholders’ livelihoods and reducing rural poverty by equipping farmers with the information, knowledge, and skills needed to increase their productivity and profitability, manage risks, and engage effectively with markets. Farmers have reported reducing their chemical input consumption by up to 25%, further reducing emissions. 94% of our farmers report their quality of life has improved, according to a recent independent external impact assessment by 60 Decibels. Our users have saved over US$ 47,000 in fuel expenses while we recorded 20-60% cost savings for our users. In addition, we have created 49 green jobs by hiring people from last-mile rural communities as Operators.

Being a part of the Solve community would help us gain access to strategic partnerships and capital resources to scale our initiative both in India and across Asia and Africa. We see this as an opportunity to build networks and potential partnerships. The 9-month virtual support program will help us strengthen our capacity to execute our ambitious scaling and diversification plans. We will also benefit from expert coaching to identify pathways to accelerate our scale-up. We seek Solve’s guidance and mentorship in refining our operational processes, optimising efficiency and reducing costs. The prize money will support deployment of new assets.

The Solve community will also provide Oorja the opportunity to share its experience of piloting the Pay-Per-Use model in India’s agri value chain. This would be a platform for us to share the learnings from our projects and provide insights on leading a diverse team. Moreover, we will be happy to share our own networks or contribute thought leadership and peer-to-peer support with other cohort members, so we can together work towards our common goals. 

In a nutshell, this application will unlock a wide array of avenues for us in terms of networking and partnerships, and we are keen on leveraging Solve’s resources to reach a wider audience, spread awareness about our innovation and advance our capabilities in the process.

Oorja’s farm-based package of services powered by decentralised solar PV energy are unique because of the innovative Pay-Per-Use business model that makes solar technology accessible to the poorest farmers. While the dominant approach globally has been to promote direct sales or leasing of solar technology, effectively reaching only middle-income and wealthy farmers who are financially and socially well off. Also, under a direct sales model, after-sales service is often lacking and assets fall into disuse after technical issues. Our inclusive Pay-Per-Use business model transforms solar into an affordable service accessible to any farmer nearby, and targets smallholder and marginalised farmers. Given ca. 80% of fossil-reliant farmers are poor or marginalised, they cannot be reached without a disruptive approach, preventing complete decarbonisation. There have been some government schemes providing capital subsidies for decentralised solar-powered irrigation systems. However, high upfront costs have so far limited their adoption among farmers with limited financial capacity, small landholding, and low social capital. Most of these schemes have failed to reach small and marginal landholders and economically disadvantaged farmers. 

In contrast, we strategically focus on one-acre farmers who are disproportionately affected by climate change. Given smallholders and economically disadvantaged farmers are already under-served due their limited financial capacities and social exclusion, the Pay-Per-Use model becomes a crucial tool to sustainably address their social and economic status quo. Our innovation relies on robust domestically available technology and is easily replicable in different geographies. We take care of the maintenance of its solar assets and equipment - eliminating the cost of repairs and maintenance for end users. Due to the on-farm and near-farm availability of the services, users also save on transportation and other logistical expenses.

Pay-Per-Use is a nascent business model that has emerged due to the need for large productive-use of equipment, especially in the agricultural sector. The “servitisation” of high-cost productive use assets, removing the upfront cost barrier, is an effective model to provide  energy access to last-mile agrarian communities. This disruptive model effectively bridges the investment gap for clean energy infrastructure, making solar technology accessible to the poorest farmers. As the world’s population is expected to grow to 10 billion by 2050, satisfying the increased demands of food production with existing farming practices is likely to lead to more intense competition for natural resources, thus increasing greenhouse gas emissions and further leading to land degradation and deforestation. 

Our initiative can be replicated in similar geographies across South and Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. Upon large-scale adoption, this innovative solution can improve livelihoods, create jobs in last-mile communities, strengthen food systems, and abate thousands of tons of CO2 emissions per year. Advisory services would help these farmers to adapt to the effects of climate change, especially heat stress, drought and untimely rainfall. Ultimately, we have the potential to revolutionise the landscape of the water-energy-food nexus and move towards wide-scale decarbonization of agriculture for small-scale farmers, significantly contributing to SDGs for inclusive, sustainable and resilient climate change policies.

Oorja’s Theory of Change is that by deploying decentralised solar infrastructure on-farm and using it to make timely, localised, affordable and reliable irrigation, agro-processing and advisory services available, users will stop using diesel fuel and adopt solar services to obtain direct cost savings. Through regular training, awareness activities, and delivery of practical training about crop selection and agronomy, farmers will be able to boost crop yields, engage in new growing seasons, and diversify their cropping patterns. This will help farmers increase their incomes and strengthen their livelihoods. Consequently, users irrigate more regularly and precisely, apply the right quantity of agri inputs at the right time, and obtain high quality processed produce, further boosting their agricultural productivity and income. Another outcome is that users will be able to grow new crops and expand into a third growing season. 

Solar PV infrastructure will generate clean energy, displacing fossil fuel use and reducing GHG emissions. Farmers’ improved knowledge of climate-smart agricultural practices will be implemented to reduce use of chemical inputs, lower the cost of cultivation, and boost resilience to climate shocks. The inclusion of economically vulnerable farmers and women will address inequalities, helping the entire community to transition to low-carbon agriculture. Other direct outputs are the hiring of local operators, who earn additional income. Oorja’s mission is to empower 1 million farmers by 2030 with the agricultural services they need to increase their income and quality of life while also reducing carbon emissions.

Our impact objectives are to boost farmers’ agricultural productivity by up to 30%, double their agricultural income and strengthen their climate resilience. Upon adoption of solar-powered farming services, users will stop using diesel fuel permanently, reducing diesel fuel consumption by at least 95%. Users will benefit from 20-60% direct cost savings on the cost of irrigation and agro-processing. With on-farm training by skilled agronomists, they will enhance their knowledge of scientific agricultural practices and reduce their consumption of chemical fertilisers and pesticides by at least 20%. Users will also start sowing high-value and climate-resilient seed varieties, increasing resilience to climate shocks such as droughts, floods, and heat waves. This is expected to boost crop diversification, with at least 50% of users expanding to a third growing season within two years. We target for each household to double their agricultural income from the baseline level within three years, with additional earnings of $800 to $1,000 per household. As part of its gender mainstreaming plan, Oorja plans to increase the inclusion of women as end-users by reaching at least 20% of women farmers in its customer base.

Oorja’s impact evaluation methodology is based on a cohort study and other quantitative and qualitative methods to provide additional insights. Impact assessments are conducted annually with the same groups of respondents. We conduct impact evaluations both pre-intervention (baseline) and compare the socio-economic and environmental impact by conducting an annual midline impact assessment. We use a bottom-up approach to maximise its impact and have developed a comprehensive theory of change aligned with five dimensions of impact. For baseline studies, we randomly select a treatment group (irrigation customers at project sites) and a comparison group (a sample of a similar demographic that are not Oorja customers at nearby non-project sites). Oorja’s field staff collect both quantitative and qualitative data from respondents in-person through standardised surveys. We have developed primary research questions to understand the changes in crop yields, crop diversification and agricultural income, application of farming inputs, use of and cost savings compared to diesel alternatives, and adoption of agronomic agricultural practices and climate adaptation strategies. We use this data to assess secondary outcomes such as impacts on household income.

In addition to the cohort study, we collect utilisation data on a monthly basis from sales registers and training attendance data. We prepare monthly reports on costs Vs revenues, collection efficiency, asset utilisation, active users, and impact. This helps us keep track of our performance and make strategic decisions. The monthly impact tracker includes metrics such as the total number of users, acres under solar irrigation, clean energy generated, GHG emissions avoided, savings for the household, jobs created, etc. We try to make sure that data is gender-disaggregated. We also regularly collect customer feedback on affordability, reliability, convenience, and other qualitative aspects.

Oorja’s solution is a business model innovation that leverages productive-use of energy appliances powered by solar PV technology, making them radically accessible to low-income farmers. Under its irrigation vertical, Oorja installs, owns and operates solar pumps (5 HP BLDC submersible and solar pumping systems) and measures water output using a flowmeter. These pumps can produce output of up to 600 m3 of water per day. Under its milling vertical, Oorja installs, owns and operates multipurpose pulverisers (5 HP capacity) that are physically integrated with solar pumps, as the same solar PV array is used to power either the pump or pulveriser to maximise capacity utilisation. These pulverisers can be used to grind up to 100 kg of flour, pulses, spices and other food products. Our mills are conveniently located at the farm level in the village - further saving transportation costs, travel time and drudgery on processing activities. We procure high-quality solar pumping systems and agro-processing mills from reputed manufacturers, such as solar pumps from Shakti Pumps, agro-processing appliances from Centrifugal, and cold storage units from Ecozen. Our Engineering team oversees the installation and commissioning of our solar assets and optimises the pump sizing and head, motor selection and water output according to the requirement.

Smallholder farmers are trained in various formats, including classroom style workshops for awareness creation, on-farm demonstration in demo plots to showcase new techniques, climate-resilient seeds, vermicomposting, natural input preparation, etc; through use of digital tools including WhatsApp groups and agri-based mobile applications; and focus group discussions to share learnings and best practices. At present farmers are being trained on crop diversification, natural input preparation, climate-smart or scientific farming techniques (SRI, SWI, etc.), crop management, Plantix application for pest identification and remediation, market price websites etc. In expanding this solution we also plan to introduce tools to provide extreme weather warnings and support farmers with access to climate-resilient seeds and other inputs that the farmer might require during the crop cycle.

Currently, Oorja is a team of 79 members. Of this, 22 are full-time employees, 10 are contractors and 48 are part-time staff.

We have been working on our solution for five years. Oorja was founded in 2016, and our first project was a solar microgrid powering 50 households in Uttar Pradesh, India. Our first customers were low-income farmers who remarked that their diesel pumps frequently broke down and running costs were a major burden. We recognised the gap and consulted 500+ farmers to understand their challenges and needs. Thus we developed the transformative Pay-Per-Use business model to ‘servitise’ the use of decentralised solar technology in 2019.

Oorja is an international team of agriculture professionals, researchers, engineers, farmers, scientists, teachers and community mobilisers. We are very proud of our flat and open work culture and our collaborative work environment. One of our two co-founders is a woman, and five of our nine managers are women. We have also onboarded women in our field operations as farmer advisors and operators. We have people coming from diverse cultural backgrounds, ethnicities,  genders and sexual orientations working for one common cause. We value each others’ opinions and empower each other every day to problem-solve, to continuously learn and to bring our best selves to deliver Oorja's mission.

We are an equal opportunity employer that values and respects the importance of a diverse and inclusive workforce. It is the policy of the company to recruit, hire, train and promote persons in all job titles without regard to religion, race, caste, gender, place of birth, sexual orientation, marital status or disability status. We make sure to provide a safe, diverse and comfortable workplace to all our employees and not adversely discriminate, and prohibit other adverse discrimination at the workplace, against any person on its premises, whether that person is in its employment or otherwise. We have also introduced a gender-neutral PoSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) policy for all our employees, irrespective of their gender or sexual orientation.

We are guided by the principles of:

• Fairness and consistency with the responsibilities assigned and the capabilities demonstrated.  

• Alignment with the Company strategies and with the defined objectives.  

• Competitiveness with regard to practices and market trends.  

• Enhancement of merit and performance, in terms of results, behaviours and values acted.  

• Clear governance and compliance with the regulatory framework.

Oorja has pioneered an innovative Pay-Per-Use business model to provide smallholder farmers with access to farming services powered by solar energy. Our Pay-Per-Use model effectively bridges the investment gap for agri-energy infrastructure by turning farming needs into services. Under this model, the company installs, owns, operates and maintains decentralised solar infrastructure at the farm level and sells irrigation and milling services to smallholder farmers. There is no entry barrier of upfront cost for farmers under this model and all our services are sold at affordable fixed tariffs that are up to 60% cheaper than diesel alternatives. Users pay only according to the amount of irrigation water pumped and the weight of produce milled. Our irrigation customers receive complementary agronomy advisory on crop diversification, precise application of inputs, and sustainable farming techniques. 

For our B2C model, we have a cluster-based operational model where assets are installed within an expanse of farmland (1-5 km), and serviced by a local field team. Each cluster comprises 4 solar pumps and a mill based on demand assessment. We identify potential sites through a multi-stage site selection process including data-driven demand assessment followed by technical audits and installation of the solar assets at selected sites. Then we form a group of 15-20 farmers with adjoining land who pay a small membership fee to avail services. We are planning to launch our B2B2C vertical for delivery of solar irrigation services to agribusinesses, corporates, SMEs, foundations, NGOs and other institutions in India who engage with a large base of smallholder farmers. These clients would pay a fixed monthly amount as per contract and ownership of assets would be transferred to them in 3-5 years.

There is strong research evidence that solar pumps enable an uninterrupted supply of irrigation during daytime hours, reliable access even during summer months, reduced operating costs and lower carbon emissions compared to diesel irrigation. Demand for this technology greatly outstrips available pumping capacity, and the market size of $3 billion is growing 10% each year. Irrigation-as-a-service is applicable in areas where smallholder farmers rent diesel pumps. We estimate there are 80,000 flour mills in rural India, 50% powered by diesel with high operating costs.

Oorja is a for-profit social enterprise with a commercially-viable business model.  Oorja’s revenue streams are (i) one-time subscription fees paid by irrigation customers, (ii) revenues from use of Pay-Per-Use irrigation and milling services charged at affordable fixed tariffs, (iii) sale of decentralised renewable energy certificates (D-RECs), and (iv) consulting and research assignments. Oorja’s scaling plans are to use a commercial pathway to finance and deploy 1,000 solar projects in selected districts and states with high latent demand. We aim to expand Pay Per Use solar-powered farming services within target districts Northern and Eastern India. We will become profitable upon deployment of 450 solar projects. Having demonstrated this as a viable, replicable, and scalable model to phase out fossil fuel and build climate-resilient farming systems in the agriculture sector and scaled up the model to multiple states and districts in India, we will be able to attract commercial debt and equity investments to continue scaling. In the longer term, we expect the revenues from our solar farming services to finance our operations and profits to be re-invested into new infrastructure or services.

Oorja is currently closing a USD 1.5 million Pre-Series A investment round. We have raised USD 900,000 in equity and grants of USD 425,000. The total funding raised to date is USD 2.6 million. Over the next 3 years, we plan to expand our Pay-Per-Use solar-powered farming services within India, and replicate this model in target countries in South and Southeast Asia and Africa. By 2026, we aim to cross 1,000 projects and 225,000 beneficiaries and be a profitable company, generating annual revenues of over $1 million. Our mission is to deploy 10,000 solar pumps impacting 1 million people by 2030, saving 1 million tonnes of CO2 in their 20-year lifetimes. We are also planning to launch our B2B2C vertical for the delivery of solar irrigation services to agribusinesses, corporates, SMEs, foundations, NGOs, and other institutions in India who engage with a large base of smallholder farmers. These clients would pay a fixed monthly amount as per contract and ownership of assets would be transferred to them in 3-5 years. The company will also expand its operational footprint in new geographies that it can then consider entering with a B2C model.

From January 2020 to January 2024, our solar project deployments and users have increased by 1160% and 1908% respectively. Currently, we have 143 operational solar assets spread across 6 districts of northern India. Our projects have cumulatively abated 2,086 tonnes of CO2e emissions. Oorja’s Pay-Per-Use irrigation, milling and agronomy advisory services are now reaching 26,000+ beneficiaries. 93% of our customers reported having higher incomes after using our services, and their lives have improved through convenience and effort reduction, timely irrigation and higher crop yield.