For Dr Vinayak Salunke, flashlights worth less than $10 each are one of the most valuable assets at the Vihamandra health centre in Aurangabad in India's western state of Maharashtra.
To change that, a pilot project launching this month in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Haryana states aims to set up replicable, cost-effective solar power plants at health centres – the first point of access to a doctor for rural residents – and evaluate their impact on healthcare delivery.
"This project will see the potential of looking at solar as the primary source of electricity, and not necessarily only as a back-up," Swaminathan said.