Anindya Upadhyay Bloomberg

India is considering a plan to install smart meters in every home and business as part of its ongoing effort to turn around the country's ailing power sector, according to officials with knowledge of the situation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government missed a self-imposed target to electrify every home, delaying the success of a marquee $2.3 billion development goal that his party plans to showcase before national elections early this year.

India now is home to about 1.5 million battery-powered, three-wheeled rickshaws - a fleet bigger than the total number of electric passenger cars sold in China since 2011. But while the world's largest auto market dangled significant subsidies to encourage purchases of battery-powered cars, India's e-movement hardly got a hand from the state.

As New Delhi suffers through a surge in the most harmful type of smog -- a toxic stew that makes India's capital one of the most polluted in the world -- Beijing offers lessons in how another troubled city made progress clearing the air.

Thick toxic smog enveloped New Delhi for a second straight day Wednesday, forcing schools to shut down, halting traffic on highways and sending residents scurrying to buy air purifiers and filtration masks.

The success of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious plan to electrify all households in India by December 2018 faces a familiar hurdle: the money-losing state power retailers.

As a new official at the Kanpur Electricity Supply Co. in 2011, Ritu Maheshwari installed new meters across almost a third of the company's customer base.

India is expected to have an 8.8 percent electricity supply surplus, Central Electricity Authority, the planning wing of the union power ministry said.

Canadian Solar Inc. and China's Unisun Energy Group bought 49 percent stakes in solar projects being developed by Suzlon Energy

India has become one of the biggest clients of Chinese photovoltaic manufacturers and in the absence of its own domestic capacity, that reliance could potentially grow.

Urine from India's indigenous Bos indicus cows, which are considered sacred by Hindus, is a hot commodity. That's thanks in large part to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who's introduced programs over the past two years to protect the milk-producing animals and support industries derived from their waste.

India is considering a plan to install smart meters in every home and business as part of its ongoing effort to turn around the country's ailing power sector, according to officials with knowledge of the situation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government missed a self-imposed target to electrify every home, delaying the success of a marquee $2.3 billion development goal that his party plans to showcase before national elections early this year.

India now is home to about 1.5 million battery-powered, three-wheeled rickshaws - a fleet bigger than the total number of electric passenger cars sold in China since 2011. But while the world's largest auto market dangled significant subsidies to encourage purchases of battery-powered cars, India's e-movement hardly got a hand from the state.

As New Delhi suffers through a surge in the most harmful type of smog -- a toxic stew that makes India's capital one of the most polluted in the world -- Beijing offers lessons in how another troubled city made progress clearing the air.

Thick toxic smog enveloped New Delhi for a second straight day Wednesday, forcing schools to shut down, halting traffic on highways and sending residents scurrying to buy air purifiers and filtration masks.

The success of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious plan to electrify all households in India by December 2018 faces a familiar hurdle: the money-losing state power retailers.

As a new official at the Kanpur Electricity Supply Co. in 2011, Ritu Maheshwari installed new meters across almost a third of the company's customer base.

India is expected to have an 8.8 percent electricity supply surplus, Central Electricity Authority, the planning wing of the union power ministry said.

Canadian Solar Inc. and China's Unisun Energy Group bought 49 percent stakes in solar projects being developed by Suzlon Energy

India has become one of the biggest clients of Chinese photovoltaic manufacturers and in the absence of its own domestic capacity, that reliance could potentially grow.

Urine from India's indigenous Bos indicus cows, which are considered sacred by Hindus, is a hot commodity. That's thanks in large part to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who's introduced programs over the past two years to protect the milk-producing animals and support industries derived from their waste.