Summary:
Despite concerted efforts, several plans and policies of the government addressing rural electrification remained unrealized since India's independence. Although India attained near-complete grid connectivity in 2018, the problem of inconsistent, unreliable and unaffordable electricity persists, expressly in remote and rural areas. This paper conceptualizes issues of rural electrification in India as a ‘Wicked Problem’ – a systems thinking approach used vastly for understanding complex and multidimensional aspects of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The problem is characterized as a sub-target of SDG 7 i.e. universal energy access. The stakeholders of rural electrification in India were approached - their feedback was mapped in the power-interest matrix. A causal loop diagram was prepared that helped in the identification of various themes through balancing and reinforcing loops. This study makes a methodological contribution to conceptual analysis prompting decision-making through mental models over existing frameworks used for addressing rural electrification in India.
Keywords: causal loop diagram, power-interest matrix, rural electrification, SDG 7, systems thinking,wicked problem
JCR-JIF Impact Factor and WoS quartile: 1,900 - Q2 (2025)
DOI reference:
https://doi.org/10.1002/sres.3002
Published on paper: May 2025.
Published on-line: March 2024.
Citation:
P. Dey, M.P. Gupta, S. Sushil, I.J. Pérez-Arriaga, "Rural electrification in India: A wicked problem", Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Vol. 42, nº. 3, pp. 875 - 894, May 2025. [Online: March 2024] doi: 10.1002/sres.3002
