India’s power distribution sector is undergoing a large-scale digitalisation drive, with the government sanctioning ₹1.31 lakh crore for smart metering works and ₹3,999 crore for IT/OT systems under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS). The programme covers 19.79 crore consumers, 2.05 lakh feeders and 52.53 lakh distribution transformers, alongside SCADA, real-time data systems, GIS, unified billing and other digital infrastructure across 28 states and 45 distribution utilities.
The Ministry of Power provided the details in a written reply by Minister of State for Power Shri Shripad Naik in the Rajya Sabha. The government said electricity distribution and the operation and digitalisation of DISCOMs fall within the jurisdiction of the respective states, distribution utilities and State Electricity Regulatory Commissions. The Centre has been supporting these efforts through successive programmes, including the Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS), the National Smart Grid Mission (NSGM) and the ongoing RDSS.
From IPDS to RDSS: Building a Digital Distribution Network
The government’s digitalisation push predates RDSS.
Under IPDS, launched in December 2014, works worth ₹58,686 crore were executed to support IT enablement of the distribution sector. The programme, including works under the subsumed Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (R-APDRP), covered Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), SCADA/DMS in 59 towns, Real Time-Data Acquisition System (RT-DAS) in 1,414 towns and installation of 6.54 lakh smart meters. IPDS was closed in March 2022.
The National Smart Grid Mission (NSGM), established in 2015, was created to plan and monitor smart-grid policies and programmes in India. Its activities included project formulation, pre-feasibility studies, project appraisal, funding, training and capacity building.
Under NSGM, 1,45,343 smart meters were installed in Rajasthan and 24,214 in Chandigarh. A total of ₹72.27 crore was released under the Mission, including ₹31.85 crore since FY2023. NSGM was closed in March 2024.
The current phase is being driven through the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme, launched in July 2021 with the objective of improving the quality and reliability of power supply through a financially sustainable and operationally efficient distribution sector.
RDSS Pushes Smart Metering and IT/OT Infrastructure
Under RDSS, the government has sanctioned projects worth ₹1.53 lakh crore for loss-reduction infrastructure and ₹1.31 lakh crore for smart metering works.
The digitalisation component includes four major areas:
- Smart metering: 19.79 crore consumers, 2.05 lakh feeders and 52.53 lakh distribution transformers, along with the associated digital ecosystem.
- SCADA/DMS: Works sanctioned for 394 towns, involving ₹2,627 crore.
- IT/OT systems: ₹3,999 crore for ERP systems, unified billing, GIS-based works and RT-DAS.
- Smart distribution: ₹8,608 crore sanctioned for seven cities for SCADA and smart technologies, GIS substations, distribution-transformer health management, undergrounding of HT/LT lines and system augmentation and modernisation.
The government said these works have been sanctioned across 28 states and 45 distribution utilities. Since FY2023, ₹47,124 crore has been released under RDSS, including ₹2,733 crore for smart-metering works.
| State/UT | Smart Metering (₹ crore) | IT/OT (₹ crore) |
|---|---|---|
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 54 | — |
| Andhra Pradesh | 4,128 | 120 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 184 | 22 |
| Assam | 4,050 | 62 |
| Bihar | 2,021 | 406 |
| Chhattisgarh | 4,105 | 121 |
| Delhi | 13 | — |
| Goa | 469 | 39 |
| Gujarat | 10,642 | 507 |
| Haryana | 0 | 276 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 1,788 | 82 |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 1,064 | 119 |
| Jharkhand | 858 | 83 |
| Karnataka | 0 | — |
| Kerala | 8,231 | 238 |
| Ladakh | 0 | — |
| Madhya Pradesh | 8,911 | 425 |
| Maharashtra | 15,215 | 171 |
| Manipur | 121 | 40 |
| Meghalaya | 310 | 21 |
| Mizoram | 182 | 10 |
| Nagaland | 208 | 15 |
| Puducherry | 251 | — |
| Punjab | 5,769 | 136 |
| Rajasthan | 9,715 | 455 |
| Sikkim | 97 | 22 |
| Tamil Nadu | 19,235 | 3 |
| Telangana | 0 | — |
| Tripura | 319 | 44 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 18,956 | 260 |
| Uttarakhand | 1,106 | 226 |
| West Bengal | 12,670 | 96 |
| Total | 1,30,671 | 3,999 |
IT/OT works are sanctioned under the Loss Reduction component.
Tamil Nadu has the highest sanctioned smart-metering outlay in the table at ₹19,235 crore, followed by Uttar Pradesh at ₹18,956 crore and Maharashtra at ₹15,215 crore. Gujarat accounts for ₹10,642 crore, while West Bengal has ₹12,670 crore and Rajasthan ₹9,715 crore.
Table II-A: State-wise SCADA/RT-DAS Works Sanctioned Under RDSS
| S. No. | State/UT | SCADA/DMS Towns Under RDSS (Nos.) | RT-DAS/SFMS Feeders Under RDSS (Nos.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andhra Pradesh | 0 | — |
| 2 | Assam | 0 | — |
| 3 | Bihar | 1 | — |
| 4 | Chhattisgarh | 0 | — |
| 5 | Delhi | 1 | — |
| 6 | Goa | 0 | — |
| 7 | Gujarat | 192 | 14,000 |
| 8 | Haryana | 2 | — |
| 9 | Himachal Pradesh | 43 | — |
| 10 | Jammu & Kashmir | 0 | — |
| 11 | Jharkhand | 0 | — |
| 12 | Kerala | 3 | — |
| 13 | Madhya Pradesh | 147 | — |
| 14 | Maharashtra | 1 | — |
| 15 | Meghalaya | 0 | — |
| 16 | Mizoram | 0 | — |
| 17 | Odisha | 0 | — |
| 18 | Puducherry | 0 | — |
| 19 | Punjab | 0 | — |
| 20 | Rajasthan | 0 | — |
| 21 | Tamil Nadu | 0 | — |
| 22 | Telangana | 0 | — |
| 23 | Uttar Pradesh | 3 | — |
| 24 | Uttarakhand | 3 | 1,269 |
| 25 | West Bengal | 0 | — |
| Total | 396 | 15,269 |
Note: RT-DAS/SFMS works under RDSS cover feeders in suburban and rural areas.
Table II-B: Smart Distribution Works Sanctioned Under RDSS
| S. No. | State | DISCOM | City | Sanctioned Outlay (₹ crore) | Sanctioned Central Grant (₹ crore) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Haryana | DHBVNL | Gurugram | 706.04 | 423.62 |
| 2 | Haryana | DHBVNL | Faridabad | 2,932.17 | 1,759.30 |
| 3 | Uttar Pradesh | KESCO | Kanpur | 751.27 | 450.76 |
| 4 | Uttar Pradesh | PVVNL | Noida | 1,333.20 | 799.92 |
| 5 | Uttar Pradesh | PuVVNL | Varanasi | 1,455.18 | 873.11 |
| 6 | Bihar | SBPDCL | Patna | 873.67 | 524.21 |
| 7 | Uttarakhand | UPCL | Rishikesh | 556.05 | 500.44 |
| Total | 8,607.58 | 5,331.36 |
Table III: State-wise Details of Personnel Trained Under RDSS
| Sl. No. | State | DISCOM | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andaman Nicobar | A&N PD | 48 |
| 2 | Andhra Pradesh | APCPDCL | 332 |
| 3 | Andhra Pradesh | APEPDCL | 754 |
| 4 | Andhra Pradesh | APSPDCL | 487 |
| 5 | Arunachal Pradesh | Arunachal PD | 205 |
| 6 | Assam | APDCL | 250 |
| 7 | Bihar | NBPDCL | 176 |
| 8 | Bihar | SBPDCL | 205 |
| 9 | Chhattisgarh | CSPDCL | 311 |
| 10 | Delhi | NDMC | 75 |
| 11 | Goa | Goa-PD | 297 |
| 12 | Gujarat | DGVCL | 306 |
| 13 | Gujarat | MGVCL | 130 |
| 14 | Gujarat | PGVCL | 309 |
| 15 | Gujarat | UGVCL | 274 |
| 16 | Haryana | DHBVNL | 388 |
| 17 | Haryana | UHBVNL | 195 |
| 18 | Himachal Pradesh | HPSEBL | 531 |
| 19 | Jammu & Kashmir | JPDCL | 186 |
| 20 | Jammu & Kashmir | KPDCL | 159 |
| 21 | Jharkhand | JBVNL | 277 |
| 22 | Karnataka | BESCOM | 170 |
| 23 | Karnataka | CESCOM | 147 |
| 24 | Karnataka | GESCOM | 39 |
| 25 | Karnataka | HESCOM | 184 |
| 26 | Karnataka | MESCOM | 40 |
| 27 | Kerala | TCED+CPT | 180 |
| 28 | Kerala | KSEBL | 823 |
| 29 | Ladakh | Ladakh PD | 81 |
| 30 | Madhya Pradesh | MPPKVVCL-C | 347 |
| 31 | Madhya Pradesh | MPPKVVCL-E | 479 |
| 32 | Madhya Pradesh | MPPKVVCL-W | 495 |
| 33 | Maharashtra | BEST | 256 |
| 34 | Maharashtra | MSEDCL | 626 |
| 35 | Manipur | MSPDCL | 103 |
| 36 | Meghalaya | MePDCL | 161 |
| 37 | Mizoram | Mizoram-PD | 121 |
| 38 | Nagaland | DOP | 42 |
| 39 | Puducherry | PED | 214 |
| 40 | Punjab | PSPCL | 330 |
| 41 | Rajasthan | AVVNL | 179 |
| 42 | Rajasthan | JdVVNL | 364 |
| 43 | Rajasthan | JVVNL | 280 |
| 44 | Sikkim | DoP Sikkim | 144 |
| 45 | Tamil Nadu | TNPDCL/TANGEDCO | 884 |
| 46 | Telangana | TSNPDCL | 80 |
| 47 | Telangana | TSSPDCL | 111 |
| 48 | Tripura | TSECL | 366 |
| 49 | Uttar Pradesh | DVVNL | 226 |
| 50 | Uttar Pradesh | KESCO | 309 |
| 51 | Uttar Pradesh | MVVNL | 234 |
| 52 | Uttar Pradesh | PaVVNL | 327 |
| 53 | Uttar Pradesh | PuVVNL | 238 |
| 54 | Uttarakhand | UPCL | 130 |
| 55 | West Bengal | WBSEDCL | 248 |
| Total | 14,853 |
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