Roughly 200 million people in India live off the grid. One Indian entrepreneur sees a massive opportunity to bring them online. India’s green energy sector has a tendency to “sell and run”—high-end equipment is installed, but a lack of maintenance support for remote villages means systems often fall into disrepair. Ashok Das has created a smart grid technology that allows a village’s entire electrical infrastructure to be monitored and managed remotely. Wi-Fi hotspots let villagers access a mobile app to view their consumption, pay bills and register complaints.
