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Abstract: Revisiting and uplifting Solar Energy sector is one of the major steps taken by India in its pursuit for sustainable development in the recent past. The present paper, though appreciates this move, makes a case for less focused tail-end solar applications: Solar Off-grid Lighting Systems (SOLS), Solar Lanterns and Solar Home Lighting Systems. Following a critical review of the policies, we present an overview of SOLS-diffusion trend in the past one and a half decades; the pattern of diffusion across states and financial assistance allotted for development and promotion of SOLS. We examine the adoption pattern at household level and factors that determine the same employing a multinomial logit model. Installation of SOLS witnessed a declining trend over the years. States exhibited considerable variation in the installation of the two SOLS and the funds allocated by the central government are not comparable to their respective energy poverty intensity. It is encouraging to note that more than half of the SOLS adopters find it an adequate source of energy. Improvement in the status and increase in the cost of alternative sources of energy adversely influence the household's choice of using SOLS as a complementary source of energy; improvement in the status of SOLS and increase in the financial strength of the household encourages them to adopt one. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The future economic growth for India is likely to result in rapid and accelerated surge in energy demand, with expected shortages in terms of supply. Many of its current policies and strategies are aimed at the improvement and possible maximization of energy production from the renewable sector. It is also clear that while energy conservation and energy efficiency can make an important contribution, renewable energies will be essential to the solution and are likely to play an increasingly important role for providing enhanced energy access, reducing consumption of fossil fuels, and helping India pursue its low-carbon progressive pathway. However, most of the states in India, like the northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir, have experienced an energy crisis over a sustained period of time and the government both at center and state level has to embark upon with these pressing issues in a more sustainable manner and accordingly initiate various renewable energy projects within these states. This paper will provide a broad-spectrum view about the energy situation within Jammu and Kashmir and will highlight the current policies along with future strategies for the optimal utilization of renewable energy resources. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]