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This paper presents planning and optimization of standalone DC microgrids for rural and urban applications in India. Load profiles in the form of a rural village, an urban residential building and a business organisation are considered for the study. Using these load profiles, different microgrid configurations with generation from PV, wind turbine and biodiesel generators are constructed. Optimization studies are then carried out using Homer Energy software to determine the optimal system configuration which has the lowest cost of energy. Historical data of hourly solar irradiation and wind speed were also used in the study to obtain a realistic result. A special case study for the rural scenario with a partial connectivity to the grid is also conducted which is reminiscent to the poor reliability of supply in India. The study also gives a detail comparison between the various cost components, electrical productions, energy management and emissions for each of these systems. The results of optimization show reasonable cost of electricity for reliable supply of power for the various load configurations as compared to the actual grid prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]