The government has decided to roll out the 'Bachat Lamp Yojana' in the entire country. Under the programme, CFL bulbs, which cost around Rs 80 per piece, are distributed at a price of Rs 15 by private companies. The remaining amount is recovered through the sale of carbon credits under the Carbon Development Mechanism.

The national rollout of the programme will begin on Wednesday at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Yamunanagar in Haryana.

At an international conference on carbon credits organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry in New Delhi on Tuesday, Bureau of Energy Efficiency director general Ajay Mathur said that under this tripartite public-private partnership between the central government, the private sector and the state electricity distribution companies, high quality CFLs would be distributed at about Rs 15 per piece, with the balance cost being recovered by the private sector partner through certified emission reduction credits.

As many as 20 companies have responded so far to the government's open tender inviting participants for the programme. Of these 20, some are CFL producers, while others are financiers who are buying CFLs in bulk and distributing them at their own risk.

The distribution in other states will commence only after the programme gets registered at the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change, which may take up to three years. "We are launching it (in the two districts) tomorrow (Wednesday) because we have all the stakeholders ready," the said, adding that though registration under the UNFCCC regime would take time, the companies were willing to take the risk.

Mathur said that while an ordinary bulb spent 60 watt energy, CFL spent 12 watt and could be used for 1,200 hours. Besides, a CFL could save 50 kg of carbon emissions, earning Rs 42 per year in carbon credits.

Mathur said that power distribution companies that were partners in the programme were free to choose their bulb distributors from the 20 shortlisted by BEE.