Solar power opens the door to banking for rural Indians

In a country where 65% of the population lives in rural areas, according to the World Bank, switching rural banks to solar power might even slow the migration of young people from villages to cities as more economic opportunities at home arise. - Bloomberg

AITAWADE BUDRUK (Reuters): Going to the bank in his home village in western India used to be a slow, frustrating process for Kiran Patil, as frequent power cuts - sometimes lasting for days - turned what should have been a quick errand into a lengthy ordeal.

The 59-year-old farmer often had to wait for hours in line at RBL Bank, his local branch in the village of Aitawade Budruk, or abandon his transaction and return the next day, wasting time he should have been spending cultivating his crops.