LED bulb procurement prices in Madhya Pradesh, located in central India, have dropped another 10% from INR 73 per bulb (US $1.08) to INR 64.41 per unit, according to an official statement on Sunday.
"Government of India, through its flagship initiative Domestic Efficient Lighting Program (DELP), has achieved a further 10% reduction in prices of 9W LED bulbs in another round of LED procurement for Madhya Pradesh," stated a union power ministry.
The procurement price exclusive taxes has hit INR 64.41, while efficiency of 9W bulbs increased 20%, according to a government statement.
The current prices were compared to bulb prices dating from June 2015, and bulb prices have plunged in total 80% from INR 310 per bulb in February 2014.
Government initiatives of distributing low-priced LED bulbs nationwide through state-owned Energy Efficiency Services (EESL) has been driving down LED bulb prices at an accelerated rate to make it more affordable to public.
"This has resulted in significant reduction in transaction cost and time and enhanced process efficiency. This, in turn, has led to a much larger participation of bidders thereby increasing competition and reducing the cost of LED bulbs," it added.
The Indian government recently announced that the EESL had distributed 50 million LED bulbs under DELP. The state-run power company estimates it will complete distribution of 70 million LED bulbs by end of February, and 90 million to 100 million LED bulbs by March this year.
"Power bills have reduced by INR 25 billion through the distributed bulbs, savings will go up to INR 450 billion annually," Power Minister Piyush Goyal said in a tweet. "Almost 15,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide is not being emitted daily due to 50 million LED bulbs."