MUMBAI, India, October 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
In 2015, Western Union
raised INR 30 lakhs to enable The
Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) to light up 15
villages across India
The Western Union Company, a leader in
global payment services, aims to light up 15 more remote
villages in India this Diwali.
Through its collaboration with The Energy and Resources Institute
(TERI), and building on last year's campaign's success, Western
Union will make solar-panel powered electricity available to
residents in Jharkhand's villages.
(Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130515/613588 )
(Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151020/278572 )
Western Union will contribute up to INR
100[1] for each transaction received from
the United States, the
United Kingdom, France, Italy, Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and New
Zealand between Oct. 1 and Nov. 1,
2016. The company will contribute a minimum of INR 20 lakhs,
and up to INR 30 lakhs towards this initiative. Last year, with
support from TERI, 15 villages across three states in India (Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra
Pradesh) received electricity, many for the very first
time.
Sohini Rajola, Regional Vice President, India & South
Asia at Western Union, said, "Lack of electricity
is one of the major impediments to economic development in
India. At Western Union, we are
committed to promoting the well-being of the communities we serve
and we are happy to continue the "Light up a Village" campaign this
year. We are hopeful that this initiative will improve the living
conditions of the villagers in rural India and will promote further social and
economic development."
Mr. Amit Kumar, Senior
Director, Lighting a Billion Lives, at TERI said,
"The Lighting a Billion Lives (LaBL) programme was started in 2008,
and since then we have impacted a lot of lives. Through our
association with Western Union, we look forward to reaching many
more remote villages as we did last year."
During this period, remittance receivers will also have a chance
to win an amount equivalent of one year of their electricity bill.
Eligible participants[2] need to produce an
electricity bill in their name for any month in 2016 to calculate
the yearly bill (12 times of any one bill) subject to a maximum
prize amount of Rs 10,000. In case
winners are not able to produce an electricity bill, they will
still receive a cash prize of Rs
5,000 in replacement. A total of 500 winners will be
selected in 5 draws.
Notes to Editor:
Villages lit up in 2015
Installation
State District Block Villages Technology Status
Bihar Purnea Rupauli Topra, 200 IDES* Completed
Makurjaan
Masjid Tola,
Laxmipur
Chharapatti
Bihar Purnea Rupauli Laukahi, 200 IDES Completed
Biranchiya,
Patraha,
Jaynagar
Uttar Pradesh FazilNagar, Kashya, Dhaurahra,
Kushinagar, Shipur Dinapatti,
Tamkahi, Pandeypatti,
Bahraich Biharkhurd,
Panditpurwa 5 SCS* Completed
Andhra Vishakhapatnam Chintapali Erranapali, 3 SCS Installation
Pradesh Jadumuru, in Progress
Neemalapallem
IDES - Integrated Domestic Energy Systems (Individual solar home
lighting systems with forced draft Improved cook stove)
SCS - Solar Charging Stations (A unit having facility to charge
50 solar lamps which can light up 50 homes in a village)
About Western Union
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a leader in global
payment services. Together with its Vigo, Orlandi Valuta, Pago
Facil and Western Union Business Solutions branded payment
services, Western Union provides consumers and businesses with
fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around
the world, to send payments and to purchase money orders. As of
June 30, 2016, the Western Union,
Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded services were offered through a
combined network of over 500,000 Agent locations in 200 countries
and territories and over 100,000 ATMs and kiosks, and included the
capability to send money to billions of accounts. In 2015, The
Western Union Company completed 262 million consumer-to-consumer
transactions worldwide, moving $82
billion of principal between consumers, and 508 million
business payments. For more information, visit
http://www.westernunion.com.
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1. 100 Rs for transactions above
Rs 100,000, 25
Rs for transactions between Rs60,000
and Rs100,000, and Rs1 for all
other transactions.
2. All who receive money of any amount via Western Union®
services from the United States,
Canada, United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman,
Bahrain, United Kingdom, Australia , New
Zealand, Singapore or
Malaysia and paid out in the
states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Punjab,
Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana,
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka or Kerala with a valid Money Transfer Control
Number ("MTCN") during the Promotion Period will be automatically
eligible to participate and entered in a draw to win an amount
equivalent of one year of their electricity bill as described
above.
SOURCE Western Union