India is the second most populous country in the world after China. The population at present has touched the 1.1 billion mark. The population density of India is one of the highest in the world with over 330 persons per square km. The total area of the country is 3287.3 thousand sq. km. It has a land frontier of 15,200 km and a coastline of 7516.5 km. The real GDP growth for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2006 was 8.4 per cent, up from 7.7 per cent growth in the previous year. Services, Industry and Agriculture account for 48 per cent, 23.4 per cent, and 23.6 per cent of GDP respectively (figures for 2004). India is largely rural but a gradual urbanization process has been witnessed in the last few decades. According to the Census Report (2001), out of 72 per cent of the total population who live in rural areas, 51 per cent are male and 49 per cent are female. Similarly out of the total 28 per cent of the population who live in urban areas, 52 per cent are male and 48 per cent are female.

At present the total installed power capacity in the country is 1,27,673 MW comprising 83,982 MW thermal (including gas and diesel), 33,600 MW Hydro, 3,900 MW nuclear and 6,191 MW of renewable energy. The per capita consumption of electricity during 2004-2005 in the country was 606 KWH per year. Out of 593,732 villages, 74 per cent villages are electrified, that is, irrigation pumps are powered. About 44 per cent of the rural households have access to electrification in their homes.

CII–MOP,GOI have commissioned the services of ACNielsen ORG – MARG Pvt. Ltd. to carry out a second track study, in 2006, for assessing consumer’s attitude on power supply with regard to Availability, Accessibility, Reliability, Quality and Affordability (AARQA parameters).

The key objective of this study is to assess consumer’s satisfaction with power supply by construction of a Consumer Satisfaction Index (Score) or CSI (S) in terms of AARQA.