How a 39-year-old Indian woman is trying to stop a $10-billion mega theft

Ritu Maheshwari learned quickly how recovering part of the $10 billion a year of electricity stolen across India could be a career-limiting move for a young, female bureaucrat.

As a newly minted official at the Kanpur Electricity Supply Co. in 2011, Maheshwari installed new meters across almost a third of the company’s customer base. The devices recorded energy consumption digitally and exposed real-time leaks in the distribution system. But so deeply ran the interests protecting power-pilfering in Kanpur, an industrial city 500 kilometers (311 miles) southeast of New Delhi, that she was transferred after 11 months.

Six years on, the 39-year-old’s battle with corruption and misogyny — told internationally in a 2014 Bollywood documentary film — is highlighting the need for technology that thwarts illegally tapped power connections. Until recently, Maheshwari was spearheading Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to turnaround cash-strapped state utilities in a bid ensure continuous supply of power to millions of households, farms and factories. Read more…