The Centre would support 7,500-crore rupees scheme of replacing 15 lakh agricultural pump sets free of cost with five-star rated, energy-efficient ones in Andhra Pradesh. Union Minister for Power Piyush Goyal has consented to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu's request in this regard. <br/><br/>According to a press release , the State government was contemplating replacing inefficient pump sets, each costing Rs.50,000, free of cost. The scheme is also a part of the new initiatives in energy efficiency activities in 2016. Chief Minister has directed the State Energy Conservation Mission (SECM), to implement the scheme in a phased manner as a New Year gift. <br/><br/>Meanwhile, Mr. Ajay Jain Secretary, Energy, Investment and Infrastructure, during a meeting briefed the Chief Minister about the ongoing Rajanagaram pilot project, where 2,500 existing pump sets were being replaced with energy efficient ones. <br/><br/>So far, 150 pump sets have been replaced and the performance results are positive and encouraging. The feedback is that the farmers are expressing satisfaction over increased discharge of water up to an extent of 15 per cent and pump sets are yielding a gain of about 30 per cent of energy.