Life for an estimated 100,000 people in poverty-stricken rural India has been improved dramatically by several hours of reliable solar-powered lighting every night, made available by a UN-led pilot project to facilitate household financing for solar home systems...[Core funding is provided by] UN Foundation...[&] Shell Foundation...Two of India's largest financial institutions became the project's initial partners: Canara Bank and Syndicate Bank. Two more banks, the Bank of Maharashtra and Sewa Bank, were added as partners this year...Encouragingly, Indian banks not included in the initial partnership have launched competing solar loan products and competition is heating up.