Context
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) forecasts that India’s rooftop solar installations under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana (PMSGMBY) will exceed 10 lakh by March 2025.
More on News:
- The scheme has achieved 6.3 lakh installations within nine months of its launch in February 2024.
- Monthly installations under the scheme now average 70,000, marking a ten-fold rise from the 7,000 installations per month prior to its launch.
- Gujarat, has achieved remarkable success in implementing the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana.
- Maharashtra, Kerala, and Uttar Pradesh have also shown remarkable progress, highlighting strong infrastructure and effective stakeholder collaboration.
- The Union Government aims to reach 1 crore rooftop solar installations in the residential sector by 2027, with an allocation of Rs 75,021 crore to support this goal.
- To encourage public participation, subsidies have been disbursed to 3.66 lakh applicants so far.
PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana (PMSGMBY):
- Implementing Agency
- At the national level by the National Programme Implementation Agency (NPIA).
- At the state level by State Implementation Agencies (SIAs), which include Distribution Utilities (DISCOMs) or Power/Energy Departments, depending on the state or union territory.
- Benefits
- 1 crore people will get benefit under this scheme.
- Under this scheme, 300 units of electricity will be given free every month.
- Subsidy will be given by the government for purchasing solar panels.
- The scheme provides a Central Financial Assistance (CFA) of 60% of system cost for 2 kW systems and 40% of additional system cost for systems between 2 to 3 kW capacity.
- The subsidy is capped at a maximum of 3kW capacity.
- Collateral-Free Loans: Households will have access to collateral-free, low-interest loans at around 7% interest for installing residential rooftop solar (RTS) systems up to 3 kW.
- Eligibility:
- The household must be an Indian citizen.
- The household must own a house with a roof that is suitable for installing solar panels.
- The household must have a valid electricity connection.
- The household must not have availed any other subsidy for solar panels.
- Model Solar Village
Under the “Model Solar Village” component of the scheme, the focus is on establishing one Model Solar Village per district throughout India. This initiative aims to promote solar energy adoption and empower village communities to achieve energy self-reliance.