PM Surya Ghar Scheme Crosses 60-Lakh Household Mark as Rooftop Solar Push Gains Pace

India's rooftop solar programme has crossed a major milestone, with the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana reaching more than 60 lakh households, taking the scheme to around 60 per cent of the Centre's target of providing rooftop solar power to one crore homes.

The milestone comes just two months after the scheme crossed the 50-lakh household mark, underlining the sharp acceleration in implementation. The pace has increased significantly since the launch of the programme, with the time taken to add one lakh households falling from 118 days initially to just six days.

Launched on February 13, 2024, with a total outlay of ₹75,021 crore, the scheme has so far facilitated the installation of 50,99,781 rooftop solar systems, adding 17,855.3 MW of decentralised solar capacity to the grid.

The government has attributed the faster implementation to digital integration and streamlined processes aimed at simplifying rooftop solar adoption for households.

The programme is also expanding the skilled workforce required to support the rooftop solar ecosystem. More than 2.5 lakh individuals have been trained through institutions including the National Institute of Solar Energy, National Power Training Institute and the Skill Council for Green Jobs, against a target of three lakh trained personnel.

The training ecosystem includes one lakh specialised Solar PV Technicians, while more than 37,000 registered local businesses are now part of the scheme's vendor network.

The programme is expected to generate around 17 lakh direct and indirect jobs across manufacturing, supply chains, installation and maintenance.

Financial support has also been a key component of the scheme. The Centre has so far transferred ₹33,642 crore in subsidies directly into beneficiaries' bank accounts through the Public Financial Management System. According to the scheme details, subsidy payments are released within 15 days of commissioning.

To simplify the installation process, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has waived technical-feasibility checks for rooftop solar systems of up to 10 kW. The National Portal has also been integrated with more than 80 DISCOMs across the country.

The scheme provides beneficiaries access to collateral-free loans through the Jan Samarth portal at concessional interest rates of around 5.75 per cent, with repayment tenures extending up to 10 years. The financing mechanism is aimed at reducing the upfront cost of rooftop solar installations.

The programme is also beginning to show a direct impact on household electricity bills. More than 20.7 lakh households covered under the scheme have reported zero electricity bills.

Beneficiaries can also feed surplus electricity generated through rooftop solar systems into the local grid under net-metering arrangements.

With the government targeting rooftop solar installations for one crore households, the programme is expanding beyond electricity generation to create a wider ecosystem involving solar manufacturing, local vendors, skilled technicians, supply chains and installation and maintenance services.

The crossing of the 60-lakh household mark represents a significant step towards the Centre's one-crore-household target and reflects the growing adoption of decentralised solar power across the country.

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