Cabinet Approves PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana For Rooftop Solar

Cabinet Approves PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana For Rooftop Solar

The Union Cabinet, chaired by PM Narendra Modi, has approved PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana with a total outlay of Rs.75,021 crore. This policy seeks to install rooftop solar and provide free electricity to up to 300 units every month for one crore households. The PM launched the scheme on 13th February. Some of the major highlights of the scheme include:

Central Financial Assistance (CFA) for Residential Rooftop Solar

The scheme provides a 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 CFA will be capped at 3 kW. At current benchmark prices, this means Rs 30,000 subsidy for 1 kW system, Rs 60,000 for 2 kW systems, and Rs 78,000 for 3 kW systems or higher.

The households can apply for subsidy through the National Portal and can select a suitable vendor for installing rooftop solar. The National Portal will assist the households in their decision-making process by providing relevant information such as appropriate system sizes, benefits calculators, vendor ratings, etc. Households will be able to access collateral-free low-interest loan products of around 7% at present for installation of residential RTS systems up to 3 kW.

Other Features of the Scheme

• A Model Solar Village can be developed in each district of the country to act as a role model for the adoption of rooftop solar in rural areas.
• Urban Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions shall also benefit from incentives for promoting RTS installations in their areas.
• The scheme provides a component for payment security for renewable energy service company (RESCO) based models as well as a fund for innovative projects in RTS.

Outcome and Impact

• Through this scheme, households can be able to save electricity bills as well as earn additional income through the sale of surplus power to DISCOMs. A 3kW system will be able to generate more than 300 units a month on average for a household.
• The proposed scheme can result in the addition of 30 GW of solar capacity through rooftop solar in the residential sector, generating 1000 BUs of electricity and resulting in a reduction of 720 million tons of CO2 equivalent emissions over the 25-year lifetime of rooftop systems.
• It is estimated that the scheme can create around 17 lakh direct jobs in manufacturing, logistics, supply chain, sales, installation, O&M, and other services.

Availing Benefits of PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana

• The Government has launched a massive campaign since the launch of the scheme for raising awareness and generating applications from interested households. Households can register themselves on https://pmsuryaghar.gov.in to avail of benefits under the scheme.