Placement Record Of Govt Trained Solar Panel Technicians Far From Impressive

Several developments over the past few days have affirmed India’s commitment to clean energy, primary among this is the The Minister of State for New and Renewable energy, Bhagwanth Kubha, informing the Rajya Sabha that 123.11 GW of solar capacity had been commissioned or was in the pipeline already. India is now eyeing 100GW solar capacity by year-end. At the same time, the government is bullish on expanding solar capacity by installing 300GW by 2030.

While on one hand, the country is being steered towards a greener future, on the other, providing a stark contrast to this is the outcome of the analysis of data that has revealed that the government has substantially shrunk the budget allocated towards the training and research related to the solar programme. This entails the cash award towards the research and training of Suryamitras- a term for the technician trainees for solar panel maintenance under the Suryamitra Program.

The government is looking to spend Rs 30.9 crore on training and research in 2022-23. This is nearly half the amount of Rs 62.1 crore expended on it in 2019-20. Only a little over 26,967 trainees under the scheme were able to get a placement.

The story of the government’s flagship program, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, isn’t looking too great either as far as the placement record is concerned. This is despite the fact that the government has trained 51,331 candidates across states and UTs as technicians.

As we move to smaller states, the record seems to be losing its sparkle even further. Most states have not been able to secure a placement over 50 per cent. Rajasthan, however, recorded a good placement with record with 66 per cent. This is followed by Goa, Gujarat and Punjab. The record in Northeast has been far from impressive since Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland have not recorded a single placement.