Union Government approves the Roftop Solar Scheme worth Rs. 75,000 cr

The ambitious scheme of installing solar power equipment on the rooftops of 10 million homes has been granted approval by the Union cabinet, with a substantial amount of Rs.75,021 crore allocated towards subsidies. This initiative not only has the potential to generate significant household savings but also alleviate the burden on electricity grids.

The scheme is named as "PM-Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana," was initially launched by Prime Minister Modi on February 13, 2024. Anurag Thakur, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, has announced that the scheme to install rooftop solar panels and offer free electricity up to 300 units per month for one crore households has been approved.

The government informed in an official statement, "The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana with a total outlay of Rs.75,021 crore for installing rooftop solar and providing free electricity up to 300 units every month for one crore households." 

The subsidy scheme, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 13, offers households a subsidy of Rs.30,000 for a 1 kw system and Rs.60,000 for a 2 kw system.

Additionally, the Modi cabinet has approved a Rs. 24,420-crore subsidy on phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilisers for the upcoming kharif season, ensuring that farmers will still have access to DAP at Rs.1,350 per quintal.

In order to enhance the accessibility of solar power adoption, households have the opportunity to request a subsidy via a national online platform and select a suitable vendor to install rooftop solar panels. Additionally, to promote active involvement, households can avail themselves of collateral-free loans with low interest rates of around 7% for the installation procedure.

The Government has launched a massive campaign, Muft Bijli Yojana by households,which aims to add 30 GW of solar capacity through rooftop solar in the residential sector, generating 1000 billion units (BUs) of electricity. This initiative is expected to result in a reduction of 720 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions over the 25-year lifetime of RTS systems.