PM-Surya Ghar: Over 1 crore households have registered, says Modi
Modi asked people to register at the earliest, noting that the scheme promises substantial reductions in electricity expenses for households
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (March 16) urged Indians to embrace rooftop solar to cut electricity expenses, saying more than one crore households have already registered under the scheme.
He said in a post on X that registrations were pouring in from all parts of the country for the ‘PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana’.
Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh have seen over 5 lakh regulations, he added.
Better planet
Modi asked people to register at the earliest, noting that the scheme promises substantial reductions in electricity expenses for households and will also ensure energy production.
"It's poised to encourage Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) on a grand scale, contributing to a better planet," he said.
The cabinet, chaired by the prime minister, last month approved the scheme with a total outlay of Rs 75,021 crore for installing rooftop solar panels and providing free electricity up to 300 units every month for one crore households.
Financial assistance
"In about a month since it was launched, over 1 crore households have already registered themselves,” Modi said.
The scheme provides a central financial assistance (CFA) of 60 per cent of system cost for 2 kW systems and 40 per cent of additional system cost for systems between 2 kW to 3 kW capacity.
The CFA will be capped at 3 kW.
Government subsidy
At current benchmark prices, this will mean Rs 30,000 subsidy for 1kW system, Rs 60,000 for 2kW systems and Rs 78,000 for 3kW systems or higher.
The households can apply for subsidy through the National Portal and select a suitable vendor to put up the rooftop solar.
The National Portal is also assisting people by providing relevant information like appropriate system sizes, benefits calculator and vendor rating.
Extra power
Households can access collateral-free low-interest loan products of around 7 per cent at present for installation of residential rooftop solar systems up to 3kW.
Urban local bodies and Panchayati Raj institutions will also benefit from incentives for promoting rooftop solar installations in their areas.
Through this scheme, the households can also earn additional income through the sale of surplus power to Discoms.
Other benefits
A 3kW system will be able to generate more than 300 units a month on average for a household.
The scheme aims to add 30 GW of solar capacity through rooftop solar in the residential sector, generating 1,000 BUs (billion units) of electricity and resulting in a reduction of 720 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions over a 25-year lifetime of rooftop systems.
