Implementation of PM-KUSUM and PM Surya Ghar

The Estimates Committee (Chair: Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal) presented its report on the ‘Implementation of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urjan Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) and PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana’ on December 4, 2025.  PM-KUSUM aims to promote adoption of solar energy in the agriculture sector.  PM Surya Ghar provides support for rooftop solar panels in households.  Key observations and recommendation of the Committee include: 

Financial assistance for decentralised solar plants:  Under PM-KUSUM, 10,000 MW of decentralised solar power plants are targeted to be installed by 2026.  As of July 2025, 641 MW capacity was installed.  The Committee noted that farmers are not setting up these plants due to: (i) lack of any central financial assistance and (ii) costs involved in converting agricultural land to non-agricultural land during the process.  It recommended to provide central financial assistance for small-sized projects.

Supporting higher capacity standalone pumps:  PM-KUSUM also provides subsidy to install stand-alone solar agricultural pumps up to 7.5 horsepower capacity.  The Committee noted that several states such as Rajasthan require higher capacity pumps because of lower groundwater levels, and recommended revising the criteria for them.

Solarisation of grid-connected pumps:  PM-KUSUM supports solarisation of grid-connected agriculture pumps.  Farmers can also sell any excess power to discoms.  60,828 pumps have been sanctioned against a target of 1.5 lakh pumps.  Most of these were confined in nine states/UTs.  The Committee noted that some states are not providing any additional financial assistance from their side.  This leads to farmers bearing about 70% of the total cost, with 30% from central assistance.  The Committee recommended exploring ways to enhance funding.  It also noted that the cost of evacuating power may be high due to large distance between the nearest grid and the solar plant set up by farmers.  The scheme does not provide support or incentives to the farmers for evacuation of power.  It recommended that the responsibility for evacuating power be given to discoms.

Adoption of agrivoltaics:  Agrivoltaics combine agriculture and solar energy generation on the same
portion of land.  This can be achieved by elevating solar modules and cultivating crops below or between the structures.  The Committee noted that these can help in mitigating excessive heat impact as well as generate revenue for farmers by selling excess energy.  The Committee recommended to: (i) undertake analysis of the impact of agrivoltaics projects on crops and farmers’ income, and (ii) consider subsidies for large-scale adoption.

Progress under PM Surya Ghar:  Against the target of one crore households, 1.38 crore registrations have been received.  Out of these, 59 lakh applications have been processed.  However, the Committee noted a high inter-state disparity in implementation of the scheme.  It recommended addressing bottlenecks such as delays in approvals and subsidy disbursal.  It noted that rejection rate for loans is quite high.  Lack of clarity on house ownership is a major hurdle in sanction of loans.  It recommended increasing awareness among consumers, and ensuring easy availability of loans.

Empanelment of vendors:  Under PM-Surya Ghar, vendors are responsible for providing guidance regarding approvals, installations, and maintenance.  A vendor must register with the discom and furnish a performance bank guarantee of Rs 2.5 lakh.  The Committee noted a lack of suitable number of vendors in some states.  It recommended reducing guarantee amount as an incentive to enhance number of vendors.

Supply of components:  The Committee observed that far-flung areas of the country are facing shortage in supply of components required for installation of rooftop solar systems.  The Committee recommended to diversify the sources of supply and increase investments for local manufacturing of the components.

Extending beneficiary coverage:  The Committee highlighted that there are several single dwelling units in agricultural fields.  People reside in these units to attend to agricultural activities.  These units do not have regular electricity connection from electricity grids.  It recommended providing subsidy for rooftop solar for such units.  It also noted that beneficiaries of PM Awas Yojana (PMAY) are unable to install rooftop solar systems due to inability to pay upfront costs.  It recommended to provide every PMAY allottee with a rooftop solar system of 500-watt capacity.