PM Surya Ghar Rooftop Solar Scheme Speeds Up: One Lakh Homes Every Six Days, One Crore Target by March 2027
The PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana (the Centre's rooftop solar scheme for homes) is now adding about 1 lakh rooftop solar systems every six days.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) expects this pace to rise to 1 lakh installations every four to five days within the next two to three weeks.
The scheme has about 65.65 lakh beneficiaries (households that have applied and been approved) and has crossed 55 lakh installations.
The Ministry said the scheme is on track to reach its target of 1 crore rooftop solar systems by 31 March 2027, when its first phase ends. It added that the utility-led aggregation (ULA) model, in which electricity distribution companies install systems for households, is also working.
The update came at the Bharat Renewable Energy Summit and Expo 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
Separately, the second phase of PM-KUSUM (the solar scheme for farmers) is still awaited. It is expected to include a dedicated component for agrivoltaics (growing crops and making solar power on the same land). Concerns raised by other ministries about land use are being settled through inter-ministerial talks.
PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana
PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana is a central government scheme that helps ordinary families put solar panels on the roofs of their houses. The government pays a large part of the cost as a subsidy, so the family gets cheap or free electricity from the sun. The aim is to cover 1 crore (10 million) households and give each of them up to 300 units of free electricity a month. "Muft bijli" simply means "free electricity", and "Surya Ghar" means "sun house".
As of November 2026, the scheme has crossed 55 lakh installations and is adding 1 lakh systems every six days. To reach 1 crore by 31 March 2027, it must add about 45 lakh more in roughly five months, which is why speeding up to one lakh every four to five days, and using the ULA model, matters.
PM-KUSUM (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan)
PM-KUSUM is the Centre's solar scheme for farmers, run by MNRE. It was approved in 2019. It helps farmers replace diesel and grid pumps with solar power and lets them earn money by selling solar electricity. It has three parts: small solar plants on farmland (Component A), standalone solar pumps (Component B) and solarisation of pumps already connected to the grid (Component C).
While the household rooftop scheme is moving fast, the second phase of PM-KUSUM is still awaited. Land-use concerns raised by other ministries are being sorted out through inter-ministerial discussions before it is finalised.
Agrivoltaics (Agri-Photovoltaics): Growing Crops and Solar Power on the Same Land
Agrivoltaics means using one piece of land for two jobs at the same time: growing crops and making electricity from sunlight. Solar panels are raised high on stilts, or placed in rows with wide gaps, so that crops can still grow below or between them. The farmer earns from both the harvest and the power. It tries to end the "food versus energy" fight over land.
The proposed second phase of PM-KUSUM is expected to have a dedicated agrivoltaics component. This would let farmers keep farming their land while also earning from solar power, which addresses the land-use worries raised by other ministries.
- Current pace: 1 lakh rooftop installations every 6 days; expected to rise to every 4 to 5 days
- Beneficiaries: about 65.65 lakh; installations: over 55 lakh (as of November 2026)
- Target: 1 crore rooftop systems by 31 March 2027 (end of first phase)
- Outlay: ₹75,021 crore; Cabinet approval 29 February 2024; launch 13 February 2024
- Maximum CFA per household: about ₹78,000 (for 3 kW or more)
- Free electricity: up to 300 units a month
- Expected rooftop capacity addition: 30 GW
- ULA model: DISCOMs or state agencies install systems on behalf of households
- PM-KUSUM phase 2: awaited; expected dedicated agrivoltaics component
- Event: Bharat Renewable Energy Summit and Expo 2026, Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi