Rajasthan Wins a National Award Under the Renewable Energy State Assessment Framework (RE-SAF)
Rajasthan received a national award for its performance under the Renewable Energy State Assessment Framework (RE-SAF). The Vice-President presented the awards in New Delhi on 5 November 2026, at the Bharat Renewable Energy Summit and Expo 2026.
RE-SAF was developed by the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) with the Power Finance Corporation (PFC). It compares how well States and Union Territories are building up clean energy.
States were judged on several areas: renewable energy capacity added, policy and regulatory framework, grid readiness (how ready the power network is to carry clean power), performance of power distribution companies (DISCOMs) and the investment climate.
According to the State government, Rajasthan now has 51.6 GW of installed renewable energy capacity, of which about 45 GW is solar. This makes it the country's largest green energy hub.
States are ranked in groups. Other winners announced at the same event included Maharashtra (second among general category States) and Uttarakhand (second among special category States).
The State linked its progress to India's national goal of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel power capacity by 2030.
Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM)
The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, also called the National Solar Mission, is India's main government programme to produce electricity from sunlight. It was launched on 11 January 2010 as one of the eight missions under India's climate plan. Its goal was to make solar power cheap enough to compete with coal, and to make India a world leader in solar energy. Almost every big solar scheme in India today, from solar parks to rooftop panels, grew out of this mission.
Rajasthan's 45 GW of solar capacity is a direct result of the tools the National Solar Mission created: solar parks like Bhadla, central buying through SECI, and reverse auctions. The RE-SAF award shows how the Centre now compares States on the conditions, like policy, grid readiness and DISCOM health, that decide whether the mission's targets can be met.
India's Renewable Energy and Non-Fossil Fuel Capacity Targets
India has set clear goals to produce more of its electricity from clean sources like the sun, wind, water and nuclear power, and less from coal. The best known is 500 GW of non-fossil fuel installed capacity by 2030. Alongside it, India's climate pledge commits to getting about 50% of its total installed power capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030. These targets push both the Centre and the States to add clean power quickly.
Rajasthan's 51.6 GW of renewable capacity is roughly one-sixth of India's total non-fossil capacity, which makes the State central to the 500 GW goal. RE-SAF is a tool to push all States, not just the sun-rich ones, to contribute.
Power Distribution Companies (DISCOMs): India's Weakest Link in the Power Chain
A DISCOM (distribution company) is the company that brings electricity to your home, farm or shop. It buys power in bulk from power plants, carries it through local wires, sends you a bill and collects the money. Most DISCOMs are owned by State governments. If DISCOMs are in debt or pay late, power producers, including solar and wind developers, stop trusting them, and new clean energy projects slow down.
A State can have plenty of sun and land, but if its DISCOMs are weak, developers hesitate to invest. By scoring DISCOM performance, RE-SAF links clean energy growth to the health of the distribution sector.
- RE-SAF: developed by MNRE with the Power Finance Corporation; awards given on 5 November 2026 in New Delhi
- RE-SAF parameters: capacity addition, policy and regulatory framework, grid readiness, DISCOM performance, investment climate
- Rajasthan (as stated by the State, November 2026): 51.6 GW installed renewable capacity, about 45 GW solar
- Other RE-SAF results: Maharashtra second among general category States; Uttarakhand second among special category States
- National goal: 500 GW non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030; about 300.5 GW reached by 31 July 2026
- India's solar capacity: about 164.6 GW (31 July 2026); 100 GW crossed on 31 January 2025
- Bhadla Solar Park, Rajasthan: about 2,245 MW
- JNNSM launched 11 January 2010; target revised to 100 GW by 2022 in June 2015