PM Surya Ghar achieves 5 million rooftop solar installations
The PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana crossed 50 lakh (5 million) rooftop solar installations, with July 2026 recording the highest-ever monthly addition
The daily pace of installation rose from about 5,038 installations a day in October 2025 to nearly 16,328 installations a day in July 2026
The scheme has added one lakh beneficiary households roughly every six days at the current pace, a 3.2-fold acceleration over nine months
Nearly 19 lakh households now receive zero electricity bills, and more than 12 lakh households collectively earned about Rs 421 crore in FY 2024-25 by selling surplus solar power back to the grid
The 50-lakh milestone was reached in just over two years, compared to only 7.94 lakh rooftop installations recorded in the preceding ten years under earlier rooftop solar programmes
PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana (2024)
PM Surya Ghar is a Central Sector Scheme launched on 13 February 2024 by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to promote residential rooftop solar adoption. It replaced the slow-moving earlier rooftop solar subsidy framework (under the National Solar Mission's rooftop component) with a simplified, portal-based, DISCOM-integrated application and subsidy disbursal process.
Key Details
- Total outlay: Rs 75,021 crore, targeting 1 crore households by March 2027
- Central Financial Assistance (CFA): Rs 30,000/kW for the first 2 kW and Rs 18,000/kW for the third kW, capped at Rs 78,000 for systems above 3 kW
- Every eligible household is entitled to 300 units of free electricity per month, funded through net-metering of surplus solar power exported to the grid
- Union Budget 2026-27 allocated Rs 22,000 crore to the scheme, up from the FY26 revised estimate of Rs 17,000 crore
The 5-million milestone and accelerating monthly pace (16,328/day in July 2026) reflect the scheme's shift from a slow decade-long rooftop solar effort to a subsidy-and-net-metering model with DISCOM-linked digital disbursal, directly testable as an example of Digital India-enabled subsidy delivery (DBT) in the renewable energy sector.
National Solar Mission and India's Renewable Energy Targets
The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), launched in 2010 under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), was India's first major solar policy push, with rooftop solar as one of its sub-components. Rooftop solar deployment lagged utility-scale solar for over a decade due to high upfront costs, complex subsidy processes, and DISCOM net-metering delays — the gap PM Surya Ghar was designed to close.
Key Details
- India's revised target: 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based installed electricity capacity by 2030 (announced at COP26, 2021), part of India's updated NDC
- Rooftop solar is classified as a distributed renewable energy (DRE) source, distinct from utility-scale/ground-mounted solar parks
- Net metering (bidirectional metering) allows households to export surplus solar power to the grid and receive credit, distinguishing it from gross metering (feed-in-tariff) models used in earlier state policies
PM Surya Ghar's installation surge is a direct instrument for meeting the 500 GW non-fossil capacity target and the broader NDC commitment of 50% non-fossil fuel-based installed electric capacity by 2030, with rooftop/distributed solar closing the historical gap versus utility-scale solar.
- PM Surya Ghar launched: 13 February 2024; nodal ministry: MNRE
- Total scheme outlay: Rs 75,021 crore; target: 1 crore households by March 2027
- CFA subsidy: Rs 30,000/kW (first 2 kW) + Rs 18,000/kW (3rd kW), max Rs 78,000
- Free electricity entitlement: 300 units/month per eligible household
- Installation pace: ~5,038/day (Oct 2025) to ~16,328/day (July 2026)
- Households with zero electricity bills: ~19 lakh; households earning from surplus power sale: 12 lakh+ (~Rs 421 crore, FY 2024-25)
- India's non-fossil capacity target: 500 GW by 2030 (COP26 pledge, part of updated NDC)