There are over 6 lakh installations of rooftop solar power systems currently under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana (PMSGMBY), a government scheme that aims to provide free electricity to households in India.

Data shared by Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy in Lok Sabha showed that as against 25,82,535 applications of rooftop solar systems under PMSGMBY, only 6,16,019 installations have been completed as of 21 November.

This works out to just around 6 per cent of the 1 crore household target (up to FY27) set under the scheme, which was launched in February 2024. The data also suggests time lags in installations of the solar power plants after application by citizens as the number of installations are just at around 25 per cent of applications.

Vikram V, Vice President and Sector Head Corporate Ratings, ICRA said that the first half of this year has seen a significant jump in overall rooftop solar installations driven by this scheme. “Given that the scheme is less than a year old and as consumers understand the processes, the adoption is expected to improve,” he said, adding that awareness creation should also be done at the state utilities level.

The PMSGMBY was launched in February 2024 with an outlay of ₹75,000 crore and is intended to provide subsidy support for residential consumers who opt for rooftop solar power. The scheme provides central financial assistance up to 60 per cent of the benchmark cost to help provide free/low-cost electricity up to 300 units of electricity per month by installation of rooftop solar. The subsidy rate differs based on the capacity of the plant installed.

Leading States

The states with the highest number of rooftop solar power plant installations are those that have been leaders in solar power. Gujarat (2.8 lakh), Maharashtra (1.2 lakh), Uttar Pradesh (0.51 lakh), Kerala (0.51 lakh) and Tamil Nadu (0.19 lakh) come at the top.

State-wise analysis of the conversion rate of applications shows that in 21 out of the 36 states and UTs, the conversion rate stands at less than 10 per cent.

This includes states with high levels of rooftop solar installations such as UP (9.6 per cent conversion), Rajasthan (9 per cent), Haryana (9.4 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (8.9 per cent) and Karnataka (4.7 per cent). Gujarat at 90 per cent has the highest conversion rate, while Kerala is at the second spot with 60 per cent, and Puducherry with 44 per cent conversion.

Deepak Sriram Krishnan, Deputy Director (Energy), WRI India, pointed out various reasons for the wide gap between applications and installations in the PMSGMBY scheme.

“One, there are challenges in getting financing assistance for rooftop installations that are larger in size than the first 2 kW cut-off. The subsidy amount reduces, and banks too don’t have suitable products. Delays in Net-metering (which are essential for tracking bi-directional flow of energy) procurement can also hold up certification and commissioning of rooftop solar units,” he said.

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