Rooftop Solar Scheme Gets Rs 75,021-Crore Outlay In Push For Green Goals

The Union cabinet on Thursday approved an outlay of Rs 75,021 crore for installing rooftop solar and providing free electricity up to 300 units every month for 1 crore households.

The PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana was announced in the interim budget on Feb. 1 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially launched the scheme on Feb. 13.

The scheme provides a subsidy of 60% of system costs for 2 kilowatt systems and 40% of additional system costs for systems between 2 and 3 kW in capacity. A 3-kW system will be able to generate more than 300 units a month on average for a household, the government said.

At current benchmark prices, this will mean a Rs 30,000 subsidy for a 1 kW system, Rs 60,000 for 2 kW systems and Rs 78,000 for 3 kW systems or higher, it said.

Households can apply for subsidies through the national portal and will be able to select a suitable vendor for installing rooftop solar.

Eligible households will be able to access collateral-free low-interest loan products of around 7% at present for the installation of residential rooftop solar systems up to 3 kW.