New Delhi, Dec 15, 2024, IANS

New Delhi, Dec 15 (IANS) In a significant feat for the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, the scheme has achieved more than 6.85 lakh installations to date, and is set to surpass a decade’s solar growth in about a year. Since its launch in February this year, the scheme with 685,763 installations has already reached 86 per cent of what was installed in a decade before that. The key demand came from the 3-5 kW load segment at 77 per cent installations, while 14 per cent was in the segment higher than 5kW. Gujarat showed the highest installations followed by Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala. Gujarat witnessed the maximum number of solar installations under the initiative at 2,86,545. Maharashtra stands next with 1,26,344 installations, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 53,423 installations. Around 1.45 crore registrations have been done so far under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, according to a statement in Parliament. The scheme aims to supply solar power to one crore households by March 2027. It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the aim of achieving 1 crore rooftop solar installations in the residential sector by fiscal year 2027 with an allocated budget of Rs 75,021 crore. As of now, the states with an increasing number of installations include Tripura, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. In order to popularise the PM solar scheme at the grassroots, Urban Local Bodies and Panchayats have been incentivised to promote rooftop solar systems in their jurisdictions. At the same time, the scheme is leading to more income, lower power bills and employment generation for people. With a goal to benefit one crore households, the programme is also expected to save the government Rs 75,000 crore annually in electricity costs. The scheme offers a subsidy of up to 40 per cent to households, making renewable energy more affordable and accessible. The government is also partnering with all stakeholders including REC, DISCOMs, and vendors, among others, with an aim to resolve any challenge on the way to a successful implementation of the scheme.