Why solarise pumps?
About 27 million electric pumps and 9 million diesel pumps irrigate India's 50 % irrigated cropped area. Free or flat-rate farm electricity costs DISCOMs roughly ₹1.4 lakh crore/year in subsidy and incentivises over-pumping. Diesel pumps add 30 million tonnes CO₂ and burn 4 billion litres of diesel annually. PM Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM), launched in 2019, was redesigned in 2020 and amended in 2024 to address all three: subsidy burden, groundwater over-pumping, and emissions.
Component A — decentralised solar power plants
Farmers and FPOs install solar plants of 500 kW to 2 MW on fallow / cultivable wasteland, and DISCOM pays a Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) of ₹3.00-3.50/unit for 25 years. No capital subsidy — but the developer can self-finance or partner with a DISCOM-empanelled IPP. Target 10,000 MW across 10,000 sites.
Component B — standalone off-grid solar pumps
For farmers in unelectrified or under-electrified blocks. Subsidy structure:
- General states: 30 % Centre + 30 % State + 40 % beneficiary (loan-financeable).
- NE & hilly: 50 % Centre + 30 % State + 20 % beneficiary.
Eligible: 3 HP to 7.5 HP solar pumps; some states have extended to 10 HP. Target 17.5 lakh pumps.
Component C — solarisation of existing grid-pumps
For farmers with an existing electric pump: solar modules and inverter are installed at the pump, surplus power fed back to the DISCOM. Two modes:
- Individual Pump Solarisation (IPS): 30 % + 30 % + 40 % subsidy stack.
- Feeder-Level Solarisation (FLS): 30 % Centre + DISCOM debt-funded; introduced via 2024 amendment. Solarises the agriculture feeder rather than the individual pump — cheaper, faster.
How to apply
- Visit your state nodal-agency portal (e.g. SaralHaryana for HR, mpkusum.mpuvn.in for MP).
- Submit Aadhaar, land record, existing pump bill (Component C), bank account, and self-financing/loan confirmation.
- Pay beneficiary share to the empanelled vendor; vendor installs and commissions; DISCOM/MNRE releases subsidy.
Latest changes (2024 — 2026)
- February 2024: MNRE amended scheme guidelines to introduce Feeder-Level Solarisation (FLS) mode under Component C — cheaper and faster than individual pump solarisation, DISCOM acts as procurer.
- March 2026: MNRE extended programme timelines — Component B and C individual pumps to be commissioned by 30 September 2026 (official target remains 30.8 GW).
- October 2024: MoP — MNRE convergence with PM-Surya Ghar (rooftop solar) clarified — farmer-residential combined application allowed in select states.
- March 2025: State-wise sanctions crossed cumulative 12 lakh standalone pumps and roughly 4 lakh grid-pump solarisations; Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Haryana lead.
- December 2025: Component A FiT discovery for new tenders dropped to ₹2.95 — ₹3.10/ unit reflecting falling solar capex; FPO-led plants became commercially viable in irrigated states.
- March 2026: MNRE extended timelines for projects with PPA/NTP issued by 31 December 2025 — Components B and C (individual pump solarisation) must commission by 30 September 2026; Components A and C feeder-level solarisation get financial closure by 30 September 2026 and commissioning by 31 March 2027. The scheme is set to transition to PM-KUSUM 2.0, which MNRE is preparing with a 10 GW agrivoltaics component.
Application step-by-step
- Confirm your state nodal agency (typically the DISCOM or the State Renewable Energy Development Agency — SREDA) and identify the open Component (A, B, IPS or FLS) and the relevant tender or empanelment.
- Register on the state nodal portal (examples: saralharyana.gov.in for Haryana, mpkusum.mpuvn.in for MP, rrecl.com for Rajasthan, mahadiscom for Maharashtra) using Aadhaar, mobile and a state domicile certificate.
- Upload land record (≥ 0.5 acre for Component A), existing pump electricity bill (Component C), bank passbook with Aadhaar seeding, and self-declaration of HP demand.
- Select an empanelled vendor from the state-published list; obtain price quotation including 5-year CMC (Comprehensive Maintenance Contract) which is mandatory.
- Pay the beneficiary share (typically 40 % for general states, 20 % for NE/Hilly) to the vendor; installation must complete within 4 — 6 months of work order.
- Joint commissioning by vendor, DISCOM and the state nodal agency; on commissioning, the Centre +State subsidy is released to the vendor; farmer's share is settled.
- For Component C feeder-level solarisation, no farmer action is required at the field — DISCOM signs a PPA with a developer for the entire agricultural feeder.
Common rejection or pitfall reasons
- Block not in target list: many states prioritise dark/critical CGWB blocks for Component B but exclude them for fresh tubewell sanctions; over-exploited blocks may be excluded entirely.
- HP capacity mismatch: solar pump sanction has to match historical pumping demand and water-table depth; over-sized pumps trigger technical-committee rejection.
- Vendor not empanelled: only state- empanelled vendors qualify for subsidy; informal installations are not retroactively subsidised.
- No CMC clause: vendor quotations without explicit 5-year CMC are rejected.
- Aadhaar — bank seeding failure: farmer-share refund and subsidy crediting both depend on Aadhaar-NPCI seeding.
- Land-record issue (Component A): disputed or unmutated land disqualifies the parcel from PV-plant installation.
- Existing pump not registered with DISCOM (Component C): only metered grid pumps are eligible — unregistered borewell pumps cannot be solarised under IPS.
Grievance escalation lies first with the state nodal agency, then with the DISCOM Chief General Manager (Solar). Central escalation goes through MNRE's Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) PMU and the PM-KUSUM dashboard at pmkusum.mnre.gov.in.
Coverage and outlay statistics
Per MNRE data tabled in Parliament during the 2024 Winter Session, cumulative sanctions under PM-KUSUM had crossed roughly 14 lakh installations across all three components by mid-2024, with Component B (standalone pumps) dominant in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh; Component C IPS strong in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra; and Component A decentralised plants concentrated in Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Aggregate MNRE outlay across the scheme period is approximately ₹34,000 crore. State-wise live progress is published on the PM-KUSUM dashboard; parliamentary figures are tabled bi-annually in MNRE replies to Lok Sabha questions.
Stacking with other schemes
PM-KUSUM pairs strongly with PMKSY-PDMC drip/sprinkler subsidies — solar-powered drip is the single highest water-and-power efficiency combination. For farmers in groundwater-stressed blocks, Atal Bhujal Yojana incentivises demand-side water management alongside PM-KUSUM's supply-side solarisation. KCC credit can fund the 40 % farmer share at concessional MISS rate; Component A developers frequently combine PM-KUSUM FiT revenues with AIF interest subvention for the solar plant's land- development capex. For FPO-led decentralised plants, the 10,000 FPOs scheme provides credit-guarantee support.