PM Surya Ghar targets 75 lakh rooftop-solar homes by December

Two years in, the free-power scheme has crossed 40 lakh homes and over 65 lakh applications, and is adding a 'utility-led aggregation' model to reach underserved households.

What happened

• Marking two years of PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, Union Minister for New & Renewable Energy and Consumer Affairs Shri Pralhad Joshi said the scheme has already crossed 40 lakh beneficiary households and he expects it to cross 75 lakh by December 2026.
• He introduced a Utility-Linked Aggregation (ULA) model to accelerate adoption among underserved households, with ~30 lakh rooftop installations planned across States and electricity utilities playing a key facilitating role.
• The scheme particularly benefits families consuming 1–3 kW of electricity, with more than 65 lakh applications already in the pipeline.
• On pace: the first 50 GW of solar took 96 months, the next 50 GW took 36 months, and 100 to 150 GW took only 14 months; May 2026 was the strongest month since launch with a record 3.16 lakh rooftop installations and 15,000 homes added in a single day.
• The time to add one lakh households has fallen from 118 days to under 8 days; more than ₹22,750 crore in subsidy has been disbursed, including ₹2,743 crore in May 2026.
• Minister Joshi launched the PM Surya Ghar logo and a WhatsApp bot, and said that amid energy uncertainty from the West Asia crisis, the scheme is strengthening India's energy security and strategic resilience.

For Prelims

• PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana — launched 13 February 2024 by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, with an outlay of ₹75,021 crore and a target of one crore households by FY2026-27; it provides a central subsidy for residential rooftop solar and up to 300 free units of electricity a month.
• This update's headline targets: 40 lakh households done in two years, 75 lakh by December 2026, on the way to the 1-crore goal — a clean ladder of figures.
• Utility-Linked Aggregation (ULA): a new delivery model where DISCOMs/utilities aggregate demand and facilitate installations — aimed at underserved 1–3 kW households that find rooftop solar hard to access individually. This is the examinable innovation in the release.
• Scale/pace facts: 100→150 GW solar in just 14 months; 3.16 lakh installs in May 2026; time-per-lakh-homes down from 118 to under 8 days; ₹22,750 crore+ subsidy disbursed.
• How the subsidy works (general): the scheme pays a Central Financial Assistance slab by system size and is delivered through the national portal (pmsuryaghar.gov.in) linking applicant, vendor and DISCOM — useful context, not in this release verbatim.
• Why energy security: distributed rooftop solar reduces grid and import dependence; the Minister explicitly tied it to insulation from West Asia-driven energy shocks.
• Net-zero linkage: it advances India's 500 GW non-fossil capacity by 2030 and the broader 2070 net-zero commitment — the standard frame for renewable-scheme questions.
• Distinguish: PM Surya Ghar (residential rooftop solar + free units) is different from PM-KUSUM (solar pumps/agriculture) — a common mix-up worth nailing.

For Mains

Syllabus: GS3.9 · GS2.10 · Linkage L2