MNRE issues revised guidelines for PM Surya Ghar scheme

The PM-Surya Ghar Yojana’s revised CFA structure offers residential consumers ₹ 30,000 per kW for the first 2 kW of solar capacity, ₹ 18,000 for additional 1 kW capacity, and no subsidy for capacities beyond 3 kW.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued detailed amendments and implementation guidelines for the PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, which aims to provide Central Financial Assistance (CFA) to residential customers for rooftop solar installation. These amended standards aim to expedite residential rooftop solar adoption while also improving transparency, accessibility, and service delivery via a single national digital platform.

The scheme, which was released on February 13, 2024, is now accepting applications through the designated National Portal. It provides CFA to individual residential houses, housing organisations, and flat associations. The scheme’s capex approach ensures that consumers can install grid-connected rooftop solar (RTS) systems with their own funds or with loans, eliminating RESCO and utility-led alternatives.

The amended guidelines allow the state or union government to supplement the central government’s CFA with an additional subsidy for rooftop systems. The PM-Surya Ghar Yojana’s revised CFA structure offers residential consumers ₹ 30,000 per kW for the first 2 kW of solar capacity, ₹ 18,000 for additional 1 kW capacity, and no subsidy for capacities beyond 3 kW.

Special category states and union territories have slightly higher CFA, with the first 2 kW costing ₹ 33,000 per kW and the next 1 kW costing ₹ 19,800 per kW. Group housing societies and residential welfare associations can use CFA for common facilities like lighting and electric vehicle charging, with a maximum of 3 kW per house and 500 kW overall, and only projects with domestically manufactured modules and solar cells qualify. Further, the amended guidelines include a five year mandatory maintenance period by vendors and outlines penalties and de-registration in case of poor service.  

The amendment strengthens the subsidy disbursement framework, technical compliance, and citizen engagement to meet the 1 crore household solar installation target by FY 2026-27, with monitoring conducted through national, state, and district-level committees, with REC Limited acting as the national implementing agency.