India planned to install 175 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy from solar, wind, biomass and hydro resources by the year 2022. But in actuality, due to sluggish pace of its rooftop solar power installation programme, the energy generated from generated from renewable resources was mere 5.87 GW against a target of 40 GW by the end of the year.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy later underlined the “tardy pace of progress” of the programme in a report and asked the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to ensure wider adoption of grid-connected rooftop solar photovoltaic projects (RSPV) to achieve the target before the revised deadline of March 2026. Over the past decade, the government has undertaken a series of measures and pushed through policies to make rooftop systems more accessible and affordable, but the target remains far from achieved. In a fresh attempt to spur activity in the segment and improve the share of solar power in the grid, the Centre last month unveiled the Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana (PMSY) to tap into the vast potential of rooftop projects in residential areas. The scheme found a special mention in the interim Budget 2024, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reiterating PM’s commitment that the scheme would help one crore families get up to 300 units of free electricity per month with savings of up to Rs 18,000 annually.