Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced ‘Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana’ under which 10 million households will get rooftop solar. The scheme is intended to not only reduce the electricity bill of the poor and middle class but also make India self-reliant in the field of energy.

“Today, on the auspicious occasion of the consecration of life in Ayodhya, my resolve has been further strengthened that the people of India should have their own solar rooftop system on the roof of their houses. The first decision I have taken after returning from Ayodhya is that our government will launch “Pradhanmantri Suryodaya Yojana” with the target of installing rooftop solar on one crore houses,” said Modi after returning from Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, where he addressed the gathering on the occasion of the consecration ceremony of the newly built Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Mandir.

“This will not only reduce the electricity bill of the poor and middle class but will also make India self-reliant in the field of energy.”

Immediately after his visit to Ayodhya, the Prime Minister chaired a meeting to launch the Pradhanmantri Suryodaya Yojana.

During the meeting, Prime Minister said that the power of the sun can be harnessed by every household with a roof to reduce their electricity bills and to make them truly aatmanirbhar [self-reliant] for their electricity needs.

Pradhanmantri Suryodaya Yojana aims to provide electricity to low and middle-income individuals through solar rooftop installations while offering additional income for surplus electricity generation.

The Prime Minister also directed that a massive national campaign should be started to mobilize residential segment consumers to adopt rooftop solar in large numbers.

Speaking about the residential rooftop solar potential in India, Neeraj Kuldeep, Senior Programme Lead, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), told pv magazine, “India, both rural and urban, has a massive potential when it comes to installing solar systems on our rooftops. As per a recent CEEW study, Indian households can technically deploy more than 640 GW of rooftop solar. Currently, about 700,000-800,000 households have installed rooftop solar systems and benefited from the government capital subsidy program, resulting in about 4 GW of solar capacity.

Hailing the government’s scheme to solarize 1 crore households, Kuldeep said the new scheme will give the necessary impetus to the rooftop solar sector to reach the tipping point. The 12-14-fold increase in solar-powered households will add 20-25 GW of solar capacity. This will not only help states save on electricity subsidy but also contribute to improving power discoms’ financial health, eventually paving the way for greater uptake of renewable energy in India. It needs the right awareness campaigns