PM Surya Ghar scheme reaches 50 lakh rooftop solar households in 29 months
NEW DELHI: The central government's rooftop solar initiative, PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, has crossed the 50-lakh household milestone within 29 months of its launch in February 2024. The achievement represents half of the scheme's target of one crore households by March 2027.
According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, more than five lakh households installed rooftop solar plants in July, the highest monthly addition since the scheme began. Officials said nearly one lakh new households are being added every six days, making it one of the fastest-growing clean energy programmes globally.
The ministry stated that the pace of installation has increased 3.2 times over the last nine months, rising from 5,038 installations per day in October 2025 to nearly 16,328 per day in July 2026. When the scheme was launched in 2024, the country had fewer than eight lakh rooftop solar installations.
Of the scheme's Rs 75,021-crore outlay, the government has already disbursed Rs 28,024 crore directly to beneficiaries through direct benefit transfer. So far, nearly 19 lakh households have recorded zero electricity bills in at least one billing cycle, significantly reducing their power expenses.
The ministry said more than 12 lakh households earned a combined Rs 421 crore by selling surplus electricity to the grid in FY 2024-25, translating into an additional income of around Rs 3,500 per household annually. Cumulatively, 14.8 GW of rooftop solar capacity has been commissioned under the scheme so far.
The ministry also noted that 1.6 lakh installations have been completed for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana beneficiaries, Below Poverty Line families, and SC/ST households across four states under the utility-led aggregation model. This model enables low-income households to install rooftop solar systems while helping states reduce their power subsidy burden.
On the government buildings front, 25,255 government buildings have been solarised with a combined rooftop solar capacity of 872 MW, against 41,542 buildings where installations totalling 1,418 MW are considered feasible. Overall, states have identified around 3.2 lakh government buildings with an estimated rooftop solar potential of 4,400 MW. Of these, 81,329 buildings with a combined capacity of 1,450 MW have already been solarised, the ministry added.
