India approves off-grid and decentralised solar programme for 118MW by 2020

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Credit: MNRE

India has approved implementation of Phase-Ill of its ‘Off-grid and Decentralised Solar PV Application Programme’, which targets an additional 118MW off-grid solar PV capacity by 2020.

Phase-Ill, set to cost INR18.95 billion (US$283 million), of which INR6.37 billion will be provided through Central Finance Assistance (CFA), focuses on three areas:

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

  1. 300,000 solar street lights will be installed throughout the country, particularly areas without any access to street lighting from grid power, including North Eastern states and those affected by insurgencies
  2. An aggregate 100MW of PV plants of up to 25kWp in individual size will be promoted in areas without access to grid power or reliable power. This component is mainly aimed at providing electricity to schools, hostels, panchayats (village councils), police stations and other public service institutions
  3. 2.5 million solar study lamps will be provided in North Eastern States and districts affected by insurgencies

For solar street lights and solar power plants, financial support up to 30% of the benchmark cost of the system will be provided. Whereas 90% of the benchmark cost will be provided for in North East States, Hill States and Island Union Territories. Students will only have to pay 15% of the cost for solar study lamps.

The aim of the programme is to improve lives in these rural and remote areas and to increase self-employment. It is expected to benefit four million rural households.

India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) claims that more than 90% of the solar pumps set up in India to date were set up in the last four years, during its time in power. In this period, solar street lights more than doubled and 25.75 million solar lamps were distributed to students. Solar Home Lighting Systems also increased 1.5 fold, MNRE claimed.

Prime minister Narendra Modi recently claimed that every village in India had some form of access to grid power, but his claims came under fire given that a village is said to be electrified if the penetration rate of power access is more than 10% of households in the village and that public services such as health centres and schools have power.

In an interview with PV Tech, Sujoy Ghosh, country head, India, for US-based thin-film PV manufacturer and project developer First Solar, recently described the burgeoning power demand in the off-grid areas of India and the opportunities they represent.

Read Next

September 17, 2025
Spanish renewables developer and operator Acciona Energía has commissioned its 412MWp Juna solar PV plant in Kawani village in the western state of Rajasthan. 
September 16, 2025
IB Solar is investing INR30 billion (US$340 million) in a 4GW TOPCon solar cell and module manufacturing plant in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh.
September 15, 2025
Norwegian energy firm Statkraft has agreed to divest a portion of its renewable energy portfolio to Serentica Renewables.
September 15, 2025
Vikram Solar has secured a contract to supply 200MW of modules to AB Energia, a domestic solar engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) solutions provider. 
September 12, 2025
ACME Venus Urja has secured INR3.8 billion (US$43 million) to develop and construct a solar-plus-storage project in Barmer, Rajasthan.
September 10, 2025
Indian solar module manufacturer Vikram Solar reported a 79.7% year-on-year increase in revenue for the first quarter of FY26.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA