India green-lights 26GW solar for farmers scheme

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
A swtich from conventional irrigation-pump systems to solar-powered ones could save huge sums of money for Indian farmers. Credit: PGCIL/ADB

India's Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved its solar for farmers scheme that aims to support 25,750MW of solar by 2022 with INR344 billion (~US$4.84 billion) of central government backing.

The programme, known as Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (KUSUM), which aims to increase farmers' financial and water security by offering a steady source of income, is broken down into three sections: 

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

  • 10GW of decentralised ground-mount PV projects
  • 1.75 million standalone solar-powered agriculture pumps
  • 1 million grid-connected pumps

A report from one analyst firm last year suggested that a switch from conventional irrigation-pump systems to solar-powered ones in India would save enormous sums of money and generate income for farmers nationwide.

Targets and subsidies

The CCEA has decided that the country should go full steam ahead on the target for standalone solar pumps, while the grid-connected pumps and ground-mount PV project sections will kick off as pilots with up to 100,000 pumps and 1GW of solar capacity respectively.

The 10GW solar programme will be made up of plants ranging between 500kW to 2MW in size to be set up by individual farmers, cooperatives, panchayats, farmer producer organisations (FPO) on barren or cultivable lands. The power produced will be purchased by distribution companies (Discoms) with feed-in tariffs (FiTs) determined by the respective state regulator (SERC).

Discoms will also be incentivised with INR0.40/kWh (US$0.56 cents) for a period of five years.

Standalone pumps will be supported up to 7.5-HP with solar PV capacity in kW equal to the pump capacity in HP. For the grid-connected pump scheme, again pumps up to 7.5-HP can be solarised, but in this case, the solar PV capacity can be up to two times the pump capacity.

The solar power will be used for irrigation with any excess power sold to Discoms.

For the pump schemes, a central government subsidy of 30% of the benchmark cost or the tender cost, whichever is lower, will be provided. The State Government will then give a subsidy of 30% and the remaining 40% will be provided by the farmer.

A higher central government subsidy of 50% will be provided for North Eastern States, Sikkim, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Lakshadweep and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Finally, the Indian government believes that the scheme will generate 631,000 job years for both skilled and unskilled workers.

Yesterday, the CCEA also approved a major new rooftop solar support scheme.

Read Next

July 11, 2025
Indian independent power producer (IPP) Juniper Green Energy has commissioned an additional 71MWp at Chapalgaon Solar Project in Solapur, Maharashtra.
July 9, 2025
Indian solar water pump and motor manufacturer Shakti Pumps has successfully raised INR2.9 billion (US$34.1 million) to build a solar cell and module manufacturing plant.
July 8, 2025
German solar glass manufacturer Glasmanufaktur Brandenburg (GMB) has filed for insolvency after posting monthly losses of €900,000 this year.
July 8, 2025
Energy consultancy JMK Research has forecast 28.3GW of utility-scale and residential solar PV to be installed in India during fiscal year 2026.
July 8, 2025
SJVN Green Energy has commenced commercial operations of 100.02MW from its 1,000MW solar power project in Bikaner, Rajasthan.
July 7, 2025
ReNew has received a non-binding final acquisition offer from a consortium at US$8 per share, which is 13.2% more than their earlier offer.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 22, 2025
Bilbao, Spain
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK