PM Modi said the scheme would not only reduce the electricity bill of the poor and middle class but would also make India self-reliant in the energy sector.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday announced the ‘Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana’ under which one crore households will get rooftop solar across the nation.
“All the devotees of the world always get energy from the light of Suryavanshi Lord Shri Ram. Today, on the auspicious occasion of consecration in Ayodhya, my resolution got further strengthened that the people of India should have their own solar roof top system on the roof of their houses,” the prime minister posted on social platform X.
“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 1 crore houses. This will not only reduce the electricity bill of the poor and middle class, but will also make India self-reliant in the energy sector,” he added.
The decision came hours after he returned from the temple town of Ayodhya, where he participated in the consecration ceremony of Lord Ram Lalla in the newly built Ram Janmabhoomi temple on Monday. PM Modi also posted pictures of him discussing the scheme with officials.
What is ‘Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana’?
1. The scheme aims to equip one crore poor to middle-class households with rooftop solar panels in a bit to provide electricity from solar energy.
2. The prime minister further said the scheme would not only reduce the electricity bill of the poor and middle class but would also make India self-reliant in the energy sector.
3. According to Business Today report, PM Modi has urged the officials to start a massive national campaign to mobilise residential segment consumers to adopt rooftop solar in large numbers.
4. Rooftop solar panels are the photovoltaic panels installed on the roof of a building which is connected to main power supply unit. Thus, it reduces the consumption of the grid-connected electricity and saves electricity cost for the consumer.
5. In a solar rooftop system, there is only an upfront capital investment and minimal cost for maintenance.
According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s website, solar power installed capacity in India has reached around 73.31 GW as of December 2023. Meanwhile, rooftop solar installed capacity is around 11.08 GW as of December 2023. The Centre currently has a National Rooftop Scheme that provides financial assistance totalling 40% of the capital cost of a solar rooftop project.
In 2014, the union government launched the Rooftop Solar Programme that aimed to achieve a cumulative installed capacity of 40,000 megawatts (MW) or 40 gigawatts (GW) by 2022 — watt is a unit of power and is calculated as the amount of energy used over time, specifically one Joule per second.