New Delhi – India rooftop solar scheme had reached 54.65 lakh households by August 2026, installing about 16,185 MW of residential capacity and releasing more than 30,885 crore rupees in subsidy.
PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, launched in February 2024, targets one crore households by March 2027. The ministry expects to reach 85 to 90 lakh, short of the target but on a scale that makes it the largest domestic rooftop solar programme anywhere.
The subsidy is fixed, not proportional
Support is set at 30,000, 60,000 or 78,000 rupees depending on system size, covering up to roughly 40 per cent of cost.
Fixed amounts are simpler to administer and create a predictable ceiling for installers. They also mean the effective subsidy rate falls as system costs rise, and installers have an incentive to size systems at the subsidy break points rather than to household consumption.
Why this changes the grid, not just the bill
Distributed rooftop generation sits at the point of consumption, so it avoids transmission losses and needs no corridor. In a country curtailing a third of new utility-scale renewable capacity for want of wires, that is a significant structural advantage.
It also removes paying customers from distribution company revenue at the retail tariff while obliging those companies to accept exported power under net metering. Rooftop solar is therefore simultaneously the cleanest route to capacity and a direct pressure on the finances of the utilities the sector depends on.
What has not been solved
Rooftop solar reaches households that own a roof and can fund the unsubsidised majority of the cost upfront. That excludes tenants, apartment residents without individual roof rights, and anyone without access to credit.
A scheme delivering free electricity to homeowners, financed publicly, transfers benefit toward those who already own property. Addressing that requires community solar models for multi-dwelling buildings, and those have moved slowly.
Source: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy PM Surya Ghar progress data to August 2026 and ministry statements of September 2026.
