PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana 2024: 1 Crore Houses To Get Free Electricity; How To Apply Online

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 23 said that one crore households in India to obtain free electricity up to 300 units every month under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana scheme. Sitharaman said this in the Parliament while presenting her seventh Union Budget for the country. Through this scheme, the households will be able to save electricity bills as well as earn additional income through the sale of surplus power to DISCOMs.

In her Budget speech, Sitharaman said, "73. In line with the announcement in the interim budget, PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana has been launched to install rooftop solar plants to enable 1 crore households to obtain free electricity up to 300 units every month."

She added, "The scheme has generated a remarkable response with more than 1.28 crore registrations and 14 lakh applications, and we will further encourage it."

Post Budget, Kishore Reddy, CMD of Mana Projects said, "Budget 2024 presents a compelling vision for India's real estate and infrastructure sectors. The allocation of ₹10 lakh crore for the PM Housing Scheme is a significant step towards addressing the housing needs of 1 crore families, aligning with projections of India's real estate market reaching $1 trillion by 2030. The focus on rental housing for industrial workers and the development of 'Plug and Play' industrial parks in 100 cities will create new opportunities and support economic growth. We applaud the emphasis on sustainable development through the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, targeting rooftop solar for 1 crore households."

While Viram Shah, Co-founder, Vested Finance said, "The success of the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana opens new avenues for green finance and ESG investments, aligning with global sustainability goals and attracting environmentally conscious investors. This also aligns with the government goal of net zero emission by 2070."

Just a few days before the Budget announcement, on July 19, the Ministry of New And Renewable Energy released the operational guidelines for the implementation of component 'incentives to local bodies' under the scheme.

Earlier, in February 2024, after the interim Budget, the PM Modi government approved the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana to increase the share of solar rooftop capacity and empower residential households to generate their electricity. The scheme has an outlay of Rs 75,021 crore and is to be implemented till FY 2026-27.

As per the latest statement, the Financial Outlay for the scheme includes a component on Incentives for Local Bodies with a financial outlay of Rs 1000 crores. This component aims to incentivize Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) & Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs) at the Gram Panchayat level so that they can push the deployment of residential rooftop solar within their respective jurisdictions and undertake local mobilization efforts to maximize the number of installations under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana.

The government has given the National Programme Implementation Agency the responsibility for the implementation of this scheme component and shall exercise due care to ensure that the incentive against an installation under the scheme is given to the concerned ULB/PRI only once.

Also, the ULBs/PRIs can undertake scheme promotion activities within their respective areas through door-to-door mobilization, spread of IEC and awareness through their field units, and convergence of stakeholders by hosting local melas bringing together vendors, banks and DISCOMs in their area for quick processing of applications and implementation.

Local bodies can play an active role in demand generation, facilitation with financial institutions, community mobilization, awareness creation, and coordination with DISCOMs, engaging with schools/local businesses and industries, civil society organizations and other media and communication channels, as per the guidelines.