The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has decided to extend the waiver of the domestic content requirement (DCR) for solar cells used for projects under Component C of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) program until March 31, 2024.

The move is a continuation of the memorandum issued by the Ministry on August 1, 2022, which extended the DCR waiver until June 20, 2023.

Component C, also known as Feeder Level Solarisation, plays a pivotal role in the PM KUSUM program, with its objective to solarize 15 lakh grid-connected agriculture pumps by March 31, 2026.

The Minister of Power, R.K. Singh, told the Parliament that the PM-KUSUM program has benefited over 200,000 farmers as of February 28, 2023. A solar capacity of 89.45 MW has been installed under Component-A of the program. Approximately 209,000 pumps have been reported as installed or solarized under Component-B and Component-C. The total installed solar capacity under the program stood at 1.14 GW.

The decision to extend the DCR waiver for solar cells was made in response to challenges faced by stakeholders in meeting the DCR requirements. This extension is expected to provide greater flexibility and support for the successful implementation of solar projects under Component C of the PM-KUSUM program.

MNRE had conducted a third-party evaluation of the PM KUSUM program, and following its recommendations, the program has been extended until March 31, 2026.

Recently, the Ministry granted a final extension to solar projects pending installation under Component A of the program to September 30, 2023, citing the difficulties faced by farmers in accessing finance during the initial phase.

In May last year, to support the projects under the KUSUM program, the MNRE scrapped the need for a separate performance bank guarantee for solar projects to be set up under Component A.