The PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana has completed one year of significant progress in promoting rooftop solar adoption nationwide. As of January 27, 2025, 846,000 households have installed rooftop solar systems under the program.

The rate of installations has increased significantly, reaching approximately 70,000 per month, compared to much lower numbers before the program’s launch.

“The PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana has seen unprecedented growth, with more residential rooftop solar systems installed in just the last three quarters of 2024 than in the past six years combined,” said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.

According to Mercom India Research, 2.3 GW of rooftop solar capacity has been installed under the PM Surya Ghar program as of December 2024.

So far, ₹43.09 billion (~$496 million) has been provided as Central Financial Assistance (CFA) to 554,000 residential consumers, with each household receiving an average subsidy of ₹77,800 (~$895). Around 45% of the beneficiaries are now receiving electricity bills of zero, depending on their solar power generation and usage.

The number of installations is expected to grow further in the coming years. In December 2024, there were 630,000 installations, which increased to 846,000 by January 2025. Projections indicate that by October 2025, installations will reach 2 million, followed by 4 million in March 2026, with a target of 10 million installations achieved by March 2027.

As of January 27, 2025, Gujarat has the highest number of beneficiaries, with 351,273 households, representing 41.47% of the total. Maharashtra has 192,936 households (22.79%), Uttar Pradesh has 73,602 households (8.69%), Kerala has 65,423 households (7.73%), and Rajasthan has 26,622 households (3.14%). Other states collectively account for 137,008 households, which comprise 16.18% of the total beneficiaries.

Implemented through the National Portal, the program enables residential consumers to register, apply, and select vendors for their rooftop solar systems. The platform allows users to negotiate installation costs, secure approvals, and benefit from subsidies transferred to their bank accounts following inspections by electricity distribution utilities.

The program was announced in January last year when the Prime Minister said the aim is to reduce the electricity expenditure of poor and middle-class households while enabling India’s self-reliance in energy. It was also one of the significant programs unveiled in the interim Budget 2024 presented to Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.