The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has announced new guidelines for vendor registration under the recently approved PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana rooftop solar program.

The program, with an outlay of ₹750 billion (~$9.04 billion), aims to increase residential rooftop solar capacity and empower households to generate their own electricity until the financial year 2026-27.

As per the guidelines, vendors must register on the National Portal to be eligible to install rooftop solar projects under the program. The vendors already registered under the previous Grid-Connected Rooftop System (GCRT) Phase II program will automatically be considered registered for the new PM Surya Ghar program.

For new vendor registrations, REC Limited has been appointed as the national registering authority. Vendors must submit a performance bank guarantee (PBG) of ₹2.5 million (~$30,000) to register, which will be valid for at least five years.

The registration will allow them to install rooftop solar systems in any district across the country, but they can specify the states and districts where they intend to operate so that they can be displayed in the consumer search list accordingly.

At the state level, the registration process outlined under the previous GCRT Phase II program will continue. Vendors need to apply along with a ₹250,000 (~$3,000) bank guarantee to the respective distribution company or the designated state agency. The state authorities have been given the flexibility to collect a single PBG of ₹250,000 (~$3,000) from vendors for the entire state.

The vendor registrations will be valid for five years and can be renewed for another five years by extending the bank guarantee without any additional charges.

The program was announced in January 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 the field of energy.

Recently, the MNRE invited comments and suggestions on the draft guidelines for implementing the PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana in the residential rooftop solar segment.