Union Minister for New & Renewable Energy and Power, RK Singh, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, said that over 2.95 lakh standalone off-grid solar water pumps have been successfully installed as part of the PM-KUSUM scheme. This initiative aims to provide farmers with energy and water security, ultimately boosting their income.
Launched as the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) in March 2019, the scheme underwent further expansion in September 2023.
PM-KUSUM primarily focuses on delivering affordable and accessible power to farmers, thereby improving their economic prospects while addressing environmental concerns.
The scheme comprises three key components:
Component A: Establishment of 10,000 MW of decentralized solar power plants on barren/fallow/pasture/marshy/cultivable land owned by farmers. This component is open to participation from various entities, including individual farmers, solar power developers, cooperatives, panchayats, and farmers’ producer organizations.
Component B: Installation of 14 lakh stand-alone solar pumps in off-grid areas.
Component C: Solarization of 35 lakh grid-connected agriculture pumps through individual pump solarization and feeder-level solarization.
As of January 31, 2024, Component A has witnessed a total sanction of 4766 MW, with 165.28 MW installed. Component B boasts 12,94,787 sanctioned solar pumps, with 2,95,823 pumps installed. For Component C, the number of sanctioned units for Individual Pump Solarization (IPS) and Feeder Level Solarization (FLS) are 1,61,204 and 33,76,466, respectively, while the number of installed units stands at 7384.