The Centre aims to bring rooftop solar installations to 75 lakh households by December 2026 under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi said on Thursday, as the government unveiled a new Utility-Linked Aggregation (ULA) model to accelerate adoption among underserved households.
Speaking at an event marking two years of the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, Joshi said the scheme has already crossed 40 lakh beneficiary households and is witnessing strong public participation, with more than 65 lakh applications currently in the pipeline.
The minister said the newly introduced ULA model has been designed to speed up rooftop solar deployment by involving power utilities more closely in implementation. Around 30 lakh rooftop solar installations have already been planned under the model across various states, with a focus on households consuming between 1 kW and 3 kW of electricity.
Highlighting the rapid growth of India’s solar sector, Joshi said the country’s first 50 GW of solar capacity took 96 months to achieve, the next 50 GW took 36 months, while the jump from 100 GW to 150 GW was accomplished in just 14 months.
He noted that May 2026 was the strongest month since the launch of the PM Surya Ghar scheme, recording 3.16 lakh rooftop solar installations, including 15,000 households added in a single day.
“The pace of adoption has increased from 118 days to add one lakh households to less than eight days today,” the minister said, adding that more than ₹22,750 crore in subsidies have been disbursed under the scheme so far, including ₹2,743 crore in May alone.
Joshi said rooftop solar installations have risen from about 7,000 per month before the launch of the scheme to over three lakh installations per month currently. More than 17 lakh households have achieved zero electricity bills through rooftop solar, he added.
Referring to global energy market uncertainties arising from the ongoing West Asia crisis, the minister said initiatives such as PM Surya Ghar are strengthening India’s energy security and reducing dependence on conventional energy sources.
Launched on February 13, 2024, with an outlay of ₹75,021 crore, PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana has emerged as the world’s largest domestic rooftop solar programme. More than one crore households have registered on the scheme’s national portal, while over 33 lakh rooftop solar systems had been installed by May 2026, creating more than 12 GW of capacity.
According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, rooftop solar now accounts for nearly 45 per cent of India’s residential solar capacity, with deployment growth rising to 85 per cent between 2024 and 2026. The programme is expected to contribute significantly towards India’s target of achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel energy capacity by 2030.
At the event, Joshi launched the PM Surya Ghar logo and a dedicated WhatsApp bot and presented awards to top-performing states, Union Territories, DISCOMs, banks, vendors and other stakeholders under the scheme.
The minister also launched two reports by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), including a nationwide study on household rooftop solar adoption and a report highlighting opportunities in the operation and maintenance ecosystem of residential rooftop solar. The reports noted that the sector has the potential to generate more than 3.3 lakh jobs annually as installations continue to scale up.
The event also featured two plenary sessions involving representatives from the ministries of New and Renewable Energy, Power and Finance, financial institutions and state energy departments. Discussions focused on strategies to expand rooftop solar adoption to one crore households, financing mechanisms, policy priorities and balancing solar expansion with DISCOM sustainability.
