More than 50.6 lakh households across the country have installed rooftop solar systems under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) said on Tuesday.
The milestone reflects a sharp acceleration in rooftop solar adoption, compared with 7.94 lakh installations over the previous decade.
According to the ministry, the scheme is now adding nearly one lakh beneficiary households every six days, making it “one of the fastest-growing clean energy programmes in the world.”
With a total outlay of ₹75,021 crore, the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana has emerged as the world’s largest rooftop solar programme, the ministry said. The pace of installations has increased more than threefold over the past nine months, rising from 5,038 installations per day in October 2025 to nearly 16,328 installations per day in July 2026. July alone recorded 5.06 lakh rooftop solar installations, the highest monthly figure since the scheme was launched.
The government has released ₹28,024 crore in subsidies directly to beneficiaries through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mechanism. As a result, nearly 19 lakh households are now paying zero electricity bills. In addition, more than 12 lakh households earned a combined ₹421 crore by selling surplus electricity back to the grid during FY 2024-25, generating an average additional income of around ₹3,500 annually per household.
The scheme has also expanded access to rooftop solar among economically weaker sections. Under the Utility-Led Aggregation Model, nearly 1.6 lakh installations have been completed for PMAY, BPL and SC/ST households across four states, while the model has been approved for implementation in 12 states.
Affordable financing has been another key feature of the programme. Concessional loans at 5.75 per cent interest have been sanctioned to 21.87 lakh applicants, with 17.5 lakh installations already completed through loan financing. Integration with the Jan Samarth platform has enabled paperless loan processing.
The Ministry said the scheme has created a robust ecosystem for the rooftop solar sector, with over 34,000 registered vendors, including 29,469 active vendors, operating nationwide. More than 2.32 lakh people have been trained under capacity-building programmes supporting the rooftop solar value chain. So far, the scheme has commissioned 14.8 GW of rooftop solar capacity.
The entire programme operates through a 100 per cent digital, end-to-end online platform, covering everything from application and approvals to subsidy disbursement. The system includes API integration with over 80 DISCOMs, digital net metering agreements, paperless loan processing, vendor star ratings and direct subsidy transfers through the Public Financial Management System (PFMS).
To simplify adoption, the government has introduced deemed approvals and feasibility waivers for rooftop solar systems up to 10 kW, while 32 States and Union Territories have waived application and net metering charges. The Centre has also released ₹3,807.6 crore in incentives to DISCOMs and around ₹104 crore to Urban Local Bodies. Additionally, nearly 23,000 third-party quality inspections have been conducted under the vendor accountability framework.
The scheme has also accelerated solarisation of government buildings. Of the 41,542 feasible Central government buildings identified, 25,255 buildings with a capacity of 872 MW have already been solarised. States have solarised 81,329 government buildings with a combined capacity of 1,450 MW. Overall, 1.06 lakh government buildings have been equipped with rooftop solar systems.
