With installations surging and applications mounting, India’s rooftop solar drive aims to reach 7.5 million households by December 2026, reshaping residential energy consumption.
India aims to bring rooftop solar systems to 7.5 million households by December 2026 under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi said while marking two years of the scheme’s implementation.
Speaking at an event on the programme’s progress on June 4, 2026, Joshi said the initiative has already benefited more than four million households and continues to gain momentum, with over 6.5 million applications currently in the pipeline. The minister expressed confidence that the scheme would meet its next milestone by the end of 2026 as deployment accelerates across the country.
A key driver of the expansion is the utility-linked aggregation (ULA) model, under which around three million rooftop solar installations have been planned. The model seeks to improve adoption among underserved consumers by more directly involving power utilities in implementation and customer outreach. The programme is expected to benefit households with electricity demand between 1kW and 3kW in particular.
Joshi highlighted the rapid pace of India’s solar expansion, noting that the country’s total solar capacity crossed 150GW by March 2026. He said the first 50GW of solar capacity took eight years to achieve, while subsequent additions have occurred at a significantly faster rate.
According to the ministry, May 2026 recorded the highest monthly rooftop solar deployment since the scheme’s launch, with 316,000 installations completed during the month. The pace of adoption has also accelerated substantially, with the time taken to add one lakh beneficiary households falling from 118 days to fewer than eight days.
The government has disbursed more than ₹227.5 billion in subsidies under the programme so far, including ₹27.43 billion in May alone. More than 1.7 million participating households have reported zero electricity bills, reflecting the direct financial impact of rooftop solar adoption.
Launched in February 2024 with an allocation of ₹750.21 billion, PM Surya Ghar has registered more than 10 million households and facilitated the installation of over 3.3 million rooftop solar systems, adding more than 12GW of capacity.
The programme forms part of India’s broader effort to expand non-fossil fuel energy capacity to 500GW by 2030 while improving energy security and reducing pressure on electricity distribution companies.
(With inputs from PIB)
