To make it easier for farmers to access electricity without spending heavily on diesel-based electricity generators, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has recently launched a nationwide scheme under the name, “Pradhan Mantri Kusum Yojana”. Under this scheme, the farmers will receive solar pumps on subsidy. The farmers who avail of this scheme will only have to bear 40% of the total cost. The remaining 60% of the cost will be subsidized by the central and state governments.
The process has already begun in several states, including Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, and 25,000 farmers in Rajasthan have registered for this scheme. The overall target of Kusum Yojana Scheme is 1,80,000 pumps. Next year, the target will be to provide 50,000 solar pumps on subsidy in Rajasthan. The next year target is 4,00,000 solar pumps on subsidy.
“Solar energy has been gaining popularity in rural India for quite some time now, and the Pradhan Mantri Kusum Yojana will further accelerate its adoption. The farmers of Rajasthan have always been very progressive and have always responded positively to technological breakthroughs by adopting them and making them a part of their lifestyle. We find ourselves in a position of privilege to be able to assist our farmers in their noble pursuits and make their lives a bit easier. Not to mention the fact that this initiative will be another step towards our vision of reducing fossil fuel dependency in the country,” said Gautam Mohanka, MD, Gautam Solar.
Gautam Solar Pvt. Ltd., one of India’s most highly regarded solar manufacturers with more than 22 years of solar experience, has been selected & empanelled to work in Rajasthan for solar pumps. It is the only firm in India that manufactures all the components that go into the making of solar pumps, viz. solar panel, solar pump set, structure, solar controller, etc. Since the firm doesn’t procure components from other countries, it supplies the materials on time and serves as a single point of service for farmers. By doing so, Gautam Solar Pvt. Ltd. ensures that farmers don’t run from one vendor to another for service, at the critical time when the crops need irrigation.
Under the PMKY (Pradhan Mantri Kusum Yojana) scheme, the government will support the farmers with subsidies to install standalone solar pumps worth Rs 17.50 lakhs and up to a capacity of 7.5 HP. Depending on their needs, the farmers can install pumps whose capacity is higher than 7.5 HP, but the financial support will be provided by the government only up to 7.5 HP capacity. Since the subsidy can only be availed once, the farmers would be better off by getting maximum capacity solar pumps installed on their lands as these pumps would last them a long time.