On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the “Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana,” a government initiative that would provide rooftop solar power equipment to one crore families.
“After coming back from Ayodhya, I have decided that our government will start the Pradhan Mantri Suryoday Yojna,’ with the goal of installing rooftop solar systems in one crore houses,” Prime Minister Modi said on X.
The Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana: What is it?
The goal of the Pradhanmantri Suryodaya Yojana is to equip one crore homes with rooftop solar power.
In addition to lowering middle-class and poor people’s power bills, the program will increase India’s energy independence.
A schedule for these installations hasn’t been provided, however. The Prime Minister released pictures from his meeting with Union Minister RK Singh and Secretary Bhupinder Bhalla, as well as other representatives from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
Only 2.2 GW worth of rooftop installations have been put in place in Indian households as of July 2023, according to a story in The Hindu that referenced data given to the Lok Sabha.
Why did PM Modi make this scheme announcement?
With a 356 GW installed capacity, India is the third-largest generator of electricity in the world. About 64% of this energy is thermal (54.60 percent from coal, 7% from gas, and 2% from diesel), with the remaining 2 percent coming from nuclear power, 13% from big hydro, and 21.8 percent from renewables (wind, solar, biomass, and waste-to-energy).
With aspirations to attain 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, at least 280 GW of which would come from solar, the government intends to buck the trend. By the end of this decade, the nation aims to produce 50% of its energy requirements from non-fossil fuels, according to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Additionally, the government plans to increase EV sales in India so that by 2030, EVs would account for 30% of private automobiles, 70% of commercial vehicles, and 80% of two- and three-wheelers. At COP26, Prime Minister Modi also said that India will achieve carbon neutrality by 2070.
PRIOR SOLAR PROGRAMS
The Rooftop Solar Programme was initiated by the government in 2014 with the aim of increasing the installed capacity of rooftop solar in the residential sector. This was achieved by offering distribution firms incentives and Central Financial Assistance.
The initiative, which is now in its second phase, is intended to raise rooftop solar installation capacity to 40 GW by 2026, according to The Indian Express.
The push for green energy in India
India, home to more than 1.4 billion people, is leading the way in mitigating the effects of climate change. The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that in order to fulfill the country’s increasing energy needs and address the issue of harmful air quality in large cities, India will need to increase its power infrastructure within the next 20 years.
India’s ambitious goals for green energy are meant to demonstrate to the rest of the world that we are headed in the right way. India’s installed capacity for renewable energy as of June 2023 is 176.49 GW, up from 115.94 GW in March 2018.
