Uttar Pradesh climbs to third spot under PM Surya Ghar scheme

Uttar Pradesh has moved to the third position nationally under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana (PMSGMBY), with rooftop solar installations nearing 4.7 lakh and a daily addition rate exceeding 3,000 systems, as per a review chaired by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) Mission Director J. V. N. Subramanyam.

According to the scheme’s national portal, the state has recorded 4,69,192 installations and covered 4,74,022 households, with a cumulative installed capacity of 1,594.08 MW. Subsidy disbursal in the state has reached Rs 3,037.67 crore, reflecting the scale-up of residential rooftop deployment.

Officials said Lucknow district has emerged as the top-performing district in the country, with more than 86,000 installations. The progress was assessed as part of ongoing monitoring of state-level implementation.

The review also highlighted a financing model in Varanasi, where more than 1,000 households received rooftop solar systems without any upfront contribution. The gap beyond central and state subsidies was funded through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) support from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and other agencies. The Mission Director advised scaling this model for low-income consumers under the Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULA).

Mr. Subramanyam, along with senior MNRE officials and the Director of Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA), visited a 5 kW rooftop solar installation in Varanasi to assess execution on the ground. Discussions covered bottlenecks, including installation timelines, metering delays and banking-related issues. The state indicated plans to accelerate deployment further to secure the top national position.

Photo credit: MNRE/ LinkedIn