Solar for the farm: pumps that don't drink diesel, land that earns.
PM-KUSUM subsidises three very different things — replacing diesel pumps, solarising grid pumps, and small power plants on barren land. The scheme is real and substantial; the difficulty is state-level paperwork and timing. We navigate both.
For a farmer running a diesel pump, the arithmetic is brutal and familiar: every irrigation cycle burns money, diesel prices only trend one way, and the pump is often the single largest cash cost of the season. A solar pump under PM-KUSUM Component B attacks that cost directly — the central and state subsidies cover a large share of the price, the fuel cost drops to zero, and the pump runs precisely when irrigation is needed most: sunny days.
PM-KUSUM goes further than pumps. Component C solarises pumps that already have a grid connection, so daytime pumping runs on your own generation. And Component A is the quiet opportunity: barren or uncultivable land — too saline, too rocky, too dry to farm — can host a small solar plant (typically 0.5–2 MW) whose entire output the DISCOM buys under a long-term contract. Land that produced nothing produces a pension.
The catch is administrative, not technical. Unlike the residential scheme’s single national portal, PM-KUSUM runs through state nodal agencies with application windows that open and close, state-specific subsidy splits, and empanelled-vendor lists that vary by state — terrain that has also bred fake ‘registration portals’ preying on applicants. Our work is to keep you on the genuine path: confirm which component and window applies to you, prepare the land and connection documents, file through the official channel, and manage vendor selection and installation through to a running pump or a signed PPA.
Three components, three different farms.
Component A — earn from barren land
A 0.5–2 MW grid-connected plant on uncultivable land, output sold to the DISCOM under a long-term PPA. For landowners, groups, cooperatives and panchayats near a substation. The deliverable is contracted income from land that grew nothing.
Component B — replace the diesel pump
A standalone solar pump for off-grid irrigation, subsidised by centre and state with the farmer's share often bank-financed. The strongest everyday economics in the scheme: every litre of diesel not burned is a direct saving.
Component C — solarise the grid pump
Existing grid-connected agricultural pumps (or entire feeders) get solar capacity, so daytime pumping runs on solar. Implementation models vary by state — individual pump solarisation in some, feeder-level in others.
From "which component?" to a running system.
- Component & window mapping
- Which component fits your land, water and connection situation — and when your state's next application window opens, tracked so you don't miss it.
- Document preparation
- Land records, connection details, identity and bank documents assembled to the state agency's checklist; for Component A, the title/lease clarity a PPA requires.
- Genuine-channel filing
- Application through the official state nodal agency or DISCOM only — and a firm steer away from the fee-charging fake portals MNRE keeps warning about.
- Pump sizing & vendor selection
- Pump capacity matched to your water table and crop cycle, and empanelled vendors compared on equipment, warranty and — critically — rural service reach.
- Component A project support
- Land assessment, substation proximity, indicative financials and coordination through sanction and PPA — structured for landowners, FPOs and panchayats.
- Installation to commissioning
- Installation oversight, commissioning documentation, warranty registration and an O&M arrangement that answers in irrigation season, not after it.
What we’ll tell you before you spend anything.
- Windows rule everything. PM-KUSUM applications only exist when your state opens a window. If yours is closed, the honest advice is preparation and patience — not a workaround that doesn’t exist.
- Subsidy splits vary by state. The 30/30/40 structure is a reference, not a promise; your state’s current split and eligible capacities are what count, and we verify them before you plan finances.
- Component A is a project, not a purchase. A megawatt-scale plant involves financing, title diligence and a utility contract. Rewarding — and not something to enter on a broker’s verbal assurances.
Where to go next
Farm solar: clear answers.
- Match the component to your situation: barren or uncultivable land you want income from → Component A (a 0.5–2 MW plant selling power to the DISCOM under a PPA); a diesel pump or no grid connection for irrigation → Component B (standalone solar pump); an existing grid-connected pump → Component C (solarisation). Most individual farmers land in B or C; A suits landowners, groups, cooperatives and panchayats.
- The reference structure shares the pump cost roughly as 30% central subsidy + 30% state subsidy, with the farmer covering the remainder — often bank-financed — and more generous splits in some states and the North-East/hilly regions. Exact shares, eligible pump capacities and timing are set state by state; confirm the current figures with your state nodal agency before planning.
- You lease or use your barren/uncultivable land for a small solar plant (typically 0.5–2 MW) and sell the generation to the DISCOM at a tariff fixed in a long-term power purchase agreement — turning unproductive land into a steady, contracted income stream. It requires land-title clarity, reasonable proximity to a substation, and project financing, which is where structured help matters most.
- Almost always no — MNRE has repeatedly warned against fake KUSUM registration portals charging fees. Genuine applications go only through your state nodal agency or DISCOM in announced windows, listed via pmkusum.mnre.gov.in. Never pay a 'registration fee' to a website; legitimate costs are the farmer's share of the system itself.
- PM-KUSUM installations come with mandated warranty and maintenance obligations on the empanelled vendor, but rural service response is the real-world variable. We factor service network into vendor selection and set up the O&M arrangement so a fault in peak irrigation season gets a response measured in days, not months.