PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, explained.
India's flagship residential rooftop-solar scheme — central financial assistance of up to ₹78,000 paid directly into your bank account, applied for through one national portal. Here is how it actually works, step by step.
- Launched
- February 2024
- Outlay
- ≈ ₹75,021 crore
- Target
- ≈ 1 crore households
- Maximum CFA
- ₹78,000
- Applies to
- Residential grid-connected rooftop solar
Administered by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India.
How the scheme actually works.
PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana was launched in February 2024 with an outlay of roughly ₹75,021 crore and a target of solarising about one crore households. It is a Central Financial Assistance (CFA) scheme for residential grid-connected rooftop solar: you own the system, the subsidy reduces what you pay for it, and net metering credits the units you export against the units you draw.
The 'Muft Bijli' (free electricity) name refers to a reference outcome, not a blanket promise: a 1–3 kW system generating roughly 300 units a month can offset the entire bill of a household that consumes up to about that much. If your consumption is higher, solar cuts the bill substantially rather than zeroing it. Understanding your own monthly units is therefore the first step — it decides both your system size and how close to 'free' your bill can get.
Everything runs through one national portal, pmsuryaghar.gov.in — application, DISCOM feasibility approval, vendor selection from the empanelled list, net-meter request and subsidy claim. No official process requires an agent or a fee to apply. Our role is buyer-side: getting the application right the first time, and making sure the installer, the paperwork and the inspection do not stall each other.
The subsidy, in numbers.
The CFA is slab-based: ₹30,000 per kW for the first 2 kW, plus ₹18,000 for the next 1 kW — so a 1 kW system attracts ₹30,000, a 2 kW system ₹60,000, and a 3 kW system ₹78,000. The subsidy is capped at ₹78,000 regardless of how much larger the system is: a 5 kW or 10 kW system still receives ₹78,000. Housing societies and RWAs have a separate CFA track for common-area systems, computed per kW with per-house limits. The scheme also references collateral-free bank loans at concessional rates (around 7% indicative) for eligible households to finance the cost net of subsidy — actual rates vary by bank.
CFA rates are set by MNRE and revised periodically — verify the current figures at pmsuryaghar.gov.in before relying on them.
The process, step by step.
- 01Step
Register on the national portal
Create an account on pmsuryaghar.gov.in with your state, DISCOM, consumer number, mobile and email, and submit the application with your electricity-bill details.
- 02Step
DISCOM feasibility approval
Your DISCOM checks the application against your sanctioned load and grid feasibility and issues an approval. Only after this should any installation begin.
- 03Step
Install through an empanelled vendor
Choose an installer from your DISCOM's empanelled list on the portal. Using a non-empanelled vendor makes the installation ineligible for the subsidy.
- 04Step
Apply for the net meter
Once installation is complete, apply for net metering. The DISCOM installs a bidirectional meter that records both import and export of units.
- 05Step
DISCOM inspection & commissioning
The DISCOM (or its designated agency) inspects the plant, and a commissioning certificate is generated on the portal.
- 06Step
Subsidy paid to your bank account
You submit your bank details on the portal; the CFA is disbursed directly to your account — typically within weeks of commissioning, not to the installer.
Eligibility, plainly.
- Indian household with a residential electricity connection in the applicant's name.
- A roof (owned, or with the owner's consent) suitable for a grid-connected system.
- The system must be grid-connected — the CFA does not apply to off-grid/battery-only installations.
- Installation through a DISCOM-empanelled vendor, with equipment meeting the scheme's domestic-content and standards requirements.
- One subsidy per household connection; the CFA slab is computed on installed capacity up to 3 kW.
Where this scheme meets our work.
PM Surya Ghar (Residential): clear answers.
- ₹30,000 per kW for the first 2 kW and ₹18,000 for the third kW — that is ₹30,000 for 1 kW, ₹60,000 for 2 kW, and ₹78,000 for 3 kW. ₹78,000 is the maximum regardless of system size beyond 3 kW. Rates are set by MNRE and revised periodically, so verify current figures at pmsuryaghar.gov.in.
- It can be, if your consumption fits the reference case: a 1–3 kW system generating around 300 units a month can fully offset the bill of a household consuming up to roughly that amount. Households that use more still save substantially, but the bill does not go to zero. Your monthly units decide the outcome.
- The Central Financial Assistance is transferred directly into the applicant's bank account after the system is commissioned and inspected — it does not go to the installer. You pay the installer the contract price (many buyers finance the net cost with a collateral-free bank loan the scheme facilitates), and the subsidy lands in your account afterwards.
- Yes. The application on pmsuryaghar.gov.in is free and designed for self-service. Where an advisor like us adds value is in getting the details right the first time — correct consumer category, sanctioned load, vendor selection and documentation — because errors are the main cause of weeks-long delays.
- Yes — Group Housing Societies and Resident Welfare Associations have a separate CFA track for common-area installations (lifts, pumps, common lighting), computed per kW with per-house caps. The application still runs through the national portal, but the metering and consent structure is more involved than a single home's.