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Solar energy
Solar energy: installed capacity and the schemes that grow it on rooftops, farms and water, the manufacturing chain from polysilicon to module, cell technologies, and the International Solar Alliance. Prelims has asked about the largest floating solar project in India and about solar water pumps.
UPSC has asked
- Prelims 2025: PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana and rooftop solar
- Prelims 2018: solar power tariffs and the Solar Energy Corporation of India
All 5 subjects shown; the 2 that changed from 1 to 15 August 2026 are marked.Show only these
Pradhan Mantri Surya Sarovar Yojana
Copy link to Pradhan Mantri Surya Sarovar YojanaPrelims and Mains
A reservoir carries no crop and costs nothing to acquire, which is the whole argument for floating a solar farm on it.
- The Cabinet approved the ₹5,070 crore Pradhan Mantri Surya Sarovar Yojana (PM-SSY), India’s first national scheme dedicated to floating solar.
- It targets 5,000 MW by 2030-31, is implemented by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), and pays up to ₹1 crore a megawatt on commissioning.
- Every project must carry at least two hours of co-located storage, 10,000 MWh in all, to reduce curtailment.
- About 700 MW already floats, led by 278 MW at Omkareshwar on the Narmada, against a potential the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) puts at about 102 GW.
Floating solar
- Takes no new land, sitting on reservoirs and other water bodies
- Water keeps the panels cool, and a cooler cell converts a little more of the light
- Shading the surface cuts evaporation from the water body
- Costs more to build, and must survive wind, waves and changing water levels
- May harm aquatic life and birds, and needs many agencies to agree
Land based solar
- Needs large tracts of land, which is scarce and costly
- Cheaper for each megawatt built, and simpler to install and maintain
- Panels sit in still hot air, and a hotter cell loses efficiency
What changed
Background reading: PIB, 2 Aug 2026 · The Indian Express, 24 Aug 2026: Floating solar: can it be India's next renewable energy success story? (opens in a new tab)
UPSC has asked
- Prelims 2022: the largest floating solar project in India
PM-KUSUM
Copy link to PM-KUSUMPrelims and Mains
The scheme agrivoltaics is being added to, which has so far worked on the pump rather than the field.
- The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM), launched in 2019, supports decentralised solar plants, standalone solar pumps and the solarisation of grid connected agricultural pumps.
About 29 lakhAgricultural pumps solarised
7.6 GWDecentralised solar added under PM-KUSUM
What changed
9 Sep 2026
PIB, 9 Sep 2026: The Farmer Who Has Always Fed the Nation is Now also Lighting it up, with the Annadata Becoming an Urjadata: Union Minister Shri Pralhad Joshi (opens in a new tab) · The Hindu, 9 Sep 2026: PM-KUSUM 2.0 announcement likely soon; agrivoltaics to get dedicated component (opens in a new tab)
9 Sep 2026
- Agrivoltaics raises solar panels high enough that the crop goes on growing underneath.
- The Minister for New and Renewable Energy said the next phase of PM-KUSUM will carry a dedicated agrivoltaics component, with PM-KUSUM 2.0 due shortly.
- It targets small and marginal farmers, Farmer Producer Organisations, cooperatives and panchayats, and land ownership stays with the farmer.
- One acre then earns three ways: the crop, power sold to the distribution company (DISCOM), and diesel not bought.
PIB, 9 Sep 2026: The Farmer Who Has Always Fed the Nation is Now also Lighting it up, with the Annadata Becoming an Urjadata: Union Minister Shri Pralhad Joshi (opens in a new tab) · The Hindu, 9 Sep 2026: PM-KUSUM 2.0 announcement likely soon; agrivoltaics to get dedicated component (opens in a new tab)
13 Aug 2026Updatenewly added
- The scheme has three components: A, decentralised plants of 500 kW to 2 MW set up by farmers, cooperatives, panchayats and farmer producer organisations; B, standalone solar pumps; and C, solarisation of grid connected pumps, including whole feeders. Component A has moved far more slowly than B, because a plant needs land, a grid connection, a tariff and a financial close where a pump needs only a tender.
- Because farmers cannot raise the equity, Component A has been moved under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund so that projects can draw subsidised loans.
Mains: once pumping costs almost nothing, a farmer has no reason to save groundwater, so solar pumps without groundwater rules raise extraction.
UPSC has asked
- Prelims 2020: solar water pumps
Polysilicon subsidy scheme
Copy link to Polysilicon subsidy schemePrelims and Mains
Panels themselves start further up the chain, with polysilicon, the first link in the solar value chain. The Centre began work on a subsidy scheme to build capacity for it in India.
- It aims to add 30 GW of polysilicon capacity by 2030.
What changed
PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana
Copy link to PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli YojanaPrelims and Mains
PM Surya Ghar, launched in February 2024, subsidises rooftop solar for one crore households, with free electricity up to a set monthly use and the surplus sold to the distribution company.
What changed
29 Jul 2026Update
- Since February 2024, 39.7 lakh rooftop systems totalling about 14,181 MW have been installed, from more than 75 lakh applications.
Mains: the package shows blended finance, where a sovereign loan, a concessional loan and a grant are used to mobilise private money.
The Hindu, 29 Jul 2026: India curtailed 8,133 GWh solar power to maintain grid security (opens in a new tab) · PIB, 28 Jul 2026: Over 48 Lakh Households Benefit Under PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana Since February 2024 (opens in a new tab)
11 Jul 2026New subject
- The World Bank committed $890 million to the programme: an $820 million loan, a $60 million concessional loan from the Clean Technology Fund and a $10 million grant, and it expects to draw in $4.2 billion of private lending.
The Hindu, 11 Jul 2026: World Bank commits $890 mn for solar rooftops in India (opens in a new tab)
Solar cell and module manufacturing
Copy link to Solar cell and module manufacturingPrelims and Mains
The Approved List of Models and Manufacturers requires government supported projects to buy listed equipment. List I covers modules and List II covers cells.
What changed
24 Jul 2026New subject
- Rules from 1 June 2026 require domestic cells, but India has module capacity of about 200 GW against cell capacity of 27 GW on paper, and module makers wait six to eight months for cells. Nearly a third of small module makers have halted output.
- India relies on China for about 95 per cent of its cell imports.
- The exemption from List II has been extended to 31 December 2026 only for net metering and open access projects.
The Hindu, 24 Jul 2026: India's solar push idles factories unable to shake reliance on China (opens in a new tab) · PIB, 18 Jul 2026: Ministry of New & Renewable Energy Extends Limited Exemption from ALMM List-II for Net-Metering and Open Access RE Projects till 31st December 2026 (opens in a new tab)