Energy
Government schemes

Decoding the slow roll-out of solar-pump scheme: debt-ridden farmers, wary suppliers, sluggish states

Decoding the slow roll-out of solar-pump scheme: debt-ridden farmers, wary suppliers, sluggish states
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A farmer checks the water released in a wheat crop field which uses solar panels to irrigate the farmland in Ahmedabad, India on February 3, 2021.

Synopsis

Since its launch in March 2019, 359,462 solar pumps have been sanctioned under PM Kusum. But only 82,408, or 23%, pumps have been installed. While farmers are unable to make the 10% upfront payment to acquire the solar-powered irrigation pumps, companies are unwilling to supply to states where payments could be delayed.

By
8 mins read, Last Updated:
It was supposed to be a game changer for India’s farm sector. Farmers would have better savings. Irrigation of their land would improve. And the irrigation pumps at their fields would no longer pollute the environment. In March 2019, when the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) launched its mega solar-pump scheme — PM Kusum (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahaabhiyan) — the target was to install grid-connected solar

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