MNRE Amends Guidelines to Streamline Incentives for Local Bodies under PM-Surya Ghar
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has amended the PM-Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana operational guidelines to streamline the disbursal of incentives to Urban Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions.
July 25, 2025. By Mrinmoy Dey
The scheme, launched on February 29, 2024, aims to install rooftop solar systems across one crore households with a total financial outlay of INR 75,021 crore. A key provision under the scheme earmarks INR 1,000 crore as incentives for Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) to actively promote rooftop solar adoption within their jurisdictions.
According to the updated guidelines, the National Programme Implementation Agency (NPIA) will now disburse funds to State Implementation Agencies (SIAs), who will be responsible for transferring incentives to local bodies within 60 days.
This replaces the earlier provision where ULBs and PRIs were required to upload account details on the National Portal. Alternatively, existing authorised databases from the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (e-Gram Swaraj via API integration) and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, or their state counterparts, were to be integrated to facilitate the direct transfer of incentives to the concerned accounts.
The amendment addresses the operational difficulties local bodies faced in receiving incentives directly from the central portal and simplifies the process.
Local bodies are expected to lead awareness campaigns, conduct outreach activities like door-to-door mobilisation, host solar melas, and coordinate with key stakeholders such as DISCOMs, banks, contractors, and community groups for quick processing of applications and implementation in their areas.
Each residential rooftop solar installation within a local body’s jurisdiction, eligible under the scheme, will fetch an INR 1,000 incentive for the respective ULB or PRI. District-level committees headed by District Magistrates will monitor the effectiveness of local body efforts.
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