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PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana

What the central rooftop solar subsidy pays, who can claim it, and how to apply without getting stuck.

Last updated: 14 October 2026 · Luminity

PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana is the central subsidy for rooftop solar on houses. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) runs it, and households apply only on pmsuryaghar.gov.in. This page is a reading guide, not the application. The amount that matters is the one the portal shows against your consumer number.

As on 14 October 2026, the central rates below are those MNRE notified with effect from 13 February 2024: ₹30,000 per kW for the first 2 kW, ₹18,000 for the third kilowatt, capped at ₹78,000 (higher in special-category states). The guidelines allow that benchmark to be revised. Confirm the live figure on the national portal or with MNRE before you pay a vendor.

What the scheme is

The Prime Minister launched the scheme on 13 February 2024. The guidelines date the formal approval to 29 February 2024, and the household rules apply to national-portal applications from the launch. The published outlay is ₹75,021 crore, and the implementation period runs till 31 March 2027. Of that, ₹65,700 crore is the residential subsidy, called central financial assistance. The rest covers DISCOM incentives, model solar villages, local bodies and programme costs. Those heads are not extra grants for a household.

The aim is rooftop solar on one crore homes, and free or low-cost electricity of up to 300 units a month for those homes. The older Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Phase II programme was folded into this scheme. An application on or after 13 February 2024 is paid at PM Surya Ghar rates. One made before that date stays on the older rates.

A Press Information Bureau note of 24 March 2026 said that, as on 19 March 2026, installations stood at 26 lakh and ₹17,967.53 crore had been released. Use the portal for a later count. The solar and policy sections carry the news around the scheme; this page is the standing explanation.

Who can apply

You need a residential connection and a valid consumer number with the distribution company, or with the state power department where that is the supplier. The plant must be grid-connected and must sit on a roof, terrace or balcony, on an elevated structure, or be built into the building. Group and virtual net metering can qualify if the panels are on one of those surfaces and the DISCOM has approved the arrangement. An elevated structure needs 8 feet of clearance at its lowest point. A roof mounting needs 600 mm of clearance from the roof. Both are in the scheme’s technical specifications.

Commercial, industrial and government connections are out. So are off-grid plants. These guidelines also skip RESCO projects, where a company owns the plant, and projects a state agency funds for many consumers at once.

The subsidy is paid once. Shifting the same plant does not earn it again. If you add panels to a plant that already took a central rooftop subsidy, you can claim only the extra capacity up to 3 kW in total. The guidelines’ example: 1 kW already subsidised, later expanded to 4 kW, qualifies for 2 kW more, which is ₹48,000 at the general rate. That example covers both an older Phase II plant (where the first kilowatt drew ₹14,588) and a plant that took ₹30,000 under PM Surya Ghar itself.

Modules must be made in India from cells made in India. Anything else makes the plant ineligible, and the DISCOM checks at inspection. The portal’s “Give It Up” option drops the content rule because it also drops the subsidy.

How much the Centre pays

The subsidy is a share of a benchmark cost, not of the quote you accept. As on 14 October 2026, and with effect from 13 February 2024, the benchmark is ₹50,000 per kW for the first 2 kW and ₹45,000 for the next kilowatt. Sixty per cent of the first is ₹30,000 per kW. Forty per cent of the second is ₹18,000 per kW for the third kilowatt. Capacity above 3 kW gets nothing more, so the general cap is ₹78,000. The payment follows panel capacity, not inverter size. A battery, a small wind hybrid or a tracker does not raise it.

Plant capacity (as on 14 Oct 2026)	Central assistance (general)	Special-category states and UTs
Up to 2 kW	₹30,000 per kW	₹33,000 per kW
The next 1 kW, up to 3 kW	₹18,000 per kW	₹19,800 per kW
Above 3 kW	No further assistance	No further assistance
3 kW or larger, total	₹78,000	₹85,800

₹78,000 is the guidelines’ own sum: ₹30,000 × 2 + ₹18,000. ₹85,800 is the same sum on the higher rates (₹33,000 × 2 + ₹19,800). The guidelines work the general examples only, so confirm the special-category total on the portal. Those higher rates apply in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, the North Eastern states including Sikkim, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep. The benchmark there is ₹55,000 per kW for the first 2 kW and ₹49,500 for the next kilowatt.

Part of a kilowatt counts. The guidelines’ examples: 1.5 kW gets ₹45,000, 2.5 kW gets ₹69,000, and 6 kW still gets ₹78,000.

A housing society or residents’ association gets ₹18,000 per kW (₹19,800 in a special-category state) for common facilities, including EV charging. The cap is 3 kW per home and 500 kW for the society, and it includes plants residents have already installed. The connection must serve common areas, not the flats. A 100 kW common plant for 20 homes is subsidised for 60 kW, the lower of 20 × 3 kW and 100 kW, which is ₹10,80,000. The same plant for 50 homes is subsidised for the full 100 kW, which is ₹18,00,000. Both examples are in the guidelines.

State top-ups are separate

A state may add its own subsidy if it follows the central rules. The guidelines say that top-up should be paid through the national portal. Amounts are not uniform, and some states add nothing. This page does not print a state table. If a vendor quotes one combined “government subsidy”, ask which part is central, which part is the state, and whether the state line is on your application.

What happens to the bill

“Muft bijli” is the aim, not a promise that every bill becomes zero. Daytime generation offsets units you would have bought. Surplus units are settled under the arrangement your state commission has approved — net metering, net billing, gross metering, or a group or virtual setup. The scheme accepts all of these. The credit per surplus unit is a state tariff, and there is no national rate to quote. Fixed charges, duty and banking rules are also set by the state.

A December 2024 government note said a 3 kW system can generate over 300 units a month on average. A shaded roof will do worse. The same note matches about 0–150 units a month to 1–2 kW, 150–300 units to 2–3 kW, and higher use to more than 3 kW. Past 3 kW the central subsidy does not grow, and the portal calculator is not a shadow study.

How to apply

Apply at pmsuryaghar.gov.in. The guidelines describe no fee for that step. A demand for a “registration charge” is a reason to stop and file it yourself, or with a vendor you have found on the portal.

Log in with the house’s consumer number. The portal issues an application ID and is meant to fetch the connection from the DISCOM. Correct any wrong name or load before you continue.
Enter the category and the capacity. Use the portal’s calculator, then have the roof looked at. The two answers need not match.
Upload the latest electricity bill.
Pick a vendor registered on the portal and agree the design and the price. Unlike the older programme, the DISCOM does not empanel installers by tender. Upload the agreement. Disputes under it are between you and the vendor; the sample in the guidelines says MNRE and the DISCOM are not parties.
For plants up to 10 kW, the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020 treat the file as accepted without a separate feasibility approval. Until your state has switched that on, you still submit whatever papers the DISCOM asks for. Ask which version is live.
After installation, upload the system details and geo-tagged photographs. The vendor may help from your login. The file then goes to the DISCOM.
The DISCOM inspects, arranges the meter and signs the state’s metering agreement. Where a smart-meter contract under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme is already awarded, the DISCOM is to use that meter provider. It can return the file or reject it, with a reason.
Approval activates an e-token for the eligible amount. You redeem it on the portal. The guidelines say the money is to be processed within 15 days of DISCOM approval — from that approval, not from registration.

Payment goes to your bank account. If the plant was financed with a loan linked on the portal, it goes to the loan account first, and any excess goes to your bank. A loan is optional. Products are listed on the portal, including through Jan Samarth. The guidelines envisaged loans for plants up to 3 kW at about the repo rate plus 0.50 percentage point. A December 2024 note called them collateral-free loans at around 7 per cent. Use the offer on the portal that day, not the 7 per cent line from 2024.

A registered vendor must maintain the plant for five years from commissioning, including free repair of failed parts. A longer panel warranty is only what the manufacturer puts in your agreement. Official generation estimates assume a 25-year life; that is not a 25-year warranty from the Centre.

Documents

The guidelines ask for the following before the subsidy is released:

the consumer account number on the application
the electricity bill
the agreement with a portal-registered vendor
geo-tagged photographs before installation and of the finished plant
the metering agreement, after inspection
proof the bank account is yours — a cancelled cheque, an e-statement, a passbook scan, or a similar electronic document

Login uses a mobile number. A DISCOM may also ask for identity or ownership papers when it changes the sanctioned load or issues a meter. Those lists are local. Do not pay anyone for a document that is not on the portal checklist or in a DISCOM letter. The CFA guidelines do not name Aadhaar as a national requirement, so this page does not either.

Common pitfalls

A zero bill. The subsidy reduces what the plant costs. It does not freeze the tariff, cancel fixed charges, or make up for shade.
A quote that hides the wait. The Centre pays you, or your linked loan account, after commissioning. It does not pay the vendor under these rules. “Pay only the balance” can be a real discount or a gap you still have to fund. Get the full price, the subsidy assumed, and who waits, in writing.
An installer who is not on the portal. No registration, no central subsidy. Check the name before you transfer money.
The wrong modules. One module that fails the India-made cell-and-module rule is enough for a refusal. Keep the domestic-content papers.
Someone else’s bank account. The account has to be the consumer on the electricity connection. Sort a mismatch before inspection.
Sanctioned load. The national guidelines do not say the plant must be smaller than the sanctioned load. Many state codes do, or they require a load enhancement first. Ask the DISCOM before you buy a larger system.
Sizing only to the cap. Three kilowatts draws the full central grant. It is the wrong plant if the roof cannot take it, or if daytime use is much higher. Above 3 kW you pay the extra yourself.
An old Phase II file. Applications from before 13 February 2024 were on the earlier, lower rates, and MNRE later amended the window for those claims. Check the portal status yourself before paying against an old file.
A forwarded state subsidy. Another state’s top-up is not yours. The figure on your application is.

Questions people ask

How much central subsidy do I get for 1 kW, 2 kW and 3 kW?

As on 14 October 2026, from the 13 February 2024 notification, the general rate is ₹30,000 per kW for the first 2 kW and ₹18,000 for the third kilowatt, with nothing above 3 kW — so ₹30,000, ₹60,000 and ₹78,000. Special-category states get ₹33,000 and ₹19,800 per kW. Part of a kilowatt is paid on the module capacity. Confirm the live figure on the portal.

Is the electricity actually free?

The aim is free or low-cost power of up to 300 units a month, not a zero bill in every home. Savings depend on the plant, the roof, your use and how your state settles surplus units. Fixed charges are a state matter.

Which states get the higher central rate?

Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, the North Eastern states including Sikkim, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep. The rate there is ₹33,000 per kW for the first 2 kW and ₹19,800 for the next 1 kW. Any state top-up is separate.

Can I claim for a plant larger than 3 kW?

You can install more than 3 kW if the roof and the DISCOM allow it. The central subsidy does not rise past 3 kW. On the general rate it stays at ₹78,000, including when panels are added later.

Who cannot claim?

Commercial, industrial and government connections, off-grid plants, and RESCO projects owned by a third party. Modules not made in India from Indian cells are ineligible unless you forgo the subsidy. Moving an existing plant does not earn it again.

When is the money paid?

After installation, DISCOM inspection and redemption of the e-token. The guidelines say it is processed within 15 days of that approval, into your bank account or, for a portal-linked loan, the loan account. Registering does not release it.

What if my state also offers a rooftop subsidy?

A state may add its own amount, through the national portal, and the amounts differ. Some states add nothing. Use the figure on your application.

I took a rooftop subsidy earlier. Can I claim again if I add panels?

Only for new capacity that takes the whole plant up to 3 kW. In the guidelines’ example, expanding a subsidised 1 kW plant to 4 kW qualifies for 2 kW more, ₹48,000 at the general rate.

Sources

The benchmark, the rupee rates (as on 14 October 2026), the end date, the document list and the e-token are from MNRE’s operational guidelines for residential central financial assistance, effective 13 February 2024. The suitability bands, the “over 300 units” line and the “around 7 per cent” loan line are from the Press Information Bureau note of 5 December 2024. The 26 lakh installations and ₹17,967.53 crore are from the Bureau’s note of 24 March 2026, as on 19 March 2026.

Related reporting is on the solar and policy pages. If a number here disagrees with the portal, the portal wins. Corrections: [email protected].