Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Dec 6: Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has achieved a historic milestone by installing 45,911 solar agricultural pumps in the span of just one month, earning recognition in the Guinness Book of World Records. The certificate will be presented on Friday at the Auric Grounds in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, along with senior ministers Atul Save, Sanjay Shirsat and Meghna Bordikar, will attend the ceremony.

The record feat has come under the government’s ambitious “Solar Pump for All” scheme, aimed at providing farmers with assured daytime electricity for irrigation. Farmers receive a 30% subsidy from the central government and 60% from the state government, paying only 10% of the cost. Scheduled caste and tribe farmers pay just 5%, with 95% subsidy support.

With solar-powered systems now operating independently of the traditional grid, farmers gain the freedom to irrigate when required. The panels are designed to produce electricity for up to 25 years, relieving cultivators from rising electricity bills. Maharashtra has taken a leading role nationally in the adoption of solar pumps, with the initiative gaining rapid pace over the past year.

The world record stands as a major accomplishment for the state’s clean energy efforts and a boost to the farming sector ahead of the upcoming agricultural season.