New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS): The Union government’s flagship programme, PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana has seen a significant surge of more than 50 per cent rooftop solar capacity in just six months since its launch in February, according to a report.

The PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana was approved on February 29 with an outlay of Rs 75,021 crore. The programme aims to increase the share of solar rooftop capacity. It will also empower residential households to generate their own electricity.

The Minister of New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi recently stated that the government has installed around 4 lakh rooftop solar connections so far, under the flagship programme.

This totals to new residential rooftop solar capacity of 1.8 gigawatts (GW) installed in the six month period.

A report by JMK Research and Analytics showed that this already amounts to more than half of India’s total residential solar rooftop capacity.

The report showed that till March, the capacity of residential solar rooftop installed in India was about 3.2 GW, or 27 per cent of the total units installed in the country.

The cumulative installed capacity stood at almost 11.9 gigawatts (GW) as of March, with the commercial and industrial segment accounting for about 60 per cent.

To boost households’ ability to opt for rooftop solar units, the government has increased the subsidy for the modules to 60 per cent from earlier 40 per cent. It has also provided a loan to households at a minimum rate of interest of 7 per cent.

The scheme is expected to be a game-changer in India’s solar story, enhancing the residential solar capacity to 30 GW by 2027, the report said. The scheme will be incremental in realising India’s renewable energy goals and net-zero targets.