New Delhi, Jul 10 (IANS): The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) on Friday issued a fresh advisory against fraudulent websites seeking registrations under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) Scheme.
The advisory follows a spurt in activity of two new websites noticed by the ministry. These websites recently cropped up illegally, claiming to be a registration portal for PM-KUSUM Scheme. Web addresses of the said websites are https://kusum-yojana.co.in/ and https://www.onlinekusumyojana.co.in/.
The miscreants behind these websites are potentially duping general public and misusing data captured through these fake portals, it said.
While the government is taking action against these fraudulent sites, it has been advised to all potential beneficiaries and general public to be informed and avoid depositing money or data on these websites, it added.
Further, the MNRE advisory has also asked news portals to check the authenticity of websites claiming to be registration portal for government schemes before publishing them on digital or print platforms.
The administrative approval for PM-KUSUM Scheme was issued by the MNRE on March 8, 2019. Guidelines for implementation of scheme were issued on July 22, 2019. The Scheme provides for installation of solar pumps, solarisation of existing grid-connected agricultural pumps and installation of grid connected renewable power plants.
After launch of the scheme, it was noticed that few websites have cropped up, claiming to be the registration portal for PM-KUSUM Scheme. To avoid any loss to the general public, the MNRE had earlier issued advisories on March 18, 2019 and June 3 this year, advising beneficiaries and general public to refrain from depositing any registration fee and sharing their data on such websites.
The ministry has informed all stakeholders that PM-KUSUM Scheme is being carried out through implementation agencies in respective states. MNRE does not register beneficiaries under the scheme through any of its websites and therefore, any portal claiming to be MNRE's registration portal for the scheme is potentially misleading and fraudulent.