The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has announced the Scheme Guidelines for the implementation of the ‘Model Solar Village’ component under the PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana on August 9, 2024. This initiative focuses on establishing a Model Solar Village in every district across India with the aim of advancing the adoption of solar energy and ensuring that village communities achieve self-sufficiency in their energy needs.
The total financial allocation for this scheme component is ₹800 crore, with each designated Model Solar Village receiving a grant of ₹1 crore. For a village to qualify as a candidate in this competitive selection process, it must be a revenue village with a minimum population of 5,000 residents, or 2,000 for villages in special category states.
The selection procedure is based on a competitive evaluation where villages are judged on their installed distributed renewable energy (RE) capacity six months following the declaration of potential candidates by the District Level Committee (DLC). The village that demonstrates the highest RE capacity in each district will be awarded a central financial assistance grant of ₹1 crore.
The execution of this scheme will be managed by the State/UT Renewable Energy Development Agency, under the oversight of the District Level Committee (DLC). This structure ensures that selected villages successfully transition to solar-powered systems and set a benchmark for other villages across the country.
The PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana was approved by the Government of India on February 29, 2024, with the objective of expanding the share of solar rooftop capacity and enabling residential households to produce their own electricity. With a total financial outlay of ₹75,021 crore, the scheme is set to be implemented through to the fiscal year 2026-27.
