A rooftop solar installation changes a household’s relationship with its electricity supplier: some power is generated at home, and surplus can be sold to the distribution company. PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, launched on 13 February 2024, put a large central subsidy programme behind that change. Cabinet approval later that month provided an outlay of ₹75,021 crore and a target of one crore households. [1]
The scheme did not introduce rooftop solar support to India. The earlier Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Programme already subsidised residential consumers and offered incentives to distribution companies. Installers, households and state utilities were working within that system before the new programme. [2]
Paying for the installation
At the benchmark prices announced with Cabinet approval, central assistance was ₹30,000 for a one-kilowatt system, ₹60,000 for two kilowatts and ₹78,000 for three kilowatts or more. The scheme combined a national application portal, vendor selection and access to loans. A subsidy reduced the purchase cost; it did not automatically pay the entire installation bill. [1]
By 4 August 2026, the renewable energy ministry reported that rooftop installations were benefiting more than 50.06 lakh households. It also reported 14.8 gigawatts of commissioned capacity under the scheme and ₹28,024 crore released in subsidies. These were delivery figures, beyond applications or expressions of interest. They are an August checkpoint, rather than a live count. [3]
The ministry separately said nearly 19 lakh households were receiving zero electricity bills. That number was smaller than the total beneficiary count. The distinction is material to a scheme whose name promises free electricity: having a subsidised system and receiving a zero bill are different outcomes. Installed capacity describes the equipment’s rated output; it does not measure the electricity actually produced each month. [3]
What households reported
Research published by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water in June 2026 offered a view from consumers. Its telephone survey analysed 17,094 households across 21 states and one Union Territory. Among rooftop-solar adopters, reported bill reductions averaged about 71%, and more than 90% described a positive experience after installation. [4]
Those results came with limits. The survey covered self-owned dwellings, leaving renters’ circumstances outside its sample. Adopters were a small subgroup concentrated in relatively few states; the researchers described findings for that group as indicative rather than statistically representative. The savings therefore cannot be assigned to every beneficiary, or treated as the effect of the subsidy alone. [4]
The work continues after panels are installed. A separate CEEW study, drawing on discussions with more than 60 vendors, found that maintenance was often supplied in response to complaints rather than scheduled visits. Cleaning was typically excluded from the five-year maintenance provision, and service varied between vendors. [5]
For the household, that makes the installer and the service arrangement consequential long after the subsidy arrives. Periodic cleaning, electrical checks and attention to faults help keep the system generating. The panels on the roof begin the relationship; years of electricity production determine what it is worth. [5]