The Ministry of Renewable Energy has issued a warning to farmers on Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha and Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) website against fake websites and mobile applications that provide fake online application forms and demand registration fees for installing solar water pumps under PM Kusum scheme. These websites are using domain names ending in '.org, .in, and .com,' such as www.kusumyojanaonline.in.net, www.pmkisankusumyojana.co.in, www.onlinekusamyojana.org.in, making it harder for farmers to identify as scammers. The official website is pmkusum.mnre.gov.in, which they can use to get official details.
Since its inception in 2014, the PM-Kusum has helped around 3.5 million farmers by providing them with solar-powered water pumps. Now, after the government's flagship PM Suryaghar Muft Bijli Yojana, became a hit with over 8 lakh applications submitted till last week, exceeding anticipations, the government is planning to scale up PM Kusum solar pump yojana scheme by introducing a national portal, in which farmers can directly submit their requirements to vendors, through national registration for solar pumps, Economic Times said in a report.
PM Kusum solar pump yojana is a broad initiative that provides subsidies to farmers to set up solar panels on agricultural land for creating electricity for self-consumption and to sell the excess back to the grid, provides subsidies to replace diesel-powered water pumps with solar pumps, and finally to solarise grid-connected agriculture pumps.
Component-A: This component allows farmers to set up Decentralized Grid Connected Renewable Energy Power Plants with capacities starting from 500 kW up to 2 MW on barren or cultivable land. On the barren land, these installations are envisaged just as an additional income source, when the power generated is sold to local DISCOMs at at 40 paise/kWh or Rs. 6.60 lakhs/MW/year, whichever is less. If set up on stilts, the crops can be grown beneath solar panels installed on stilts. Individuals or groups of farmers, cooperatives or Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO), and Water User associations (WUA) can apply for this component if the land on which the project is proposed to be installed is within 5 km from the nearest electricity substation.
Component-B: In some cases farmers or farm land may be in off-grid areas. They can apply for central subsidy support for installing stand-alone solar-powered agriculture pumps. They can also use the subsidy to replace diesel-powered pumps with solar alternatives. Financial assistance covers pumps up to 7.5 HP capacity, with central and state governments providing subsidies of 30 per cent each for the cost of pumps and the remaining 40 per cent has to be financed by the farmer or through a loan. In North Eastern States, Sikkim, Jammu & Kashmir, and a few other hill states, the central subsidy will cover up to 50 per cent of the cost, and the state bears 30 per cent.
Component-C: Individual farmers who already have grid-connected agricultural pumps are supported to solarise their pumps through component C. Solar PV capacity up to two times of pump capacity in kW is allowed under the scheme, the government guidelines say. Farmers can use that solar power for irrigation and sell excess energy to DISCOMs. The same subsidy structure from the government as in Component B applies here too.
On average, the cost of a surface solar water pump ranges from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 1.8 lakh for capacity up to 2 MW. All PM-Kusum solar pump yojana component schemes have been extended till December 31, 2026.
Farmers or those interested in setting up the solar pump can submit applications to DISCOMs through Discom's respective online portals. A processing fee of a maximum of Rs 5,000 per MW is allowed to be charged by Discoms. If the available capacity at the substation meets the demand of applicants, all applicants will get Renewable Energy Power Plants under subsidy. When demand exceeds the capacity of substations, a bidding process selects the ones that have submitted the lowest tariffs. The applicants should also get necessary approvals from the District collector before DISCOMS install the solar water pumps.
