PM KUSUM Scheme was launched by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to support farmers in installing solar pumps in rural areas and reducing their dependence on grids.
The scheme aims to add solar and another renewable capacity of 25750 MW by t022 with the central financial support of Rs 34422 crore, including service charges to implementing agencies.
The government wants to provide three crore solar pumps to farmers; these solar pumps brought under subsidy will replace all the present agriculture pumps running with electricity and diesel. KUSUM Scheme will provide advanced technology to farmers for generating power. The solar pumps have double benefits that will assist farmers in irrigation and allow farmers to generate safe energy.
The solar pumps will even comprise the power grid’s energy so that farmers can directly sell the extra power to the government and increase their income. About 20 Lakh farmers can set up solar pumps. The Finance minister also said that government is ready to help 15 Lakh solarized grid-connected pump sets.
Farmers can use their barren lands for solar energy generation, set up solar power plants, generate electricity, and make their livelihoods from it. Union Budget 2020-21 made a budget to provide Rs 48000 crore for the upcoming ten years, and allocation is in 4 segments.
KUSUM Project Costs:
These are the project costs.
- Component A: Rs 3.50 Crores per one MW.
- B Component: Rs 3.25 Lakhs per Pump.
- Component C: Rs 4.50 Lakhs per Pump.
Objective
- It aims to enable farmers to set up solar power generation capacity on their arid lands and to sell it to the grid.
- It also seeks to increase farmers’ income by allowing them to sell surplus solar power to the grid.
Documents Required for Scheme
- Aadhar card
- Land documents, including KhasraKhatauni
- Bank account passbook
- Declaration form
- Phone number
- Passport photo
Eligibility for PM KUSUM Scheme
- The beneficiary must be a farmer with an Aadhaar card.
- Farmer also must have a valid bank account.
Eligible categories under KUSUM Scheme
- An individual farmer
- A group of farmers
- FPO or Farmer producer organization
- Panchayat
- Co-operatives
- Water User Associations.
KUSUM Scheme Components
Component A
- Under the KUSUM scheme, workers grid-connected 10000 MW of decentralized renewable energy power plants on barren land.
- Farmers, cooperatives, Panchayat, Water User Associations (WUA), and Farmer Producer Organizations (FPO) will set up these grids.
- Power projects are set up within 5 km from the sub-station.
B Component
- Farmers in India supported installing stand-alone solar agriculture pumps worth Rs 17.50 Lakh under the PM KUSUM scheme.
- The pump capacity must be up to 7.5 HP to replace existing diesel agriculture pumps.
- The government will provide financial support for only 7.5 HP capacity, but the farmers can increase the capacity to more than 7.5 HP.
Component C
- The government of India wants to solarize 10 Lakh grid-connected agriculture pumps, and farmers are supported to solarize pumps with grid-connected pumps.
- The extrasolar power is generated and sold to India’s DISCOMs (Distribution Companies) at a pre-fixed tariff.
- With this generated solar power, farmers’ irrigation needs are also fulfilled.
Scheme Benefits
This scheme provides the following benefits:
- The Government started the construction of solar plants that generate an aggregate of 28,250 MW of power.
- The Government will subsidize 60% and give a loan of 30% of the total cost. This leads our farmers to bear only 10% of the total cost of installing solar panels and pumps.
- Per the KUSUM Scheme, our Govt. will provide subsidies to install state-of-the-art solar pumps. They improve irrigation as they hold 720MV of capacity.
- It allows our farmers to sell the extra power generated by the plants directly to our Indian Govt. Increase the income of our farmers.
- A landlord can get a stable source of income by utilizing barren and uncultivated land for a solar plant plan for 25 years.
- The solar plants will be above a minimum height in cultivable lands. This way, our farmers can continue with cultivation after installing the plants.
- It increases the use of renewable energy, helps to mitigate pollution in farms, and opens a gateway to eco-friendly cultivation.
KUSUM Scheme Features
According to the scheme, the main feature is to benefit farmers in two ways. Firstly they will get free electricity for irrigation. Secondly, the farmers can sell the excess power generated to the power companies and earn money by setting up solar plants in their vacant places.
- As the first phase, the government is spending 27.5 Lakh solar pump sets free for the farmers.
- The farmers must pay only 10% for installing solar power.
- The central government will provide a subsidy amount directly to the bank account of farmers.
- The power plants are set up at only wastelands for solar energy.
- The government will give the farmers 60% of the amount as a subsidy for solar pumps.
- Banks will provide 30% loan amounts to farmers under the PM Kisan Urja Suraksha Utthan Mahabhiyan (KUSUM) Scheme.
How to apply for PM KUSUM Scheme online?
At present, the official website is Kusum. Online is not working, and below is the previous process to apply online for PM KUSUM Yojana.
- Farmers have to visit the official website.
- A new page appears to click on the “Apply” option to avail of Solar Agricultural Pump Set Subsidy Scheme 2020-21.
- On the home page, click “online registration,” and the registration form opens.
- Enter the details like name, Aadhaar number, mobile number, email ID, username, set password, and click “submit.”
- The farmer will receive the message of successfully registering.
Note: The official website for the PM KUSUM Scheme is kusum.online, but the website is closed at present. Be cautious with the three fraud websites https://kusum-yojana.co.in/; https://www.onlinekusumyojana.co.in/; http://onlinekusumyojana.com/ detected and invited to apply online for the scheme. Farmers are advised not to provide any personal information for these portals.
What is the Significance of the Scheme?
- Increase Access to Energy:
- It incentivises the farmers to sell surplus solar energy to the states, increasing their income.
- The scheme is expected to increase access to electricity in rural areas and provide a reliable energy source for agriculture and other rural activities.
- Contain Climate Catastrophe:
- If farmers can sell surplus power, they will be incentivised to save power, and, in turn, it will mean the reasonable and efficient use of groundwater.
- Also, expansion of the irrigation cover by providing decentralized solar-based irrigation and moving away from polluting diesel.
- When implemented fully, PM-KUSUM will reduce carbon emissions by as much as 32 million tonnes of CO2 annually.
- Employment and Empowerment:
- The scheme expects to create job opportunities in installing, maintaining, and operating solar power projects.
- The scheme expects to empower rural communities by giving them control over their energy generation and distribution.
Future Plans with Kusum Scheme
Bring States Together: Consensus between the Centre and States is the key to the success of this decentralized solar power scheme. Any reform in India’s power space cannot occur without consensus between the Centre, States, and stakeholders.
Paying Solar Energy Pricing: For effective implementation and serious participation by stakeholders, the scheme should be more attractive in terms of benchmark prices given the challenges on account of higher costs of implementation and comprehensive maintenance.
Sustainable Farming: Apart from switching to solar power, farmers should also switch to drip irrigation mode, saving water and power with increased crop output.
Kusum Scheme Drawbacks
- Water table depletion
- Omission of Small and Marginal Farmers
- Logistics Issue
Helpline & Toll-free Numbers for Solar Panel Scheme
- Contact Numer: 011-2436-0707, 011-2436-0404, 011 – 24365666
- Toll free Number of KUSUM Yojana: 1800-180-3333
- PM KUSUM Scheme: Website
- Address: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Atal Akshay Urja Bhawan, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110 003, India.
- Email: jethani.jk@nic.in
FAQs
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
The subsidy given under the Solar Panel Scheme for new and improved solar pumps is Farmers have to spend 10% of the total amount, The central government will provide 60% of the amount, and Banks will provide the remaining 30% as a loan to the farmers.
The incentive is available to the participating farmers at Rs. 1.50/kWh for net injection.
Individual farmers/groups of farmers/ cooperatives/panchayats/ Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO)/Water User associations (WUA).