We are delighted to present the fourth edition of the Solar Agri Bulletin. This bimonthly publication by the Advisory Group on Solarizing Agricultural Power Demand serves as a gateway to key developments in India’s rapidly evolving solar power agricultural sector.

In this special edition on annual budgets, we delve into the growing emphasis on solarizing agricultural demand in the Union and state budgets, covering allocations in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh.

We also explore the new policy initiatives in the states of Assam and Madhya Pradesh aimed at accelerating renewable energy adoption, including decentralized solar. Key tender updates from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan also offer valuable insights into the evolving solar landscape.

At the national level, this issue of the Solar Agri Bulletin highlights details of fund disbursement under PM KUSUM, updates on India’s expanding domestic module manufacturing capacity, and recent regulatory amendments to tariff-based competitive bidding guidelines for grid-connected solar projects.

This edition also features an expert column by Mallik E V, a Senior Associate at CSTEP, on leveraging multi-criteria decision making for land suitability assessment in solar deployment.

Guest Column

Incorporating Multi-Criteria Decision Making in Geospatial Analysis Can Elevate Land-Suitability Assessment for Solar Deployment

Land constraint is a key challenge in effectively implementing Component-A and Component-C—Feeder-Level Solarization of the PM KUSUM scheme. In this edition's guest column, Mallik E V explains that integrating multi-criteria decision making with geographic information systems can streamline land identification, optimize site selection, and enhance policy-driven solar deployment.

Mallik E V is a Senior Associate, Energy and Power, Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP).

Through its Components A and C (Feeder-Level Solarization [FLS]), the PM KUSUM scheme aims to promote decentralized solar energy to meet agricultural power demand during the daytime, thereby reducing reliance on conventional power sources. However, the effective implementation of this initiative faces significant hurdles due to land availability constraints, particularly in states with intensive agricultural activity and limited non-arable land.

The process of identifying and aggregating suitable land parcels for solar deployment has proven to be highly complex, marred by multiple issues, such as land-use conflicts, ownership disputes, policy-related hurdles, and potential environmental damage. Multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) can help address these challenges.

MCDM is a method of evaluating and ranking options in situations where several factors need to be considered simultaneously. It offers a structured and data-driven strategy for evaluating and prioritizing land parcels on the basis of multiple criteria. By integrating geographic information systems (GIS) with MCDM techniques, decision-makers can systematically assess land suitability while considering environmental, technical, economic, and regulatory factors.

For land-suitability assessment, the MCDM technique considers factors like land classification, proximity to substations, road accessibility, climatic aspects, and environmental constraints, assigning relative importance (weights) to these parameters. This can promote the efficient use of available land by prioritizing low-conflict areas, such as barren and degraded land, and excluding the land near forests and ecologically sensitive zones. As a result, it helps to prevent conflicts that might arise in attempting optimal land utilization for solar energy projects. MCDM also enhances grid integration and accessibility by ranking land parcels on the basis of their proximity to substations and road infrastructure, thereby reducing transmission losses and grid expansion costs.

MCDM fosters collaborative decision making by incorporating inputs from key stakeholders, such as state nodal agencies, distribution companies (discoms), landowners, and developers, and provides data-based insights for policy-makers. The technique can be enhanced to classify areas around substations as buffer zones, allowing for systematic land classification and leasing regulations set by relevant state revenue departments. By mapping survey numbers within these buffer areas, the process of land identification can be streamlined. This would also help the state agencies to establish ceiling rates for leasing, ensuring that farmers and landowners receive fair compensation and are not misled by developers. Such a structured approach would help simplify ownership verification and leasing terms, reducing legal complexities and facilitating a smoother deployment of solar systems/plants.

Given the unique geographical and policy landscape of each state, a state-specific GIS-based land identification platform that incorporates MCDM techniques can streamline decision making, enabling efficient land aggregation, reducing acquisition challenges, and accelerating the development and implementation of solar projects. Combining GIS and MCDM can be an effective strategy and can aid in meeting India’s clean energy targets sustainably and equitably.

Sectoral Developments

State-Level Updates

State Budgets

1. The Bihar government announced in its state budget that it has been providing subsidized power supply to agricultural consumers at a rate of INR 0.55/unit, with the total number of agricultural consumers reaching 5.42 lakh. Under the Jal Jeevan Hariyali Yojana scheme, launched in 2019, Bihar’s state government aims to supply dedicated electricity for agricultural activities through specialized feeders. Now in the third phase, the state is targeting 1,200 MW for feeder solarization. Previously, under Phase 1, tenders were issued for the installation of 800 MW of solar plants to power 1,235 feeders across 843 substations, while under Phase 2, tenders were issued for the solarization of 1,650 MW capacity across 1,121 substations.
2. Chhattisgarh’s budget has allocated INR 3,500 crore to provide free electricity for agricultural pumps with a capacity of up to 5 HP, aiming to ease the financial burdens on farmers. Additionally, INR 50 crore is set aside for the electrification of agricultural pumps.
3. Gujarat’s budget for 2025/2026 has set a renewable energy target of over 100 GW by 2030 to enhance energy security. INR 103 crore is designated for stand-alone off-grid solar agricultural pumps under the PM KUSUM Yojana scheme, while INR 2,175 crore is allocated for the Kisan Suryoday Yojana scheme to provide daytime electricity to farmers. Additionally, INR 987 crore is earmarked for new agricultural electricity connections in tribal and other areas. The Sagarkhedu Sarvangi Vikas Yojana scheme, which focuses on development in coastal Gujarat, will receive INR 132 crore for new agricultural electricity connections, among other initiatives.
4. Karnataka’s state budget has increased its financial support to 50% for PM KUSUM Component-B, reducing the farmer’s contribution to 20%. Approval for 40,000 solar pumps has been granted under Component-B, with the state government contributing INR 752 crore. Additionally, INR 16,021 crore has been allocated for 33.84 lakh irrigation pumps. The state, setting its own timeline for PM KUSUM Component-C implementation, has 1,192 MW in progress under Phase II, while Phase I targeted 1,302 MW, completing 21 MW by December 2024. Further, to encourage renewable energy adoption in the state, agricultural land conversion will be exempt for renewable energy installations.
5. In this year’s budget, Jharkhand announced its plans to install 10,000 solar pumps under Component-B of the PM KUSUM scheme, for which INR 150 crore has been allotted.
6. Madhya Pradesh's budget allocated INR 447 crore for this fiscal year to the Pradhan Mantri Krishak Mitra Surya Yojana scheme, which aims to replace existing agricultural pump connections with solar pumps. Under this new scheme, 30% of the pump cost will be covered by the Central government as central financial assistance, while farmers will bear 5%–10% as margin money. The remaining 60%–65% of the total cost will be the farmer's loan component, which will be borne by the nodal agency, MPUVNL, for which the budget has been allotted.
7. Maharashtra’s state budget made several announcements to support farmers and solarize the agricultural demand. Under the Magel Tyala Solar Power Pump scheme, INR 15,000 crore is allotted to supply solar pumps to 8.5 lakh farmers. An INR 14,761 crore subsidy has been allotted to Mukhya Mantri Baliraja Vij Savlat Yojana, providing free electricity to agricultural pumps up to 7.5 HP, benefiting 44.06 lakh farmers. In addition, an INR 1,594 crore pilot solar project will be implemented in Mhaisal, Sangli district, set to benefit around 75,000 farmer families in Sangli and Solapur districts. An INR 4,200 crore initiative was also announced to solarize all government irrigation schemes, including Janai-Shirsai and Purandar lift schemes.
8. In its first "green budget," Rajasthan has earmarked INR 400.16 crore for PM KUSUM Component-B to install 50,000 solar pumps. Additionally, INR 559.63 crore has been allocated from the state fund for solar-powered minor irrigation projects.
9. Tamil Nadu, in its exclusive agriculture budget, announced the Chief Minister’s Scheme of Solar Powered Pumpsets to boost farmers’ income and promote renewable energy in irrigation. Under this scheme, a budget outlay of INR 24 crore has been allocated in 2025/2026 to install off-grid standalone solar pump sets, which will benefit 1,000 farmers devoid of electricity connection, offering a 70% subsidy for small, marginal, Scheduled Caste, and Scheduled Tribe farmers and a 60% subsidy to other farmers.
10. Telangana’s budget allocated INR 12,600 crore for its new scheme, Indira Giri Jalavikasam for Tribal Farmers, which provides solar-powered pump sets to cultivate podu lands and benefits 2.1 lakh farmers. The budget also announced that farmers using drip irrigation with solar power will be prioritized for incentive subsidies to promote sustainable and cost-effective farming.
11. Uttar Pradesh, in its state budget, announced INR 509 crore for PM KUSUM for the upcoming fiscal year. The state has also completed 3,817 agricultural feeders out of the target of 4,680 under its feeder segregation plan.

State Tenders

1. In February 2025, Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (MPUVNL) issued a tender for the solarization of agricultural feeders totalling 1,500 MW in capacity through tariff-based competitive bidding at various locations across the state under PM KUSUM  Component-C (FLS). A unique aspect of this tender is the reactive power compensation regime, which will provide incentives or disincentives to successful bidders to support the grid in reactive power management.
2. MPUVNL has invited expressions of interest from scheduled commercial banks to submit their proposals for providing loans to individual farmers under Component-B of the PM KUSUM scheme for the installation of off-grid solar pumps. The tender targets the installation of 52,000 solar pumps, and the banks selected after this expression of interest will be impanelled for the distribution of loans for pump installations.
3. The Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission has approved the pre-fixed levelized tariff of INR 3.04/unit for the newly allocated additional capacity of 5,000 MW by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to Rajasthan under Component-A of the PM KUSUM scheme, taking the state’s allocation under this component to 6,500 MW. The implementing agency, Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RUVNL), has distributed this additional capacity among the three discoms—Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (JVVNL), Jodhpur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (JdVVNL), and Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (AVVNL)—at 1,500 MW, 2,500 MW, and 1,000 MW, respectively.
4. The power discoms in Rajasthan have recently issued multiple tenders under Component-A of the PM KUSUM scheme at a pre-fixed levelized tariff of INR 3.04/unit. The tender details are given below:
   • Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited, dated February 24, 2025, for 101.2 MW
   • Jodhpur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited, dated February 24, 2025, for 318 MW
5. The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) approved the adoption of levelized tariffs discovered through competitive bidding by the state power distribution companies for solar projects under Component-C (FLS) of PM KUSUM. The details of the orders are as follows:
   • Order dated January 27, 2025, a levelized tariff of INR 3.00/unit, discovered by Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Limited (DGVCL), was approved for three solar power plants aggregating to 3.0 MW capacity.
   • Order dated January 27, 2025, a levelized tariff of INR 3.00/unit, discovered by Madhya Gujarat Vij Company Limited (MGVCL), was approved for two solar power projects aggregating to 2.0 MW capacity.

State Policies

1. The Government of Assam, in February 2025, notified the Integrated Clean Energy Policy 2025, targeting the addition of 11,700 MW in renewable energy capacity by March 2030. The policy encourages distributed generation through feeder and pump solarization, among others. The policy will support the development of solar projects ranging from 0.5 MW to 5 MW via competitive bidding and will facilitate the solarization of existing grid-connected agricultural pumps. Decentralized solar power projects can be set up on uncultivable land by farmers, independently or with developers. The state government will issue schemes/programs to promote decentralized solar generation within the state.
2. Madhya Pradesh notified the Madhya Pradesh Renewable Energy Policy 2025, which aims to achieve a 30% share in the energy mix by 2027 and 50% by 2030. Effective until 2030, the policy emphasizes greening substations by supplying renewable energy to all associated feeders. Additionally, virtual greening will be implemented by generating renewable energy equivalent to the total demand of feeders at designated green substations.

State Investment Summits

1. Chhattisgarh Energy Investors Summit 2025 – The state government in Chhattisgarh organized the summit in Raipur on March 10, attracting investments worth INR 301,086 crore. Among other announcements, 675 MW of solar power will be installed at a cost of INR 4,100 crore under the PM KUSUM scheme, along with the installation of 20,000 solar pumps for farmers.
2. Madhya Pradesh Global Investors’ Summit, 2025 – MPUVNL launched the Standard Operating Procedures for Components A & C (FLS) at the 8th Invest Madhya Pradesh – Global Investors Summit 2025, organized by the state government in Bhopal on February 24 and 25, marking a significant stride toward the state’s ambitious goal of 10 GW in decentralized solar under PM KUSUM.

National Updates

1. The Union Budget 2025/2026 identified agriculture as one of the key pillars in India's journey toward Viksit Bharat. The budget has allocated INR 2,600 crore to the PM KUSUM scheme in the current fiscal year, reflecting a 26% increase from the previous year's actual expenditure of INR 2,525 crore. Notably, the actual expenditure in the previous fiscal year surpassed the originally allotted INR 1,996 crore.
2. Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the Honourable Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy of India, Shripad Naik, shared details of funds released under the PM KUSUM scheme across states. The funds under the scheme are disbursed in accordance with the scheme guidelines, based on the installation progress reported by the state implementing agencies. Maharashtra was the top recipient in the fiscal year 2024/2025, receiving INR 1,154 crore—accounting for 58% of the total funds released. The state witnessed a remarkable 250% increase in allocation from INR 330 crore in 2023/2024 to INR 1,154 crore in 2024/2025, with a cumulative INR 1,741 crore disbursed over the past 3 years. Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh followed as the next-highest recipients over the last 3 years, while Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, and Rajasthan saw increased allocations in 2024/2025 compared to the previous fiscal year.
     

3. According to the updated Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) released by the MNRE on February 17, 2025, India’s module manufacturing capacity stands at 67.18 GW, a decrease of 200 MW from the previous ALMM list. The latest ALMM lists 92 module manufacturers, as the registration of some module manufacturers has expired.
4. The Ministry of Power has made amendments to the Guidelines for Tariff Based Competitive Bidding Process for Procurement of Power from Grid Connected Solar PV Power Projects. The notified changes require the developers to maintain the committed minimum capacity utilization factor. Failing to do so for 2 consecutive years will be considered a default. Additionally, a new clause mandates that the signing of the power purchase agreement and power sale agreement, if applicable, should be completed within 30 days of the Letter of Award (LoA), with a maximum extension of up to 12 months, beyond which the LoA will be cancelled.

Publications

From the Archives

Solar Irrigation Pump Survey

Commissioned by: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)

For effective implementation of the PM KUSUM scheme, it is vital for policy-makers to assess the performance of solar irrigation pumps (SIPs) and identify best practices.

A study commissioned by GIZ examined the state solar water pump schemes preceding the PM KUSUM Scheme (2015/2016 and 2016/2017), evaluating the operational conditions, utilization, impact, and scheme processes for 955 SIP assets installed across the states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Odisha. The study indicated that Odisha had the lowest solar pump utilization at 39 days among the four surveyed states. In certain cases, though the overall impact of SIP adoption has been positive, gaps in application approval, installation, and after-sales service delays have hindered effective deployment.

A brief summarizing the key findings was published in December 2023 and may be accessed here.