Parliament Question: Utilisation of off-grid solar pumps under PM-KUSUM scheme

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3659 ANSWERED ON 24.03.2026 UTILISATION OF OFF-GRID SOLAR PUMPS UNDER PM-KUSUM SCHEME 3659. SHRI SANJAY SINGH Will the minister of new and renewable energy be pleased to state: (a) the total number of off-grid standalone solar pumps installed under the PM-KUSUM scheme (Component B) since its launch in 2019 and the year-wise budget allocations, actual releases and utilisation of these funds; (b) the actual utilisation data of these solar pumps based on reports of remote monitoring system (RMS), including days of operation per year and solar energy generated versus utilised; (c) whether it is a fact that a significant proportion of these pumps remain idle for half the year or more, leading to under-utilisation of installed solar capacity and if so, the reasons therefor; and (d) the State-wise details of utilisation rates? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR NEW & RENEWABLE ENERGY AND POWER (SHRI SHRIPAD YESSO NAIK) (a) PM-KUSUM is a demand-driven scheme, and capacities are allocated based on the demand raised by the state. The responsibility of beneficiary selection and implementation is of the State Implementing Agency (SIA). As reported by SIAs, as on 28.02.2026, a total of 10,26,282 solar pumps has been installed under PM KUSUM scheme since its inception. The funds under the scheme are released based on the progress of installation reported by the State Implementing Agencies (SIA) and as per provisions of the scheme guidelines. The year-wise details of budget allocation and fund released under PM-KUSUM Scheme, as on 28.02.2026, is as follows: (Rs in Crore) Financial Budget Revised Expenditure Year Estimate Estimate till date 2019-20 - - 151.26 2020-21 1000.00 210.00 156.43 2021-22 997.30 690.26 406.04 2022-23 1715.90 1325.00 801.36 2023-24 1996.46 1100.00 996.33 2024-25 1996.00 2681.20 2,564.14 2025-26 2600.00 5000.00 3,826.43 (b) to (d) Solar agricultural pumps are used as per the irrigation needs of crops and, therefore, their utilisation varies during the year. It is estimated that the solar pumps are operated 150 days in a year and mainly operated during crop seasons. The usage is relatively lower during non-irrigation periods and also depends on various factors such as cropping pattern, rainfall and seasonal water requirement etc. The PM KUSUM Scheme also have the provisions of Universal Solar Pump Controller (USPC), through which farmers can use excess solar power generated from the solar pumps for other activities like operating chaff cutter, floor mill, cold storage, drier, etc. during the non-irrigation period. The state wise solar pumps synced on the national portal is placed at Annexure I. The analysis of available solar generation data indicates that more than 87% of solar pumps are used/operational during last one year. *****Annexure I Annexure I referred to in reply to part (b) – (d) of Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3659 for 24.03.2026 Solar pumps under PM KUSUM which are synced on national portal through Remote Monitoring System (As on 28.02.2026) Sr No. State Name Component-B (No. of pumps Installed) Installations Synced on National Portal 1 Arunachal Pradesh 6,99 561 2 Assam 1,066 - 3 Goa 200 - 4 Gujarat 15,558 15,558 5 Haryana 1,85,582 1,85,451 6 Himachal Pradesh 1,091 261 7 Jammu And Kashmir 4,154 2,783 8 Jharkhand 52,607 46,632 9 Karnataka 5,533 2,843 10 Kerala 8 8 11 Ladakh 265 - 12 Madhya Pradesh 7,672 7,100 13 Maharashtra-MEDA 2,17,966 2,02,880 14 Maharashtra-MSEDCL 2,95,000 2,15,139 15 Manipur 150 121 16 Meghalaya 98 1 17 Mizoram 40 - 18 Nagaland 244 65 19 Odisha 13,229 8,515 20 Punjab 17,879 15,676 21 Rajasthan 1,25,711 99,596 22 Tamil Nadu 5,176 5,152 23 Tripura 7,369 5,014 24 Uttar Pradesh 67,186 65,851 25 Uttarakhand 2,379 318 Total 10,26,862 8,79,525