What Is PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana?
PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana (often called the PM solar rooftop yojana) is the central government's rooftop solar scheme for homes, launched in 2024. It aims to help households get up to 300 units of free electricity a month by paying part of the cost of a grid-connected rooftop system. You apply on the official national portal, install through a registered vendor, and the subsidy is paid into your bank account after inspection.
PM Surya Ghar Subsidy Amount by System Size (2026)
The central residential rooftop subsidy under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana pays a fixed amount per kW with a hard cap at 3 kW. It applies to grid-connected (on-grid and hybrid) home systems only.
| System Size | Central Subsidy | How It Is Calculated |
|---|---|---|
| 1 kW | ₹30,000 | ₹30,000 per kW up to 2 kW |
| 2 kW | ₹60,000 | ₹30,000 × 2 |
| 3 kW and above | ₹78,000 (cap) | ₹60,000 + ₹18,000 for the third kW |
State Top-Up Subsidies
A few states add their own benefit on top of the central subsidy. The calculator applies these automatically when you pick your state:
| State | Top-Up | Cap |
|---|---|---|
| Delhi | ₹10,000 per kW | ₹30,000 |
| Uttar Pradesh | ₹15,000 per kW | ₹30,000 |
| Assam | ₹15,000 to ₹45,000 by size | ₹45,000 |
Solar System Price With Subsidy (On-Grid, 2026)
What a typical on-grid home system costs before and after the central subsidy. State top-ups in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Assam reduce the price further.
| System | Price before subsidy | Central subsidy | Price with subsidy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 kW | ₹52,200 – ₹63,800 | ₹30,000 | ₹22,200 – ₹33,800 |
| 2 kW | ₹1,04,400 – ₹1,27,600 | ₹60,000 | ₹44,400 – ₹67,600 |
| 3 kW | ₹1,56,600 – ₹1,91,400 | ₹78,000 | ₹78,600 – ₹1,13,400 |
| 4 kW | ₹2,08,800 – ₹2,55,200 | ₹78,000 | ₹1,30,800 – ₹1,77,200 |
| 5 kW | ₹2,61,000 – ₹3,19,000 | ₹78,000 | ₹1,83,000 – ₹2,41,000 |
| 10 kW | ₹5,22,000 – ₹6,38,000 | ₹78,000 | ₹4,44,000 – ₹5,60,000 |
Check Your Eligibility Before Counting the Money
The subsidy has hard preconditions that trip up many applicants:
- Residential connection in your name. The application is tied to your electricity consumer number; commercial and institutional connections are outside this scheme.
- Grid-connected system only. On-grid and hybrid qualify; a pure off-grid battery system gets nothing, which this calculator reflects.
- Registered vendor requirement. Installation must be done by a vendor empanelled on the national portal. A cheaper unregistered installer costs you the entire subsidy.
- Roof rights. Apartment residents need society consent for common-roof installations, and the sanctioned load on your connection should support the system size.
A 4kW Subsidy Claim in Lucknow
A Lucknow household installs 4 kW on-grid at about ₹2.32 lakh gross. The central subsidy pays the capped ₹78,000, and Uttar Pradesh adds its ₹15,000 per kW top-up capped at ₹30,000. Total benefit: ₹1.08 lakh, cutting the net cost to about ₹1.24 lakh, a 46% reduction. The same system in a state without a top-up would net ₹1.54 lakh, which is why the state field in this calculator matters.
How to Apply for the Rooftop Solar Subsidy
- Register on the national rooftop solar portal with your electricity consumer number and DISCOM.
- Apply for your chosen system size and wait for feasibility approval from the DISCOM.
- Install through a registered vendor; net metering is applied for after installation.
- After inspection and commissioning, the subsidy is credited directly to your bank account, typically within a few weeks.
Subsidy Mistakes That Cost Real Money
- Oversizing for subsidy that does not scale. Everything above 3 kW earns the same ₹78,000. Buy extra kilowatts for consumption reasons, never for subsidy reasons.
- Letting the vendor "handle" a non-portal application. If your application does not exist on the national portal under your consumer number, there is no subsidy. Verify the application ID yourself.
- Missing the state top-up. Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Assam residents sometimes receive only the central amount because the state component was never claimed. Ask your DISCOM how the top-up is disbursed in your state.
- Treating the subsidy as a discount at billing. It is a reimbursement after inspection, not a reduction on the vendor invoice. Budget accordingly.
Before applying, check what the system itself will cost with the solar panel cost calculator and how fast it pays back with the savings and payback calculator.