Loading… / लोड हो रहा है…
Loading… / लोड हो रहा है…
Bharatiya Janata Party · 2024
Claim
Lacks context
Delivery
Partly delivered
Installation is accelerating fast and is at about 40 per cent of target with one year to go. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy told Parliament on 29 July 2026 that the scheme aims for one crore households by 2026-27 on an outlay of ₹75,021 crore, and that '40,07,355 RTS systems have been installed, benefitting 48,21,986 households… as on 24.07.2026'. The pace claim is striking: covering one lakh households took months at the start and now takes 'around 7 days'. On the promise's own words — free electricity for poor households — the ministry reports 'over 18.93 lakh beneficiaries… to receive zero electricity bill… during any month/billing period', a formulation that means some months, not always, and the scheme itself is demand-driven and open to all grid-connected residential consumers rather than targeted at the poor.
“Zero Electricity Bill — We will provide free electricity to poor households under PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana.”No CAG performance audit published
No CAG performance audit covering this scheme has been published. The absence of an audit is not evidence that the claim is either accurate or inaccurate.
No CAG audit of PM Surya Ghar has been tabled. The figures here are the implementing ministry's own, with the zero-bill count reported by state distribution companies.
No audit period to plot — no CAG performance audit covering this scheme has been published.
40,07,355 rooftop solar systems installed benefiting 48,21,986 households as on 24 July 2026, against a target of one crore by 2026-27
Collateral-free bank loans are available at repo rate plus 50 basis points, currently 5.75 per cent. The subsidy and the loan both favour households that can meet the remaining cost, which is why a demand-driven design tends to reach the better-off first.
Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 152, Rooftop Solar Installations under PM-SGMBY — answer by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
The 2024 manifesto's promise here is one sentence under the heading "Zero Electricity Bill": "We will provide free electricity to poor households under PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana." The scheme was launched in February 2024, two months before the manifesto.
On installation, the record is strong and improving. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy told the Lok Sabha on 29 July 2026 that the scheme aims "to install rooftop solar (RTS) systems in one crore residential households across the country by FY 2026-27 with a total financial outlay of Rs. 75,021 crores", and that "since its launch in February 2024, a total of 40,07,355 RTS systems have been installed, benefitting 48,21,986 households across the country as on 24.07.2026."
The acceleration claim is the most striking sentence in the answer: "During the initial phase, it took a few months to cover RTS installations for one lakh households, and now, for the same coverage, it takes around 7 days." At that rate the remaining 60 lakh installations are within reach of the 2026-27 deadline, though the answer does not commit to it.
Two things qualify the promise as written.
"Free electricity." The ministry reports that "over 18.93 lakh beneficiaries have been reported by DISCOMs across the country… to receive zero electricity bill after installation of RTS systems under the scheme during any month/billing period, depending on their self-consumption of electricity." Read that carefully: it counts households that had a zero bill in some month, not households that pay nothing. Rooftop solar produces most in summer and least in monsoon and winter; a household can be at zero in April and paying in August. Nineteen lakh of 48 lakh benefited households have hit zero at least once.
"Poor households." The scheme is "demand-driven", open to "all residential consumers in the country… having a grid-connected electricity connection". A household needs a roof it owns, a grid connection in its name, and the ability to fund the portion of the cost the subsidy does not cover — a collateral-free loan at 5.75 per cent is available, but it is a loan. Nothing in the design targets poor households, and the answer publishes no income or consumption-slab breakdown of who has installed.
The term runs to 2029 and the scheme's own deadline is 2026-27. On installation the programme is performing well; on the specific promise of free electricity for poor households, the evidence does not establish it. Our verdict is lacks context.
BJP Sankalp Patra 2024 — Modi Ki Guarantee
“This Sankalp Patra outlines the collective aspirations and goals of our nation, by our nation and for our nation. As you have seen in the last ten years, it is Modi's Guarantee that every promise made is fulfilled… In the next five years, with your blessings, it is Modi's Guarantee that we will work 24 by 7 for 2047.”
Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 152, Rooftop Solar Installations under PM-SGMBY — answer by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
“The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has been implementing the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana (PMSG: MBY) since February 2024, aiming to install rooftop solar (RTS) systems in one crore residential households across the country by FY 2026-27 with a total financial outlay of Rs. 75,021 crores. The PMSG: MBY is a demand-driven scheme… Under the scheme, since its launch in February 2024, a total of 40,07,355 RTS systems have been installed, benefitting 48,21,986 households across the country as on 24.07.2026… While the electricity bills of consumers installed RTS under the scheme have been largely reduced, over 18.93 lakh beneficiaries have been reported by DISCOMs across the country, including the rural households, to receive zero electricity bill after installation of RTS systems under the scheme during any month/billing period, depending on their self-consumption of electricity… The pace of implementation of the scheme is increasing. During the initial phase, it took a few months to cover RTS installations for one lakh households, and now, for the same coverage, it takes around 7 days… Availability of collateral-free loan from nationalized banks at a concessional interest rate of repo-rate plus 50 bps, i.e., 5.75% per annum.”