PM KUSUM

PM KUSUM

Subject: Government Schemes

Context: Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Ltd (RRECL) has commissioned the country’s first farm-based solar power project under the PM-KUSUM scheme.

Concept:

• The PM-KUSUM scheme was launched by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to support installation of off-grid solar pumps in rural areas and reduce dependence on grid, in grid-connected areas.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had in February 2019 approved the launch of the scheme with the objective of providing financial and water security.
• The government’s Budget for 2020-21 expanded the scope for the scheme with 20 lakh farmers to be provided assistance to install standalone solar pumps; another 15 lakh farmers to be given help to solarise their grid-connected pump sets.
• This will enable farmers to set up solar power generation capacity on their barren lands and to sell it to the grid.

Components of the PM-KUSUM:

• PM-KUSUM consists of three components and aims to add a solar capacity of 30.8 GW by 2022:
• Component-A: 10,000 MW of decentralised ground-mounted grid-connected renewable power plants.
• Component-B: Installation of two million standalone solar-powered agriculture pumps.
• Component-C: Solarisation of 1.5 million grid-connected solar-powered agriculture pumps.