PM KUSUM Scheme Achieved Only 30% Targets in Past 6 Years Since Inception: CSE Study

Patna: Contrary to government claims, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Evam Utthaan Mahabhiyaan (PM KUSUM scheme), has achieved only about 30% of its targets in the past six years since its inception. This was revealed in a study by New Delhi- based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)

The PM KUSUM scheme that was introduced in 2019 and to solarise agriculture in India. But it appears that its implementation is slow and lagging.

The CSE report, titled "Implementation Challenges of the PM KUSUM Scheme: Case Studies from Selected Indian States", was released on Wednesday in New Delhi, and focuses on gathering data and information, especially from the perspective of farmers on on-ground implementation. The report wonders that with its deadline year – 2026 – approaching fast, will the scheme be able to cover the remaining ground?

Nivit Kumar Yadav, programme director, industrial pollution and renewable energy, CSE, said in a webinar: “Our report outlines findings from surveys conducted by CSE in the states of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. With climate change exerting increasing impacts and at scale, it has become all the more critical to invest in sustainable practices, especially in important sectors like agriculture. In such a scenario, schemes like PM-KUSUM can drive India’s climate action – but only if implemented with care and caution.”

The scheme is divided into three components, (a) focusing on installation of mini grids on barren lands, (b) installation of off-grid solar water pumps to replace diesel water pumps, and (c) installation of on-grid solar water pumps to replace electric water pumps and installation of mini-grids for agriculture feeder solarisation. Most of the implementation has taken place under component (b), with Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh among the top performing states. Components (a) and (c)have seen minimal implementation, it adds.
 

The report points out that farmers who have opted for solar water pumps are satisfied, as it has enabled them to irrigate their fields during the day. It recounts the testimony of a beneficiary of the PM-KUSUM scheme from Aterna village in Sonipat district of Haryana, who says: “The solar water pump has eased farming activities. We used to get agricultural electricity supply on the basis of a time table set by the state implementing agencies, who would also set the timings during night hours in some weeks. Irrigation of land at night is inconvenient for us farmers. The addition of a solar water pump on our land has meant that we now have the freedom to irrigate our lands during the day without the threat of power cuts.”

Farmers who have moved from diesel or electric pumps to solar-powered pumps have found it profitable, but only if the pumps installed are of the correct size. Farmers in Haryana, says the report, are saving up to Rs 55,000 a year after shifting from diesel water pumps to solar variants.

One of the principal challenges that the scheme has faced in its implementation, as per the report, has been the availability of cheap electricity for farmers. However, this cheap electricity has its flip side – it leads to increases in a state’s subsidy burden. This access to cheap electricity leads to a lack of incentive for farmers to shift from electric water pumps to solar water pumps, it adds.

Farmers are often forced to opt for pump sizes that are bigger than needed for their land. According to Debajit Palit, professor of energy at NTPC School of Business in Noida and a panelist at the CSE webinar, the scheme needs to be tailored as per farmers’ requirements so that it proves financially viable for them.

“If pump sizes are based on the land size and water requirements of different areas, rather than keeping them uniform throughout the country, farmers could avoid the extra expenditure,” he said.

Another challenge is centralisation of the implementation model in some states. In Punjab, the report notes, the scheme’s implementation is overseen by the Punjab Renewable Energy Development Agency, as opposed to Rajasthan, where each component of the scheme has a different implementing agency.

Yadav said that to truly realise the potential of the PM-KUSUM scheme, a decentralised model is important. “State implementing agencies with the necessary knowledge about each component should be responsible for the components that are under their expertise,” he added.

The CSE report has recommended some measures to speed up the implementation of the PM KUSUM scheme. It suggested a decentralised implementation model and farmers should get the option to pay upfront costs in installments in order to make the scheme financially more viable for them, among others.