Sources familiar with the development told ET that the ministries of renewable energy and skill development and entrepreneurship have collaboratively developed a “skilling plan” for the ‘PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana‘, a government rooftop solar project designed to enable households to generate 300 units of electricity through grid-connected solar panels.
Launched in February this year, the scheme provides subsidies of up to Rs 78,000 to those interested in installing solar power generating units.
Green power play
A source was quoted as saying “The number of people to be trained may be increased, depending upon the requirement.” The source added that REC Ltd, the nodal agency for the revamped rooftop solar programme, is expected to partner with institutions such as the National Power Training Institute and the National Skill Development Corporation for this purpose.
Apart from skilled personnel, another obstacle to implementation on such a scale would be the requirement for a substantial number of vendors.
An official said that the government is also aiming to train 50,000 vendors in entrepreneurship. The official added that more vendors are anticipated to register on the national rooftop solar portal, as opposed to the existing system of registering with distribution companies.
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The renewable energy ministry has recently transitioned to a new portal and will soon initiate the national vendor registration process.
The PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, with an outlay of Rs 75,021 crore, involves implementation through power distribution companies and vendors with streamlined subsidies and collateral-free loans.
Within a month of its launch, registrations under the scheme surpassed the 10-million mark. Among the registered consumers, nearly 800,000 have applied for installations.
