KUSUM Scheme – India

The “Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahaabhiyan” Or KUSUM Scheme, announced in the Indian Budget 2018-19, will be placed for cabinet approval this month and is expected to be implemented by the first half of this year.

The KUSUM Scheme will grant more than 50,000 crore government aid to encourage farmers to use solar power. Solar power production of up to 28,250 MW can be achieved. The first part of the scheme will start with building 10,000 MW solar plants on land and providing 1.75 million off-grid agricultural solar pumps to farmers.

More details of the KUSUM Scheme from MNRE:

• installation of grid-connected solar power plants each of capacity up to 2 MW in the rural areas
• installation of standalone off-grid solar water pumps to fulfill irrigation needs of farmers not connected to the grid
• solarization of existing grid-connected agriculture pumps to make farmers independent of grid supply and also enable them to sell surplus solar power generated to DISCOM and get extra income
• solarization of tube-wells and lift irrigation projects of the Government sector.

The farmers can use their barren lands for generating solar power and can earn up to INR 60,000/ acre annually by selling the surplus electricity to state DISCOMs. This will provide an extra source of income to farmers who mostly live in hand to mouth conditions. They are also asked to use solar water pumps, wherein government will provide 60% subsidy which will be borne by Centre and States while 30% will be provided through bank loans. The farmers will only have to bear the minimal remaining cost.

How to Apply for Kusum Scheme

The implementation of the scheme is yet to be started. For the application, a dedicated portal will be designed in future where all relevant details regarding registration, eligibility, and documentation will be uploaded. Applicants will be required to fill a form and submit all relevant details.

Not only will this scheme help to uplift the social status of the Indian farmers, but can go a long way in improving energy efficiency and water conservation. At present India has close to 10 million water pumps running on diesel.