PM KUSUM Yojana

Know how PM KUSUM Yojana is transforming Indian agriculture. Read about its parts, advantages, opportunities, and how to apply for this solar program for the farmer targeted initiative.

Introduction

India being an agrarian country, has various problems before her in agricultural energy crisis inadequate and fluctuating incomes environmental problems. Due to these challenges and with the objective to advance sustainable development, the Government of India has initiated the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Utthan Surya Urja Program PM KUSUM Yojana. This interesting plan is to use the power of the sun so as to support farmers and stimulate the economies in the rural areas.

The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM KUSUM) Yojana is one of the revolutionary schemes started by the Government of India in 2019 to shape the agricultural sector with the solar energy source. This vast plan has the goal of offering fresh fresh energy efficiency to the farmers together with their improved incomes and the lessening of the pressure on conventional supplies.

Understanding PM KUSUM Yojana

PM KUSUM is a comprehensive program with three key components:PM KUSUM is a comprehensive program with three key components:

Component A: Solar Power Pumps Presents

Under this component farmers can also set up standalone solar pumps for the purpose of irrigation. To ensure the average consumers can afford, the government offers subsidies to those who plan on developing such systems. Hence farmers through replacement of diesel or electric pumps with solar pumps they can save a lot of money and at the same time they will be protecting our environment.

Component B: Portable Solar Panels that supports farmers

This component deals with supply of solar power packs to farmers for home usage. These packs are suitable for use in lighting, operating fans, and small appliances. In this way, farmers will be shielded from the fluctuations that are common with the electrical power grid and also be able to cut on cost of electricity.

Component C: Solar Power Plants on Wastelands/ Barren Lands

In this regard, the solar power plants are installed over the wasteland or the lands which remain non-cultivable. The electricity produced is then supplied into the common power network and the farmers who lease their lands for such purposes, get a continuous income. This component serves to generate electricity from renewable sources and as well contributes to creating employment in the rural areas.

Primary aim of the PM KUSUM Yojana

The primary objectives of the PM KUSUM Yojana are:

Minimizing on the utilization of the fossil energy in the procedures of irrigation through the encouragement of the solar energy.
Reducing on the cost that farmers use to incur when they are watering their crops through the help of the solar pumps
Securing the availability of water and energy for food producers throughout the country
In polluting the environment and protecting the environment and practicing good agriculture.
The measure proposed to increase farmers’ income by enabling them to supply excess solar electricity to the grid.

Benefits of PM KUSUM Yojana

The PM KUSUM Yojana offers numerous benefits to farmers and the agricultural sector as a whole:

Reduced cost of irrigation: It is evident that the use of solar pumps bring a lot of addition benefits in the sense that farmers will not need to be using dries which are costly or electricity from the grid.
Increased income: The extra electricity produced from the solar panels that are situated in the farmer’s land can be sold back to the grid and help farmers get extra income and thus they can overcome the problem of lack of source of income that they might face in their farming business.
Environmental sustainability: The scheme also supports the uptake of the use of solar energy, and hence lowers CO2 emissions and their effects on farming.
Energy security: The scheme stabilizes power for the farmers especially for their irrigation needs; they do not have to rely on the unpredictable goodwill of the power grid or rely on expensive diesel generators.
Empowerment of farmers: The PM KUSUM Yojana makes farmers capable of to play an active role in the RE sector, the farmers who were only consumers earlier now turn into producers of renewable energy.

Eligibility Criteria

As per the norms of the scheme of PM KUSUM Yojana, there are certain eligibility criterions that farmers have to fulfill and they may differ from one state to another. Generally, the following conditions apply:Generally, the following conditions apply:
Ownership of agricultural land
Bank account of recognized validity
Compliance with technical provisions of the scheme

Application Process

The application process for PM KUSUM Yojana involves the following steps:

Registration: For availing the benefits from the above said scheme the farmers have to get themselves registered with the nodal agency decided by respective state government.
Document verification: Some of the documents that are essential include, proof of land ownership, and bank details.
Technical assessment: If it is feasible or not to install a solar pump or a power pack is evaluated.
Subsidy approval: In other words, whether the client qualifies for the subsidy or not is approved or disallowed thereafter.
Installation: The solar system is installed by an authorized vendor and the consumer will have to purchase from the vendor the two spare batteries as recommended for each main battery.
Beneficiary payment: The rest of the total cost is assumed by farmer Machinery cost is high but the remaining amount is relatively low and fixed.

Implementation and Financing

PM KUSUM Yojana is being financed and executed by the central Ministry of New and Renewable Energy along with cooperation from the state Governments and farmers. The financial assistance for the scheme is provided in the form of subsidies and loans:

It is funded through 60 % of its cost that come as subvention from the central and state governments.
By the way, 30% of the cost are offered by the government as a credit.
The farmer is responsible for the rest of the 10% of cost.

By providing such a financial structure, the scheme is financially manageable by farmers in all the various economic classes a possibility that allows them to embrace solar energy without much financial strain.

Challenges and Way Forward

While the PM KUSUM Yojana has the potential to transform the agricultural sector, it also faces some challenges in its implementation:

Limited awareness among farmers: Many farmers may not be aware of the benefits and eligibility criteria of the scheme, hindering its widespread adoption.
Lack of skilled workforce: There is a shortage of trained technicians and installers who can efficiently set up and maintain solar pumps and power plants, which can slow down the implementation process.
Grid integration issues: Integrating a large number of solar power plants and pumps into the existing grid infrastructure may pose technical and logistical challenges.

To overcome these challenges, the government and stakeholders need to focus on:

Conducting awareness campaigns to educate farmers about the scheme and its benefits
Investing in skill development programs to train technicians and installers in solar energy solutions
Upgrading and strengthening the grid infrastructure to accommodate the growing number of solar power plants and pumps

By addressing these challenges and continuing to support the PM KUSUM Yojana, the government can ensure that the scheme reaches its full potential and transforms the agricultural sector in a sustainable and equitable manner.

Role of State Governments

Borrowing from this discussion, the state governments particularly have an important role to play in enhancing the success of PM KUSUM Yojana. They need to:

To educate farmers on the benefits of the scheme mainly to the holders.
Simplify the application process.
Furnish farmers and technicians with proper knowledge and training to perform all the necessary troubleshooting and management required in the fish farming industry.
Ensure provision of solar equipment that is easily accesible and possible to finance.
Oversee the roll out of the scheme and deal with challenge as they arise.

Mentioned below are the successful projects under the PM KUSUM Yojana

1. Madhya Pradesh Solar Pump Project:

It is a 50-MW solar PV plant in Madhya Pradesh which was completed in March 2017.

Location: Madhya Pradesh
Details: Chief Minister has been able to commission thousands of solar pumps under the scheme of PM KUSUM. Their has facilitated the farmers to have their fields irrigated without additional costs of electricity in contrast to conventional pumps. The project has not only solved the water provision for the irrigation purposes but also provided the farmers the opportunity to sale excess of energy to grid.
Impact: Some of the benefits that farmers highlighted included reduced current charges for electricity, higher crop yields as result of efficient use of electricity on irrigation.

2.Rajasthan Solarization Initiative

Location: Rajasthan
Details: Rajasthan has made drastic improvements in the solar application in the agricultural pumps. The state has opted for an installation of a number of standalone solar pumps; they are enabling farmers in the rural areas to pump water for irrigation irrespective of supply from the grid electricity. This project has proved most useful in regions’ where water was scarce such as dry areas.
Impact: It supplements the development of farmers allowing them to grow crops in the land that has been degraded, and therefore improving their income levels.

3.Uttar Pradesh has a number of community solar projects in the form of private development with a large number of MW involved.

Location: Uttar Pradesh
Details: Some of the ongoing community-based solar projects for PM KUSUM Yojana has been developed in Uttar Pradesh. These include projects whereby several farmers come together and organize themselves to finance the implementation of solar pumps and power plant which they use for pumping water for the crops and also for sell the extra power.
Impact: Such strategies have promoted unity amongst the people in the society and at the same time has acted as a source of steady income for farming communities thus improving their economic base.

4. Gujarat Solar Power Plant

Location: Gujarat
Details: It firmly established a grid connected solar power plant as part of the PM KUSUM scheme that consolidates power from a multitude of agricultural solar facilities. Solar energy has thus been incorporated into the state’s power system, and the farmers are in a position to generate revenue as they supply energy in the power grid while enjoying the tax credit rebates.
Impact: The project has rerduced the pressure on conventional sources of energy and has set the pace for other states who wish to carry out similar project.

5. Haryana Solar Pump Scheme

Location: Haryana
Details: Majority of the of the solar pumps developers have been installed in the districts of Haryana with maximum farming activity as the state has being very strategic to install them. The state government has intervened and provided a huge amount of subsidies towards the establishment of solar pumps hence encouraging farmers to shift to solar energy.
Impact: Farmers have realised less Operational costs and they have testified to increased availability of water for crops and hence increased production and incomes.

Conclusion

PM KUSUM Yojana is one of the futuristic policies which can turn Indian agriculture around. The scheme of promoting solar energy adoption among the farmers helps in enhancing the power security of the country, development in the rural areas and can also help in environment safety to a great extent. Nevertheless, the key hurdles have been identified as follows: As demonstrated, there is a strong willingness from farmers as well as other stakeholders to embrace this transformative program for successful implementation Thus, efforts from the government, farmer, as well as other stakeholders can help to overcome implementation challenges.

FAQ

Explain briefly PM KUSUM Yojana?

PM KUSUM is a governmental scheme that wants to exploit the solar energy option in the agricultural sector.

Inform the audience on eligibility for PM KUSUM ?

The loan is available to farmers with agricultural land/ plot/ house site, and other requisite qualifications.

PM KUSUM includes the following sub-schemes:

solar home lighting systems, solar power pumps for irrigation, solar power packs for farmers, setting up of solar power plants on wasteland.

This creates a situation where the benefits of PM KUSUM are as follows;

Lower operating expenses, higher revenues, environmental impacts and multiple win-wins for energy, steadier energy supply and better standards of living.

How to I can get PM KUSUM?

The application process is best done by contacting the nodal agency in the state of the country.