PM-KUSUM stands for Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan. It is a central scheme of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy aimed at promoting solar energy in the agriculture sector, reducing farmers’ dependence on diesel and grid-based power, and increasing farmers’ income.

The scheme was launched in 2019. It was later scaled up and extended, and the current official framework aimed to achieve its targets by March 2026.

Main objective

The scheme seeks to solarise the agricultural sector by enabling farmers to generate solar power on their land, install standalone solar pumps, and solarise existing grid-connected pumps. Its broader goals are:

• providing reliable daytime irrigation power
• reducing dependence on diesel pumps
• lowering subsidy burden on DISCOMs
• promoting decentralized renewable energy
• creating an additional source of income for farmers.

The official target of PM-KUSUM is to add 34,800 MW of solar capacity by March 2026 through its three components.

Components of the scheme

Component A

This component provides for setting up 10,000 MW of decentralized, grid-connected renewable energy power plants of capacity 500 kW to 2 MW on barren, fallow, cultivable, or pastureland. Solar plants can also be installed in stilt-mounted form on agricultural land so that farming activity is not affected. Farmers, cooperatives, panchayats, FPOs, water user associations, or developers can participate.

Component B

This component supports installation of standalone solar agricultural pumps in off-grid areas. The scheme’s current structure provides for 17.50 lakh standalone solar pumps. These are meant mainly for farmers who are dependent on diesel pumps or do not have reliable grid access.

Component C

This component focuses on solarisation of existing grid-connected agricultural pumps. The current official target is 35 lakh such pumps. Under this model, farmers can use solar power for irrigation and sell surplus electricity to the grid, earning extra income.

Funding pattern

The scheme broadly works on a shared financial model involving central subsidy, state subsidy, and farmer contribution, often supported by bank loans. While the exact state-level pattern may vary in implementation, the scheme is designed to reduce upfront cost for farmers and make solar pumps financially viable.

How farmers benefit

PM-KUSUM is important because it connects energy security with farm income.

Major benefits include:

• reliable daytime electricity for irrigation
• reduced diesel cost
• lower irrigation expenses over time
• reduced dependence on erratic rural power supply
• opportunity to earn by selling surplus solar power under Component C
• better climate resilience through clean energy use.

Importance for the power sector

The scheme is also important from the perspective of the energy system.

It helps in:

• decentralised generation near the point of consumption
• reducing transmission losses
• reducing agricultural subsidy burden on state utilities
• promoting renewable energy in rural India
• improving DISCOM viability in the long term.

Latest progress

Official data placed in Parliament in March 2026 stated that, as of 31 December 2025, the installed capacity and progress under PM-KUSUM were:

• Component A: 720.91 MW installed against 10,000 MW sanctioned
• Component B: 9,75,227 standalone solar pumps installed, corresponding to 4,398.57 MW, against 13,15,190 sanctioned in that reply
• Component C: 12,01,552 pumps solarised, corresponding to 5,829.98 MW, against 35,82,884 sanctioned in that reply.

Another PIB release in March 2026 stated that under PM-KUSUM, more than 10 lakh standalone solar agricultural pumps and over 13 lakh grid-connected pumps had been installed, showing continued progress beyond earlier milestones.

Significance

PM-KUSUM is significant because it links three major policy priorities:

• farmer welfare
• clean energy transition
• rural energy reform

It is often seen as one of India’s most important schemes for combining agriculture with decentralized solar generation.

Challenges

Despite its importance, implementation has faced some challenges:

• slow progress under Component A compared with target
• financing and land aggregation issues
• uneven state-level implementation
• DISCOM-related procedural delays
• higher initial cost and awareness gaps among farmers. These issues are reflected in the gap between sanctioned and installed capacity in official progress data