PM Surya Ghar - a great scheme that can be even better

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A great scheme that learns from the past efforts

PM Surya Ghar : Muft Bijli Yojna (PMSY) is a flagship government scheme launched by the prime minister on 15 February 2024.  PMSY aims to add rooftop solar to 1 crore households and is supported by over 75,000 crores in budget allocation. It is the government’s third attempt at significantly encouraging rooftop solar deployment.  This attempt takes many lessons from all previous efforts towards distributed solar energy generation and utilisation.

  • There is a single national portal (https://www.pmsuryaghar.gov.in/) that allows the entire application to deployment.  The portal integrates with portals of the many DISCOMs.  All aspects from registration, application, approvals, finding vendors, inspection of completion, subsidy, loans and grievance management is integrated into this single portal.
  • It sets a simplified and standardised process of application and approval.
  • The deployments are performed by installers empanelled with the portal and the DISCOMs.  This allows for private participation.  This is evident from the fact that private vendors are separately advertising and approaching prospective beneficiaries.
  • The portal provides extensive training materials and details on the various aspects involved.
  • The scheme is supported by substantial subsidy that has been budgeted.
  • While the subsidy may not cover the entire cost, financing is enabled via Jansamarth portal integration as well as via participation of public and private banks directly.

That is, this attempt strives for success by utilising free market economics, public and private participation, simplification, support, nudges, and quality training material in an integrated framework.

Making it better

It seems hard to imagine that this can be improved.  One area that could be improved is to enable the participation of the multiple entities via a more open network on the likes of ONDC.  This may allow the multiple government bodies, DISCOMs, banks, vendors, inspectors etc to participate on an equal footing.  It may also enable alternatives to the one unified portal to provide an interface to the various participants, possibly furthering private participation and innovation.  Despite the efforts to simplify, the overall process is quite complex for a common citizen.  The progress is likely supported by vendors providing detailed assistance to the citizens in using the portals.  Open networks may allow other players to aid in this process as well.



Making it sustainable

It is great to create capacity, but for these systems to be effective, they need to run efficiently for 25 years. There has been significant thought added to this process already:

  • There is a mandatory warranty for 5 years.
  • Vendors are required to be empaneled and this requires a security deposit, which could be utilised in case of deficiency in service.
  • A vendor rating system is being envisioned to aid participants.
  • The operation is in open market - the expectation is that vendor choice is further aided by word of mouth recommendations or other review or reputation systems.

These efforts may still not prevent fly by night operators to come up with the aim of delivering sub-standard solutions.  The primary incentives may still be securing capital expenditure with less focus on sustained power delivery and efficiency.

Systems that can monitor and provide ratings based off actual performance of the systems and capabilities for open trusted reviews could go a long way in adding trust towards long term value creation.

Further innovation possibilities

Besides the equal participation, such an open network could foster innovations such as:

  • Availability in different Indian languages.
  • Simplified, more fit for purpose interfaces with possibly more assistance.
  • Education and volunteering efforts could be woven into the same system. Citizens could also seek expert advise.
  • Better traceability or visualisation of the process.  Imagine maps highlighting density of deployments or application success ratios.
  • Possibility to seek multiple quotations or options for deployment or financing in an integrated fashion.
  • Further innovations on deployments - for example enabling options for people who do not have a roof to avail subsidies via deployments elsewhere.
  • Alternative financing options via company CSRs or enabling people to gift deployments.
  • Tracking of not just the deployment, but the long term success.  Tracking efficiency of the generation over time and helping tackle any gaps.
  • Extensions to additional use cases like EV charging network, Battery Energy Storage (BES) deployment, etc. 
In a recent interaction Nandan Nilekani indicates that a new architecture is being envisioned focusing on renewable energy source integration, which would also allow for variable rates.  These are exactly the kinds of innovations that an open network can enable.

The onus of providing this value does not have to rest on one government department. Building on open networks can allow the various participants to come together to create a vibrant eco-system.

These innovations can provide a richer participation and celebration across the nation.  Open networks can be a significant enablers in this journey.  India has already proven this to be possible - the goal now should be to realize the potential.

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