Delhi govt to give ₹30k subsidy for solar panels at houses

The enhancement will complement the existing Prime Minister Surya Ghar Yojana, the BJP-led Centre’s scheme under which a subsidy of ₹78,000 is given to people installing solar system in their premises

The Delhi Cabinet on Tuesday approved ₹30,000 subsidy for installing residential solar panels in Delhi , in what is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s push to encourage adoption of renewable sources of energy

Under its solar programme, the Delhi government plans to install rooftop solar systems at 230,000 residential units over the next three years at an estimated cost of ₹50 crore. (FILE)

The enhancement will complement the existing Prime Minister Surya Ghar Yojana, the BJP-led Centre’s scheme under which a subsidy of ₹78,000 is given to people installing solar system in their premises.

The Cabinet, which met at the Delhi Secretariat, also approved the procurement of advanced anti-pollution machines, including 250 water sprinkler machines integrated with anti-smog guns and 70 mechanical road sweeping machines. It also approved the renaming of ‘Chief Minister Scholarship for Meritorious Students’ scheme to ‘Lal Bahadur Shastri Scholarship for Meritorious Students’.

Under its solar programme, the Delhi government plans to install rooftop solar systems at 230,000 residential units over the next three years at an estimated cost of ₹50 crore.

“In a key decision taken during today’s Cabinet meeting, the Delhi Government approved an additional subsidy of ₹30,000 ( ₹10,000 per kW) for residential solar installations. This increases the total subsidy available to ₹1.08 lakh — the highest support offered under any such scheme so far. Specifically, for a 1kW solar system, residents will receive a ₹10,000 subsidy from the Delhi Government alone… The government aims to install 230,000 residential rooftop solar systems over the next three years,” the CM’s office said in a statement after the cabinet meeting.

The PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana is a flagship central government initiative which was launched in 2024 aimed at promoting rooftop solar installations and sustainable energy practices across the country. Under the scheme, households can avail subsidies up to ₹78,000 for installing rooftop solar systems.

“Under this scheme, an average saving of ₹ 4,200 will be made every month. This is a big step towards ‘Green Delhi’,” CM Rekha Gupta said.

Power minister Ashish Sood said that the enhanced subsidy will encourage more and more people to get solar systems installed at their houses, thereby making solar energy adoption easier.

The government will also partner with financial institutions to offer easy loan options for other installation costs of approximately ₹90,000. “This will enable residents to install solar panels without any upfront payment. It is a transformative step toward building a cleaner, greener Delhi,” the CM said.

On the Cabinet’s approval of the comprehensive sanitation and dust control plan, which also includes procurement of dump vehicles and water tankers, the CM said the range of equipment will be deployed on PWD-maintained roads to combat dust pollution. All these machines are expected to be fully operational roads before the onset of winter.

“The environment department will provide the necessary budget to PWD under the Pollution Control and Emergency Measures scheme for the deployment of the machines,” the CM said.

The Cabinet also approved the Directorate of Education’s proposal to rename the chief minister scholarship for meritorious students being run under the previous AAP government to ‘Lal Bahadur Shastri Scholarship to Meritorious Students’.

“In 2019–20, the ‘Lal Bahadur Shastri Scholarship for Meritorious Students (LBS)’ scheme was discontinued and restructured under a new name — Chief Minister Scholarship for Meritorious Students— by the previous government. The current government has now reinstated the original name of the scheme as ‘Lal Bahadur Shastri Scholarship for Meritorious Students (LBS)’, while retaining the existing eligibility criteria. Under this scheme, students from Class VII to XII studying in government schools who have secured 80% or above marks in the previous academic year are awarded a scholarship of ₹2,500 per annum,” the CM said.