India’s solar capacity has crossed 100 GW but PM-Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana is now the lever for rooftop solar. Examine progress, financing and integration challenges.

Introduction: India's installed solar capacity crossed 100 GW in early 2025 per MNRE; the PM-Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana was approved on 29 February 2024 with a ₹75,021 crore outlay to install rooftop solar in 1 crore households by FY27, anchoring household-level distributed generation.

Body: First, scheme mechanics — Central Financial Assistance of up to ₹78,000 per household, ~300 free units per month, collateral-free loans up to ₹2 lakh at 7%, and DBT-linked subsidy disbursal. Second, challenges — DISCOM net-metering caps, vendor onboarding bottlenecks, and finance access for low-income households remain binding constraints, alongside ALMM List I and II compliance. Third, grid integration — RE round-the-clock tenders and BESS PLI (₹18,100 crore) address evening-peak mismatch; PM-KUSUM solarises agricultural pumps; Bhadla and Pavagada parks anchor utility scale.

Way forward: Move to gross-metering above 10 kW, route Surya Ghar finance through Priority Sector Lending, co-locate rooftop solar with BESS, and finalise net-metering harmonisation under MNRE by 2027.