Phase-II of the Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Programme

What is Phase-II of the Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Programme?

Phase-II of the Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Programme is a scheme of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to accelerate the installation of solar panels on rooftops across India. The programme was approved to push India's rooftop solar capacity sharply upward, with a strong focus on the residential sector, and it works by giving Central Financial Assistance (CFA), also called a subsidy, to reduce the upfront cost that a household pays to go solar.

The programme has two broad limbs. The first is a direct capital subsidy to residential consumers who install rooftop solar. The second is a performance-linked incentive paid to electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs) that add rooftop solar capacity in their areas. Together these were designed to make the household the anchor of India's rooftop solar expansion, while giving DISCOMs a reason to process applications quickly and connect systems to the grid.

In February 2024 the residential component of this programme was substantially enhanced and rebranded as PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, which raised the per-kilowatt subsidy for households and set up a single National Portal for applications. When people today apply for a household rooftop solar subsidy, they are applying under these enhanced PM Surya Ghar rates, which sit on top of the Phase-II framework.

How much subsidy does the rooftop solar programme give?

Under the PM Surya Ghar rates that now govern the residential segment, the Central Financial Assistance is structured per kilowatt of capacity:

• Rs 30,000 per kW for the first 2 kW of system capacity.
• Rs 18,000 per kW for the third kW.
• A maximum of Rs 78,000 for any system of 3 kW and above.

So a 1 kW system attracts Rs 30,000, a 2 kW system Rs 60,000, and a 3 kW or larger system is capped at Rs 78,000. The subsidy is paid directly into the consumer's bank account after the plant is installed and inspected. According to the National Portal, a suitably sized system combined with net metering can offset a large part of a household's electricity bill, with public communication citing up to 300 units of free electricity a month for an appropriately sized rooftop plant.

Group housing societies and resident welfare associations were covered under Phase-II for common facilities as well, and the DISCOM incentive limb rewards distribution utilities for the rooftop capacity they add. The exact incentive figures for DISCOMs are set out in MNRE's operational guidelines.

Who is eligible for the rooftop solar subsidy?

You can apply if:

• You are a residential electricity consumer with a valid connection from your local DISCOM.
• You own a house or have rights over a roof suitable for a solar installation.
• You have not already claimed a rooftop solar subsidy for the same premises.

You cannot apply for the household subsidy if:

• You are a commercial or industrial consumer. These categories can install grid-connected rooftop solar and benefit from net metering, but they are not eligible for the residential Central Financial Assistance.
• The premises has already received a rooftop solar subsidy.
• The installation is done by a vendor who is not registered on the National Portal, or the system does not meet the technical and net-metering norms.

Because the subsidy is tied to household consumers, tenants without the consumer connection in their name, and institutions that are not residential consumers, generally route their applications through the actual account holder or the appropriate non-residential channel.

What documents are required?

How to apply for rooftop solar under this scheme

1. Register on the National Portal at pmsuryaghar.gov.in with your mobile number, electricity provider (DISCOM) and consumer account number.
2. Log in and apply for feasibility approval for a rooftop solar plant.
3. Once feasibility is approved, get the plant installed by a vendor registered on the portal, and submit the installation details.
4. Apply for net metering; the DISCOM installs the net meter and carries out an inspection.
5. After the inspection report is uploaded, submit your bank account details on the portal so the Central Financial Assistance can be released.
6. Track the status of the application and subsidy through the portal or by calling the helpline on 15555.

How net metering works with this scheme

Rooftop solar under this programme is grid-connected, which is what makes net metering possible. A net meter records two flows: the electricity your household draws from the grid, and the surplus solar electricity your rooftop exports back to the grid when your panels generate more than you use. At the end of the billing cycle, the DISCOM bills you only on the net consumption. On sunny days a household often exports power in the afternoon and imports in the evening, and net metering settles the two against each other.

This is why the DISCOM is central to every rooftop application. Before installation the DISCOM grants feasibility approval, confirming that the local distribution transformer can take the proposed capacity. After installation it inspects the system and commissions the net meter. Only once the net meter is in place does the arrangement start crediting your exported units, and only then is the Central Financial Assistance released. A household should therefore treat the net-metering step as part of the same process as the subsidy, not a separate formality.

Why the residential focus matters

The Phase-II programme deliberately tilted support toward the residential sector, and the PM Surya Ghar upgrade sharpened that focus. The reasoning is that rooftops on homes are a vast, under-used resource: a single household system is small, but crores of homes together add up to a large clean-energy capacity without needing new land. By fixing the subsidy per kilowatt and routing everything through one National Portal with registered vendors, the scheme tries to make going solar a predictable, standardised decision for an ordinary family rather than a complicated project. For the household, the appeal is a one-time subsidised cost against years of lower electricity bills, since a rooftop system typically lasts well beyond the few years it takes to recover the net cost.

How the DISCOM incentive works

Phase-II did not rely on the household alone. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy built in a performance-linked incentive for DISCOMs, paid on the additional rooftop solar capacity they enable over a baseline. This was meant to fix the most common bottleneck in rooftop solar, which is the time DISCOMs take to grant feasibility and net-metering approvals. Households do not apply for this incentive; it flows to the distribution utility. For a consumer, the practical effect is that the DISCOM has a stake in processing rooftop applications and commissioning net meters quickly.

Help and grievance redressal

• National rooftop solar helpline: 15555
• National Portal: pmsuryaghar.gov.in for application, tracking and vendor lists
• DISCOM office: for feasibility, net metering and inspection queries

The residential subsidy is credited only through the National Portal to the consumer's own bank account. No vendor or agent can collect the government subsidy on your behalf, and no fee is charged by the government to register or to claim the Central Financial Assistance.

How to check your application status

Every stage of a rooftop solar application, from registration to subsidy credit, is tracked on the National Portal, so the portal login is the primary way to check status rather than a phone call.

1. Go to pmsuryaghar.gov.in and log in with the mobile number and consumer account used at registration.
2. Open the consumer dashboard, which shows the application as a sequence of stages: registration, feasibility approval, plant installation, net metering application, inspection, and subsidy disbursal. The stage that is highlighted or marked pending tells you exactly where the file is stuck.
3. If feasibility approval is pending, the delay usually sits with the DISCOM, not the portal, since the DISCOM has to confirm the local transformer can take the added load.
4. If the inspection stage is pending after installation, the applicant should confirm with the installer that the net-metering application was actually filed with the DISCOM, since installation and net-metering are separate steps on the portal.
5. Once the inspection report is uploaded and bank details are confirmed, the dashboard typically shows a disbursal status; the portal indicates the subsidy follows within about 30 days of successful inspection, so a status still shown as pending well past that window is worth escalating.
6. For a status check without logging in, or when the portal itself shows no update, call the national helpline on 15555 with the registered mobile number and consumer account number ready. The helpline can also connect an applicant to the concerned DISCOM for feasibility or net-metering queries.
7. If the DISCOM's own process (feasibility or inspection) is the bottleneck, a visit to the local DISCOM office with the application reference number is often faster than waiting on the portal, since the DISCOM updates its own system separately before the portal reflects the change.

Common reasons for rejection

• Consumer category mismatch. The Central Financial Assistance is available only to residential consumers. Applications filed against a commercial or industrial electricity connection are rejected outright. Fix: apply only against a connection billed under the residential tariff category; a home office or shop billed commercially does not qualify for the household subsidy.

• Premises already subsidised. A rooftop system already covered by a prior subsidy on the same premises cannot draw a second one. Fix: check past records for that consumer connection before applying; if the earlier system was small and a household wants to add capacity, confirm with the DISCOM whether incremental capacity is treated as a fresh eligible application.

• Feasibility not approved by the DISCOM. If the local distribution transformer cannot safely take the proposed system size, the DISCOM can decline feasibility, which stalls the application before installation even begins. Fix: ask the DISCOM for the sanctioned load and transformer capacity in the area, and size the proposed system, or accept a revised smaller capacity, so it fits within what the DISCOM can approve.

• Installation by a non-registered vendor. Systems installed by a vendor who is not empanelled on the National Portal do not qualify for the subsidy, since the plant and its components need to meet the technical specifications the portal certifies. Fix: choose an installer only from the vendor list published on pmsuryaghar.gov.in, and confirm the vendor's registration before signing any contract.

• Net meter not commissioned. Because the subsidy is released only after the DISCOM inspects the plant and commissions the net meter, an application where net metering was never applied for, or where the meter installation is incomplete, will not move to disbursal. Fix: treat the net-metering application as a mandatory follow-up step immediately after physical installation, not an optional add-on.

• Bank account details mismatch. The subsidy is credited by DBT, so an account number that does not match the applicant's name as registered, or an account that is inactive or not linked correctly on the portal, causes the disbursal to fail or bounce back. Fix: enter bank details carefully at the final step and confirm the account is active in the applicant's own name before submission.

• Roof ownership or consent not established. In shared premises, group housing, or where the applicant is not the sole owner of the roof, an application without proof of consent from co-owners or the housing society can be held up or refused. Fix: obtain and keep written consent from co-owners or the resident welfare association before applying, even though the document is not mandatory for every applicant.