Most subsidies end when the money is spent. But Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyaan, or PM-KUSUM, begins there. It converts public support into solar pumps and decentralised plants that can lower farmers’ energy costs, create income, and add clean power near demand. More than a welfare programme, it is an investment in rural energy capital.
India’s farmers have long sustained food security. PM-KUSUM gives them a role in energy security, too, as producers, land lessors, and users of local solar power. It lets them harvest sunlight.As an energy and infrastructure lawyer for public utilities and State entities, I have seen this reform through policy, regulation, contracts, and implementation. Few schemes unite them so directly.
Why distributed power matters now
The Central Electricity Authority’s 20th Electric Power Survey, published in November 2022, projects peak demand rising from 277.2 GW in 2026-27 to 366.4 GW in 2031-32. New loads, from AI data centres to electric mobility, make reliable capacity more urgent. The government estimates the data centre demand alone at about 17 GW by 2031-32. Large stations remain essential, but so does the need to generate energy close to agricultural loads.PM-KUSUM’s architecture reflects that logic. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s (MNRE) Comprehensive Guidelines, dated 17 January 2024, provide for decentralised plants of 500 kW to 2 MW under Component A; standalone solar irrigation pumps under Component B; and individual pump or feeder-level solarisation under Component C. Where an individual grid-connected pump is solarised, the farmer can use the power for irrigation and sell eligible surplus to the distribution company (DISCOM).The scheme now targets about 34,800 MW by 2026-27, backed by Rs 34,422 crore in central financial support. A Lok Sabha reply dated 22 July 2026 records that all three components will run until 31 March 2027.A 29 July 2026 Lok Sabha reply records that by 30 June, Component A had commissioned 1,726.92 MW; B had installed 11,49,988 pumps; and C had solarised 16,32,880 pumps and feeders. Against their respective national targets, that was about 17, 82, and 47 per cent of the target, respectively.Daytime solar supply can align irrigation demand with solar availability, cut diesel use, and reduce transmission or distribution losses by generating closer to agricultural load. Component A can create, lease, or power-sale income; individual pump solarisation can generate revenue from eligible surplus; and feeder solarisation can provide reliable daytime power.
