Govt plans to connect farmers with vendors for ease of solar pump installation

Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan Yojana was launched in March 2019 to increase farmers' income and provide sources for irrigation and de-dieselization of the agricultural sector.

The government weighs a proposal to connect farmers directly with vendors through a national portal for setting up of solar pumps under the PM Kusum scheme, the Economic Times reported on May 17. It will help farmers choose the kind of pump they need and reduce the time taken for installations.

The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (Kusum) Yojana was launched in March 2019 to increase farmer income and provide sources for irrigation and de-dieselisation of the farm sector.

"It is at the drawingboard stage. We want to improve the implementation of some parts of the PM Kusum scheme. It is caught up in a lot of tendering-related delays,” the report said, citing one of the officials.

As per the report, a national portal for solar pump installations may be on the cards, which is one of the three components of the scheme, just as the government did for the revamped solar rooftop scheme or PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, launched in February.

Through the national portal, the farmers may be able to place their requirement directly to the vendors, eliminating the need for tendering of the pumps by states, the report said.

The scheme consists of three components - Component A is for installation of 10,000 MW of solar capacity by setting up small power plants of capacity up to 2 MW, Component B to install 20 lakh standalone solar-powered agriculture pumps and Component C is for solarisation of 15 lakh grid-connected agriculture pumps.

The rationalisation is being discussed for installation and solarisation of agricultural pumps, the report said, adding that no change in the subsidy outlay is being discussed, however, the government may keep a benchmark for the sops.

Shakti Pumps in October last year announced securing a Rs 149.71-crore order under the PM Kusum scheme.