The PM-KUSUM scheme has emerged as a key driver of rural income enhancement and clean energy adoption, benefitting more than 20 lakh farmers across the country, the government said on Tuesday. The scheme enables farmers to become ‘Urjadata’—energy providers—alongside being ‘Annadata’, while also reducing their dependence on diesel and lowering input costs.
According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, PM-KUSUM is a demand-driven scheme, with capacities and fund releases linked to demand received from States and Union Territories, progress reported by State Implementing Agencies, and provisions under the scheme guidelines. Funds have been released based on implementation progress over the past three years and the current financial year up to November 30, 2025.
Under Component A of the scheme, farmers can lease their land for setting up solar power plants, earning up to ₹80,000 per hectare per year. For commissioned plants, the median average income is around ₹4.5 lakh per MW per month, providing a stable additional revenue stream for rural households.
Component B focuses on replacing diesel-powered irrigation pumps with solar pumps. With an assumed diesel consumption of 4.6 litres per day for a 5 HP pump and prevailing diesel prices of around ₹87 per litre, farmers are able to recover their investment in less than a year. This transition results in annual savings of at least ₹60,000 per farmer on diesel expenses.
Under Component C, farmers can lease land for solar projects and earn approximately ₹25,000 per acre per year, further strengthening farm incomes and promoting decentralised renewable energy generation.
The government said that more than ₹2,000 crore has been released under the PM-KUSUM scheme during the current financial year so far, taking the cumulative fund release over the past four years to over ₹6,300 crore. Maharashtra, Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh are among the leading states in terms of fund utilisation and beneficiary coverage.
As of November 30, 2025, a total of 20,42,443 beneficiaries have been covered under the scheme nationwide. Maharashtra leads with over 11.2 lakh beneficiaries, followed by Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana.
The details were shared by Union Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik, in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
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