The PM Kusum Scheme (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan) is an Indian Government program that seeks to improve the utility, both socially and economically, of farmer enterprises through renewable power. The program began in 2019 with the aim of assist farmers to improve sustainable agriculture and delivery of water supply for crops through applying solar energy instead of consuming diesel & electricity.
In this article, the authors focus on Kusum Scheme explaining its goal and advantage, the steps involved in its rolling out and the achievements so far.
What is PM Kusum Scheme?
The PM Kusum Scheme was introduced to meet dual objectives: increasing India’s RE generation and contributing towards providing affordable irrigation services to farmers. It has three major components:
- Component-A: Photovoltaic power system: Power segregated and interconnected plants with solar energy buttressed by an independent power source with capacity of 2MW and above that injects electricity directly into the power grid.
- Component-B: Fan direct solar home lighting systems with a special emphasis on standalone solar agricultural pumps for irrigation of off-grid sectors.
- Component-C: Converting conventional grid – connected agriculture pumps into solar pumps to increase efficiency and contribute towards lower power utilization.
Objectives of PM Kusum Scheme
Unfortunately, the scheme is set with vision towards sustainability and self-sufficiency in agriculture. Key objectives include:
- Promoting Solar Energy: Promoting the consumption of renewable sources of energy in agriculture.
- Reducing Carbon Footprint: Reducing operating reliance in diesel pump for use to remain environmentally friendly from the aspect of emissions.
- Increasing Farmers’ Income: Enabling farmers to feed excess electricity back to the grid thereby earning additional income.
- Enhancing Irrigation Efficiency: Provision of constant electricity to support pump the borehole using solar pump.
- Boosting Rural Economy: Directly, through the development of employment opportunities within the renewable energy industry mainly in rural regions.
Benefits of PM Kusum Scheme
PM Kusum Scheme is going to revolutionize the agricultural and energy sectors of India. Here’s a breakdown of its significant benefits:
- Cost Savings: Farmers reduce on the amount of diesel and electricity they use.
- Income Generation: Inadequate solar energy generated by farmers can be fed back to the gird to increase extra earnings.
- Energy Security: Solar electricity promotes availability to power hence enhancing reliability in the provision especially to remote rural regions.
- Environmental Impact: Sunlight replenishes itself thereby eliminating carbon emissions that end up causing climate change.
- Employment Opportunities: Putting into practice and sustaining solar panels creates employments within villages.
Analysis of Implementation Process of PM Kusum Scheme
The ‘PM Kusum Scheme’ is financed by the Ministry of New and Renewables Energy and is being executed through engagement of state Governments, solar energy developers and farmers. The process includes:
Step 1: Application
Applicants for the scheme include farmers, who can apply through the official website of the scheme or through state government’s nodal agencies. The application contains simple fields such as Aadhaar, land documents and bank details etc.
Step 2: Approval
After the verification of the application form from the concerned nodal agency, the bank approves it concern with stated eligibility criteria.
Step 3: Solar Installation
It involves allowing the farmer to receive product, an authorized vendor installs solar panels and pumps within the farmer’s land.
Step 4: Operation and Maintenance
It is operated and maintained through a central control room and farmers are trained to run the system. In the case of Component-A the excess of power generated is closely regulated and sold back to the grid.
Implementation Process of PM Kusum Scheme
To avail of the benefits of this scheme, farmers must meet the following eligibility conditions:
- Ownership of cultivable land.
- Accessibility of water for irrigation: Horticulture Crop production requires availability of water as one of the most important production factor.
- Readiness to pay 10% of the general cost of the project.
- Consent to regulate the condition of the solar equipment in line with the guidelines.
Challenges in Implementation
While the scheme has transformative potential, it faces several challenges:
- High Initial Costs: Even though most of them are heavily subsidized, the initial costs can act as a bottleneck to most of the small farmers.
- Land Availability: Solar installations need large expanses of space and are a problem in the rural areas where population density is high.
- Awareness and Accessibility: Some actual farmers in the rural areas are ignorant of the entire scheme, or some do not have internet access to submit their applications.
- Maintenance Issues: The timely maintenance of the solar equipment in the rural areas sometime poses a lot of challenges.
Success Stories: PM Kusum Scheme in Action
1. Rajasthan: A Solar Pioneer
Rajasthan is the chiefly implementing state in the PM Kusum Scheme, where more than 20,000 solar pumps are installed. These farmers are now able to effectively water their crops and sale energy to the utility for constant revenue.
2. Maharashtra: Empowering Farmers
Maharashtra’s solarized pump project has increased farm yields and decreased dependence on costly diesel powered pumps.
3. Gujarat: Solar Cooperatives
The government of Gujarat pioneered the solar cooperatives where farmers energize and market electricity to improve on their income.
PM Kusum Scheme Future Plans
The PM Kusum Scheme aims to achieve a very steep growth of renewable energy for agriculture within the country. By 2026-27, it aims to:
Solarize 4 MSP agricultural pumps.
- Deliver 816 MW of concentrated solar power capacity and 117 GW of photovoltaic capacity to help India meet its non conventional energy needs.
- Reduce CO2 emissions by 27 million tons per annum.
Conclusion
By empowering farmers through renewable energy and irrigation system, PM Kusum Scheme is a light at the end of the tunnel for farmers of India. Overall, by boosting the use of renewable power, slashing expenses, and opening up incomes, the scheme is teeing up a better, more sustainable agri-food economy.
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