Solar-Powered Agriculture: Transforming Indian Farms, Empowering Farmers

Abstract

India’s agriculture — the backbone of livelihood for nearly half its population — is witnessing a powerful shift. Instead of only relying on grid electricity or diesel for irrigation and farm operations, farmers are increasingly turning to the sun. Solarbased agriculture solutions under the PM-KUSUM scheme are helping make this shift a reality, enabling higher incomes, better productivity and greater resilience. A New Daw n in Indian Farming The government’s PM-KUSUM scheme (launched 2019) is aimed at enabling farmers to harness solar energy for irrigation and power generation on their farms. It has three main components: • Component A: Decentralized grid-connected solar or other renewable plants. • Component B: Installation of standalone off-grid solar agriculture water pumps. • Component C: Solarization of existing grid-connected agricultural pumps, including feeder-level solarization. • The targets are ambitious: 10,000 MW under Component A; 14 lakh standalone pumps under B; 35 lakh existing pumps solarized under C.