The Budget 2025-26 makes an allocation of ₹20,000 crore, under ‘revenue expenditure’ for the PM Surya Garh Muft Bijli Yojana (PMSGMBY) -- a scheme that provides incentives for setting up small-scale rooftop solar plants on residential roofs.  

This is a huge jump from the ₹6,250 crore allocation made in the Budget for 2024-25, which stood increased to ₹11,100 crore in the revised estimates for the year. The near doubling of revised estimates over the budgeted amount for 2024-25 indicates the scheme took off quite well.  

As such, the government has once again increased the allocations to the scheme this year, by 80 per cent over the revised estimates for last year. 

The PMSGMBY was launched in February 2024 with a 4-year outlay of ₹75,021 crore, with a view to engendering 10 million small-size residential rooftop installations. As of December 2024, about 700,000 installations have been completed.  

If the money allocated for 2025-26 is fully spent, it would mean that as much as ₹31,100 crore, or 41 per cent of the scheme outlay would have been spent in the first two years.  

The Budget 2025-26 has given a substantial hike in the allocation for revenue expenditure to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, but almost negligible for capital expenditure. Allocation for revenue expenditure has gone up from ₹17,291 crore (revised estimates for 2024-25) to ₹26,549 crore – an increase of ₹9,258 crore, (54 per cent). The increase has almost entirely been taken away by PMSGMBY. 

The only other meaningful increase is for the National Green Hydrogen Mission, whose revenue allocation has doubled to ₹600 crore.  

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