As of March 2026, India’s installed power capacity stands at 535 GW, with 54% coming from non-fossil energy sources.
Solar power is the largest non-fossil energy source, surpassing both wind and large hydro combined.
Indian states spend around ₹2.4 lakh crore annually on subsidizing electricity for agricultural and domestic users. To cut down on this massive expense, India’s flagship solar programs — PM KUSUM for agricultural feeders and PM Surya Ghar for household rooftops — aim to boost the adoption of farm and rooftop solar systems.
A typical home solar panel installation connected to the grid today costs about ₹30,000 per kW after subsidies under the ‘Surya Ghar Mufti Bijili Yojana’.
A 2-kW system can cover the basic electricity needs of a typical household. India’s rooftop solar capacity is now 23 gigawatt (GW).
Solar panels convert energy from the sun into electricity when photons excite electrons in silicon crystals, causing them to be freed and to flow from a positively charged layer in the solar cell towards a negatively charged layer, creating an electric current.
Inverters are used to convert this flow of electrons into a usable alternating current.
Solar panels work during the daytime when the sun is shining. Home systems that have batteries to store power cost 1.5-times more.
Also see - Clean Energy through Panchamrit