Is the Government Stopping the PM Surya Ghar Subsidy?

If a vendor has told you to sign this week because “the government is stopping the ₹78,000,” or a forward says the scheme is already dead, you are looking at a real deadline dressed up as a cancellation. Electricity bills are rising, and households that want rooftop solar are right to ask whether the money will still be there. The notification answers that more clearly than the forwards do.

The scheme is active and funded through the end of financial year 2026–27. What has changed since launch is enforcement. Domestic-content rules, portal checks, and crowded DISCOM inspection calendars are rejecting or delaying individual files. Those files get retold as “the subsidy has stopped.” The programme itself is still open and still paying.

Why people say the subsidy has stopped

Four separate things are circulating as one rumor.

Vendor deadlines that are not in the notification

Some installers tell a household the subsidy ends “this month” to force a signature. Urgency gets more reasonable as 31 March 2027 approaches, because installation and inspection take time. A claim that the Centre has already pulled the scheme is still false. Ask for the MNRE order. The order that exists sets 31 March 2027.

Non-DCR and ALMM rejections

Subsidised plants must use domestically manufactured modules made from domestically manufactured cells. That Domestic Content Requirement is an essential condition in the guidelines: one non-DCR module makes the whole installation ineligible. MNRE also applies its Approved List of Models and Manufacturers, including List-I for modules and List-II for cells, to plants that claim assistance. Households that accepted a cheaper imported-cell panel, then saw the claim refused, often describe the refusal as the government stopping payment. The payment rule is unchanged. The hardware missed it.

The Give It Up option, quoted out of context

Clause 5(p) of the June 2024 guidelines lets a consumer voluntarily forgo central assistance through a Give It Up option on the national portal. Someone who gives the subsidy up may install without DCR modules. The point of the clause is to leave assistance for other households, not to withdraw it. MNRE has also clarified that residential net-metering consumers who give up the subsidy, apply through the national portal, and stay inside the scheme period are exempt from ALMM List-II for cells until 31 March 2027. Cropped screenshots of that optional route became headlines about the Centre withdrawing support. Households that want ₹78,000 still have to install DCR equipment.

DISCOM inspection backlogs

The ministry told the Lok Sabha that, as on 4 August 2026, the scheme had benefited more than 50 lakh households. Applications are still arriving faster than some distribution companies can inspect plants and fit net meters. A delayed credit is a queue. Payment continues by Direct Benefit Transfer after the DISCOM report. In Kerala, that queue sits at the KSEB section office — covered in how to get ahead of the KSEB rush before March 2027.

When the subsidy actually ends

The scheme is time-bound. Clause 1(d) of the residential CFA guidelines says the implementation period runs till 31 March 2027. The original sanction, Order No. 318/17/2024-GCRT dated 16 March 2024, approved an outlay of ₹75,021 crore toward one crore households. Unless the Union Cabinet notifies an extension, this assistance structure closes with financial year 2026–27.

There is a second cap in clause 8(c). The portal is limited to 1 crore active applications. As on 4 August 2026, MNRE had received 77,44,376 applications. Applications received and applications still active are different counts, so 77,44,376 is the number submitted. Demand is already most of the way to the one-crore household target the Cabinet approved. A future extension would be a fresh Cabinet decision. MNRE has not notified one. Later phases of Indian rooftop programmes have often paid less per kilowatt, so an unannounced PM Surya Ghar 2.0 has no published rate to plan against.

Rumor and the MNRE record

Current subsidy slabs

These rates apply to applications under the guidelines in force since 13 February 2024. The subsidy follows module capacity in kilowatts. Inverter kilowatts are ignored. Battery storage can be added, and the central assistance stays on the module capacity alone.

Why waiting until March 2027 can miss the money

The subsidy is paid only after the rest of the file is finished. A typical path is:

1. Register on the national portal with the electricity consumer number.
2. Get technical feasibility from the local DISCOM.
3. Choose a vendor registered on the portal and install DCR modules.
4. Fit and test the net meter, then pass the physical inspection.
5. Generate the commissioning record and redeem the subsidy to the bank or loan account.

That sequence commonly takes 45 to 60 days when meters and inspectors are available. It takes longer when they are not. A start in February or March 2027 can be pushed past the implementation date by one delayed inspection. The same rush lifts demand for compliant DCR modules, which lengthens delivery. The portal can also stop accepting new active applications once the one-crore ceiling is reached, which is a second way the door closes before the calendar does.

Four rules that keep a claim payable

1. Use the national portal only. Register at pmsuryaghar.gov.in with your electricity consumer number. A third party cannot “book” the subsidy outside that file.
2. Choose a vendor registered on the portal for your DISCOM. The consumer is free to pick any registered vendor. An unregistered installer cannot create a payable claim.
3. Keep DCR, and check ALMM. Ask for the module and cell origin in writing, plus serial numbers, before installation. Non-DCR equipment carries no central assistance. Give It Up is the only route that deliberately drops both the subsidy and the DCR condition.
4. Match the name and the bank account. The electricity-bill name, Aadhaar, and the DBT account need to agree. With a solar loan, the credit goes to the loan account and reduces principal. Without a loan, it goes to the linked savings account.

Questions people are actually searching