PM-KUSUM Solar Pump Subsidy for Punjab Farmers

If you have asked about solar for your farm, you have probably heard PM Surya Ghar and PM-KUSUM used almost interchangeably. They are separate schemes, and mixing them up gives you the wrong idea of what you can get and how to get it.

Two different schemes

PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana is for rooftop solar on a home or business, connected to the PSPCL grid through a net meter, and it is what most of this website covers. A standalone farm water pump isn’t a rooftop system, and it isn’t grid-connected in the way PM Surya Ghar requires.

PM-KUSUM, and specifically its Component B, is the scheme for a farmer’s solar water pump: a standalone system that runs the pump straight from solar panels, with no grid connection at all. In Punjab it is run by PEDA, the Punjab Energy Development Agency, alongside the central government’s own contribution.

What the subsidy looks like

We don’t print a fixed subsidy percentage in this article. Reported figures for PM-KUSUM Component B vary from one source to another, sometimes within the same year, and the scheme runs in application windows that open and close. The terms on offer when you apply may not match a number quoted online months earlier, and that includes our own site. So ask us, or check with PEDA, for what applies right now.

What we can say is that the scheme combines a central government share with a Punjab state share, which brings a farmer’s own cost well below the full system price. That is why most farmers who qualify find the paperwork worth doing.

Why this matters for sizing

A solar pump is sized to your tubewell’s depth and the flow you need, starting from the rating of your current diesel or electric pump. Whether a scheme round favours a particular pump capacity is exactly the kind of detail that changes between rounds, so check the current terms before you settle on a size because of an expected subsidy.

Free agricultural power is a separate matter

If your farm already runs on Punjab’s free agricultural power, a solar pump saves you diesel, gives you a more reliable supply and frees you from the feeder’s fixed schedule. It won’t cut an electricity bill, because that power was already free. For a free-power tubewell, a solar pump solves a different problem than it does on a paid connection.

RSK Solar Energy has installed 100+ solar pump and tubewell systems for farmers across Punjab. Send us your tubewell’s depth and current pump rating on WhatsApp, and we’ll work out the sizing and the current PM-KUSUM position with you.