New and Renewable Energy Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday said that 17 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and three government orders in the renewable energy sector, signed at the 31st CII Partnership Summit, represent investments worth ₹43,871 crore, with employment potential for around 4,700 people.
Referring to the Centre’s scheme for solarisation of agricultural pumps, PM-KUSUM, Joshi said the government would soon come out with its second phase. “So far, we just solarized pumps under the scheme. But in PM KUSUM 2.0, the Prime Minister has given a call for using agricultural equipment powered through solar energy, and to that effect, manufacturing has to happen,” he said.
Speaking at the event in Visakhapatnam, Joshi highlighted the importance of decentralised renewable energy, saying that 7.86 lakh households had been connected with rooftop solar in Andhra Pradesh alone. Under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, 66 lakh households have benefited across the country, against an initial target of 1 crore when the scheme was introduced in 2024. He also said that 1 lakh installations now take an average of six days, with the ministry aiming to reduce this to five days shortly.
He said 55 per cent of India’s total installed power capacity now comes from non-fossil sources, and in another 2-3 years, the share will cross 60 per cent.
Highlighting that geopolitical uncertainties have exposed dependence on imported fossil fuels, Joshi said that without renewable energy, India could have faced a situation where it would have been forced to declare an energy emergency, as has happened in some other countries.
In the coming years, renewable energy, including pumped storage projects and battery energy storage systems, is going to take a big leap, he said.
