About the scheme

• Ministry of New and Renewable Energy launched the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evem Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM KUSUM) Scheme for farmers for installation of solar pumps and grid connected solar and other renewable power plants in the country. 
• The scheme aims to add solar and other renewable capacity of 25,750 MW by 2022 with total central financial support of Rs. 34,422 Crore including service charges to the implementing agencies.
• The Scheme consists of three components:
  • Component A: 10,000 MW of Decentralized Ground Mounted Grid Connected Renewable Power Plants of individual plant size up to 2 MW.
  • Component B: Installation of 17.50 lakh standalone Solar Powered Agriculture Pumps of individual pump capacity up to 7.5 HP.
  • Component C: Solarisation of 10 Lakh Grid-connected Agriculture Pumps of individual pump capacity up to 7.5 HP.

Benefits of the Scheme: 

• The Scheme will have substantial environmental impact in terms of savings of CO2 emissions. All three components of the Scheme combined together are likely to result in saving about 27 million tonnes of CO2 emission per annum.  
• Further, Component-B of the Scheme on standalone solar pumps may result in saving of 1.2 billion liters of diesel per annum and associated savings in the foreign exchange due to reduction of import of crude oil.  
• The scheme has direct employment potential. Besides increasing self-employment the proposal is likely to generate employment opportunities equivalent to 6.31 lakh job years for skilled and unskilled workers.

Why in News?

• The 33rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) , the PSU under the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, was held recently.
• The meeting highlighted Green Energy portfolio of the country is consistently growing in terms of both quantity and quality; and is expected to get a further boost with various policy initiatives of the Government, such as PM-KUSUM scheme, Solar & Wind hybrid technologies, Biofuels such as Ethanol and Compressed Bio Gas (CBG), E-mobility and associated infrastructure, Off-shore Wind energy, Solar Roof-top programme etc.

References:

1. https://vikaspedia.in/energy/policy-support/renewable-energy-1/solar-energy/pm-kusum-scheme
2. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1595888