How the ₹78,000 rooftop subsidy actually works

PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana is the central government's flagship rooftop solar scheme, and the subsidy structure is simpler than most homeowners expect once you break it into steps.

For a residential rooftop system, the subsidy is tiered by system size: roughly ₹30,000 for a 1 kW system, ₹60,000 for 2 kW, and up to ₹78,000 for systems of 3 kW and above. The exact figure is fixed by the national portal at the time of application and can be revised by the government, so we always confirm the current slab before quoting.

The process starts with registration on the national PM Surya Ghar portal using your electricity consumer number and DISCOM details. Once your feasibility is approved, you select a registered vendor — WattPick is empanelled with MPPKVVCL for exactly this reason — and the installation proceeds. After commissioning, the DISCOM conducts a net-metering inspection and issues the connection.

The subsidy itself is not paid to you upfront in cash. It is disbursed directly into your registered bank account after the net-meter is installed and the DISCOM confirms commissioning on the portal — typically within a few weeks of the final inspection. Your invoice from WattPick reflects the full system cost; the subsidy arrives separately as a direct benefit transfer.

A few details trip people up: the subsidy applies only to grid-connected systems with net metering (not off-grid or battery-backed systems), the rooftop must have clear structural capacity for the mounting structure, and the application must be filed before installation begins, not after. We handle the portal filing, DISCOM liaison and net-metering paperwork as part of every rooftop project, precisely so none of this falls on the homeowner.

On a typical 3 kW system serving a household with a ₹2,500–₹3,000 monthly bill, the combination of the subsidy and the monthly savings usually brings the payback period down to 3–4 years, after which the electricity is effectively free for the remaining 20+ years of the panel's working life.