Bengaluru second in rooftop solar installations
BENGALURU: Bengaluru Urban was ranked second compared to other Indian metropolis in the installation of rooftop solar panels and the number of household benefiting from it, according to a report from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). But the state government officials say that Karnataka lags behind the target set by the central government for the installation of solar rooftop panels under the Pradhan Mantri-Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana scheme. The ministry in its response to Bangalore South MP Tejavi Suryas question in Lok Sabha stated that there are 4,984 solar roof top installations in Bengaluru Urban and 386 in Bengaluru Rural, making it a total of 5,370 installations in BESCOM limits. The MNRE also said that 11,854 households in Bengaluru Urban and 386 households in Bengaluru Rural have benefited from the scheme. Bengaluru Urban lagged behind Mumbai covering 18,223 households under the scheme with 428 installations in Mumbai and Mumbai Suburban. As per the report there are a total of 18,99,494 installations benefiting 23,79,580 households, as on November 30, 2025 in India. Of which 13,176 installations are in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai, benefiting 41,955 households. The central government has set a target for each state to achieve in terms of number of installations and households availing the scheme. In case of Karnataka, it is 1.02 lakh consumers by March 2027. So far, around 13,000 installations have been done in Karnataka. We are trying to meet the target. Under the scheme, the Centre gives around Rs 78,000 subsidy for installation of 3 kilowatt solar rooftop panel. To boost the scheme, many state governments are giving an additional top-up subsidy like an additional Rs 10,000 per kilo watt during installation. Karnataka offers no additional top-up as money is invested in the Gruha Jyothi scheme, sources in the energy department said. Under the scheme, individual houses can install even a 1MW rooftop panel, but the maximum limit an apartment block can install is 500 kilowatt. In Bengaluru apartments which are usually installing panels utilise the power generated for common area lighting, BESCOM officials said.
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