Rooftop solar subsidy schemes are as much a test of cooperative federalism as they are of clean energy policy. Elaborate.

Rooftop solar is a rare policy space where the Centre writes the cheque but a State utility switches on the meter. PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, approved in February 2024 for 1 crore households, offers Central Financial Assistance (CFA) that can only be realised through a DISCOM-issued net meter [1] — making it simultaneously an energy-transition instrument and a federal coordination exercise.

As clean energy policy

• Affordability engineered centrally: CFA of 60% of cost up to 2 kW and 40% for the 2–3 kW slab — ₹30,000 (1 kW) to ₹78,000 (3 kW) [1].
• Financing support: collateral-free loans up to ₹2 lakh at concessional interest through public sector banks; ~39.7 lakh systems covering ~48 lakh households by July 2026 [2].
• Climate dividend: 9.56 GW rooftop capacity added till March 2026 [3]; distributed generation trims transmission losses and feeds the 500 GW non-fossil by 2030 NDC pledge, with 50% non-fossil capacity already reached in 2025 [4].

As a test of cooperative federalism

• Split roles: Centre runs the National Portal, benchmark costs and vendor ratings; States/DISCOMs empanel vendors, act as verification authority, install net meters and release subsidy, aided by Component-B DISCOM incentives [5].
• State top-ups: States notify their own subsidy schemes layered over the CFA — as with the State solar subsidy scheme launched in September 2026 [6].
• Uneven delivery: uptake concentrates in administratively stronger States (e.g. Karnataka's 14,151 installations) [7], leaving weak-DISCOM States behind.

Where cooperation frays

• Loss of high-paying consumers makes stressed DISCOMs slow on net-metering sanction, despite enabling Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020 [8].
• Divergent State metering caps, vendor empanelment and inspection delays widen the gap between announcement and commissioning.

Thus the scheme's success is decided less at the drafting table than at the DISCOM counter. Performance-linked incentives to utilities, harmonised net-metering norms and DISCOM financial strengthening can align State incentives with national goals — turning cooperative federalism into the delivery vehicle for SDG-7 and India's climate commitments.