UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — If solar irrigation is over-drawing groundwater, it’s being done wrong

Q1. Under the revised component-wise targets of PM-KUSUM, which one of the following carries the largest target in terms of the number of agricultural pumps to be covered?

  • A. Component-A, covering decentralised ground-mounted grid-connected solar plants of up to 2 MW set up on barren, fallow or marshy land
  • B. Component-B, covering standalone off-grid solar-powered agriculture pumps supported through central financial assistance on benchmark cost
  • C. Component-C, covering solarisation of existing grid-connected agriculture pumps, including through feeder-level solarisation of agricultural feeders
  • D. Component-C, but restricted to individual pump solarisation, feeder-level solarisation being counted under a separate capacity-based target

Q2. Consider the following entities: 1. Water User Associations 2. Farmer Producer Organisations 3. Panchayats 4. Distribution companies setting up plants on their own land as project developers Which of the above are correctly identified as entities eligible to install solar power plants under Component-A of PM-KUSUM?

  1. Water User Associations
  2. Farmer Producer Organisations
  3. Panchayats
  4. Distribution companies setting up plants on their own land as project developers
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 3 and 4 only

Q3. Under Component-B of PM-KUSUM, central financial assistance for standalone solar agriculture pumps is available for pumps up to which one of the following capacities?

  • A. 3 horsepower
  • B. 5 horsepower
  • C. 7.5 horsepower
  • D. 10 horsepower

Q4. In the context of PM-KUSUM's Component-C, 'feeder-level solarisation' refers to which one of the following arrangements?

  • A. Setting up a solar power plant to serve a dedicated agricultural feeder of the distribution network, so that pumps on that feeder run on solar power without panels on each pump
  • B. Fitting solar panels on each grid-connected agriculture pump individually, the pump retaining its existing connection to the distribution network for night-time use
  • C. Supplying standalone off-grid solar pumps to farmers located in pockets where the agricultural feeder has not yet been energised by the distribution company
  • D. Separating agricultural feeders from domestic and industrial feeders so that the hours of farm power supply can be rationed by the distribution company

Q5. Installation of new standalone solar pumps under PM-KUSUM is barred in areas designated as 'dark zones'. Such areas are demarcated on the basis of groundwater assessment carried out by which one of the following bodies?

  • A. The Central Ground Water Board, the national agency for groundwater assessment under the Ministry of Jal Shakti
  • B. The Central Water Commission, the technical organisation for water resources under the Ministry of Jal Shakti
  • C. The National Water Development Agency, the body for inter-basin water transfer studies under the Ministry of Jal Shakti
  • D. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, the refinancing institution for minor irrigation investment

Q6. Analysts hold that standalone solar pumps carry a greater risk of groundwater over-extraction than grid-connected solarisation models. Which one of the following is the principal reason advanced for this difference?

  • A. Once installed, a standalone pump has near-zero marginal running cost and no buyback-linked reward for pumping less, so nothing checks the hours of extraction
  • B. A standalone pump is sanctioned only in blocks that have already been notified as over-exploited, where the water table is by definition falling fastest
  • C. A standalone pump must compulsorily be paired with micro-irrigation, which expands the area irrigated and therefore the total volume of water lifted
  • D. A standalone pump draws from a dedicated agricultural feeder whose daily hours of supply are fixed by the distribution company rather than by the farmer

Q7. Consider the following statements regarding the implementation status of PM-KUSUM: 1. Installed capacity under Component-A had crossed 640 MW by August 2025. 2. More than 9 lakh standalone solar pumps had been installed under Component-B by October 2025. 3. The scheme's overall solar capacity target is 34,800 MW, with central financial support of about Rs 34,422 crore. 4. Within Component-C, the number of pumps covered through feeder-level solarisation is smaller than the number covered through individual pump solarisation. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Installed capacity under Component-A had crossed 640 MW by August 2025.
  2. More than 9 lakh standalone solar pumps had been installed under Component-B by October 2025.
  3. The scheme's overall solar capacity target is 34,800 MW, with central financial support of about Rs 34,422 crore.
  4. Within Component-C, the number of pumps covered through feeder-level solarisation is smaller than the number covered through individual pump solarisation.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 3 and 4 only

Q8. With reference to the reported component-wise achievement of PM-KUSUM as of the latest available data, which one of the following statements is correct?

  • A. Within Component-C, feeder-level solarisation accounts for the overwhelming majority of the pumps covered so far
  • B. Component-A alone accounts for the entire solar capacity so far reported as installed under the scheme
  • C. Component-B has installed standalone pumps in every block notified as over-exploited for groundwater
  • D. Component-C has already achieved its full target of grid-connected pumps ahead of the scheme's closing date

Q9. In the design of PM-KUSUM 2.0 currently under formulation, which one of the following has been identified as the most critical and scalable element of the next phase?

  • A. Feeder-level solarisation under Component-C, to secure daytime agricultural power and ease the subsidy burden on distribution companies
  • B. Standalone off-grid solar pumps under Component-B, to complete the replacement of diesel pumps on holdings away from the distribution network
  • C. Decentralised ground-mounted plants under Component-A, made bankable through access to the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund for participating farmers
  • D. Agro-photovoltaic installations permitting cultivation beneath elevated solar structures, so that cropped land is not lost to generation

Q10. PM-KUSUM 2.0 is being formulated as a fresh scheme rather than an extension of the existing one. Which one of the following ministries is formulating it?

  • A. The Ministry of Power, which oversees distribution reform and the functioning of state distribution companies
  • B. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, which administers central schemes for farm mechanisation and micro-irrigation
  • C. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, which administers the existing PM-KUSUM scheme and its three components
  • D. The Ministry of Jal Shakti, which is responsible for groundwater assessment and command area water use efficiency

Q11. With reference to the framework governing feeder-level solarisation under PM-KUSUM, which one of the following is correct?

  • A. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy issued separate implementation guidelines for it, extending the Component-C guidelines that had first been issued in 2019
  • B. The Central Electricity Authority issued the implementation guidelines for it, extending the Component-C framework that had first been notified in 2015
  • C. It was added to the scheme as a fourth component, distinct from Components A, B and C, by the Ministry of Power at the time of the scheme's launch
  • D. Its central financial assistance is fixed at 30 per cent uniformly across all States, no higher rate being available for hilly, north-eastern or island regions

Q12. A parliamentary committee report presented in December 2025 examined the implementation of PM-KUSUM along with PM Surya Ghar. Which one of the following correctly identifies that committee together with one of its findings?

  • A. The Estimates Committee, which noted that farmers bear roughly 70 per cent of the cost of solarising grid-connected agriculture pumps
  • B. The Public Accounts Committee, which noted that farmers bear roughly 30 per cent of the cost of solarising grid-connected agriculture pumps
  • C. The Standing Committee on Energy, which noted that Component-A had surpassed its capacity target of 10,000 MW well ahead of schedule
  • D. The Committee on Government Assurances, which noted that dark-zone blocks had been exempted from the micro-irrigation condition