UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana Achieves Milestone of Over 50 Lakh Rooftop Solar Installations

Q1. As envisaged when PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana was approved, how much solar capacity is the scheme projected to add through rooftop installations in the residential sector?

  • A. About 20 GW
  • B. About 27 GW
  • C. About 30 GW
  • D. About 40 GW

Q2. With reference to the institutional arrangement for operationalising PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, which one of the following is correct?

  • A. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy administers the scheme, with distribution companies and public sector banks acting as delivery partners
  • B. The Ministry of Power administers the scheme exclusively through central generating companies, with no operational role for distribution companies
  • C. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs administers it in all urban local bodies, while renewable energy authorities handle only rural districts
  • D. NITI Aayog is the sole nodal agency for the scheme, the renewable energy ministry being confined to laying down technical standards

Q3. Consider the following statements regarding Central Financial Assistance under PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana: 1. A subsidy of 60% of the system cost is admissible for rooftop solar systems up to 2 kW capacity. 2. For the additional capacity in the 2 kW to 3 kW range, the subsidy is 40% of the additional system cost. 3. Central Financial Assistance under the scheme is capped at a system capacity of 3 kW. 4. A household installing a 5 kW rooftop system is eligible for Central Financial Assistance of ₹1,30,000. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. A subsidy of 60% of the system cost is admissible for rooftop solar systems up to 2 kW capacity.
  2. For the additional capacity in the 2 kW to 3 kW range, the subsidy is 40% of the additional system cost.
  3. Central Financial Assistance under the scheme is capped at a system capacity of 3 kW.
  4. A household installing a 5 kW rooftop system is eligible for Central Financial Assistance of ₹1,30,000.
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 4 only

Q4. How much Central Financial Assistance does a household installing a 2 kW rooftop solar system receive under PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana?

  • A. ₹30,000
  • B. ₹60,000
  • C. ₹78,000
  • D. ₹90,000

Q5. Under PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, what is the maximum quantum of free electricity assured to a participating household?

  • A. Up to 200 units of free electricity per month
  • B. Up to 300 units of free electricity per quarter
  • C. Up to 300 units of free electricity per month
  • D. Up to 500 units of free electricity per month

Q6. In the drive towards the one-crore household target, roughly 30 lakh rooftop installations are planned to be delivered through which one of the following implementation models?

  • A. Viability Gap Funding tenders floated by the Solar Energy Corporation of India
  • B. The Utility-Led Aggregation model operated with distribution utilities
  • C. Build-Own-Operate-Transfer concessions awarded by state governments
  • D. The Production Linked Incentive route for solar module manufacturers

Q7. Consider the following statements regarding the milestone crossed by PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana in August 2026: 1. The 50 lakh household mark was reached in just over two years, whereas rooftop solar programmes in the preceding ten years had together recorded about 7.94 lakh installations. 2. July 2026 recorded the highest-ever monthly addition under the scheme, with about 5.06 lakh households benefited in that single month. 3. Average daily installations declined from about 16,328 in October 2025 to about 5,038 in July 2026. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The 50 lakh household mark was reached in just over two years, whereas rooftop solar programmes in the preceding ten years had together recorded about 7.94 lakh installations.
  2. July 2026 recorded the highest-ever monthly addition under the scheme, with about 5.06 lakh households benefited in that single month.
  3. Average daily installations declined from about 16,328 in October 2025 to about 5,038 in July 2026.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q8. In which financial year did actual expenditure under PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana first exceed ₹16,000 crore?

  • A. 2023-24
  • B. 2024-25
  • C. 2025-26
  • D. 2026-27

Q9. PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana crossed the mark of 10 lakh rooftop solar installations in which one of the following months?

  • A. October 2024
  • B. March 2025
  • C. August 2025
  • D. February 2026

Q10. Under PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, what precisely is a 'Model Solar Village'?

  • A. A village in which every agricultural pump has been solarised through feeder-level solarisation, qualifying it for a grant of ₹1 crore
  • B. A village adopted by a public sector undertaking for setting up a ground-mounted solar plant of at least 1 MW capacity on common land
  • C. A revenue village selected in each district through competition on distributed renewable energy capacity installed, which receives ₹1 crore in central assistance
  • D. A village where the distribution company has provided every household with a solar home lighting system free of cost

Q11. PM-KUSUM, the scheme of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy that provides for solarisation of agricultural pumps and farmer-owned decentralised solar plants, was launched in which year?

  • A. 2015
  • B. 2017
  • C. 2019
  • D. 2022

Q12. In the context of grid-connected rooftop solar under PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, what does 'net metering' denote?

  • A. An arrangement in which the meter records total solar generation, on which the distribution company pays a generation-based incentive
  • B. An arrangement in which the entire solar output is sold to the grid at a fixed feed-in tariff while household consumption is billed separately in full
  • C. An arrangement in which the distribution company installs an additional meter to levy grid connectivity charges on the rooftop system
  • D. An arrangement in which electricity exported to the grid is set off against electricity drawn from it, the consumer being billed only for the net drawal