Key Points
Farmers in Banaskantha shift to solar pumps under PM-KUSUM
Solar energy cuts electricity bills to zero
Central government subsidies support solar installations
Farmers gain 25-year warranty on solar panels
Today, many farmers are taking advantage of the PM-KUSUM scheme and saving loads of electricity by ‘migrating’ to solar farming.
The farmers of Danta taluka in Gujarat's Banaskantha district are among the first to take the initiative forward and also helping others to take lessons from.
For Bachhubhai, a farmer of Banaskantha, solar pump has become a new source of energy. Earlier, Bachhubhai had to divert water at night due to irregular power supply.
But, when he came to know about PM-Kusum Yojana, he applied for it online. His solar pump became operational in just 3 months, and now it runs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., allowing him to farm comfortably during the day.
The biggest advantage is that the electricity bill, which earlier costed around Rs 10,000 has now become zero. He also got a 25-year warranty on the solar panel.
Meghraj is another farmer, drawing similar benefits under the PM-KUSUM scheme.
There are a total of 116 villages in Data taluka of Banaskantha.
Out of this, solar pumps have been installed in 30 villages.
Many farmers have installed solar pumps in their fields at moderate investment and now, they are doing farming in winter, summer as well as rainy seasons without any interruptions. They are also saving a lot on electricity expenses.
Under the PM-KUSUM Scheme, the Central government provides subsidy of up to 30 or 50 per cent for the installation of standalone solar pumps and also for the solarisation of existing grid-connected agricultural pumps.
Farmers also get the privilege of installing grid-connected solar power plants up to 2MW under the scheme on their barren land.
