Every PM Surya Ghar deadline lives on a task before the money lands.

The PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana pays a capital subsidy on residential rooftop solar systems in India, on capacity up to 10 kW. The subsidy is ₹30,000 per kW for the first 2 kW, then ₹18,000 for the third kW, capped at ₹78,000 for any system of 3 kW or larger — a 5 kW system draws the same ₹78,000 as a 3 kW one. The scheme launched on 13 February 2024 with ₹75,021 crore allocated to reach one crore households by March 2027, and carries no published end date, but individual state pools close once exhausted, so eligibility inside a state is first-come, first-served.

Subsidy is paid only after the system is commissioned and generating power, not at booking, not at installation, not when the net-meter application is filed. The applicant must own the roof or hold a written agreement to use it for the system's life, and eligibility is limited to residential buildings: single flats, independent houses and group housing on a domestic tariff. Commercial and industrial buildings do not qualify for this subsidy, even on the same roof.

To claim it, you file a PM Surya Ghar application on the national portal (pmsuryaghar.gov.in) before your state's allocation is exhausted, with the Aadhaar number of the roof owner, proof of ownership or a tenancy agreement, the sanctioned load from the electricity bill, and a feasibility report. The modules must appear on MNRE's Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM), the domestic-content list that gates every subsidy claim under the scheme. Once the application is accepted onto a state's list, the project moves through installation, DISCOM approval and commissioning on a timeline the state's nodal agency sets, not the applicant's.

Net metering and gross metering are two arrangements for how your solar system's power is measured and credited. Under net metering, your system connects to the grid, and the meter runs backwards while you export surplus power. At month end, the DISCOM credits you for net exports: the power you sent to the grid minus the power you drew from it. This is the default arrangement for most residential systems under PM Surya Ghar, and usually gives the better return, since you offset your own consumption before exporting the rest.

Gross metering requires a separate export meter. All power your system generates is metered and fed to the grid, and you are credited per unit exported, often at a different rate than your consumption tariff, while your own consumption still comes from the grid at the normal rate. It is less common for residential systems because it needs two meters and typically yields lower returns unless the export rate is attractive. Which arrangement applies depends on your DISCOM's policy; most allow net metering, though some older or congested networks still restrict it.

Your DISCOM sets its own approval timeline, and it is written into regulation, not custom. Delhi's DERC gives distribution licensees 15 days to complete technical feasibility on a complete application, under the (First Amendment) Regulations, 2024; in practice BRPL, BYPL and TPDDL applications run 25 to 50 days end to end once inspection and meter installation are added. Uttar Pradesh's UPERC rules allow 30 days for feasibility and a further 10 for approval, so PVVNL and NPCL applications typically take 6 to 10 weeks. Haryana's HERC rules require feasibility verification within 15 days, and DHBVN and UHBVN then take 4 to 8 weeks to install the meter. At one Delhi-NCR EPC we work with, the net-meter activation stage, which sits with the DISCOM and outside the EPC's own control, is consistently one of the slower stages in the pipeline. A CRM task with a 14-day due date, refreshed each time the DISCOM asks for something, catches a board that has gone quiet before the customer does.

If the customer needs a loan, sanction is the single biggest delay in a rooftop solar project. Once your team submits a complete application, the wait belongs to the bank, not to you, and any missing document restarts the clock. At one Delhi-NCR EPC we work with, loan sanction is the slowest stage in the file, and a meaningful share of applications run well past the bank's own stated timeline. A CRM task dated four calendar days after the loan application is filed will be consistently overdue on the median file, and that is deliberate: it flags the team to chase the bank rather than wait for the customer to call.