New tool helps households plan rooftop solar in 60 seconds
What's the story
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has launched an interactive digital platform, "Get Solar in 60 Secs," to simplify the process of adopting rooftop solar under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana. The initiative, which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 29, 2024, has already enabled over 50 lakh households to generate their own energy in just over two years.
User interaction
How the tool works
The "Get Solar in 60 Secs" tool works by having users enter their name, phone number, state, and district.
A slider lets them input their last month's electricity bill and sanctioned load.
The tool then determines the optimal solar plant capacity for their home, installation cost, government subsidy eligibility, available bank loan and interest rate, as well as estimated lifetime savings.
Vendor connection
List of verified vendors
The digital platform also gives users a list of verified vendors empanelled under PM Surya Ghar.
Users can directly call or message these vendors on WhatsApp to initiate the installation process.
This feature is aimed at further simplifying the rooftop solar adoption process for consumers.
Digital advancements
Online portal and AI chatbot for rooftop solar installations
The PM Surya Ghar scheme already has a dedicated online portal that manages applications for rooftop solar installation, from registration to subsidy disbursal.
The Ministry also launched SUNtosh, a WhatsApp-based AI chatbot, under the scheme on June 4, 2026.
The chatbot provides personalized information on rooftop solar installations and helps users navigate the application process in real time.
Future goals
Target of PM Surya Ghar scheme
The PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana aims to enable one crore households to install rooftop solar systems and get up to 300 units of free electricity per month.
The scheme targets 30 GW of rooftop solar capacity by 2026-27, which is expected to generate some 1,000 billion units of clean power and cut CO2 emissions by 720 million tons over its lifetime.