India to spend $753 million on rooftop solar power through 2021

New Delhi, December 30

India has earmarked INR 50 billion ($753 million) to pay for installation of rooftop solar panels over next five years that will generate up to 4,200 megawatts of power, the government said today.

PM Narendra Modi’s Cabinet increased the funding from an earlier INR six billion to encourage households, government bodies, hospitals and educational institutions to install rooftop solar panels. Private firms cannot claim subsidy.

The government has set a target of generating 100,000 MW of electricity from solar panels by 2022 to overcome an acute power shortage.

Separately, Modi’s Cabinet backed a civil nuclear deal that India and Australia ratified this year to bolster nuclear power generation.

The ministers also approved a pact between India and the Maldives to curb tax evasion by preventing illicit funds being stashed outside the country.

The Cabinet also gave its nod to a proposal to float joint venture companies between the federal railways and state governments.