The government’s ambitious Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (KUSUM), scheme is aiming at 25,750 megawatt of solar power generation by 2022.

"Under the scheme, a total of 25,750 MW of renewable power capacity would be created by 2022 with a total central financial assistance of Rs 34,422 crore including the service charges to the implementing agencies," power and renewable energy minister R K Singh said in a written reply in Parliament.

He also said the installation of this solar capacity and savings in diesel consumption due to installation of 17.5 lakh standalone solar pumps under the PM-KUSUM scheme are likely to save emission of 27 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2).

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced expansion of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM KUSUM) Scheme, during the Budget 2020 presentation, under which 20 lakh farmers would be provided funds to set up standalone solar pumps.

While presenting the budget for 2020-21, the minister said that 15 lakh farmers would be provided funds to set up grid-connected 15 lakh solar pumps.

The previous Modi government in February last year had unveiled the PM KUSUM scheme with an outlay of Rs 34,422 crore.

Sitharaman told the Lok Sabha that the scheme has removed farmers' dependence on diesel and kerosene and linked them to solar energy. The scheme also enables the farmers to set up solar power generation capacity and sell it to the grid.

She stressed that farmers would be able to earn livelihood through their baron land also (by generating solar power on that).

Now the Ministry of New and Renewable energy had launched the scheme last year with three components -- installation of 10,000 MW capacity through small renewable energy-based power plants of capacity up to 2 MW each on barren or fallow land of farmers; installation of 17.5 lakh standalone off-grid solar water pumps; and solarisation of 10 lakh existing grid-connected agriculture pumps.

In reply to a separate question, the minister said that the country’s renewable energy sector attracted about Rs 1.34 lakh crore investments in the past three years. “Based on standard capital cost per megawatt, an investment of about Rs 1.34 lakh crore is estimated to have been made in the renewable energy sector during the past three years -- from 2017-18 to 2019-20 up to January 2020,” he said.

A total of 8,004.64 MW of renewable energy capacity has been installed during the April-January period of 2019-20 as compared to 5,978.47 MW installed during the same period of the previous year.