India is preparing a new push to scale agrivoltaics—dual use of land for farming and solar power—under PM-KUSUM 2.0. Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi says agrivoltaics on a portion of suitable land could help meet India’s power demand by 2050, while the government works on policy measures and implementation details for the next phase of the scheme.
The outlets describe agrivoltaics as a way to address land constraints and support farm incomes by keeping agriculture and solar generation on the same plots. Mint reports the government plans to add 5 GW of dual-use agrisolar capacity over three years, including a 25% cost-neutralisation subsidy aimed at improving farm incomes. The Economic Times adds further context on the scale of cropland potentially suitable for agrivoltaics and cites land-use and cost-per-unit comparisons, as well as the proportion of farmers who are small and marginal.
Across the coverage, the emphasis differs between policy direction, scheme financing and targets, and the technical/economic rationale. However, all accounts tie the expansion effort to PM-KUSUM 2.0 and to Pralhad Joshi’s statements about agrivoltaics’ role in India’s renewable energy and agriculture goals.
