UPSC Current Affairs August 20th 2026

Why in News?

Over the past five years, PM-KUSUM has installed more than 2.5 million solar pumps. As the government prepares PM-KUSUM 2.0, the key challenge is to expand clean and affordable irrigation without worsening groundwater over-exploitation.

Solar Irrigation and Groundwater

Heavily subsidised or free agricultural electricity has contributed to:

• Excessive groundwater extraction
• Falling water tables
• Depletion of aquifers
• Increasing subsidy burdens on electricity utilities

Solar pumps provide electricity at almost zero operating cost after installation. A standalone pump without any conservation incentive may therefore encourage farmers to pump more water.

However, solar irrigation does not automatically cause groundwater depletion. Its impact depends on:

• Design of the irrigation model
• Ownership structure
• Pricing incentives
• Local hydrogeology
• Cropping pattern
• Soil type
• Economic returns from additional irrigation

The correct policy question is therefore not whether solar irrigation is inherently harmful, but which model should be deployed in a particular region and with what incentives.

Why Outcomes Depend on the Model

1. Grid-Connected Individual Solar Pumps

Farmers use solar electricity for irrigation and sell unused power to the grid. The ability to earn from surplus electricity gives them a reason to limit unnecessary pumping.

Gujarat’s Suryashakti Kisan Yojana

Under the Suryashakti Kisan Yojana, around 100 agricultural feeders were shifted to solar energy.

The programme offered a feed-in tariff of approximately ₹7 per unit. Participating farmers:

• Recorded slower growth in energy use and irrigation than non-solar farmers
• Earned an average of about ₹21,900 annually
• Shifted from being only energy consumers to energy producers

The model demonstrates how pricing incentives can link energy sales with groundwater conservation.

2. Fee-for-Service Centralised Model

• Under Bangladesh’s common centralised model, a pump owner supplies irrigation water to several farmers within a fixed command area and earns revenue from the service.
• Solar irrigation was 20–30% cheaper than diesel irrigation, but users did not apply more water than diesel-pump users.
• Excessive use by one farmer would reduce the operator’s ability to serve others. Financial sustainability therefore encouraged efficient and equitable distribution.

3. Standalone Off-Grid Pumps

A farmer owns or operates a pump that is not connected to the electricity grid. The electricity cannot be sold, reducing the financial incentive to conserve energy.

Its groundwater impact varies with:

• Installed pump capacity
• Depth of the water table
• Whether it replaces diesel or grid electricity
• Years of operating experience
• Extent of irrigation already available

Comparison of Solar Irrigation Models

Importance of Regional Conditions

Hard-Rock and Rainfed Regions

• Hard-rock aquifers have limited storage capacity. In rainfed areas, each additional unit of irrigation can generate high agricultural returns.
• Evidence indicates little difference in water use between solar and non-solar farmers in such regions because irrigation remains constrained by water availability and crop needs.

Punjab and Haryana

Irrigation is already widespread and dominated by water-intensive crops such as rice and wheat. There is limited scope for further expansion of irrigated area.

The priority is to make the existing water–energy–food system more sustainable by:

• Replacing subsidised fossil-fuel electricity
• Rewarding reduced pumping
• Improving irrigation efficiency
• Lowering the financial burden on power utilities

Eastern India

Large areas remain rainfed because of expensive diesel and unreliable electricity rather than severe water scarcity.

Here, solar pumps can:

• Expand reliable irrigation
• Raise agricultural productivity
• Reduce diesel dependence
• Improve climate resilience

The immediate objective in such regions should be irrigation access, not restricting water use.

Water–Energy–Food Nexus

Solar irrigation cannot be assessed only as an energy or groundwater intervention. It affects three connected systems.

Water

Pump design and pricing influence the quantity of groundwater extracted.

Energy

Solar power can replace subsidised fossil-fuel electricity and expensive diesel.

Food

• Reliable irrigation affects crop choice, productivity and farmers’ capacity to respond to rainfall uncertainty.
• Policy must therefore examine combined outcomes across all three systems rather than maximise benefits in one area at the cost of another.

Environmental and Fiscal Benefits

Groundwater irrigation in India is estimated to generate 45–62 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.

State agricultural electricity subsidies collectively exceed ₹1 lakh crore per year.

Evidence from Gujarat indicates that each grid-connected solar farmer:

• Offsets approximately 12.3 tonnes of CO₂ annually
• Uses solar power on the farm
• Exports surplus electricity
• Helps recover public investment through reduced subsidy requirements

Subsidy savings covered nearly one-fourth of government investment within the first two years. With India having more than 25 million agricultural pumps, the potential fiscal and emission benefits are substantial.

Challenges Before PM-KUSUM 2.0

Limited Uptake of Individual Grid Connection

The model of paying farmers for surplus electricity has not expanded sufficiently because of complex connection procedures and unattractive buyback conditions.

Weak Water Incentives in Feeder Solarisation

Solarising an entire feeder supports clean-energy transition but does not automatically change farmers’ pumping behaviour.

Uniform Policy Design

Applying the same model across water-stressed, hard-rock and irrigation-deprived regions can produce unsuitable outcomes.

Inadequate Groundwater Monitoring

Without timely information on aquifer conditions, emerging stress may not be identified early.

Ownership-Centred Approach

Excessive focus on individual pump ownership can limit access for small farmers and reduce the scope for shared, efficient irrigation services.

Appropriate Model for Different Regions

Way Forward

Improve Grid-Connected Pump Model

• Simplify grid-connection procedures.
• Offer attractive buyback prices.
• Reflect the local value of water and crops in incentives.
• Motivate DISCOMs to support farmer participation.

Link Feeder Solarisation with Water Saving

Feeder-level solarisation should be combined with:

• Micro-irrigation support
• Direct payments for reduced pumping
• Incentives similar to Punjab’s Pani Bachao, Paisa Kamao
• Crop-related measures such as Haryana’s Mera Pani Meri Virasat

Expand Shared Irrigation Services

Standalone pumps in irrigation-deprived areas should be scaled through:

• Water-user associations
• Water-selling entrepreneurs
• Farmer cooperatives

This can widen access without requiring every small farmer to purchase a separate pump.

Adopt Adaptive Regional Planning

Deployment should be based on groundwater risk, aquifer type, crop pattern, energy access and the existing level of irrigation. Continuous monitoring should allow policies to be modified when stress begins to emerge.

Conclusion

Solar irrigation is not inherently responsible for groundwater over-extraction. Unsustainable outcomes arise when pump design, pricing and local water conditions are ignored. PM-KUSUM 2.0 should therefore move from uniform pump deployment to region-specific models that align farmers’ incentives with groundwater sustainability, clean energy and reliable irrigation.