PM Modi Interview | 'My aim is to have zero electricity bill,' says PM Modi

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that reducing electricity and transport costs for the public to zero while aiming to make India the world’s third-largest economy will be top priorities for his government’s third term.

Modi said he aims to slash electricity bills to zero by ensuring every household draws renewable power from rooftop solar panels.

“I want three things. One, every household’s power bill should be zero; second, we should sell surplus electricity and earn money; and third, I want to be self-reliant in the energy sector as the era of electric vehicles will come,” Modi said.

The Prime Minister spoke in an exclusive interview with News18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, News18 Kannada Editor Hariprasad, and News18 Lokmat Anchor Vilas Bade.

By accessing renewable energy sources at home, the common man could charge their electric scooters and cars instead of spending money on petrol and diesel, Modi said.

The Prime Minister highlighted that switching to renewable energy and electric vehicles would lead to a cleaner environment and savings of “billions of dollars” on petroleum imports.

He said that his government will aim to make India the world’s third-largest economy in his third term, and emphasised that there will be continuity of policies in every sector.

“During Manmohan Singh’s tenure, we were at 11; we brought it to five after a lot of effort. And now we will put in some more effort and take the country to the third spot. So, we want to maintain continuity in every sector,” Modi said.

He also pointed out that his government will work towards making India a startup hub, a manufacturing hub, and an innovation hub in the next five years.

“After June 4, I am clear what I have to do in the next 100 days as well as by 2047. I am clear of a Viksit Bharat by 2047. That is why I say 24 by 7 for 2047,” PM Modi said.

Last month, the Union Cabinet approved the PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, allocating Rs 75,021 crore for installing rooftop solar panels and providing free electricity up to 300 units every month for 1 crore households. The prime minister had launched the scheme on February 13.

The scheme provides central financial assistance of 60 percent of the system cost for 2 kW systems and 40 percent of additional system cost for systems between 2 kW to 3 kW capacity. The central assistance will be capped at 3 kW. At current benchmark prices, this will mean Rs 30,000 subsidy for 1 kW system, Rs 60,000 for 2 kW systems and Rs 78,000 for 3 kW systems or higher.

The households can apply for subsidy through the National Portal and can also select a suitable vendor for installing rooftop solar.

The website also assists households in their decision-making process by providing relevant information such as appropriate system sizes, a benefits calculator and vendor rating.

Households will be able to access collateral-free, low-interest loan products of around 7 percent for the installation of residential rooftop solar systems up to 3 kW.

Other Features of the scheme include a Model Solar Village to be developed in each district to act as a role model for the adoption of rooftop solar in rural areas.

Besides, urban local bodies and Panchayati Raj institutions will also benefit from incentives for promoting rooftop solar installations in their areas.

Through this scheme, households will be able to save electricity bills as well as earn additional income through the sale of surplus power to power distributors. A 3 kW system will be able to generate more than 300 units a month on average for a household.

The scheme is aimed at adding 30 GW of solar capacity through rooftop solar in the residential sector, generating 1,000 BUs (billion units) of electricity and resulting in a reduction of 720 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions over the 25-year lifetime of rooftop systems.

It is estimated that the scheme will create around 17 lakh direct jobs in manufacturing, logistics, supply chain, sales, installation, operation and maintenance and other services.