The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has introduced an additional provision under the ‘Give It UP’ option, allowing consumers to forgo Central Financial Assistance (CFA) without a Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) certificate under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana.

While the ‘Give It Up’ option with a DCR certificate was already available on the national portal, the MNRE has now enabled this new feature, enabling greater flexibility for residential consumers opting for rooftop solar systems under the program.

Under the existing framework, consumers who opt out of the subsidy can install rooftop solar systems without complying with DCR norms.

With the latest update, the national portal has been enhanced to allow such consumers to submit applications directly without a DCR certificate, streamlining the process.

However, the MNRE clarified that applications submitted without a DCR certificate cannot revert from the ‘Give It Up’ option once the installation submission is confirmed.

In contrast, applications submitted with a DCR certificate will remain eligible to modify the subsidy option until the redemption stage.

This provision applies only to consumers who choose not to avail CFA benefits and does not alter the broader program guidelines.

Stakeholders must adhere to the regulations and related provisions governing the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers.

Recently, MNRE issued the draft Firmware Development Guidelines for local device configuration and remote communication application programming interface (API) applicable to dataloggers deployed in rooftop solar systems under PM Surya Ghar.

Last August, MNRE limited solar projects under the PM Surya Ghar in utility-led aggregator (ULA)/renewable service company (RESCO) mode to rooftop solar power projects. Ground-mounted projects, or other aggregator models such as community solar or off-site installations, can be included only under the ULA/RESCO mode of the program, with the MNRE’s explicit permission.

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