Under the PM-KUSUM scheme, Shakti Pumps wins an order worth Rs 150 crore

On Monday, Shakti Pumps revealed that it had received a Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) scheme order of Rs 149.71 crore.

According to a statement from Shakti Pumps, the most recent order is the first to be placed under the government scheme’s component C.

“Shakti Pumps announces its inaugural commercial order under the PM-KUSUM scheme component-C from Ajmer Viduyt Vitran Nigam Limited for the total worth of Rs 149.71 crore,” the water pump business stated in a statement.

The project comprises switching out inefficient electric pump sets for BLDC (brushless DC) solar pump sets, which run on solar power and may export excess electricity to the grid.

According to the corporation, this helps farmers all throughout India by improving irrigation capacities, reducing their reliance on conventional energy sources, and giving them the chance to profit from selling excess electricity to discoms.

“This revolutionary action changes ‘Annadata’ (food providers) into ‘Urja data’ (energy providers),” stated Dinesh Patidar, chairman of Shakti Pumps. Farmers may earn up to Rs 50,000 per year and up to Rs 2.5 lakh in 5 years by selling excess electricity to discoms, while Discoms would recoup their pump set cost of Rs 10 lakh in 5 years by saving up to Rs 2 lakh in annual energy expenses.

Farmers all around India will have more control over their own lives thanks to the initiative, which also increases irrigation capacity and reduces dependency on conventional energy sources.

PM-KUSUM, which was introduced in 2019, intends to increase solar capacity by 30,800 MW by 2022 with a total financial contribution from the federal government of Rs 34,422 crore, including service fees to the implementing agencies.

Because the Covid pandemic had significant effects on its execution, the Center in February extended the PM-KUSUM program until March 2026.

Three components make up the plan — By establishing small power plants with a maximum capacity of 2 MW, component A will install 10,000 MW of solar capacity, while component B will install 20 lakh standalone solar-powered agricultural pumps. The solarization of 15 lakh grid-connected agricultural pumps is done in Component C.