Union Budget 2024-25: PM-Surya Ghar Yojana expected to create 17 lakh direct jobs, says Economic Survey 2023-24

The Economic Survey 2023-24, tabled by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament on Monday, said that the PM-Surya Ghar Yojana initiative is expected to add 30 GW of solar capacity. The initiative is aimed at creating around 17 lakh jobs across the solar value chain.

The PM-Surya Ghar Yojana was launched in February this year with a cost outlay of Rs 75,021 crore. Its key objective is to install rooftop solar panels and provide free electricity upto 300 units every month to 1 crore households. 

"First, PM-Surya Ghar Yojana, launched in February 2024 with a total cost outlay of Rs 75,021 crore, is expected to add 30 GW of solar capacity and reduce 720 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, creating around 17 lakh direct jobs across the solar value chain," the Economic Survey read. 

The account of India's annual economic performance, authored by Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Dr V Anantha Nageswaran, added that the government  has notified the national offshore wind energy policy and offshore wind energy lease rules, 2023.

"Several offshore zones have been identified for harnessing this potential, and viability gap funding for an initial capacity of 1 gigawatt has been announced recently," the document mentioned. 

Sounding a cautionary note, the economic survey also stated that India's energy needs are likely to go up by 2-2.5 times by 2047. It also noted that 84 per cent of India's energy requirements were met through fossil fuel-dominant sources like coal, oil and natural gas.

"Considering that resources are limited, the pace of energy transition would need to factor in alternative demands on the resources for improving resilience to climate change and for sustained social and economic development," the survey read. 

It further said that achieving Net Zero by 2070 requires a transition to a diversified mix of energy sources comprising a significant share of non-fossils. The document further mentioned that energy production and usage efficiency needs to be enhanced for achieving the Net Zero targets.