The World Bank Group has approved financing to accelerate India's national solar rooftop programme, as reported by Outlook Business and Business Standard. The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors approved the project on Friday, marking a significant milestone in India's renewable energy expansion. The financing package includes $820 million from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), $60 million from the Clean Technology Fund, and $10 million from IBRD's Livable Planet Fund. According to Outlook Business, this comprehensive financing structure will help India scale up residential solar adoption while creating substantial employment opportunities across the renewable energy sector.
According to Outlook Business, the programme is expected to create 1.7 million job opportunities across the renewable energy manufacturing, installation, and services value chain. The initiative will also bring clean energy to millions of homes nationwide. India has committed to achieving net zero by 2070 and increasing non-fossil-fuel-based energy resources to 60 per cent of its electricity mix by 2035. As reported by Zee News, while large-scale solar has grown rapidly, residential solar adoption has been limited, making this programme crucial for achieving India's renewable energy targets. The scheme seeks to reduce household electricity bills, expand the use of clean energy and promote domestic manufacturing of rooftop solar equipment.
As reported by Outlook Business and Business Standard, the World Bank will mobilize $4.2 billion in private financing through commercial loans to enable solar rooftop installation for households. This private sector engagement is designed to complement the multilateral funding and accelerate market penetration. According to Zee News, the programme aims to unlock residential solar adoption potential while reducing household electricity costs. The World Bank's approach focuses on removing financial barriers and building capacity across the entire supply chain to deliver integrated service solutions.
According to Outlook Business and Business Standard, the Government of India established the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana programme to incentivise solar rooftop installation for 10 million rural and urban households nationwide. As of December 9, 2025, 19.45 lakh rooftop solar systems had been installed nationwide, with the programme helping over 7.7 lakh households achieve zero electricity bills, as reported by the government to Parliament in December last year. The initiative represents a strategic shift to unlock residential solar potential and encourage sustainable energy adoption across India's diverse population centers. New and Renewable Energy Minister Pralhad Joshi announced last month that with more than 6.5 million applications in the pipeline, the government is targeting rooftop solar installations in 7.5 million homes by December 2026.
As reported by Outlook Business and Business Standard, the programme will transform the residential solar market by removing financial barriers and building capacity of distribution companies, banks, and vendors to deliver integrated service solutions. Through collateral-free financing at lower interest rates linked to the repo rate, households can install solar power and significantly reduce their monthly electricity bills. According to Zee News, Moez Cherif, Task Team Leader of the program, emphasized that this financing will help India scale up residential solar while creating job opportunities across the supply chain and installation ecosystem. The World Bank has been supporting India's solar rooftop sector for over a decade, mobilizing more than $2 billion to catalyse market growth from 500 MW to over 27 GW of installed capacity.
