Picture an installer in a district town. A sarpanch calls to say the village has been shortlisted for the Model Solar Village competition, there is ₹1 crore attached, and could the installer "do the whole village"? The installer has heard of the component but has never read it, so there is no way to tell whether this is a lead, a government tender or a rumour.
The honest answer is that it is two different things sitting under one name. One is a six-month race to install solar capacity, and that part runs through the normal PM Surya Ghar vendor route. The other is a ₹1 crore grant that a state agency spends on public and community assets, and the guideline says very little about who gets that work.
This guide reads the official text and sorts it for a district-level installer: who qualifies, how a village is picked, what the money can buy, and the few places where an installer fits. Where the text is silent, we say so. Nothing here promises work to any installer, and neither does the guideline.
Key takeaway. In MNRE's Model Solar Village component of PM Surya Ghar, one village per district wins ₹1 crore after a six-month challenge, judged on installed solar capacity inside the village boundary (MNRE guidelines, 9 Aug 2024). A State Renewable Energy Development Agency spends that grant on public and community assets, not on individual homes. An installer's work comes from the capacity race, through the normal portal route.
How this guide was built. All rules below come from documents of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). We opened the MNRE Model Solar Village guidelines (notified 9 August 2024), MNRE's Incentives for Local Bodies guidelines, the CFA guidelines for residential consumers (July 2025 upload), the PIB release of 12 August 2024, PIB release of 4 June 2026 and two Government of Sikkim district pages. We read each on 31 October 2026. The portal at pmsuryaghar.gov.in returned an access-denied page (HTTP 403) to our requests. The MNRE guideline we could open is dated 9 August 2024, and every rule below is from that text. Trade press reported a revision of this guideline in July 2025, but we could not find a revised text on MNRE's site, so we do not rely on it. Confirm the current rules with your District Level Committee or state nodal agency.
What the Model Solar Village component is, and what it is not
The Model Solar Village component creates one "model" village in each district. MNRE's guideline says the component "aims to create one Model Solar Village in each District of the country" and allocates ₹800 crore, with central financial assistance (CFA) of ₹1 crore per model village (MNRE guidelines, 9 August 2024, clauses 1.2 and 3). It is one of nine components of PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, which has a total outlay of ₹75,021 crore and runs to FY 2026-27.
₹800crore
Outlay for this component
Source: MNRE guidelines, 9 Aug 2024, clause 3
₹1crore
Central grant per model village
Source: MNRE guidelines, clause 7.1
1per district
Aim of the component
Source: PIB, 12 Aug 2024
6months
Competition period
Source: MNRE guidelines, clause 6.7
It helps to say what it is not. It is not the household subsidy. A household still gets its own CFA, ₹30,000 per kW for the first 2 kW and ₹18,000 for the third kW (CFA guidelines, July 2025 upload), through the portal. It is also not a scheme that puts free solar on every roof in the winning village. The ₹1 crore is a single grant for the village's public and community projects, and the guideline says plainly that "no individual beneficiaries can be included for CFA support" under it (clause 7.3).
For the household slabs and their examples, see our guide to PM Surya Ghar subsidy slabs. For the wider timeline of circulars, there is our policy updates post, and for what may come after this phase, the PM Surya Ghar 2.0 discussion. On 4 June 2026, the Union Minister said the ministry would "expand adoption through the Model Solar Village initiative" as part of its next steps (PIB, 4 June 2026). That is a statement of direction, not a new rule.
Who qualifies: the population rule
A village must be a revenue village with a population above 5,000 under the latest published Census. In special category States and UTs, the bar is 2,000. Those are Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, the North Eastern States including Sikkim, Andaman and Nicobar, and Lakshadweep (MNRE guidelines, clause 4).
These are the rules in the notified text of 9 August 2024. MNRE can amend them (clause 9), so before you tell a sarpanch that a village qualifies, check the current rules with the District Level Committee (DLC) or the state nodal agency.
How a village is picked: the six-month challenge
The guideline calls this "challenge mode". Villages in a district are mobilised to install distributed solar, "especially under PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana and other government schemes such as PM-KUSUM". When the period ends, the village with the highest cumulative capacity inside its revenue boundary is chosen (clause 6.1). The steps run in this order.
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1
The DLC lists eligible villages
The District Level Committee, headed by the District Magistrate or Collector (CFA guidelines, clause 15(e)), identifies eligible villages. It may narrow them using feasibility of rooftop solar, community interest and applications from panchayats (clauses 6.2 and 6.3).
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2
The DLC declares the candidates
Declaration starts the clock. The competition period is 6 months from that declaration (clause 6.7). The guideline does not fix a calendar date, so each district sets its own.
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3
The panchayat leads the mobilisation
Door-to-door outreach to prospective PM Surya Ghar beneficiaries, planning installations through other schemes, and awareness work, led by the panchayat. The DLC may set up village task forces led by the panchayat secretary (clause 6.4).
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4
The agency measures capacity
After six months the implementing agency assesses the distributed capacity inside each candidate's boundary and picks the village with the most, whether or not government support paid for it (clauses 6.7 and 6.8).
Two details decide who does well. First, what counts: rooftop solar, ground-mounted small plants under PM-KUSUM, and "standalone RE installations of capacity less than 10 MW at a single site" (clause 6.7). Second, what does not matter: whether a subsidy paid for it (clause 6.8). The guideline counts capacity, not households and not beneficiaries.
A real district shows how this runs on the ground. On 19 May 2025, the Government of Sikkim recorded a coordination meeting at the Pakyong district office, where the Additional District Collector explained that "the District Level Committee would identify and announce a cut-off date, marking the beginning of a six-month challenge period" (Government of Sikkim, 19 May 2025). On 24 June 2025 the Gangtok office said the official notification starting the challenge would follow "due approval from the District Collector cum chairman DLC" (Government of Sikkim, 24 June 2025). Both pages describe process only, and we do not cite them for any result.
For an installer, the practical point is simple. The cut-off date in your district is a public decision. Until the DLC announces it, nothing is counted.
The Two-Pot Map: where installer work can come from
We use one tool to read this component: the Two-Pot Map. Every rupee and every kilowatt in the scheme sits in one of two pots, and the rules for an installer are different in each.
Pot 1 is the capacity race. It is the installed solar inside the village boundary during the six months. Households, shops and factories feed it, and so do the PM-KUSUM installations the guideline names (clauses 6.1 and 6.7). The money behind it is the normal subsidy and the customers' own funds.
Pot 2 is the ₹1 crore. It pays for projects in a Detailed Project Report (DPR) written by the implementing agency after the village wins. It is a government grant for public and community assets.
| Pot 1: the capacity race | Pot 2: the ₹1 crore grant | |
|---|---|---|
| Who pays | Customers, with household CFA through the portal; PM-KUSUM and other schemes for pumps and plants | Central grant of ₹1 crore, which the agency may top up with state grants or bank borrowing (clause 7.7) |
| Who picks the installer | For household CFA, the consumer, from vendors registered on the national portal at mutually agreed rates (CFA guidelines, clause 6(c)) | Not stated. The guideline says the DPR is implemented by the agency after DLC approval (clauses 7.2 and 7.10) |
| What the official text says to installers | The panchayat should leverage "available vendor networks" and connect people to banks (clause 6.4) | Nothing on vendors, tendering or empanelment |
| Your entry route | Be registered on the portal and be known in the candidate village | Ask the state agency how it will award works, and whether it keeps a list of firms |
We think the first pot is where a district installer's normal business sits, and the second is a different business. Pot 2 is closer to a government works contract, where the buyer is an agency and the agency's own grant arrives in installments (see below). Both can suit a firm. They should not be priced, staffed or promised in the same way.
Pot 1 in practice: homes, commercial roofs and pumps in a candidate village
Pot 1 uses the route you already know. The consumer applies on the national portal, then "shall choose a vendor who is registered on the National Portal" and is "free to enter into arrangements with any such RTS vendor at mutually decided rates". The guideline adds that there is "no tendering or rate discovery by the state DISCOMs/agencies" (distribution companies) to empanel vendors (CFA guidelines, clause 6(c)). So for household subsidy jobs, the text sets up no separate village list for you to join. If you are not registered on the portal, a customer cannot use you to claim the subsidy. Our guides to vendor registration and the vendor portal dashboard cover that step.
The panchayat has a reason to bring you in. Under the Incentives for Local Bodies component, a Gram Panchayat receives ₹1,000 for every residential installation in its area whose CFA has been paid to the consumer through the portal (MNRE, Incentives for Local Bodies guidelines, clauses 4b and 6b). The same document expects local bodies to host "local melas bringing together vendors, banks and DISCOMs" for quick processing of applications (clause 4d). A mela is a lead source you can attend, subject to what the panchayat invites.
The capacity rule also changes who your best customer is. Because the village is judged on kilowatts, one large rooftop counts for many homes. The example below is illustrative.
| Illustrative village | Homes at 3 kW each | Other installed capacity | Total counted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Village A (assumed) | 90 homes, 270 kW | None | 270 kW |
| Village B (assumed) | 30 homes, 90 kW | One 250 kW factory rooftop | 340 kW |
Note. Both villages are invented to show the arithmetic. The guideline counts "total distributed RE capacity" inside the boundary (clause 6.7), so Village B leads with a third as many homes. We found no clause on how a district treats capacity commissioned before the cut-off date, so ask your DLC.
For a district installer this suggests a plan for a candidate village. Count homes, but also look for the one or two big roofs, cold storage units, schools with cleared roofs, and farm pumps. The guideline names PM-KUSUM installations among those counted, but it does not say how individual pumps are treated, so ask your DLC before you count one. Our PM-KUSUM Component B guide explains the pump side. For the home pitch, how to pitch PM Surya Ghar to customers and the documents list for the site visit apply unchanged.
One more point on cost. A 3 kW home system earns ₹78,000 of CFA under the July 2025 guideline (₹30,000 x 2 plus ₹18,000 x 1). Panchayat mobilisation does not raise or lower that figure. Quote what the portal pays, and do not promise a village discount that the scheme does not provide.
Pot 2: what the ₹1 crore can and cannot buy
After the winner is declared, the State Renewable Energy Development Agency (or another entity the state nominates) becomes the Model Solar Village Implementing Agency. It writes a DPR "for transitioning the village to a solar powered village", using "any mix of RE technologies based on local context" (clause 7.2). The DLC must approve the DPR before the agency implements it (clause 7.10).
| Item in the DPR (clause 7.4) | What to know | Constraint in the text |
|---|---|---|
| Community solar plant, with or without battery storage | A shared plant for the village | Owned and operated entirely by the panchayat or community collectives (7.6) |
| Solar equipment for livelihoods by self-help groups (SHGs) under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission | Equipment for self-help groups | Collectives contribute at least 10% (7.3) |
| Rooftop solar on government buildings | For example, a school or the panchayat office | Public projects can be supported up to 100% of cost (7.3) |
| Solar public lighting | Street and common-area lighting | Same as above |
| Solar Agri-PV pumps | Pumps for agriculture | No individual beneficiaries under the DPR (7.3) |
| Other solar technologies | Left open | Plus DISCOM settlement terms in the DPR: power purchase agreements, net or gross metering, network upgrades (7.8) |
The DISCOM line is easy to miss. The DPR "should include settlement mechanisms with the DISCOMs", so any plant in it touches the same approvals you know from the DISCOM approval process. A firm that handles those well has a real skill for this pot.
Money moves in three installments of the ₹1 crore: 40% when all works in the DPR are awarded, 40% after completion and DLC certification, and 20% after at least six months of operation (clause 8.2). Each installment must be spent within six months of release, and the next one comes only after the earlier one is used (clause 8.3). The DLC is to supervise implementation so all works finish within one year of DPR approval (clause 7.11). The arithmetic, with the grant at its full ₹1 crore, is below. It is illustrative.
| Release | Share | Amount on ₹1 crore | Trigger (clause 8.2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | 40% | ₹40 lakh | All works in the DPR awarded |
| Second | 40% | ₹40 lakh | All works completed and certified by the DLC |
| Third | 20% | ₹20 lakh | At least 6 months of operation |
Fast tip. The guideline sets no payment terms for contractors. Before you bid on any DPR work, ask the agency in writing when you would be paid for each stage.
What the guideline does not say about installers
It is worth listing the gaps, because the gaps are where false promises start. In the notified text of 9 August 2024, the only version we could open, we found nothing on how works in the DPR are awarded, whether firms must be empanelled or registered with the agency, how contractors are paid, or whether local firms get preference. It does not say that any installer will get work. It also does not set a vendor role in Pot 1 beyond the normal portal registration.
Four claims you may hear in a village are not supported by the text, and four points are.
What the text supports
- ✓The panchayat is told to use "available vendor networks", so a known local installer is easy to name (clause 6.4)
- ✓Capacity from homes, roofs and the PM-KUSUM installations the text names all counts, so several customer types can be served at once (clauses 6.1 and 6.7)
- ✓Local bodies earn ₹1,000 per installation, which gives the panchayat a reason to help (Local Bodies guidelines, clause 6b)
- ✓A DPR must deal with DISCOM settlement, where approval experience has value (clause 7.8)
What it does not support
- ✗"The ₹1 crore will fund every home": no individuals are included (clause 7.3)
- ✗"Local installers will do the whole village": consumers choose registered vendors, and DPR awards are not described
- ✗"Winning is certain once you mobilise": only the highest capacity in the district wins (clause 6.8)
- ✗"The agency will pay you from the grant": no contractor payment terms are written
A fair check before you spend time: if someone says the scheme promises something to installers, ask for the clause number. If they cannot give one, treat it as a rumour.
Is it worth your time? A five-question check for a district installer
The component suits some firms more than others. Our view is that it rewards installers who already work within a few hours of the candidate villages and already close PM Surya Ghar homes, because the race is won by kilowatts installed in six months. It is a poor reason to enter a new district. Use these five questions.
| Question | If yes | If no |
|---|---|---|
| Is a candidate village within your normal service radius? | Mobilisation visits are cheap to add | Skip for now |
| Are you registered as a vendor on the national portal today? | You can quote household CFA jobs now | Register first. See the vendor guides above |
| Can you finish a typical 3 kW home within your usual weeks, including DISCOM steps? | You can absorb a burst of orders | A rush will hurt your service in every village |
| Do you have one or two commercial or farm leads in the village? | These add capacity faster than homes | Ask the panchayat for a list of larger roofs |
| Can you wait for an agency's installment cycle? | Pot 2 may be worth a bid | Stay in Pot 1 |
₹ math. Illustrative: at ₹78,000 CFA per 3 kW home, 30 homes carry ₹23.4 lakh of subsidy through the portal, and each customer funds the rest of the system, before any state top-up. None of it comes from the ₹1 crore.
Many firms also forget the cash side of a six-month burst. A busy window means many approvals, material and subsidy waiting at once. The notes in the PM Surya Ghar disbursement timeline will help you plan working capital before you promise a village a pace.
Who to talk to in your district, and what to ask
The text names four parties at district level. Start with the one that runs the competition.
| Party | Role in the text | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| District Level Committee (DLC) | Headed by the District Magistrate or Collector. Identifies candidates, sets the competition period, approves the DPR, certifies completion (clauses 6.2, 7.10, 8.2; CFA guidelines 15(e)) | Has the cut-off date been announced? Which villages are on the list? Which version of the guideline do you follow? |
| State Renewable Energy Development Agency | Implementing agency; assesses capacity; writes the DPR (clauses 5, 6.7, 7.2) | How will DPR works be awarded? Is there an empanelment or a tender notice? |
| Panchayat and its secretary | Leads mobilisation; may head the village task force (clause 6.4) | Can installers join the mela? Is there a list of larger roofs and pumps? |
| DISCOM | Net and gross metering settlement in the DPR (clause 7.8); household approvals | Are there any local steps or forms for villages in this contest? |
Keep the questions short and keep a note of the answer, the date and the name of the person. District instructions change faster than national guidelines, and a dated note protects you when a customer says "the office told me something else". For the DISCOM side, our DISCOM glossary entry and the state top-up guide cover local variations. Funds under this component also depend on the state signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MNRE, according to the CFA guidelines (clause 12(b)), so ask whether your state has signed.
How QuickEstimate fits
QuickEstimate is not part of the Model Solar Village process and does not connect to the portal, the DLC or any agency. It helps the sales side of Pot 1, where one installer meets many people in one village in a short window.
What a district team can do with Quickest Solar CRM during a challenge period:
- Lead Capture: add each enquiry as a lead after a mela or a site visit, or bulk import your own list from Excel. Use a label for the village or ward so you can filter by it.
- Stages and follow-up reminders: move each lead through your own stages and set a reminder for the next call, so a home that said "after Diwali" does not disappear.
- Activity log: record what each household or business owner said, including the larger roofs you want to survey first. You can log an activity on several leads at once after a mela.
- Team and dashboard: give each rep a login with permissions and watch the team report for the village.
- Start free: the Free plan gives one user and 10 proposals a month, no card, which is enough to run one candidate village as a trial.
What to do this week
- Find your district's status. Call the DLC office or the state agency and ask whether candidate villages and a cut-off date have been announced. Write down the date, the name and the answer.
- Check your vendor status. Make sure your portal registration is live and your team knows the site-visit documents list.
- Map each candidate village. List homes you could reach, plus any large roofs, farms with pumps and public buildings. Add them as leads with a village label.
- Ask the agency two questions about Pot 2. How will DPR works be awarded, and is there a firm list? Do not bid or promise before you have the answers in writing.
- Set a pace you can keep. Decide how many installations a week you can finish without hurting your other customers, and tell the panchayat that number.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Model Solar Village scheme?
It is a component of PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana that aims to create one Model Solar Village in each district. MNRE allocated ₹800 crore, with ₹1 crore of central assistance for each selected village. The village is chosen through a six-month challenge on installed solar capacity (MNRE guidelines, 9 August 2024).
What is the population limit for a Model Solar Village?
The notified guideline of 9 August 2024 asks for a revenue village with a population above 5,000 under the latest published Census, and above 2,000 in special category States and UTs. MNRE can amend the rules, so confirm the current limit with your District Level Committee or state nodal agency.
How is the winning village chosen?
The District Level Committee declares candidate villages. They compete for six months. The implementing agency then measures the distributed renewable capacity inside each village boundary, and the village with the highest total is selected, whether or not a subsidy paid for it (clauses 6.1, 6.7 and 6.8).
What can the ₹1 crore be spent on?
The agency's project report can include a community solar plant with or without storage, solar equipment for self-help groups, rooftop solar on government buildings, solar public lighting, Agri-PV pumps and other solar projects. Collectives contribute at least 10%, and no individual beneficiaries are included (clauses 7.3 and 7.4).
Can a local installer register to work on a Model Solar Village?
The guideline has no separate registration for installers. For household rooftops, the consumer picks a vendor registered on the national portal. For the ₹1 crore project work, the text does not say how works are awarded, so ask the state agency. The scheme does not promise work to any installer.
Do homes in the winning village get extra subsidy?
No extra household subsidy is written into the guideline. Households claim the usual CFA through the portal, ₹30,000 per kW for the first 2 kW and ₹18,000 for the third kW. The ₹1 crore grant cannot go to individuals (clause 7.3).
How does the panchayat benefit from solar installations?
Under MNRE's Incentives for Local Bodies guideline, a Gram Panchayat gets ₹1,000 for each residential PM Surya Ghar installation in its area whose subsidy has been paid to the consumer through the portal. The guideline expects panchayats to run door-to-door outreach and local melas with vendors, banks and DISCOMs.
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