New Delhi: The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s (MNRE) budget surge is effectively a rooftop solar story, not a diversified renewables expansion. The MNRE’s net allocation has risen sharply to Rs 32,914.7 crore in Budget 2026–27, up from Rs 25,301.2 crore in 2025–26 (revised estimate), but the fine print shows that most of the increase is concentrated in a single scheme.
Solar energy accounts for more than 90 percent of MNRE’s central sector scheme outlay, with rooftop solar under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana emerging as the dominant beneficiary of higher budgetary support.
The allocation for PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana has been raised to Rs 22,000 crore in 2026–27 from Rs 17,000 crore in 2025–26 (revised estimate), making it the single largest line item in the ministry’s budget.
In addition, Rs 10,000 crore has been earmarked as transfers to the Sovereign Green Fund for the scheme, underlining the continued reliance on off-budget financing to support rooftop solar deployment.
Taken together, PM Surya Ghar alone accounts for nearly two-thirds of MNRE’s total programme spending, crowding out other renewable energy segments.
After a sharp reduction in 2025–26, allocations for grid-connected solar power have been increased to Rs 1,775 crore in 2026–27 from Rs 1,000 crore in the revised estimates of the previous year. While this marks a recovery, funding remains well below levels seen in earlier years, reinforcing the shift in policy emphasis from utility-scale projects to distributed rooftop installations.
Despite repeated policy emphasis on diversifying India’s renewable energy mix, budgetary support for wind and small hydro projects remains unchanged.
The allocation for wind power has been kept flat at Rs 500 crore, while small hydro continues to receive Rs 50 crore. The total outlay for wind and other renewable energy programmes stands at Rs 551 crore, unchanged from the previous year.
The National Green Hydrogen Mission has been allocated Rs 600 crore in 2026–27, the same as in the previous year’s budget estimate. The unchanged allocation suggests a cautious approach to scaling up green hydrogen spending, despite its positioning as a key pillar of India’s long-term clean energy transition strategy.
Funding for the Green Energy Corridor, a critical component for evacuating renewable power, has been reduced to Rs 599.99 crore in 2026–27 from Rs 800 crore in 2025–26 (revised estimate). The lower allocation comes even as transmission constraints continue to be cited as a key bottleneck for integrating higher renewable capacity into the grid.
Bioenergy programmes have received a modest boost, with total allocations rising to Rs 275 crore in 2026–27 from Rs 175 crore in the previous year’s revised estimates. However, bioenergy remains a marginal component of MNRE’s overall spending compared with solar.
Off-budget financing continues to play a central role in MNRE’s strategy. Budget support for the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) has been raised to Rs 40,064.7 crore in 2026–27, while support for the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has more than doubled to Rs 2,824.9 crore.
The increased reliance on public sector balance sheets highlights the government’s preference for leveraging financial intermediaries rather than expanding direct budgetary support across renewable technologies.
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