The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved a financing package of USD 890 million (mn) to support India's national rooftop solar programme. The package comprises an USD 820 mn loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a USD 60 mn concessional loan from the Clean Technology Fund and a USD 10 mn grant from IBRD's Livable Planet Fund.

Beyond the public financing, the World Bank will mobilise USD 4.2 billion (bn) in private financing in the form of commercial loans to help households install rooftop solar systems. The initiative is expected to create around one point seven mn job opportunities across the renewable energy manufacturing, installation and services value chain.

The financing will support the Government of India's PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana and aims to encourage rooftop solar installations in 10 mn rural and urban households. The programme seeks to expand residential solar adoption, reduce household electricity costs and promote local manufacturing of rooftop solar equipment.

While India has witnessed rapid growth in large scale solar projects, uptake of rooftop systems in the residential segment has lagged. The programme has been designed to unlock this untapped potential by providing incentives, strengthening stakeholder capacity and addressing financial barriers that limit household participation.

World Bank officials noted that the institution has supported the rooftop solar sector for more than a decade and mobilised more than USD 2 bn to catalyse market growth from 500 MW to over 27 GW of installed capacity. Task team leaders said the programme will remove financial barriers through collateral free financing and build the capacity of distribution companies, banks and vendors to deliver integrated service solutions that lower monthly electricity bills for households.