Executive summary

On 21 May 2026, India witnessed an all-time high peak electricity demand of 270.7 GW at 3.47 p.m., but the country’s renewable energy push helped it tide over the surge comfortably. Solar energy, including rooftop solar (RTS), alone helped tackle 22 per cent of the demand (National Power Portal 2026), highlighting its importance as a key pivot of India’s energy transition efforts. Within this sector, residential RTS is a significant focus area for the government in the pursuit of its Net Zero goal.

India’s journey in residential RTS adoption is at an inflection point. The launch of a dedicated scheme, Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana (PMSGY), in February 2024 marked a decisive policy shift. It has helped nearly double the sector’s growth rate from a CAGR of 45 per cent in 2017-2023 to 85 per cent in 2024-2026 (Bridge to India 2024). As of 31 May 2026, PMSGY has received 6.9 million applications and 4 million households have been covered under the scheme. Currently 11.9 GW of capacity has been installed-nearly doubling the entire residential RTS capacity built over the preceding decade.

In absolute terms, the number of households solarised in India (4 million [National Power Portal 2026]), are also now comparable to Australia, a pioneer in residential RTS installation where 4.3 million households solarised over a span of 15 years (Australian Government 2026), even though Australia continues to lead in per capita RTS installations with approximately one in three equipped with RTS (Australian bureau of statistics 2025). To reach the 10 million mark by March 2027, India needs to sustain its current momentum to solarise 0.6 million households per month between June 2026 to March 2027 to reach the 10 million mark. At the same time, there can be an increased effort to diversify the adoption beyond the five states-Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala, accounting for more than 71 per cent of national installed capacity.

Figure ES1. PM Surya Ghar Yojana nearly doubled the residential RTS growth rate

Nearly two-third of the households applying for RTS proceed to installation, showcasing that the PMSGY is performing well among those who start the journey (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy 2026). The priority now should be to widen the pipeline by reducing the drop outs occurring at every stage of the RTS adoption journey. Our analysis suggests that the dropouts occur in households facing information, procedural, and financial challenges.

This report-the first-ever national consumer-side survey on residential RTS since PMSGY launch, is an attempt to understand the bottlenecks currently hobbling its expansion and suggest ways to overcome the challenges. Based on a survey of 17,094 households across 21 states and 1 union territory (UT), it set out to answer four questions:

• How aware are households about RTS in light of PMSGY, and what is their perception about it?
• What are the factors impacting willingness to adopt and installation decisions across household categories?
• At which stage of the consumer journey does conversion face the greatest challenges?
• What actionable pathways can be designed to support implementation and improve in-process conversion?

To answer these questions, the study adopts a consumer journey framework, tracing the path from need recognition through perception, accessibility, and affordability, and to post-installation experience. The findings help frame stage-specific targeted interventions to reduce attrition rate.

Figure ES2. Survey highlights-21 states and 1 UT, 3 million+ data points

Key findings from the survey

The findings of our survey suggest that the greatest opportunity in India’s RTS programme lies not in creating demand but in enabling action. The survey found that out of the 57 per cent who are aware of RTS, half (26%) were willing to consider RTS, 5 per cent initiated installation, with 1.4 per cent completing the process (Figure ES3). The drop between the journey of willingness to action reveals that insights and nudges from trusted sources can ensure continued momentum and adoption. The survey shows that awareness has significantly improved over the years but more targeted interventions can convert the intent into action.

Figure ES3. The willingness is high and the opportunity now lies in enabling action

• Rising awareness is creating a strong foundation for adoption. Among the households surveyed, 57 per cent reported specific awareness about RTS i.e. how solar can be leveraged to power their homes. General awareness about solar technology has grown significantly since the launch of PMSGY in 2024; from 50 per cent in 2020 to 90 per cent in 2026 (Zachariah et al. 2023). Higher awareness level is one of the key factors defining the higher willingness to adopt as seen at the national level. As shown in Figure ES4, we see that once imparted scheme information, even 55 per cent of the unaware were willing to adopt. At the regional level, distinct adoption patterns emerge. Tamil Nadu and Odisha stand out with above-average awareness translating into stronger intent. In contrast, Delhi and Kerala, despite relatively high awareness, willingness to adopt, was limited, indicating a conversion gap. Meanwhile, Maharashtra, a pioneer in RTS deployment, reflects a more mature market, with both awareness and intent significantly higher than the national average.

Figure ES4. Among households that were previously unaware, 55% reported being willing to adopt RTS

• Trusted actors and in-person channels are essential to convert visibility into recognised need. We estimate a 66 GW1 theoretical convertible demand can be unlocked if awareness gaps are bridged, increasing potential adoption by 24 percentage points among currently unaware households willing to adopt RTS. Nearly 71 per cent of the households surveyed reported trust in government departments and officials as credible sources of information on new government schemes, and preference towards in-person visits as the primary mode of communication. Additionally, trust needs to be complemented by depth of engagement to ensure outcomes. Adopters reported twice the exposure to targeted, experiencebased interventions, such as solar-specific events, radio ads, print ads compared to non-adopters. This confirms that the quality and specificity of information received, not merely its reach, are also important to convert trust into action.
• Accessibility barriers are concentrated at the point of initiation and can be eased through targeted process support. Among aware and willing households, 71 per cent have not yet taken the first step in their RTS journey. The main reason for this non-initiation is the absence of accessible and trusted guidance on the formal adoption process. Among households who initiated the process, nearly half (43 per cent) reported a smooth end-to-end experience and for those who encountered friction, the barriers were concentrated at specific, identifiable stages such as application submission, vendor selection, and net metering approvals, each of which are addressable through targeted process support. Some barriers, such as inadequate roof space and roof ownership constraints, are more structural in nature and are especially relevant in urban settings.
• Affordability concerns are often linked to limited awareness of financing options, not cost alone. The affordability barrier is largely recoverable, as 73 per cent of households that perceive RTS as expensive are unaware of available financing options. Among households that are aware of financing, upfront cost concerns are expressed mainly among those with low electricity consumption, pointing to a weaker economic value proposition for adoption in this segment. Addressing affordability barriers of households that are aware, and not interested in RTS, through suitable financing options could translate into a theoretical convertible demand of 22.7 GW².
• Satisfied adopters are a significant and underutilised conversion asset. At present, adoption is concentrated among high-income urban households with a high electricity consumption (electricity bills 51 per cent higher than non-adopters). More than 90 per cent adopters reported a positive post-installation experience, especially with bill savings and system performance, and 87 per cent were willing to recommend their solar vendors to others-an untapped feedback mechanism and peer-learning exercise with significant potential to scale RTS adoption.

Recommendations to scale RTS adoption under PMSGY

To sustain PMSGY’s momentum and convert demand into action, we structured targeted interventions around the five stages of consumer journey:

• Adopt a phased and targeted outreach strategy. A phased approach needs to be adopted based on each state’s level of awareness and RTS maturity. Mass media and peer channels should establish the initial visibility that makes direct outreach effective. This needs to be followed by hyperlocal digital engagement through WhatsApp and community platforms. Direct-to-home outreach anchored by government officials and discoms should then convert this visibility into recognised need. Institutional outreach will be most productive when households already have a point of reference.
• Lead consumer communication with financial value and address misconceptions early. All consumer communications should lead with the potential for electricity bill savings as this is the most effective pitch to translate intent into adoption. Second, preempt misconceptions about backup power in communications to prevent dissatisfaction-driven negative word-of-mouth that undermines adoption. The knowledge gap with respect to the PMSGY process can be overcome entirely through targeted, call-to-actionfocused communication.
• Reduce first-step and procedural friction at scale. Handholding of consumers should be embedded at every potential friction point such as automated nudges linking to empanelled vendor lists, guidance on documentation and approvals. The next step in the application process should always be visible and one click away.
• Expand financing awareness and design segment-specific products. A significant share of affordability-related demand is recoverable if financing products are accessible and awareness is created. Capacity building for frontline bank staff is a necessary condition for financing awareness to deliver results. Active communication on financing literacy (EMI structures, collateral-free loans, payback periods) must be integrated into initial outreach. Segment-specific interventions will help to unlock the potential. For example, rural households need zero or low upfront seasonal EMI-based products delivered through self-help groups and NABARD (India’s apex development bank for rural development), while low-consumption households need bundled messaging on financing literacy (EMI structures, payback periods relative to tariff savings) paired with lifecycle cost comparisons to demonstrate long-term affordability.
• Activate adopters as structured conversion assets; protect their experience. Before activating adopters as promoters, an operation and maintenance (O&M) briefing must be embedded as a mandatory installation handover step to close the O&M awareness gap. It needs to be reinforced through automated service reminders over the system’s 25-year lifespan. After establishing a durable experience base, structured solar open house events can be organised within gram sabhas and resident welfare association (RWA) meetings-where adopters can present before-and-after bill data, describe vendor selection, and walk through financing steps-to directly address first-step friction and financing information gaps through peer testimony that no campaign can replicate.