India’s first farm based “KUSUM” solar power project was commissioned in which village of Rajasthan?
- (1)Chitalwana
- (2)Chanod
- (3)Rani
- (4)Bhaloji
Answer
Why
Correct — option (4), Bhaloji.
On Thursday, 1 April 2021, Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Ltd (RRECL) commissioned a farm-based solar power project under the PM-KUSUM scheme. PTI reported that it was "established on 3.5 acres of farmland at Bhaloji village, Kotputli, in Jaipur". The site is Bhaloji.
The Times of India called it "the country’s first farm-based solar power project under the Kusum scheme". Energy Minister B.D. Kalla said Rajasthan had become the first state to commission such a project.
The plant has a capacity of 1 MW. It was the first of 623 farm-based solar projects selected by RRECL for 722 MW under the scheme's first phase in the state.
The idea to remember: first farm-based PM-KUSUM solar plant = Bhaloji village, Kotputli (then in Jaipur district), 1 MW, commissioned 1 April 2021.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)Chitalwana — Chitalwana is not the village named in the reports of the commissioning. PTI and the Times of India both place the first farm-based KUSUM project at Kotputli, with PTI naming Bhaloji village.
The project there was commissioned by RRECL on 1 April 2021.
- (2)Chanod — Chanod is not the site named in the reports. The 1 MW plant commissioned on 1 April 2021 stands on 3.5 acres of farmland at Bhaloji village, Kotputli, according to PTI.
The land belongs to farmer Devkaran Yadav, who signed a 25-year contract with RRECL.
- (3)Rani — Rani is not the site named in the reports. The first farm-based solar plant under PM-KUSUM was commissioned at Bhaloji village in Kotputli, then part of Jaipur district.
PTI and the Times of India both date the commissioning to 1 April 2021.
Concept
PM-KUSUM is the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan Mahabhiyan of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). MNRE's implementation guidelines set out three components.
Component A: decentralised, grid-connected solar or other renewable power plants set up by farmers, farmer groups, cooperatives or panchayats, among others; the guidelines give a plant size of 500 kW to 2 MW. Component B: stand-alone solar agriculture pumps. Component C: solarisation of existing grid-connected agriculture pumps.
The reports call the Bhaloji plant a farm-based project. At 1 MW, on a farmer's land and selling its power to the distribution company, it fits the Component A description.
RPSC's 2021 syllabus lists "Major Current Events and Issues of Rajasthan, India and International Importance." under Current Affairs.
The guidelines say such plants let farmers earn income from barren or uncultivable land by selling power to distribution companies. At Bhaloji, RRECL's Subodh Agarwal said the plant was expected to generate 17 lakh units a year, bought by the distribution company at Rs 3.14 per unit.
PTI reported that the state had decided to develop 2,600 MW under the scheme.
Key facts
- 1 April 2021: RRECL commissioned the first farm-based solar power project under PM-KUSUM at Bhaloji village, Kotputli.
- Kotputli was reported as being in Jaipur district at the time.
- Capacity 1 MW, on 3.5 acres; expected generation 17 lakh units a year, sold at Rs 3.14 per unit.
- It was the first of 623 farm-based projects selected by RRECL for 722 MW under the first phase.
- Farmland owner Devkaran Yadav has a 25-year contract with RRECL.
Sources: MNRE, Guidelines for Implementation of PM KUSUM; PTI and Times of India reports of 1–2 April 2021.
Study next
Common traps
- Village versus town: Bhaloji is the village; Kotputli is the place named in the Times of India headline.
- District names change: Kotputli was reported in Jaipur district in April 2021, and Rajasthan's district map has been redrawn since, so tie the district to that date.
- Component A versus pumps: the Bhaloji project is a power plant that sells electricity, not a solar pump for irrigation.
A question can ask the village or place where a scheme's first project was commissioned.
A question can also ask which agency commissioned it, its capacity, or which component of PM-KUSUM it belongs to.
Related PYQs
In Rajasthan, which agency is entrusted with the responsibility of implementation of PM-KUSUM Yojana (component A) i.e. installation of small solar power plants of 0.5 MW to 2 MW capacity ?
- (1) Bureau of Energy Efficiency
- (2) Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Limited
- (3) Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited
- (4) Rajasthan Vidyut Prasaran Nigam
Answer(2)
Both are on PM-KUSUM in Rajasthan. That question asks which agency implements its Component A (RPSC's key: Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Limited); this one asks the village where the first farm-based project under the scheme was commissioned.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which agency commissioned India's first farm-based solar power project under PM-KUSUM at Bhaloji village, Rajasthan, in April 2021?
- (a)Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Ltd
- (b)Solar Energy Corporation of India
- (c)NTPC Ltd
- (d)Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd
Answer(1) — PTI and the Times of India report that RRECL commissioned the project on 1 April 2021. Options (2), (3) and (4) are other power-sector bodies, not the one named as commissioning it. - practice — not a real PYQ
What is the capacity of the farm-based PM-KUSUM solar power plant commissioned at Bhaloji village, Kotputli, on 1 April 2021?
- (a)500 kW
- (b)1 MW
- (c)2 MW
- (d)5 MW
Answer(2) — The Times of India reports a capacity of 1 megawatt on 3.5 acres. Option (1) is the lower size and option (3) the upper size that MNRE's guidelines give for Component A plants; option (4) is larger than that range.