As per the Jammu and Kashmir Budget 2024-25, around how many Megawatt(MW) rooftop solar power plants are planned to be installed…

Question

As per the Jammu and Kashmir Budget 2024-25, around how many Megawatt(MW) rooftop solar power plants are planned to be installed on the government buildings by the Science and Technology Department?

1. A. 1 MW
2. B. 2 MW
3. C. 3 MW
4. D. 4 MW (Correct answer)

Correct Answer

Option D — 4 MW

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is 4 MW.

Key Points

• The Jammu and Kashmir Budget 2024-25 provided for the installation of roughly 4 MW of rooftop solar power plants on government buildings, to be taken up by the Science and Technology Department.
• The measure sits within a wider push to raise the share of renewable generation in the Union Territory and to cut the electricity bill of government establishments, which is met from the budget itself.

Additional Information

• How the budget was presented: with the Union Territory under central rule and without a functioning legislature at the time, the J&K budget for 2024-25 was presented in Parliament by the Union Finance Minister, as had been done in the preceding years.
• PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, launched in February 2024, is the national rooftop solar programme, targeting 1 crore households with up to 300 units of free electricity a month, central financial assistance for installation, and collateral-free low-interest loans. Government-building installations of the kind funded here complement it on the institutional side.
• J&K's energy position is defined by its very large hydropower potential, estimated at around 20,000 MW, of which only a fraction has been harnessed. Major projects include Salal, Baglihar, Dulhasti, Uri, Kishanganga, Ratle and Pakal Dul, several of them under the constraints of the Indus Waters Treaty.
• The treaty (1960), brokered by the World Bank, gives India unrestricted use of the eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas and Sutlej — and limited, largely non-consumptive use of the western rivers — Indus, Jhelum and Chenab, which flow through J&K. This is why most projects in the region are run-of-the-river designs.
• National solar context: India's installed solar capacity has grown rapidly under the National Solar Mission, and the country's updated NDC targets about 50% of installed electric power capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030. Large installations include Bhadla Solar Park (Rajasthan) and Pavagada (Karnataka).