A 3 kW rooftop system in Delhi NCR leaves most households paying somewhere between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.4 lakh after subsidy. That is real money, and plenty of people who would benefit from solar do not have it sitting idle. The good news is that the financing attached to this scheme is unusually reasonable, and the arithmetic often works out better than paying the electricity bill you are already paying. The headline option is a collateral-free loan of up to Rs 2 lakh at around 7 per cent, available through a number of public sector banks under the PM Surya Ghar scheme. No property needs to be pledged. On a Rs 1.3 lakh loan over five years, the EMI works out at roughly Rs 2,600 a month. Now compare that to what the system saves. A 3 kW system in Delhi NCR typically takes around Rs 2,800 to Rs 3,200 a month off the bill. In other words, for many households the EMI is smaller than the saving from day one. You are substituting a bill you already pay for a loan that ends, and once it ends the saving continues for another twenty years. That is the single most persuasive argument for financing rather than waiting to save up. Bank route versus non-bank lenders. Public sector banks are cheaper but slower, typically three to four weeks to approve. Non-bank lenders approve faster and with less paperwork, but at meaningfully higher rates. If you are borrowing a lakh or more, the rate difference over five years is large enough that the extra few weeks with a bank is usually worth it. If you are borrowing a small top-up amount, speed may reasonably win. Watch the sequencing of the subsidy. The subsidy arrives after commissioning, generally 30 to 45 days later, not upfront. This means you may need to fund the full system cost first and receive the subsidy afterwards. Some installers offer arrangements around this and some banks structure the loan accordingly. Ask explicitly how the subsidy timing is handled in your case, because assuming it will offset your first payment can leave you short. What to check before signing anything. Confirm whether the quotation is inclusive of GST, since residential rooftop solar attracts GST and the subsidy is calculated on the pre-GST amount. Ask whether net-metering liaison and DISCOM paperwork are included or billed separately. Get the panel make, model and DCR compliance in writing, because non-compliant modules cost you the entire subsidy. And confirm the installer is registered on the national portal, without which no subsidy is payable regardless of installation quality. Warranties are part of the financial picture. Panels typically carry 25-year performance warranties. Inverters carry far shorter ones, commonly five to ten years, and the inverter is the component most likely to need replacing somewhere around year ten to twelve. Budget for that replacement rather than being surprised by it. Many installers also offer their own workmanship warranty and annual maintenance contracts, which are worth comparing between quotes. When borrowing is not the right call. If your electricity bill is small, say under Rs 1,500 a month, the saving may not comfortably cover an EMI and the case for borrowing weakens. If you are likely to move house within a few years, you are financing an asset whose payback you will not see, though it may add to resale value. And if your roof has shading problems or ownership complications, resolve those before taking on debt against a system that will underperform. The honest summary is that solar financing in India in 2026 is one of the better deals available to a homeowner, largely because the loan is cheap, unsecured and matched against a saving you are already making every month. Run our solar calculator to see your own numbers, then take those numbers to a bank and to at least two registered installers before you decide.
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Last updated 24 July 2026 · Reviewed by the RenSetu team