Vice-President presents the 'PM Surya Ghar Excellence Award' to the Ministry of Railways

5 November 2026 · English Infrastructure & Energy

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Topics: Energy · 5 November 2026 Current Affairs (UPSC / TNPSC / SSC / RRB)

News

At the 'Renewable Energy Summit & Expo 2026' at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan presented the 'PM Surya Ghar Excellence Award' to the Ministry of Railways on 5 Nov 2026. Under the 'PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana', the Railways ranked first in the category 'Maximum Buildings Solarized by Central Ministries/Departments': rooftop solar on 12,495 of 15,868 feasible railway buildings (79%), with 351 MW commissioned against a 424 MW target. The rest are to be covered by March 2027.

Key facts

Award	PM Surya Ghar Excellence Award – first in 'Maximum Buildings Solarized by Central Ministries/Departments'
Presented by / date	Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan; 5 Nov 2026; Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi
Railways' record	12,495 of 15,868 feasible buildings (79%); 351 MW / target 424 MW
Nationally	77 Central Ministries/Departments – 25,984 of 39,135 buildings (66%)
Next target	Remaining feasible buildings – by March 2027

Background

• Railways' green goal: Indian Railways aims to become a 'Net Zero Carbon Emission' transport network by 2030 – through electrification, purchase of solar and wind power, and rooftop solar plants.
• Science: a photovoltaic (solar) cell converts light energy directly into electrical energy as direct current (DC); an inverter changes it to alternating current (AC) for home use. Under net metering only the net of power exported and imported is billed.
• Scheme: 'PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana' – launched in Feb 2024; outlay ₹75,021 crore; rooftop solar for 1 crore homes; run by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). Solarisation of government buildings is also tracked under it.

Tamil Nadu link: electricity tariffs in the State, and the rules for connecting rooftop solar systems to the grid, are set by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) – the State commission functioning under the Electricity Act, 2003.

Source: ANI (Asianet Newsable), The News Mill, Awaz The Voice, 5 Nov 2026; Down To Earth, Deccan Herald (Railways net zero 2030); TNERC

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