Union Minister Inaugurates 7th AgriVoltaics World Conference
Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare · Agriculture · Posted 21 OCT 2026 7:56PM
What happened
Union Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurated the 7th AgriVoltaics World Conference in New Delhi, emphasizing the integration of solar power generation above agricultural fields with crop cultivation below to increase farmers' incomes. Union Minister Shri Pralhad Joshi announced plans to launch the world's largest AgriVoltaics campaign under the next phase of the PM-KUSUM scheme.
Why it matters for UPSC
This release illustrates government policies intersecting agriculture, renewable energy, and rural development, relevant to UPSC syllabus themes on inclusive agricultural growth, farmer welfare, and clean energy transition.
Key objectives
- Design AgriVoltaics policies centered on the needs of India's 85% small and marginal farmers, whose average landholding is 0.96 hectares.
- Launch the world's largest AgriVoltaics campaign in the next phase of the PM-KUSUM scheme.
- Harness AgriVoltaics potential—identified by TERI as suitable for 4.75 crore hectares (30% of agricultural land)—to potentially meet India's electricity demand up to 2050 by using just 10% of that suitable area.