Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday, 1 July 2026, announced that the state government is actively working to close its irrigation gap and expand agricultural irrigation facilities to cover over 27 lakh hectares, with PM KUSUM — the central solar pump scheme — identified as a key instrument for achieving year-round farm output and higher farmer incomes.

Context

Posting on X, Sarma stated: 'We're working towards closing the irrigation gap in Assam and expand irrigation facilities to 27+ lakh hectares. PM KUSUM is an excellent scheme in this regard and we want to rapidly expand the solar water pump coverage across Assam to ensure year-long farm output and enhanced income.'

The announcement signals a policy priority for the BJP-led Assam government as it seeks to reduce the state's dependence on erratic monsoon rainfall, which has historically constrained agricultural productivity across the northeastern state.

Policy Backdrop

PM KUSUM — the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan — was launched in 2019 by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy with a national mandate to install 17.5 lakh standalone solar pumps and solarise 10 lakh grid-connected pumps for farmers across India.

The scheme subsidises solar pumps, cutting farmers' dependence on expensive diesel-powered alternatives and reducing carbon emissions. Its Component-B targets standalone solar pumps, while Component-C focuses on solarising existing grid-connected agricultural pump sets — both directly relevant to Assam's irrigation ambitions.

Separately, the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), launched in 2015, has sought to expand cultivable area under assured irrigation and improve water-use efficiency — a national framework within which state-level efforts like Assam's now sit.

Stakeholders and Impact

Assam's agriculture sector is dominated by small and marginal farmers who remain heavily reliant on rain-fed cultivation. The state's geography — marked by hilly terrain, annual flood cycles, and monsoon variability — has long suppressed irrigation coverage, leaving large tracts of farmland dependent on a single cropping season.

Expanding solar pump coverage under PM KUSUM would directly benefit these farmers by enabling irrigation during dry spells, supporting multiple cropping cycles, and reducing input costs tied to diesel pumps. Northeastern states have progressively aligned their irrigation and renewable-energy plans with central programmes to address precisely these constraints.

The broader push for solar-powered irrigation also fits into a national pattern, active since 2015, of integrating clean energy into agriculture to simultaneously address rural income gaps and emissions reduction targets.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to state-level implementation: specifically, the annual installation targets and actual deployment progress under PM KUSUM Component-B and Component-C in Assam. The government's ability to coordinate with central ministries, manage land and grid infrastructure, and reach remote farming communities will determine how quickly the 27+ lakh hectare goal translates from ambition to irrigated acreage.

If the rollout accelerates, it could serve as a model for other flood-prone and hilly northeastern states grappling with similar irrigation deficits — and reinforce Sarma's position as a key architect of development policy across the North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) bloc.