The Chief Minister's Office of Rajasthan announced on Saturday, 25 July 2026, that farmers across 26 districts of the state are now receiving daytime electricity supply, with the government committing to extend this benefit to all districts by 2027. The post, attributed to Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, stated in Hindi: 'प्रदेश के 26 जिलों में, किसानों को दिन में बिजली दी जा रही है' ('In 26 districts of the state, farmers are being given electricity during the day'), adding that by 2027, all districts would benefit from this arrangement. The announcement was tagged with the hashtag #आपणो_अग्रणी_राजस्थान ('Our Leading Rajasthan'), the state government's ongoing branding campaign.

Context

For decades, agricultural electricity supply in Rajasthan — a predominantly agrarian state in western India — has largely been scheduled during night hours to manage grid load. This arrangement forced farmers to operate irrigation pump-sets in darkness, raising safety risks and reducing productivity. Shifting to daytime supply addresses a long-standing demand from the farming community. The current rollout in 26 of Rajasthan's 33 districts represents a significant coverage milestone. The state government has framed the 2027 statewide deadline as a firm policy commitment under Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, who took office in December 2023 following the BJP's return to power in the state.

Policy Backdrop

The technical foundation for this shift was laid in part by the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), launched by the central government in 2015, which promoted the separation of agricultural feeders from domestic and commercial lines. Feeder segregation allows utilities to schedule dedicated power windows for farm use without disrupting household supply. Several Indian states have pursued similar programmes, linking agricultural feeder upgrades with the integration of solar and renewable energy into rural grids. In Rajasthan, this effort aligns with the broader PM-KUSUM scheme, which supports solar pump installations and solarisation of agricultural feeders — a natural complement to reliable daytime supply windows.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries are Rajasthan's farming households, who depend on electric pump-sets for irrigation. Daytime supply enables safer operation, reduces crop loss from erratic night-time pumping, and allows farmers to monitor their fields during working hours. For the state's power distribution companies, feeder segregation and scheduled agricultural supply can help reduce aggregate technical and commercial losses by making consumption more predictable. Rural electrification quality is also a key metric under central government assessments of state power sector performance. The remaining districts — those not yet covered under the current phase — are expected to benefit from continued infrastructure investment ahead of the 2027 target.

What's Next

The government's 2027 deadline will require sustained budget allocations for feeder upgrades, transformer capacity additions, and grid reinforcement in the districts not yet covered. Progress reports on this rollout are likely to feature in upcoming state budget sessions and power department reviews. Any expansion of solar feeder programmes under PM-KUSUM in Rajasthan could accelerate the timeline and reduce the cost burden on the state exchequer. The 2027 statewide completion target, if met, would mark a structural shift in how agricultural electricity is delivered across one of India's largest states by area.