The PM-DHARA is a government scheme approved by the Union Cabinet on September 30, 2026, with a total project outlay of ₹1,86,405 crore. PM-DHARA stands for PM-Developing Harmonized and Accelerated Renewable-energy Access. The scheme was created to solve the problem of transmission constraints and the intermittency of renewable energy, which caused India to lose 300 GWh of green energy in the first quarter of 2026.
The core mechanism of the scheme is to strengthen the Intra-State Transmission System (InSTS) to enable the evacuation of up to 135 GW of renewable energy across states and Union Territories. The total outlay includes ₹1,36,378 crore for the development of the InSTS under Green Energy Corridor Phase-III and ₹50,000 crore for the deployment of 50 GWh of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). The BESS component is crucial for providing grid flexibility to manage the fluctuating nature of solar and wind power and meet non-solar hour demand.
Implementation is targeted for completion by FY 2032-33, with State Transmission Utilities serving as the overall implementing agencies. Greenfield projects will be executed through Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) under a Build-Own-Operate-Maintain (BOOM) model. The scheme involves a Central Financial Support of ₹54,082 crore, which is intended to offset intra-state transmission charges and ultimately benefit end-users by keeping power costs lower. PM-DHARA is directly connected to India's ambitious clean energy goals, supporting the target of achieving 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030 and 900 GW of installed non-fossil capacity by 2035.