Bathinda Solar Water Pump Irrigation Farming

Bathinda district has become a leader in Punjab's PM-KUSUM solar pump programme, with thousands of farmers replacing diesel tubewells with 7.5 HP solar pump systems that draw groundwater for wheat and paddy irrigation at zero fuel cost. The shift is significant because Punjab's groundwater table is falling at 0.5 to 1 metre per year due to paddy's high water demand; solar pumps reduce the cost of extraction but do not reduce extraction volume. Bathinda's solar adoption is driven by progressive farmers who supply excess electricity back to the grid under a net-metering scheme, earning supplementary income.