Indian Bureaucracy News, Jaipur, December 26, 2025 | REC Limited, a Government of India enterprise under the Ministry of Power and a principal financial intermediary for the power sector, conducted a detailed review of the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) and the Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana (PMSG: MBY) in Rajasthan. The review meeting was chaired by REC’s Chairman and Managing Director, Shri Jitendra Srivastava IAS (Bihar 2000) and attended by the Chairpersons of State-owned electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs), senior management, field-level officers, and agencies implementing smart metering works.
REC plays a central role in the power distribution reform ecosystem as the nodal lending agency and implementation partner for RDSS. Beyond financing, the PSU is responsible for project appraisal, monitoring of milestones, release of funds linked to performance benchmarks, and coordination with the Ministry of Power and State utilities to ensure compliance with scheme guidelines. Under RDSS, the Ministry of Power has sanctioned a total project outlay of ₹28,407 crore for Rajasthan, including Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) of ₹12,673 crore, routed through REC. So far, ₹2,445 crore has been released.
The RDSS aims to improve the financial sustainability and operational efficiency of DISCOMs by reducing Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses, modernising infrastructure, and strengthening governance. The approved works in Rajasthan include installation of smart meters at the consumer, distribution transformer and feeder levels, creation of loss-reduction infrastructure, and household electrification. According to the review, the State has achieved 13 per cent progress in smart metering and 15 per cent progress in loss-reduction infrastructure, which increases to 34 per cent when recently awarded works are included.
During the review, REC flagged execution-related challenges, including delays in works, quality of materials and workmanship, contract management issues, and the need for stronger monitoring mechanisms within DISCOMs. Other issues discussed included recovery of electricity dues from government departments, timely receipt of State subsidies, and the pace of further GBS releases. Emphasising execution discipline, Shri Jitendra Srivastava advised DISCOM officials to adopt milestone-based monitoring, particularly to accelerate smart metering implementation. He noted that Rajasthan’s AT&C losses have declined to 14.26 per cent in FY 2024–25 (provisional) from 17.49 per cent in FY 2021–22, prior to the sanction of RDSS projects.
Progress under the Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, the Centre’s flagship residential rooftop solar programme, was also reviewed. REC Limited functions as the national implementing and financing agency for the scheme, facilitating subsidy disbursement, coordinating with DISCOMs, and enabling credit linkages. In Rajasthan, 2.36 lakh applications have been received, with rooftop solar systems installed for 1.15 lakh consumers. Central financial assistance has been released for 1.04 lakh households. DISCOMs were advised to intensify awareness campaigns, particularly in rural areas, expedite application processing, coordinate with banks for timely loan sanctions, and prioritise solarisation of government buildings.
The meeting concluded with assurances from CMD Shri Jitendra Srivastava, of continued financial and technical support to Rajasthan DISCOMs. As the nodal agency, he reiterated REC role in aligning funding, execution, and monitoring to ensure that distribution reforms and decentralised solar targets translate into measurable improvements in DISCOM finances and service delivery.