The Agriculture Department will distribute the 2,000 pump sets of 5hp fitted with solar tracking device during 2013-14.

Each unit is estimated to cost about Rs 5 lakh and the State Government will provide 80 per cent subsidy – Rs 4 lakh. The farmers will bring in the balance for which they can obtain loans from cooperative banks, she said.

The Rs 100-crore programme will also be linked to support the micro-irrigation facilities for various crops. The objective will be to address the challenge of water shortage and power constraints. The irrigation pump sets can be used in bore wells, deep bore wells, open wells and surface water bodies.

This programme will be an extension of the support being given to micro irrigation.

Small and marginal farmers get 100 per cent subsidy for setting up drip irrigation and other micro irrigation facilities. Other farmers get a 75 per cent subsidy.

The Tamil Nadu Government has also announced plans to distribute 500 solar powered irrigation pump sets in the Cauvery delta districts with 80 per cent subsidy.

The Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency, the nodal agency for promoting renewable energy, will soon distribute these pump sets.

Source: The Hindu