New Delhi, Oct. 22 -- An estimated 47.5 million hectares, or approximately 30%, of India's 160 million hectares of cropland should be technically suitable for agrivoltaics-where solar panels are installed directly above existing farms, Union minister for new and renewable energy Pralhad Joshi said on Wednesday at the inauguration of the 7th edition of the AgriVoltaics World Conference 2026 in Delhi. Joshi also said the new PM-Kusum 2.0 includes a dedicated agrivoltaics component, with immense potential to expand India's solar capacity while substantially benefiting farmers. "The Energy and Resources Institute has estimated 47.5 million hectares, or approximately 30% of India's 160 million hectares of cropland, is technically suitable for agrivoltaics. One deployment scenario covering 16 million hectares estimates annual electricity generation of 12,775 TWh, potentially comparable to or exceeding India's projected electricity demand of 5,250-10,020 TWh by 2050," said Joshi, stating one of the world's most ambitious agrivoltaic programmes would be launched under PM-Kusum....