Free electricity for irrigation to all farmers

Reviewed 30 September 2026. Revised from fulfilled to partial. The Times of India reported the Energy Minister's Assembly statement on 19 February 2026: 10,59,041 of 15,64,219 private agricultural tubewell connections were registered; about 5.06 lakh were not. He also said unregistered farmers received free irrigation power and faced no bill-recovery pressure. The scheme has usage limits and registration, old-dues and metering conditions. Implementation is evidenced, but universal delivery of the promise to all farmers is not established. The registration figures describe February, not a verified September count; the minister's assurance is not treated as an independently audited coverage result. Historical assessment (2026-06-09, recorded status: fulfilled; retained verbatim and may be superseded by the latest review): Delivered. The UP cabinet approved a 100% exemption from electricity charges on farmers' private tube wells in March 2024, retrospective to 1 April 2023, covering about 14.78 lakh tube wells and roughly 1.5 crore farmers, with Rs 1,800 crore budgeted for FY2024-25. The Energy Minister stated the promise of free power for farmers' tube wells had been fulfilled.