The success of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission depends on certain critical features - the subsidy structure, the role of standardised systems and institutional models of delivery. As the actual costs of small systems are considerably higher, on a per watt basis, than the benchmark costs assumed for the subsidy, smaller systems that are within the reach of the rural poor receive lower subsidies than larger systems. Efforts to standardise solar lighting systems should not be driven by the government at the current stage of diffusion. Furthermore, if the dissemination of these technologies is to be inclusive and sustainable, multiple institutional models should be recognised.
