Guides ·
Rooftop solar service in FSM: PM Surya Ghar five-year maintenance, inverter warranty calls and geo-tagged defect proof
Every PM Surya Ghar rooftop system carries five years of free maintenance from commissioning, and vendors now have 15 days to prove inspection defects are fixed, as reported. This guide shows how rooftop solar EPCs and registered vendors can run CMC visits, inverter calls and defect proof as field service work, and what to look for in FSM software.
By Upvantix team
Every rooftop solar system installed under PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana carries a five-year Comprehensive Maintenance Contract (CMC) from the date of commissioning. In that period the registered vendor must repair or replace non-performing components free of cost, and the consumer must receive the OEM warranties on system components, according to the MNRE scheme guidelines.
Construction World reported in October 2026, as did Power Peak Digest, that defects found in third-party inspections are now assigned to vendors on the National Portal, and that vendors have 15 days to upload proof of rectification. As reported, that proof includes geo-tagged and time-stamped photos and a portal-generated undertaking signed by the consumer.
Running rooftop solar O&M well under these rules is a field service job: one record per installed system, scheduled CMC visits, separate queues for breakdown calls and inspection defects, with the reported 15-day clock on defects, technician photo evidence and a service history you can show the consumer, the DISCOM or an inspector.
What PM Surya Ghar vendors owe after commissioning
The scheme was approved on 29 February 2024 with an outlay of Rs 75,021 crore, to be implemented until FY 2026-27. MNRE said it had crossed 60 lakh households, 60 percent of its one-crore target, with more than 37,000 local businesses in its vendor network, as reported by EnergyWatch on 13 October 2026.
The MNRE scheme guidelines and the model consumer–vendor agreement set out what vendors owe on each system:
- Free repairs and maintenance for the five-year CMC period from commissioning, including free repair or replacement of non-performing or under-performing components.
- OEM warranties on system components handed to the consumer, with all possible help to claim them from the manufacturer.
- A system warranty for the complete system for five years from commissioning by the DISCOM.
- Five years of comprehensive operation and maintenance, including overhauling, wear and tear and regular checking of the system's health at proper intervals.
- A performance ratio of 75 percent at commissioning, maintained until the end of the five-year project warranty.
- Educating the consumer on best practices for cleaning the modules and maintaining the system.
Implementing agencies or MNRE officials may inspect installed systems, and the National Programme Implementation Agency must arrange independent third-party assessment of at least 1 percent of installed systems across India. Each registered vendor also carries a vendor rating, visible to consumers on the National Portal.
Every commissioning adds five years of service work to your installed base.
Three kinds of service work, three queues
Rooftop solar after-sales work falls into three types, each with its own priority and due date.
- Scheduled CMC visits. Health checks at proper intervals across the five years, grouped by area where possible.
- Breakdown and under-performance calls. Consumer reports of faults, including inverter faults and low generation.
- Inspection defects. Defects assigned on the National Portal after a third-party inspection, each with a 15-day clock, as reported.
A defect with a deadline should not wait behind a routine health check. Our guide to technician scheduling and dispatch covers planning capacity when demand peaks.
Within the CMC period, repairs and maintenance are free to the consumer. Work outside the scheme's scope is governed by your own contract with that consumer. For covered and chargeable logic in general, see our AMC contract management guide.
The reported 15-day defect-proof rule, step by step
According to a National Portal update for vendors, as reported by Construction World on 13 October 2026 and corroborated by Power Peak Digest on 6 October 2026, the process works as follows.
- Defects found in third-party inspections are assigned to vendors in the FQI Defect Section of the vendor login.
- Vendors reach these cases through the Vendor Main login, not a Vendor sub-login.
- Vendors have 15 days to submit proof of rectification, as reported.
- Photos uploaded after rectification must be geo-tagged and time-stamped. Supporting documents do not need to be.
- Where an inverter's display does not show cumulative generation after rectification, vendors can add a geo-tagged photo from the inverter's mobile app showing cumulative generation and the inverter serial number.
- For each defect, vendors select the rectification status, enter remarks and upload the photos or documents.
- Vendors then use "Update and Download Undertaking", print the portal-generated undertaking on their letterhead, sign and stamp it, and have the consumer sign it before uploading it.
- The "MNRE undertaking for repeated serial number applications" should not be uploaded as rectification proof.
- Copies of documents given to the consumer should be uploaded as PDFs, not photos of the hand-over. Use a single file extension, and use only letters, numbers and underscores in file names.
The published reports do not say whether the 15 days are calendar or working days, so plan to the stricter reading.
As an operating sequence, based on the reported rule:
- Defect assigned on the portal. Log it as a job against the installed system, due 15 days out as reported.
- Technician dispatched with the defect details, the system record and the photo requirements.
- Rectification done and photos captured at the site, geo-tagged and time-stamped, plus an inverter-app photo where needed.
- Undertaking printed, signed, stamped and countersigned by the consumer.
- Proof uploaded before the reported 15-day deadline, and the outcome recorded in the system's service history.
Inverter warranty calls: who does what
In the CMC period, the vendor repairs or replaces non-performing components free of cost. Component warranties stay with the manufacturer: the consumer holds the OEM warranty documents, and the vendor must help with claims. Check your agreement and the OEM's terms for exclusions.
| Call type | Who pays in the CMC period | What to record |
|---|---|---|
| Inverter fault repaired by the vendor | Vendor, under the CMC | Make, model, serial number, fault, photos, repair done |
| Inverter replaced under the OEM warranty | Claimed from the manufacturer, with vendor help | OEM ticket reference, old and new serial numbers, dates |
| Low generation or under-performance | Vendor, under the CMC, where a component is non-performing | Readings, photos, cause found, action taken |
| Request outside the scheme's scope | As set in your own contract with the consumer | Work requested, quote, consumer approval |
The inverter serial number matters twice: OEM warranty documents must show module and inverter serial numbers, and the reported inverter-app photo for defect proof shows it too.
One record per rooftop system
Everything above depends on one installed-base record for each rooftop system. That record should hold:
- Consumer and site details.
- Commissioning date, which starts the five-year CMC and the system warranty.
- Module and inverter serial numbers, matching the OEM warranty documents.
- The O&M manual, which must cover the system's major components, and the warranty documents given to the consumer.
- Every visit, breakdown call and inspection defect, with photos, notes and the outcome.
The next inspection, defect and consumer complaint all start from that record.
What to look for in FSM software for rooftop solar O&M
Use this as a buyer's checklist for any FSM product, including ours:
- Installed-base records that hold serial numbers for modules and inverters.
- Contract or CMC start and end dates on each system.
- Scheduled visit generation across the five-year period.
- Separate queues with their own priorities and due dates, including the reported 15-day clock for inspection defects.
- A mobile job with photo capture. Check how the phone app captures and keeps location and time on each photo, rather than assuming it does, because the portal asks for geo-tagged and time-stamped photos.
- Digital service forms, consumer sign-off and service reports you can export as PDF.
- A dispatch board with technician assignment and workload visibility.
- Access for partner or sub-vendor technicians, if you use them.
- KPI reporting, such as first-time fix rate and repeat visits.
How Upvantix FSM fits
Upvantix Field Service Management is designed to connect the customer request, dispatch decision, technician workflow and service outcome. It covers the installed base (customers and sites, installed equipment, asset history and service context), service operations (service requests, service work orders, priorities, commitments and status), scheduling and dispatch (a dispatch board, technician assignment and workload visibility) and field execution (mobile work, digital service forms, photos and notes, and service reports and signatures).
The workflow runs from request, through assessment and dispatch, to completion with service evidence, and back to the installed-asset history. AI assistance in Upvantix FSM is designed to summarize installed-asset history, retrieve technical knowledge and help prepare service documentation while keeping decisions reviewable. Upvantix FSM is designed for India ops teams and deployment in your AWS environment.
Talk to us about how your CMC visits, defect queue and inverter calls would map onto that service record.
Common questions about PM Surya Ghar maintenance and rooftop solar service
How long must a PM Surya Ghar vendor maintain a rooftop solar system?
Five years from the date of commissioning. Under the MNRE scheme guidelines, registered vendors must provide repairs and maintenance free of cost during the five-year Comprehensive Maintenance Contract period, and replace or repair non-performing or under-performing components free of cost in that time. The model agreement adds five years of comprehensive operation and maintenance.
Who pays for an inverter repair in the first five years?
Within the CMC period, the vendor repairs or replaces non-performing components free of cost to the consumer. Component warranties are given by the OEMs to the consumer, and the vendor must extend all possible help to claim them from the manufacturer. Check your agreement and the OEM's warranty terms for any exclusions.
How many days do vendors have to submit defect rectification proof?
Fifteen days, according to the National Portal update as reported by Construction World in October 2026 and corroborated by Power Peak Digest. The defects come from third-party inspections and are assigned in the FQI Defect Section of the vendor login. The published reports do not say whether the period is counted in calendar or working days.
What photos are needed as proof of defect rectification?
As reported, photos uploaded after rectification must be geo-tagged and time-stamped, while supporting documents need not be. Where an inverter's display does not show cumulative generation after the fix, vendors can add a geo-tagged photo from the inverter's mobile app showing cumulative generation and the inverter serial number.
What is the FQI Defect Section?
It is the part of the vendor login on the National Portal where defects found in third-party inspections are assigned to vendors, as reported. Vendors reach it through the Vendor Main login, not a sub-login. For each defect they record the rectification status and remarks, upload proof and submit a signed undertaking.
What documents must the consumer receive?
As reported from the portal update, the O&M manual must cover the system's major components, OEM warranty documents must show the module and inverter serial numbers, and copies of these documents should be uploaded to the portal as PDFs. Under the model consumer–vendor agreement, the consumer also receives a system warranty certificate covering the complete system for five years from commissioning by the DISCOM.
What performance ratio must a PM Surya Ghar system maintain?
Under the model consumer–vendor agreement, the system's performance ratio must be 75 percent at commissioning by the DISCOM or its authorised agency. The vendor must maintain that performance ratio until the end of the project warranty, which is five years from the date of commissioning. Track it on scheduled CMC visits.