On August 12, 2024, a post shared by Yashbharat.com on Facebook claimed that the Government of India had launched a new scheme named “Solar Chakki Yojna” (Solar Mill Scheme). According to the post, this scheme would provide free solar-powered flour mills to women in rural areas to enable them to grind flour at home conveniently. The claim spread widely across social media, with many posts appearing to replicate the design of official government websites, adding credibility to the misinformation.
Numerous deceptive websites, such as BHSB.in, PMsuryaghar, SarkariYojna, and NWnews, have been identified for spreading such articles and claims under the guise of being official portals.
Fact Check
DFRAC conducted a thorough investigation and did a reverse google image search of the scheme in question and found no legitimate information or evidence to support the claim about the existence of the “Solar Chakki Yojna.” Searches on the official websites of the Ministry of Rural Development and the Ministry of Women & Child Development revealed no records or announcements related to such a scheme. It is critical to recognize that authentic government websites always use the ‘gov.in’ or ‘nic.in’ domains, a key detail that fake sites often overlook.
Furthermore, the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the official communication arm of the Central Government, released a statement clarifying that no such scheme, “Solar Chakki Yojna,” is being run by the government. The PIB also issued a warning to the public, urging them to avoid sharing personal information on these misleading and unreliable platforms.
Conclusion:
It is clear from DFRAC’s Fact Check that the claim that the Government of India has introduced a scheme to provide free solar-powered flour mills to rural women under the “Solar Chakki Yojna” is completely false. There is no such government initiative, and the circulating posts are misleading and not based on any verified information. Hence the claim is misleading which is why the public is advised to be cautious and verify information from official government sources to avoid falling for such scams.
