Shraddh to Navratri: Punjab solar applications rose, still below September
During Shraddh, 27 Sep to 10 Oct 2026, Punjab started about 1 in 7 fewer rooftop solar applications than in the two weeks before, while installs did not slow. Updated 19 Oct: In the first week of Navratri, 11 to 17 Oct, applications rose to about 48 a day: up from about 45 during Shraddh, still below about 53 a day before Shraddh. A customer who said “after Shraddh” or “after Navratri” is worth a call now.
What happenedShraddh (Pitru Paksha) 2026 and big purchases: vehicles and property
Shraddh, also called Pitru Paksha, is the fortnight when many families remember their ancestors, and many put off big purchases until it ends. In 2026 it ran from 27 Sep to Sarva Pitru Amavasya on 10 Oct, by Drik Panchang's calendar for New Delhi. Navratri began on 11 Oct, Dussehra falls on 20 Oct, and Diwali on 8 Nov.
On 6 Oct 2026, FADA, the federation of vehicle dealers, said in its September figures that two-wheeler sales set a September record but were held back by “Shraadh-related deferment in the closing week” of the month. FADA also named Shraddh as a drag on vehicle sales in September 2022, October 2023 and September 2024, though in 2024 alongside heavy rain and weak demand.
Property shows a similar pattern. Business Standard reported on 3 Oct 2025 that Knight Frank counted about 300 Mumbai property registrations a day during Shraddh, against about 600 a day during Navratri, in both 2024 and 2025. We found no report that measures Shraddh's effect on rooftop solar, so we checked our own readings.
What our tracker showsPunjab rooftop solar applications, Shraddh and Navratri, week by week
We read the national PM Surya Ghar portal every day. Its totals change about once a day, so each reading mostly counts the day before. Shraddh is the change from the 27 Sep reading to the 11 Oct reading, and the two weeks before run from the 13 Sep reading to the 27 Sep reading. Navratri's first week is the 11 Oct reading to the 18 Oct reading. Each window is made of whole weeks, so each has the same mix of weekdays; Sundays are much quieter.
In Punjab, 635 new applications came in during Shraddh, against 739 in the two weeks before: about 45 a day against 53, or roughly 1 in 7 fewer. A Shraddh day was lower than the same weekday two weeks earlier on 11 of 14 days. The second Shraddh week, 4 to 10 Oct, had 292 applications, the lowest seven days in our Punjab record, which starts on 29 Aug.
Installs, the rooftops the portal counts as installed, did not slow during Shraddh: 665 in Punjab, against 618 in the two weeks before.
Two things to keep in mind. Applications were already easing before Shraddh: 394 in the week of 13 to 19 Sep, then 345 the week after. The first Shraddh week matched that at 343, and the low came in the second. And one fortnight cannot prove that Shraddh was the cause.
Navratri's first week, 11 to 17 Oct, had 333 new Punjab applications: about 48 a day, against about 45 during Shraddh and about 53 in the two weeks before it. That is up from the Shraddh low, but still below each of the four weeks before Shraddh (345 to 398), so it did not run above the pace before Shraddh. The portal's own count of applications made in October rose by 330 that week, about the same, so these are new forms, not old ones added late. Installs, though, fell to 264 that week, their lowest in the seven weeks the chart shows, and the seven days to our 19 Oct reading, which overlap it, were lower still at 253. Applications and installs move on different clocks, and one week of installs cannot show why they dipped.
Not every neighbour dipped. Himachal Pradesh had 822 applications during Shraddh against 790 before, and Jammu and Kashmir 2,865 against 2,426. Haryana eased from 9,452 to 8,724, about 1 in 13 fewer. Chandigarh's numbers are small and arrive in bursts, 32 in one fortnight and 219 in the next, so we do not read its 115 during Shraddh as a Shraddh effect.
Across India, applications rose during Shraddh. About half of the rise came from a jump in Gujarat that began the week before, and a burst of about 39,000 in West Bengal in early October. Uttar Pradesh fell by about 1 in 7 and Uttarakhand by about 1 in 8, lower on almost every matched day, and Delhi about halved. Rajasthan held level; Bihar and Madhya Pradesh rose. So this is a Punjab reading, not an India one; our September counter story follows the national pace.
Darker bars: the two Shraddh weeks. The last bar, after them, is the first week of Navratri. Each bar is the rise in Punjab's applications between two readings seven days apart; the week of 27 Sep to 3 Oct, for example, is the 27 Sep reading to the 4 Oct reading. Source: Solentra's daily readings of the national PM Surya Ghar portal, 30 Aug to 18 Oct 2026.
See the numbers
| Week | applications |
|---|---|
| 30 Aug to 5 Sep | 398 |
| 6 to 12 Sep | 376 |
| 13 to 19 Sep | 394 |
| 20 to 26 Sep | 345 |
| 27 Sep to 3 Oct (Shraddh) | 343 |
| 4 to 10 Oct (Shraddh) | 292 |
| 11 to 17 Oct (Navratri, week one) | 333 |
What it could mean for IndiaDoes the festival calendar move rooftop solar demand?
If Shraddh held back rooftop solar in Punjab, does the demand come back? FADA's dealers expect “demand held back during Pitru Paksha” to turn into deliveries from mid-October, and in Mumbai the Navratri registration pace was about double the Shraddh pace in both 2024 and 2025. Neither proves the demand comes back. When we first published this story, we set our own test: if the Punjab dip was people waiting, the Navratri weeks could run above the pace before Shraddh, about 53 applications a day. The first Navratri week did not: about 48 a day, up from about 45 during Shraddh. That could mean some customers who waited came back and others did not, or that the slide that began in late September has other causes. The next weeks could show more.
The calendar could also colour year-on-year comparisons, even though the national count showed no Shraddh dip this year. In 2025 Shraddh ended on 21 Sep and Diwali fell on 20 Oct. This year 10 of the 14 Shraddh days fell in October, and Diwali moves to 8 Nov. FADA warned in 2023, when Shraddh ran into October, that a year-on-year comparison “may not accurately reflect” the real trend. So an October 2026 that looks weak against October 2025 may partly be the calendar.
Fewer applications during Shraddh might mean fewer installs some weeks later, and Navratri's first week did not make up the shortfall: it was above the Shraddh pace but still below the pace before it. The low install week in early Navratri may say little on its own. All of this is worth watching week by week up to Diwali.
What it means for youCalling after-Shraddh and after-Navratri leads, and what not to change
If you are an installer or dealer: a customer who said “after Shraddh” or “after Navratri” gave you a date. Dussehra falls on 20 Oct, so call every one of them now, with the quote and site details ready, and offer a survey date from Dussehra on. In 2027 Shraddh runs from 16 Sep to 29 Sep, by Drik Panchang's calendar. Keep site work going during the fortnight: in Punjab this year, installs did not slow during Shraddh.
One week of figures is not, on its own, a reason to cut prices or change stock. Navratri's first week was up from the Shraddh low and still below September. Our next check is the Dussehra week, in our 25 Oct reading: follow it on our Punjab tracker, or put Punjab, Himachal, J&K and Chandigarh side by side on the compare page.
If you are a homeowner: the festival calendar does not change the scheme. Under MNRE's guidelines, the steps from applying on the national portal to the DISCOM inspection are the same whichever day you start, and the central subsidy depends on the size of the system, not on the festival calendar. Your timeline rests on the paperwork and the DISCOM steps, and the guidelines say the scheme runs to 31 March 2027, so start early if a date matters to you.
Sources
- Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), FADA Releases Sep'26 Vehicle Retail Data, .
- Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), FADA Releases September'22 Vehicle Retail Data, .
- Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), FADA Releases Oct'23 Vehicle Retail Data, .
- Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), FADA Releases September'24 Vehicle Retail Data, .
- Business Standard, Mumbai property registrations rise 20% in Navratri 2025: Knight Frank, .
- Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Guidelines for PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, Central Financial Assistance to Residential Consumers, .
- Drik Panchang, 2026 Purnima Shraddha Tithi before Pitru Paksha for New Delhi, NCT, India, .
- Drik Panchang, 2026 Amavasya Shraddha Tithi during Pitru Paksha for New Delhi, NCT, India, .
- Drik Panchang, 2026 Shardiya Navratri Calendar for New Delhi, NCT, India, .
- Drik Panchang, 2026 Vijayadashami, Dasara, Dussehra Puja Date and Time for New Delhi, NCT, India, .
- Drik Panchang, 2026 Diwali Puja, Deepavali Puja Calendar for Delhi, NCT, India, .
- Drik Panchang, 2025 Amavasya Shraddha Tithi during Pitru Paksha for New Delhi, NCT, India, .
- Drik Panchang, 2025 Diwali Puja Calendar, Deepavali Puja Calendar for Delhi, NCT, India, .
- Drik Panchang, 2027 Purnima Shraddha Tithi before Pitru Paksha for New Delhi, NCT, India, .
- Drik Panchang, 2027 Amavasya Shraddha Tithi during Pitru Paksha for New Delhi, NCT, India, .
- MNRE, National Portal for Rooftop Solar, PM Surya Ghar national portal, read daily by Solentra since 29 Aug 2026, .
The Solar Brief puts public reports in our own words and reads them against Solentra's own daily record of the PM Surya Ghar national portal. Where we say what something could mean, that is our reading, not a forecast. Nothing here is financial, loan or legal advice.
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