This paper presents the design of a cost-effective and efficient solar powered irrigation pump utilizing a switched reluctance motor (SRM). It utilizes a simple DC-DC boost converter as a power conditioning stage between SPV array and the motor drive. The control of solar photovoltaic (SPV) array output power at maximum power point (MPP) and facilitating the soft-starting to the SRM drive, are two prime functions of the boost converter. The use of a 4-phase SRM drive minimizes the torque ripple and increases the number of strokes without incrementing the number of rotor poles. The low number of switches in a mid-point converter used to energize SRM phases further enhances the performance of the system. The speed control of the motor using the pulse width modulation (PWM) switching of split-capacitor converter eliminates the requirement of additional sensors on the motor to control its speed. The proposed water pumping system is designed, modeled and its performance is simulated on MATLAB/Simulink platform and its responses are analyzed, under the varying environmental conditions, which authenticate its appropriateness as an irrigation pump.