India is preparing a $1 billion capital subsidy plan to strengthen its domestic solar manufacturing sector, focusing on wafers and ingots, according to Bloomberg. The initiative, led by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, aims to reduce India’s reliance on Chinese imports while capitalizing on the global energy transition.
Currently, India’s wafer and ingot manufacturing capacity is just 2 gigawatts, primarily developed by Adani Enterprises Ltd., whereas module and cell manufacturing capacity stands at 71 gigawatts and 11 gigawatts, respectively, according to BloombergNEF data. The proposed incentives are expected to drive new investments in this critical segment, mirroring the success of India’s mobile-phone manufacturing push, which attracted global players like Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.
Despite these efforts, India will still need to rely on foreign suppliers for polysilicon, the essential raw material for wafers and ingots. The country currently has no domestic polysilicon production, whereas China dominates the sector with an annual capacity of 2.3 million tonnes. Germany follows as the second-largest producer with just 75,000 tonnes.
With logistics and quality control being key challenges in solar manufacturing, the subsidy plan is expected to ease costs and improve India’s competitiveness in the global solar supply chain.
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