Currently, India imports 90% of its polysilicon from China, impacting its foreign exchange reserves and hindering local production of solar photovoltaic panels, semiconductors, and computer microchips. This strategic move is designed to lessen dependence on Chinese imports and cultivate a comprehensive solar manufacturing ecosystem.

Currently, India imports 90% of its polysilicon from China, impacting its foreign exchange reserves and hindering local production of solar photovoltaic panels, semiconductors, and computer microchips. This strategic move is designed to lessen dependence on Chinese imports and cultivate a comprehensive solar manufacturing ecosystem.

Currently, India imports 90% of its polysilicon from China, impacting its foreign exchange reserves and hindering local production of solar photovoltaic panels, semiconductors, and computer microchips. This strategic move is designed to lessen dependence on Chinese imports and cultivate a comprehensive solar manufacturing ecosystem.

The Centre is musing on a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme in polysilicon manufacturing in a bid to push domestic production in the solar supply chain. This is particularly significant, given that polysilicon is a key raw material used in solar photovoltaic panels, semiconductor devices, and computer microchips. Currently, India meets 90 per cent of its demand from China. 

This not only affects India’s foreign exchange but also hinders domestic manufacturing. So, the proposed PLI scheme is expected to reduce our reliance on Chinese imports. 

India imported 352.57 lakh solar photovoltaic (PV) modules worth $1,696.77 million from China in the financial year 2024-25, according to data presented in the Lok Sabha.

The proposed move comes as New Delhi seeks to create an integrated solar manufacturing ecosystem spanning modules, cells, wafers, ingots and polysilicon, segments that are currently dominated globally by Chinese producers. 

The planned scheme is for achieving manufacturing capacity of gigawatt (GW) scale in high-efficiency solar PV modules. 

India is targeting 500GW of non-fossil fuel power capacity by 2030, Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Secretary of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, recently told agencies.

The new scheme could cover more than 10GW of production capacity, said Sarangi, without disclosing ‌the size of the financial incentive. 

The renewable energy ministry has focused on local manufacturing as developers ramp up solar installations. 

India has more than 200GW of ⁠solar panel manufacturing capacity and more than 32GW of solar cell capacity, and solar manufacturing has surged in module assembly and solar cells. However, at present, India's domestic polysilicon production capacity remains minimal (around 2GW).

The country is targeting at least 80GW of solar ingot and wafer manufacturing capacity by June 2028, he added. 

Solar PV module manufacturing capacity (cumulative) stood at 172GW in April 2026. India ranked third globally in renewable energy installed capacity, surpassing Brazil, in 2026, according to the Centre.

India's top solar photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturers are led by high-capacity producers listed on the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, such as Warees Energies, Adani Solar, and Tata Power Solar Systems.

This initiative can be aligned with the sustainable goals of Viksit Bharat 2047, to transform India into a self-reliant nation by the same year.

Through the PM-KUSUM scheme, India is also empowering farmers with solar energy solutions, according to the mission statement of Viksit Bharat. The rising demand for electricity can also be met with this non-fossil energy and subsequently benefit India’s foreign exchange in the long term. 

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