India's solar manufacturing jumps to 172 GW
India says solar manufacturing capacity ballooned from 3 GW to 172 GW over the past decade, a ten‑year industrial transformation driven by policy and scale. That surge is being cited as proof that coordinated industrial policy can rapidly reshape supply chains and local manufacturing capability. (indiatoday.in)
An MNRE-written reply to the Lok Sabha lists India’s solar module manufacturing capacity at 1,72,592 MW (172.592 GW) on the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) as of March 1, 2026. (saurenergy.com) Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi told Lok Sabha that solar cell manufacturing capacity has risen to about 27 GW, where it was effectively zero during the previous UPA period. (newsonair.gov.in) The central Production Linked Incentive (PLI) programme for high‑efficiency solar PV modules carries an overall outlay of ₹24,000 crore and was approved by the Union Cabinet in April 2021 to drive GW‑scale domestic manufacturing. (mnre.gov.in) Under the PLI implementation track, the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) issued Letters of Award in April 2023 to 11 selected manufacturers to establish a cumulative ~39,600 MW of module capacity. (seci.co.in) MNRE has extended its ALMM regime upstream by creating an ALMM List‑III for ingots and wafers that will become mandatory for new bids for projects commissioned after June 1, 2028, with grandfathering provisions for projects already in the pipeline. (pib.gov.in) Independent market trackers reported even larger tallies, estimating India’s PV module manufacturing capacity at roughly 210 GW as of December 31, 2025, after an industry addition of about 119 GW in 2025. (pv-magazine-india.com) Parliamentary filings also show implementation frictions: officials said no funds had been disbursed to solar equipment makers under the ₹24,000‑crore PLI as of end‑February, and the PLI design includes a one‑year post‑commissioning period before incentive payments are released. (msn.com)
