Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced an additional allocation of Rs 19,500 crore to augment solar PV module manufacturing under the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme.
“To facilitate domestic manufacturing for the ambitious goal of 280 gigawatt (GW) of installed solar capacity by 2030, an additional allocation of Rs 19,500 crore for PLI for manufacturing of high-efficiency modules with priority to fully integrate manufacturing units to solar PV modules will be made,” Sitharaman said.
In April 2021, the government had announced a Rs 4,500 crore PLI scheme to boost the domestic manufacturing capacity of solar PV modules. The PLI schemes were announced to generate employment and develop domestic manufacturing. The scheme provides incentives to companies for enhancing their domestic manufacturing.
The PLI scheme for the solar sector will help as India imports most of its solar modules from China. India’s installed solar power capacity, as of December 31, 2021, was 49.35 GW against the target of 100 GW in seven years starting from 2014-15 under the National Solar Mission (NSM), according to the Economic Survey 2021-22
Most of the players involved in the segment—Waaree Energies, Tata Power Solar Systems, Vikram Solar, Adani Solar—are not listed. Still, renewable energy firms welcomed the announcement, as shown by the BSE Power index, which was up 1.5 percent. Borosil Renewables, which supplies glass panels for solar modules, was up 4 percent. Tata Power, Adani Green Energy, and NTPC—among the most prominent solar energy players—were up 3 percent.
The government expects to invest Rs 1.5 lakh crore in the industry and generate employment from Rs 19,500. As a part of the government's overall market borrowings, India will also issue Green Bonds to mobilise resources for green infrastructure. "The proceeds will be deployed in public sector projects, which help in reducing the carbon intensity of the economy," FM Sitharaman said.
Green Bonds will also ensure that the cost of renewable energy in the country comes down, Singh said, adding that it will enable energy transition in India as we "need funds for energy storage, green corridor phase 2, among other renewable projects," he added.
NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant told the government had done extensive interactions across the board with all sectors in which the schemes have been launched. “We have seen tremendous response from the private sector. Especially from the electronic and mobile sector, automobile sector, and advanced chemistry cell batteries sector. The PLI scheme enables you to become a major centre for manufacturing in these areas,” he said.
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