The global solar industry has a concentration problem. As of 2024, China accounted for more than 80% of global polysilicon, wafer, cell, and module manufacturing capacity, according to BloombergNEF’s Energy Transition Supply Chains 2025 report. One country, one supply chain and the rest of the world has spent the last several years trying to work out what to do about it.
India’s answer has been to build.
Where India Stands in the Global Picture
The scale of China’s manufacturing lead puts India’s position in context. Global PV module production reached 726 GW in 2024, with total manufacturing capacity at 1,405 GW per year, 83% of it located in China, per the IEA PVPS Trends in Photovoltaic Applications 2025 report. India, by comparison, held approximately 3% of global module production capacity as recently as 2023.
What matters, though, is the trajectory. India overtook Japan in 2024 to rank fourth globally in cumulative installed solar capacity at 124.6 GW, per IEA PVPS data. Its domestic manufacturing base is expanding at a pace that few anticipated even three years ago.
The country is not yet a dominant force in global solar manufacturing but the direction of travel is clear, and the policy machinery driving it is substantial.
The Policy Framework Behind the Growth
India’s manufacturing push is not market-driven in isolation. It is the result of deliberate, layered policy designed to reduce import dependency and build domestic industrial capacity.
The centrepiece is the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for high-efficiency solar PV modules, administered by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy with an outlay of ₹24,000 crore. The scheme targets GW-scale domestic manufacturing and is designed specifically for manufacturers willing to commit to fully integrated production.
Running alongside it is the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) mandate, reimposed in April 2024, which limits government-backed solar projects to domestically listed modules and manufacturers. The effect is a protected, captive demand base for Indian producers that directly incentivises capacity expansion.
The results are visible. India added 25.3 GW of solar modules and 11.6 GW of solar cell manufacturing capacity in 2024 alone, per Mercom India’s State of Solar PV Manufacturing in India 2025 report. In the first half of 2025, a further 42.2 GW of module capacity and 7.5 GW of cell capacity were added. MNRE data showed India’s total solar module manufacturing capacity was 74 GW and cell capacity stood at 25 GW as of March 2025.
These are not incremental gains. They represent a structural shift in India’s manufacturing footprint.
The Export Opportunity and Its Limits
India’s growing manufacturing base has opened an export lane that did not meaningfully exist five years ago.
PV module exports grew from $83 million in FY2021-22 to $1.97 billion in FY2023-24, per statements made by India’s Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy to parliament, as reported by PV Magazine. In Q2 2025, India exported solar cells and modules worth $549 million which is a 105.1% quarter-on-quarter increase with the United States accounting for 96.2% of total export volume, per Mercom India.
The US opportunity is largely a consequence of trade policy. High tariffs on solar imports from Vietnam, Cambodia, China and other Southeast Asian suppliers are prompting American developers to look for alternatives. India has picked up some of the slack, with its share of US solar module imports rising to 9% in 2023 from 2.2% in 2021.
However, over-reliance on a single export market, particularly one that may introduce new trade barriers, is a vulnerability that Indian manufacturers will need to manage carefully.
The more fundamental challenge remains upstream. India currently has no commercial production of silicon ingots or wafers, with China accounting for 97% of both globally, per ORF America. Without closing this gap, Indian module manufacturers remain dependent on Chinese components which is a structural dependency that limits the depth of India’s role in the global supply chain.
The Companies Building India’s Manufacturing Future
India’s manufacturing expansion is being led by a growing cohort of domestic producers. IBEF says that Waaree Energies, Adani Solar and Vikram Solar exported more than 50% of their annual production in FY2024, whereas companies like Grew Energy, ReNew Power and Saatvik Energy are expanding their global presence.
One of the manufacturers shaping India’s solar future is GREW Solar. Backed by the Chiripal Group’s 52-year manufacturing legacy, it stands out for the scale and integration of its operations.
Established in 2022, the company operates a solar PV module manufacturing facility in Dudu, Rajasthan, with 6.5 GW of installed capacity and an ongoing expansion to 11.0 GW in 2026. Complementing this is a 3.5 GW solar PV cell manufacturing facility in Narmadapuram, Madhya Pradesh, set to expand to 8 GW in 2026, a footprint that reflects a deliberate move toward deeper supply chain integration rather than module assembly alone.
GREW Solar is one of only 11 companies in India to receive a PLI allocation for fully integrated solar manufacturing, a distinction that reflects both the ambition and the credibility of its industrial model.
For any solar panel company operating at this level of integration, India’s policy environment, growing domestic demand, and expanding export footprint represent a significant long-term opportunity. The upstream gaps are real, and the global competitive landscape is unforgiving. But the foundation being built in manufacturing capacity, policy support, and industrial expertise positions India as a serious and growing participant in the global solar supply chain.
The distance between “growing role” and “global force” will be determined by how consistently that foundation is built upon.
