There has been little interest from solar equipment makers in the previous manufacturing tenders, a hurdle to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious plans of building 100 gigawatts of solar power capacity by 2022. India has been struggling to spur its nascent domestic manufacturing industry, which the government estimates can currently only meet just 15% of the country’s annual needs. The South Asian nation has been seeking to boost its capabilities through both manufacturing tenders as well as a safeguard duty on cheaper Chinese imports. India’s efforts to develop its own solar equipment industry will be challenged by both domestic policies and overseas competition, according to BloombergNEF analyst Rohit Gadre. “A delinked manufacturing tender will not work unless it provides an assured long-term demand for domestic modules," Gadre said.

Source: Mint May 07, 2019 05:15 UTC