Insta
Govt May Offer Incentives To Solar Industry To Cut Chinese Imports
IANS
Jul 18, 2020, 02:37 PM | Updated 02:37 PM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
In an attempt to reduce dependence on the Chinese imports, the Central government plans to come out with a fresh solar tender that will provide viability gap funding (VGF) to projects setting up solar wafer and ingot manufacturing facilities.
Silicon wafers and ingots are critical components that go into manufacturing solar cells and modules. However, India does not have manufacturing facilities for these components that are largely imported from China, even by local solar cell and module makers. China is the biggest maker of these components globally.
"Under the phased manufacturing plan in solar, government may provide the VGF support to developers of these critical solar components. This high technology manufacturing would change the face of domestic equipment market and eliminate dependence on imports," said official sources.
The fresh initiative is to give a boost to local manufacturing as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat mission. While there is push to set up solar cell and module manufacturing in India, absence of wafer and ingot facilities dented these plans as these critical components will continue to be brought from abroad.
Chinese companies dominate the Indian solar components market, supplying about 80 per cent of solar cells and modules used here, given their competitive pricing. India imported $2.16 billion worth of solar photovoltaic (PV) cells, panels, and modules in 2018-19.
(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.