New Delhi [India], August 24 (ANI): Solar rooftop installations and photo voltaic pumps are among the different nice alternative sectors for MSMEs in India in addition to in African international locations, mentioned Ashish Khanna, Director General, International Solar Alliance (ISA), talking at an occasion organised by business physique PHDCCI.
The ISA director highlighted India’s achievements within the photo voltaic sector, including that there are huge alternatives for MSMEs in India’s photo voltaic journey and even markets overseas.
‘The different large alternative is photo voltaic pumps. Thankfully, on account of expertise, the price of photo voltaic pumps has come down a lot that the world wants to change away from diesel pumps to photo voltaic pumps now. India has proper now completed about 20 lakh. It plans to do 50 lakh. Imagine the scale of the enterprise the place every pump prices roughly about USD 10,000, 8 lakh rupees. Think of how a lot enterprise must be completed throughout each village, decreasing the fee to the farmer, making them a part of the photo voltaic provide chain, changing into higher for the atmosphere and creating financial wealth. So these are the alternatives in India.
‘Now let me inform you what the alternatives are within the 144 international locations. I used to be in Ethiopia final week, a rustic of about 130 million folks, 13 crore, 13 crores. They alone have solely 10 per cent of the arable land underneath irrigation. And the pinnacle of the nation is telling me I desperately want 1 million photo voltaic pumps for meals safety as a result of Africa is importing 400 billion {dollars}’ value of experience of such a stage that doesn’t exist in Africa. So within the interim, they’ll be depending on both India or China or one or two different international locations to truly meet this demand,’ he added, highlighting the alternatives within the photo voltaic sector.
Just a decade in the past, India’s photo voltaic panorama was in its infancy, with panels dotting only some rooftops and deserts. Today, the nation has raced forward to script historical past: India has formally surpassed Japan to develop into the world’s third-largest solar energy producer. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), India generated a formidable 108,494 GWh of photo voltaic vitality, leaving Japan behind at 96,459 GWh.
India’s cumulative solar energy capability stood at 119.02 GW as of July 2025. This contains 90.99 GW from ground-mounted photo voltaic vegetation, 19.88 GW from grid-connected rooftop programs, 3.06 GW from hybrid tasks, and 5.09 GW from off-grid photo voltaic installations, reflecting the nation’s numerous method to increasing renewable vitality.
India’s progress within the renewable vitality sector displays the nation’s targeted insurance policies and strategic planning underneath nationwide management. As a part of the pledge made at COP26, efforts are being directed in the direction of reaching the goal of 500 GW of non-fossil gas electrical energy capability by 2030. This dedication is seen as a key step in India’s clear vitality transition and its broader local weather targets.
India’s photo voltaic manufacturing sector contains key parts like photo voltaic modules, photo voltaic PV cells, and ingots and wafers. Producing these throughout the nation helps the home financial system and reduces dependence on imports. In only one yr, photo voltaic module manufacturing capability practically doubled–from 38 GW in March 2024 to 74 GW in March 2025. Similarly, photo voltaic PV cell manufacturing rose from 9 GW to 25 GW. An enormous milestone was the beginning of India’s first ingot-wafer manufacturing facility (2 GW), additional strengthening the whole photo voltaic provide chain.
This fast development in home capability is strongly supported by authorities insurance policies. To promote Indian-made photo voltaic merchandise, the federal government has made it obligatory for tasks underneath schemes just like the Rooftop Solar Programme, PM-KUSUM, and CPSU Scheme Phase II to make use of panels and cells made in India. (ANI)