India missed the pre-Covid opportunity in pushing up domestic manufacturing of solar gears. Safeguard duty imposed in 2018 did bring temporary relie, but for a more sustainable solution in the post-Covid world, India must consider other options.
As a step in this direction, the country should start with removing the tax barrier for domestic sales by units located in SEZs. This will create a level playing field among domestic manufacturers, paving way for policymakers to take seamless action to promote ‘Make in India’ in this sector.
In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to step up solar generation capacity from 3.7 GW to 100 GW in 2022. The renewable (RES) capacity target was set 4.5 times higher at 175 GW. As of February this year, solar capacity is up by 10 times to 34 GW and RES up by 2.5 times to 87 GW.
