India has nearly trebled its annual nameplate for solar cells from 9GW to 25GW between March 2024 and March 2025, according to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
During the same period, the country’s solar module manufacturing capacity has nearly doubled from 38GW in March 2024 to 74GW in March 2025. Further upstream, the country commissioned its first 2GW of ingot and wafer manufacturing capacity during that period.
Try Premium for just $1
- Full premium access for the first month at only $1
- Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
- Cancel anytime during the trial period
Premium Benefits
- Expert industry analysis and interviews
- Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
- Exclusive event discounts
Or get the full Premium subscription right away
Or continue reading this article for free
These figures are encouraging developments for India’s push towards greater domestic clean energy manufacturing. The Indian budget has set out customs duties for cell and module imports into the country, and the MNRE has specified that imported wafers used in the domestic manufacture of cells would disqualify those cells from being classified as ‘domestically produced’.
These legislative moves have helped drive additional manufacturing capacity additions. Already this year, Waaree has commissioned a 5.4GW cell manufacturing plant, while Goldi Solar has launched an AI-powered manufacturing line with an annual nameplate of 14GW.
India installs 21GW of solar PV
Further downstream, India commissioned close to 21GW of new solar capacity in the 12 months to 31 March 2025, a 38% year-on-year increase and figure that accounts for the vast majority of the 25GW of new renewable capacity additions made.
The latest figures, published by MNRE and covering the 2024/25 financial year, highlight how the last 12 months has been a record-setting period for Indian renewable energy deployment, with India adding 35% more clean energy than in the previous year.
The installation figures compare to the 25GW of new capacity additions reported by Mercom India Research earlier this year, which covers the 2024 calendar year. The MNRE reports that the new solar additions have pushed India’s cumulative solar capacity above 100GW, with 102.6GW of capacity in operation as of February 2025, and is a near doubling of the 64.38GW of solar capacity as of the end of February 2023.
“India may have already become or will soon become the third-largest renewable energy capacity holder in the world,” said renewable energy minister Prahlad Joshi. “This milestone is a testament to prime minister Modi’s vision for a sustainable and self-reliant energy future.”
Rooftop solar has seen significant growth, in particular, under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijlee Yojana, an initiative offering subsidies for residential solar installations to encourage greater deployment of rooftop solar. Applicants can apply for subsidies of 60% of the cost of a solar unit, for systems up to 2kW in capacity, and the scheme has helped deliver rooftop solar to 110,000 households as of the end of March.
