A big step for a self-reliant India by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India – EQ Mag Pro
Renewable Energy and energy storage technologies received a push in the Budget 2022-23 that proposed additional allocation for indigenous solar equipment manufacturing programme and policy support for battery storage.
Manish Gupta, President – North India Module Manufacturers Association (NIMMA) and Director Insolation Energy, thanking the Union Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman on the Budget 2022, said that the Finance Minister has announced imposition of 40% and 25% basic custom duty on import of solar modules and solar cells respectively.
This provision of levying custom duty and allocation of additional 19500 crores for Production Linked Incentive (PLI) for high efficiency solar modules manufacturing units will give a big boost to domestic manufacturing of solar power equipment and batteries in line with India’s larger global commitment on tackling climate changes.
This announcement of the central government will laid the strong foundation for solar manufacturing, which will prove to be a big step towards self-reliant India.
To ensure quality of manufacturing the Govt. has allowed only companies listed in ALMM will be able to supply solar panels in government schemes. Companies which complies with stringent quality assurance process and confirms to international standards such as BIS/ IEC only will be included in the ALMM list. This will ensure that the general public gets panels of international quality. The total solar panel manufacturing capacity in India at present is 16 – 20 GW which is expected to increase in the next one year to 50 GW within India, which will be 140% more than India’s requirement for the whole year.
More than 40 companies have already registered their names in the recently released ALMM list with a manufacturing capacity of 11000 MW.
This notification of the government has been welcomed by North India Module Manufacturers Association (NIMMA), Indian Solar Manufacturers Association (ISMA) and All India Solar Industries Association (AISIA) as with this step of the government, make in India and self-reliant India initiative will be boosted and solar panels imported from abroad will be curbed. All the associations also assured that very soon India will become self-sufficient in solar panel manufacturing sector and will also start exporting to other countries.
Manish Gupta – President NIMMA said that at present solar panel manufacturing industry provides employment to 2 lakh people directly and 10 lakh indirectly across the country. This will grow at the rate of 50% in the coming years and this sector will be in a position to provide employment to lakhs of people in the coming years.
