India’s solar manufacturing sector has established a strong foundation in modules and cells, but the next phase of growth must focus on developing domestic wafer and ingot manufacturing to reduce import dependence and strengthen the country’s upstream capabilities, Amit Manohar, Secretary General, Indian Solar Manufacturers Association (ISMA) said while presenting an assessment of India’s manufacturing value chain. Speaking during the “Atmanirbharta in Solar PV Manufacturing” session at SolarFutures 2026: Next-Gen Solar India held recently in New Delhi, he argued that sustained policy support and long-term demand visibility will be essential to attract investments into the upstream segment.
Beginning his presentation with an overview of the industry, Manohar noted that India has already built around 200 GW of module manufacturing capacity and approximately 30.8 GW of cell manufacturing capacity, making the downstream segment well established. However, he pointed out that upstream manufacturing remains underdeveloped, with only about 3.3 GW of wafer and ingot capacity and no domestic polysilicon production, leaving India dependent on imports from China and other countries. While acknowledging the apparent gap between module and cell capacities, he clarified that domestic cell production is currently sufficient to meet India’s demand.
Looking ahead, Manohar projected that India could build nearly 50 GW of wafer and ingot manufacturing capacity by 2028, requiring investments of around Rs 25,000–30,000 crore over the next two to three years. Even if only half of the announced projects materialise, he said the capacity would be sufficient to meet domestic demand. He estimated that establishing manufacturing facilities would require investments of Rs 500–700 crore per GW and said the sector could become largely self-sufficient by 2030 if the current growth trajectory is maintained.
Manohar also identified several challenges that could affect the pace of expansion. He said Indian manufacturers continue to depend heavily on China for capital equipment, while European alternatives remain significantly more expensive. In addition, wafer and ingot manufacturing requires uninterrupted power supply, substantial water resources and larger land parcels than module manufacturing, making infrastructure availability a critical factor. He added that electricity alone accounts for nearly one-quarter of wafer production costs, underscoring the importance of access to affordable renewable power to improve global competitiveness.
On financing, Manohar argued that government support would improve project viability through capital subsidies, concessional financing and viability gap funding. He also emphasised the importance of long-term demand certainty, suggesting that extending domestic content requirements for wafers and ingots under schemes such as PM-KUSUM and other public procurement programmes would encourage greater private investment. Drawing parallels with India’s rapid expansion in module manufacturing, he said similar policy support could help upstream manufacturing grow from its current base to 50–60 GW over the next three to four years.
Concluding his presentation, Manohar acknowledged that domestic wafer production currently remains more expensive than imports from China because of higher polysilicon costs, smaller manufacturing scale, higher financing costs and dependence on imported technologies and specialised consumables. However, he expressed confidence that costs would decline as manufacturing capacities expand, operational efficiencies improve and supporting industries mature. He said the real opportunity for India’s solar manufacturing sector now lies in building a competitive wafer and ingot ecosystem that complements the country’s already established module and cell manufacturing base.
