Recently the government approved an additional Rs 19,500 crore Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for the solar industry. Read to know about the solar industry’s current state and the PLI scheme’s benefits!
What’s Happening?
There are four stages in solar module making – polysilicon, wafers, cells and modules. The existing production capacities of 15 GW have no polysilicon or wafer production capacity. This second tranche of the PLI scheme will encourage manufacturing at all levels!
The PLI Scheme
In the first tranche of the PLI scheme for manufacturing highly-efficient solar PV modules worth Rs 4,500 crores, the government has issued letters of award to Reliance New Energy Solar, Adani Infrastructure, and Shirdi Sai Group.
Through the additional tranche of Rs 19,500 crore for the same purpose, the government expects to garner Rs 94,000 crore in investments from a sector heavily dependent on imports. The move will create a domestic capacity of about 65 GW of fully and partially integrated solar PV modules!
Effect on the Indian Economy
The benefits of the PLI scheme will be multifold. It aims to create direct employment for 1,95,000 people and 7,80,000 indirectly. The scheme will also aim at replacing Rs 1.37 lakh crore of imports.
Besides, it will lead to a 29 GW fully integrated manufacturing capacity, 18 GW of plants integrated from wafers to modules, and 18 GW integrated over cells to module plants!
The PLI will be disbursed for five years after the commissioning of solar photovoltaic manufacturing plants on sales of high-energy solar PV modules.
