Solar-powered India? The gap between ambition and reality is growing

India has a target of generating 100 Gw solar power by 2022 and set up a self-reliant industry for it

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in 2015 that India would have 100 Gw of solar power in eight years. There is a year to go, but India is yet to reach even 50 per cent of this target.

India set a policy objective to become self-sufficient in solar manufacturing. Even after imposing duties, India still lags China in solar manufacturing and is heavily reliant on imports from that country. Now, the government seems to be making one last stand to push for an "atmanirbhar" (self-reliant) solar industry.

Will India achieve its goal? And do we have the wherewithal to compete with China? These are some questions that are on everyone’s mind.

The quandary is the trade-off between self-reliance and environment-friendly policy. If we do opt for self-reliance, the cost of solar power increases to further delay our capacity installation targets. On the other hand, if India veers towards environment, the sector will have to be beholden to international markets.

Here is India’s solar power capacity in numbers.