India Boosts Module Production, But Cell Manufacturing Falls Behind
What Happened
India added 50.6 GW of solar module manufacturing capacity in the first half of 2026, but only 9.7 GW of solar cell capacity, creating a five-fold gap in the domestic supply chain. The shortfall has pushed developers and manufacturers to rely more on overseas supplies, leading to an 18% rise in solar cell imports. This comes despite India's ongoing push to build a self-reliant solar manufacturing ecosystem.
Key Takeaways
While India is rapidly expanding solar manufacturing, weaker growth in solar cell production could limit supply chain self-reliance and keep import dependency elevated unless upstream capacity catches up with module expansion.