Solar energy sector
The Government of India is now going to keep a strict watch on the import of solar energy -related equipment. Its aim is to strengthen the domestic solar industry and control the indiscriminate purchase of foreign equipment. According to an ET report, preparations are being made to start a new import monitoring system for this, so that it can be ascertained which solar products are coming to India, where they are coming from and where they are being used.
Why is this new system important?
Today many solar projects are going on in India such as Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar Yojana, PM-Kusum Yojana and other schemes in which the use of domestic solar modules and cells has been made mandatory. For this, the government has already made a list of ALMM (approved list of models and manufacturers), in which products of the same companies are used which meet the standards.
However, the government was not yet clear that the amount of solar equipment is being imported in India, where and for what purpose they are being used. Are they being used by private companies, are they for commercial projects or for any domestic use? To remove this confusion and bring transparency, the government is now going to implement an automated monitoring system.
How will the new system work?
Under the new system, whichever company or merchant wants to import solar equipment, it will have to be registered in advance. In this, he will have to give information about the equipment, its source country and other necessary documents. After this, he will get a registration number which will be necessary before the custom clearance.
Such a system is already applicable to steel and paper imports and is now being brought on solar equipment. The advantage of this will be that the government will already know which goods are coming and where and for whom.
Domestic construction will benefit
The ability to make solar modules and cells in India has increased rapidly. Currently, the country’s solar module manufacturing capacity is above 100 gigawatts, while the solar cell capacity is about 27 gW. The ministry estimates that it will increase further in the next few months.
In a report of the ET, Care’s ratings were quoted as saying that by the year 2028, this capacity can reach 200 gigawatts for modules and 100 gigawatts for sale. Whereas India’s annual requirement is about 50 GW, that is, in the future, the country will be able to make all the solar goods itself and the need for imports will be reduced. However, there is also a concern that the big market of Indian companies was America, from where some bottlenecks have come out. This may affect exports, but the government hopes that with the cooperation of domestic demand and policy, the industry will remain stable.