Solar manufacturers extend support to government’s vocal-forlocal programme; seeks PM’s support to realise full potential

Bhubaneswar, June 5: Leading solar manufacturers have sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide a level-playing field to all manufacturing units in order to realize the true potential of the renewable energy sector under the Government’s ambitious Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. Terming the Prime Minister’s announcement last week as a path breaking initiative, senior representatives of the sector said this is the time to focus and unleash the true potential of the sunrise sector. “However, we would like draw the attention of the Prime Minister and the key decision makers to address certain policy hurdles that solar manufacturers are facing and create a level playing field to all in order to turn this dream into reality,” they said. The Ministry of Finance’s proposed move to impose Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on solar manufacturers located within the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) is likely to impact the viability of these units, and hamper India’s ability to produce indigenously manufactured cells and modules. According to solar manufacturers, the imposition of BCD will be detrimental for units located in the SEZs, as they will be liable to pay the customs duty on the value of solar modules whenever they clear the modules to Domestic Tariff Area (DTA), even if they are importing solar cells. For module manufacturers located in DTAs, they would be required to pay BCD on the value of cell, thereby putting them in an advantageous situation as compared to the manufacturers in the SEZs. According to Saibaba Vutukuri, Chief Executive Officer, Vikram Solar, "India is planning to achieve an ambitious target of 100 GW of solar deployment by 2022 as a part of National Solar Mission. It is noteworthy that the 33 GW capacity of solar power deployment so far has been largely attained using imported solar cells and solar panels from China despite India having had enough module manufacturing capacity. Sadly, this has led to the closure of some of the manufacturing units due to very low capacity utilization. While India has been focusing on creating a market for solar power, now is the time to focus on domestic manufacturing, which would help conserve substantial foreign exchange and create at least 3,00,000 to 4,00,000 jobs in the next 2-3 years.”