The proposal has so far attracted interest from Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and the Tuticorin Port Trust in Tamil Nadu to set up designated equipment manufacturing parks in the country.
In a letter to states, the ministry asked the governments to identify land parcels of 50-500 acres for setting up the parks, which shall cater to both domestic and international needs.
“In a time when many companies are planning to shift their manufacturing base from China, it is opportune time for India to bring policy changes for facilitating and catalysing manufacturing in India,” said a statement from the MNRE.
These hubs will manufacture equipment such as silicon ingots and wafers, solar cells and modules, wind equipment and other ancillary items such as back sheet, glass, steel frames, inverters, and batteries.
MNRE secretary Anand Kumar had last week held meetings with manufacturing companies as well as trade commissioners of other countries to encourage investments in India.
Currently, India’s wind equipment manufacturing capacity stands at 10 GW. Imports meet about 85% of the country’s demand for solar cells and modules. The government had earlier slapped basic customs duty on import of solar cells and modules to promote indigenous production and usage of solar parts.
