India’s solar story is no longer just a story of rising installed capacity. It is a story of policy architecture—from creating demand and transmission infrastructure to enabling rooftop adoption, domestic manufacturing, open access, energy storage and new solar applications.

In 2014, India had roughly 2.8–3 GW of installed solar capacity. By August 2026, solar capacity had reached 168.04 GW, including 32.59 GW of grid-connected rooftop solar. (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy)

Behind that transformation are a series of interventions that progressively changed where solar is generated, who generates it, what equipment is used, how electricity is procured and, increasingly, how solar power is stored and integrated into the grid.

Here are 10 initiatives that trace that evolution—from the newest interventions back to the policy foundation laid in 2010.

01 | Pradhan Mantri Surya Sarovar Yojana — 2026

Moving Solar Beyond Land

Approved in July 2026, the PM Surya Sarovar Yojana (PM-SSY) marks a new chapter for India’s solar deployment: floating solar integrated with energy storage.

The scheme has an outlay of ₹5,070 crore and targets 5 GW of floating solar PV projects, paired with at least 10,000 MWh of co-located storage—equivalent to a minimum two-hour storage duration. Projects are planned for sanction between FY2026–27 and FY2030–31. (Press Information Bureau)

Industry Impact

• Opens reservoirs and inland water bodies as a new solar resource.
• Reduces dependence on land-intensive utility-scale development.
• Brings solar + storage into the same policy conversation.
• Creates opportunities for floating PV, anchoring systems, power electronics, EPC and BESS.

India’s assessed floating-solar potential is approximately 102.18 GWp, indicating significant headroom beyond the 5 GW scheme target. (Press Information Bureau)

02 | PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana — 2024

Turning the Consumer Into a Power Producer

Launched in February 2024 with an outlay of ₹75,021 crore, PM Surya Ghar aims to enable rooftop solar adoption among 1 crore households. (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy)

By August 2026, more than 51.58 lakh households had benefited, with approximately 14.8 GW of rooftop capacity commissioned under the scheme. (Press Information Bureau)

Industry Impact

This is fundamentally changing the demand side of India’s solar market.

The market is expanding from:

Utility-scale projects → Distributed generation → Household-level generation

That creates a wider ecosystem around:

• Rooftop EPC
• Solar modules
• Inverters
• Net metering
• Financing
• O&M
• Smart energy management
• Residential storage

The most important shift may be behavioural: electricity consumers are increasingly becoming distributed generators.

03 | National Green Hydrogen Mission — 2023

Solar Becomes a Feedstock for Industry

The National Green Hydrogen Mission broadened the role of renewable electricity beyond conventional power generation.

Its objective is to establish India as a global hub for green hydrogen production, utilisation and exports. The Mission includes incentives for electrolyser manufacturing and green hydrogen production under the SIGHT programme, with an initial outlay of ₹17,490 crore. (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy)

Industry Impact

Solar is no longer only competing to supply electrons to the grid.

It can increasingly supply energy to:

Solar → Electrolyser → Green Hydrogen → Steel / Chemicals / Fertilisers / Mobility / Exports

This creates a major future market for renewable generation, electrolysers, storage, transmission and power-management technologies.

04 | Green Energy Open Access Rules — 2022

Bringing Renewable Power Closer to C&I

The Electricity (Promoting Renewable Energy Through Green Energy Open Access) Rules, 2022 were introduced to expand access to green electricity.

The framework allows consumers with contract demand of 100 kW or above to access green energy through open access, including aggregation of multiple connections under specified conditions. (Power Ministry)

Industry Impact

For India’s commercial and industrial segment, this changes the conversation from:

“Should we install solar?”

to

“Where should we source our renewable electricity?”

It supports the growth of:

• C&I solar
• Open-access projects
• Captive and group-captive models
• Renewable PPAs
• Green electricity procurement
• Corporate decarbonisation

This is particularly important as businesses increasingly connect renewable procurement with their ESG and decarbonisation targets.

05 | Production Linked Incentive Scheme for High-Efficiency Solar PV Modules — 2021

From Solar Deployment to Solar Manufacturing

The PLI scheme represented a major policy shift: India was no longer focusing only on installing solar capacity, but also on building the manufacturing ecosystem behind it.

The programme has a total outlay of ₹24,000 crore and aims to establish GW-scale manufacturing of high-efficiency solar PV modules while encouraging integrated domestic supply chains. (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy)

Under Tranche I, awards covered 8,737 MW of fully integrated manufacturing capacity. Tranche II subsequently awarded capacity for 39,600 MW of fully/partially integrated manufacturing. (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy)

Industry Impact

The policy pushed the industry towards:

Import dependence → Domestic manufacturing → Integrated value chains

The implications extend beyond modules to:

• Cells
• Wafers
• Polysilicon
• Manufacturing equipment
• Glass
• Backsheets
• Encapsulants
• Solar electronics

India’s module manufacturing capacity reached approximately 172 GW by March 2026, compared with around 2.3 GW in 2014. (Press Information Bureau)

06 | ALMM — 2019 / Operationalised 2021

Quality, Traceability & Domestic Supply

The Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) introduced another important layer into India’s solar ecosystem.

The first ALMM list for modules was issued in March 2021, while the first ALMM list for solar cells was issued in July 2025. (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy)

Under the framework, specified government and government-assisted projects, government schemes, open-access and net-metering projects must use eligible models and manufacturers listed under the applicable ALMM provisions. (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy)

Industry Impact

ALMM has made quality, compliance and traceability increasingly important alongside price.

For manufacturers and developers, procurement decisions now involve:

• Module eligibility
• Manufacturing credentials
• Performance
• Traceability
• Compliance
• Domestic-content considerations

This has helped shift the conversation from simply “lowest module price” towards “bankable, compliant and reliable supply.”

07 | PM-KUSUM — 2019

Taking Solar to the Farm

PM-KUSUM expanded solar into India’s agricultural energy economy.

Its architecture includes:

• Decentralised renewable power plants
• Standalone solar agriculture pumps
• Solarisation of grid-connected agricultural pumps and feeders

The scheme was designed around a target of 34,800 MW of solar capacity with central financial support of ₹34,422 crore. (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy)

By June 2026, government data reported nearly 11.49 lakh off-grid solar pumps, more than 15.89 lakh pumps covered through feeder-level solarisation, and around 1,726 MW of decentralised solar capacity commissioned on farmers’ land. (Press Information Bureau)

Industry Impact

PM-KUSUM effectively created a new solar market around:

Agriculture + Solar + Decentralisation

It can reduce diesel dependence for irrigation, improve daytime electricity availability and create opportunities for farmers to participate in distributed generation.

08 | Solar Parks & Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects — 2014

Solving the Infrastructure Problem

Solar deployment cannot scale simply by producing more modules. Developers also need land, transmission, roads, water, clearances and evacuation infrastructure.

The Solar Parks Scheme, launched in December 2014, was designed precisely around this problem.

Its original target of 20 GW was expanded to 40 GW in 2017. (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy)

By February 2026, 54 solar parks with a sanctioned capacity of 39,188 MW had been approved. (Press Information Bureau)

Industry Impact

The policy helped transform solar projects from isolated developments into infrastructure-led energy clusters.

The resulting model:

Land aggregation + transmission + common infrastructure + multiple developers = faster project development

This became one of the foundations of India’s utility-scale solar boom.

09 | Green Energy Corridor — 2013 onwards

Building the Grid Behind Renewable Growth

One of the less visible—but arguably essential—pieces of India’s renewable transition has been transmission.

The Green Energy Corridor programme supports transmission infrastructure required to evacuate renewable electricity from generation-rich regions to consumption centres. The government has also prepared transmission planning through 2032 to accommodate India’s expanding renewable capacity. (Press Information Bureau)

Industry Impact

Solar capacity without adequate evacuation is stranded capacity.

The transmission build-out therefore enables:

Solar generation → Grid evacuation → Power markets → End consumers

As renewable penetration rises, transmission will increasingly have to work alongside:

• Battery storage
• Pumped hydro
• Hybrid projects
• Forecasting
• Grid balancing
• Flexible generation

10 | Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission — 2010

Where the Solar Story Began

India’s modern solar policy journey can be traced back to the launch of the National Solar Mission on 11 January 2010.

Its original ambition was to create the policy conditions necessary for rapid solar technology diffusion and establish India as a global solar leader. (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy)

The initial mission target was subsequently expanded from 20 GW to 100 GW, laying the foundation for the enormous deployment that followed. (Press Information Bureau)

Industry Impact

The Mission changed solar from a relatively niche technology into a strategic component of India’s energy policy.

It established the basic policy logic that subsequent interventions built upon:

Create demand → reduce costs → build infrastructure → scale deployment → develop manufacturing → democratise access.

From 3 GW to 168 GW: The Policy Flywheel

The remarkable part of India’s solar transformation is not any single scheme.

It is the way these interventions have increasingly stacked on top of one another.

2010–14

Create the market

National Solar Mission + early deployment programmes

↓

2014–19

Build scale

Solar Parks + transmission + competitive procurement + PM-KUSUM

↓

2019–22

Build the ecosystem

ALMM + PLI + Green Open Access

↓

2023–24

Expand the use cases

Green Hydrogen + PM Surya Ghar

↓

2026 onward

Integrate the system

Floating Solar + Storage + Hybridisation + Grid flexibility

What Comes Next?

The next decade of Indian solar is likely to be defined less by “how many gigawatts of solar can we install?” and more by “how intelligently can we integrate those gigawatts?”

Several growth areas stand out.

1. Solar + Storage

The emergence of policies explicitly pairing solar with storage signals a transition towards firm, dispatchable renewable power. The government has also supported BESS through viability-gap funding schemes. (Press Information Bureau)

2. Floating Solar

With more than 102 GWp of assessed floating-solar potential, reservoirs could become an increasingly important deployment surface. (Press Information Bureau)

3. High-Efficiency Technologies

The manufacturing ecosystem is likely to continue moving towards higher-efficiency architectures, advanced cell technologies and greater integration across the PV value chain.

4. Distributed Energy

Rooftops, agricultural solarisation, decentralised plants and C&I projects will make solar increasingly distributed rather than exclusively utility-scale.

5. Solar + Green Hydrogen

As green hydrogen infrastructure develops, renewable electricity could increasingly become an industrial feedstock rather than simply a source of grid electricity. (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy)

6. Smarter Grids

With solar capacity already at 168.04 GW as of August 2026, the next infrastructure challenge is increasingly about flexibility, storage, transmission and digital grid management. (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy)

The Bigger Picture

India’s solar transition has moved through several distinct phases:

Policy → Deployment → Infrastructure → Manufacturing → Distributed Energy → Storage → Integrated Energy Systems

That is perhaps the most important lesson of the last decade.

Solar did not become mainstream because of a single subsidy or a single technology.

It became mainstream because policy progressively built an ecosystem around the technology.

And the next chapter may be even more transformative: one where solar is not simply the fastest-growing source of electricity, but a foundational layer connecting homes, farms, factories, batteries, hydrogen and the grid.

India’s solar decade built the capacity.
The next decade will be about building the energy system around it.

Sources: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Ministry of Power and Press Information Bureau (PIB), Government of India.