Need structural reforms in solar equipment mfg: AISIA
The industry body urged Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister RK Singh that structural safeguards and tariff-based barriers are needed for domestic manufacturing to gain a foothold and establish itself
New Delhi: Industry body All India Solar Industries Association (AISIA) has urged Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh that structural safeguards and tariff-based barriers are needed for domestic manufacturing to gain a foothold and establish itself.
The body highlighted that the (solar equipment) "domestic manufacturers run their plants at 30 per cent capacities and incur huge unbearable losses." In the letter shot off to Singh earlier this week, the body stated that "having been hopeful of a revival in the last decade and after surviving strong headwinds, we are passing through even more difficult times where our survival is at stake and without a robust local 'Make in India' Solar manufacturing, the security of India's energy sector is in peril."
It urged that for domestic manufacturing to gain a foothold & establish itself, it is imperative that there are structural safeguards (ALMM-Approved List of Models and Manufacturers) and tariff-based barriers (BCD/ SGD etc. basic custom duty, safeguard duty) besides production-linked incentives for four to five years before these are tapered-off gradually. They pointed out that imports (of solar equipment) since April 2021 have been consistently over 800 MW/ month. The imports for cumulative 11 months till February 2022 are 16 GW, much more than the rate of deployment and total installation of 10 GW, which clearly indicated huge stockpiling and speculative activities.
