As manufacturers invest in backward integration, advanced technologies, and exports, India’s solar manufacturing segment is entering a phase where competitiveness will increasingly depend on innovation, quality, and supply chain resilience rather than capacity alone.

In an interview with Mercom India, Ishver Dholakiya, Founder and Managing Director at Goldi Solar, discusses manufacturing capacity, export opportunities, localization, technology, and the policies that could shape the industry’s next decade.

Do you believe India’s manufacturing capacity is now outpacing domestic demand? If so, which export markets and sales channels can absorb the emerging surplus?

I wouldn’t describe India’s module manufacturing capacity as overcapacity; I see it as strategic capacity. If India aims to become a global renewable energy manufacturing hub, building ahead of demand is a natural part of that journey.

The immediate opportunity lies in exports. Markets across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Southeast Asia, and North America are diversifying their supply chains and looking for reliable manufacturing partners beyond a single geography.

Competitiveness will depend on technology, product quality, cost efficiency and the ability to build long-term customer relationships.

How does the gap between module and cell capacity affect manufacturers, and how quickly can India develop an integrated domestic supply chain?

The industry is actively addressing the module-cell capacity gap with policy support, fresh investments and increasing private sector participation. As additional domestic cell capacities come online, the ecosystem should become more balanced over time, although the pace will depend on project execution, technology readiness and market demand.

India’s competitiveness will be strengthened by building a more integrated value chain, from polysilicon to wafers, cells and modules.

Even as India localizes module and cell production, the industry continues to depend on imports for key inputs such as wafers, polysilicon, silver paste, specialty glass, and backsheets. Where do you see meaningful localization over the next five years?

The greatest strategic vulnerability today lies upstream. Critical materials such as wafers, polysilicon, and silver paste remain largely import-dependent. These are capital-intensive segments that require advanced technology, significant investment, and long-term capability building.

Components such as backsheets, junction boxes, frames and specialty glass are already seeing encouraging domestic participation.

Is the market evolving toward multi-year procurement partnerships, or will module manufacturing continue to operate in a highly transactional environment?

Price and delivery timelines remain important, and solar module procurement remains highly competitive. However, as projects become larger and financing decisions place greater emphasis on long-term asset performance, developers are evaluating suppliers on a broader set of parameters like product quality, manufacturing consistency, warranty strength, technology reliability, traceability, delivery capability, and after-sales support. With solar assets designed to operate for more than two decades, manufacturer credibility and module performance have a direct bearing on project risk and bankability.

The market will likely retain both relationships, but larger developers will prefer manufacturers that offer consistent quality, dependable execution, and long-term support across multiple projects. Ultimately, price will remain important, but increasingly alongside reliability, performance and lifecycle value.

Do changing global trade policies and U.S. Foreign Entity of Concern requirements create a major opportunity for Indian manufacturers? What capabilities are needed to capitalize on it?

Yes. However, this opportunity cannot be won on cost alone. Indian manufacturers need to continue strengthening manufacturing quality, technology capabilities, supply chain resilience, automation, ESG compliance and product consistency. Equally important are bankability, traceability and the ability to execute reliably at scale, as global customers increasingly evaluate suppliers on long-term performance rather than just price.

As policymakers look beyond modules and cells toward domestic production of wafers and ingots, what are the biggest challenges the industry will face? Is it primarily a question of technology, scale, economics, or access to raw materials?

Technology, scale, economics, and access to raw materials are closely interconnected, and success depends on addressing them together.

Wafer and ingot manufacturing is more complex than module assembly. It requires significant capital, technical expertise, high yields, affordable power, and reliable access to high-purity raw materials.

The industry also needs a broader manufacturing ecosystem of equipment suppliers, process engineering capabilities, skilled talent and supporting infrastructure. Policy support can accelerate investment, but long-term competitiveness will depend on technology leadership, operational efficiency and meeting global quality and cost benchmarks, rather than tariff protection.

Going forward, will competitiveness increasingly depend on investment in R&D, manufacturing automation, process innovation and proprietary technologies rather than simply adding more gigawatts?

The next phase of competition will be defined less by how much you manufacture and more by how efficiently and consistently you manufacture. Capacity expansion has played an important role in establishing India as a credible manufacturing base, but sustaining competitiveness increasingly requires continuous investment in technology and process excellence.

Areas such as manufacturing automation, AI-enabled quality inspection, advanced process engineering, predictive maintenance and digital manufacturing can help improve yields, enhance product consistency and reduce production costs. At the same time, investment in R&D remains important as cell technologies continue to evolve and customer expectations around efficiency and performance increase.

Beyond cost savings, what strategic advantages does integration into cells, wafers and eventually polysilicon provide in an increasingly competitive global market?

Backward integration is about much more than improving margins. It provides greater control over quality, technology adoption, supply chain reliability and manufacturing consistency. In today’s global market, it also improves visibility and traceability across the value chain, which is becoming increasingly important for customers, financiers and export markets.

Greater integration allows manufacturers to optimize product performance, respond faster to technology transitions and reduce dependence on external supply chain disruptions. It can also improve planning, inventory management and manufacturing execution.

In a competitive market, integrated manufacturers are generally better positioned to deliver consistent quality, strengthen customer confidence and meet evolving global requirements around traceability, compliance and long-term reliability.

What should be the next phase of policy support if India wants to build globally competitive manufacturers rather than simply expand domestic capacity?

The next phase should focus on strengthening global competitiveness across the entire value chain. That includes encouraging upstream investments in wafers, ingots and polysilicon, expanding domestic R&D, supporting manufacturing automation and improving access to long-term, competitive financing. Equally important is creating a stable and predictable policy environment that gives manufacturers the confidence to invest in capital-intensive technologies and long-term capacity expansion.

Continued focus on globally benchmarked testing, certification, quality infrastructure, technology partnerships, export competitiveness and value addition across the supply chain will also be important. As the industry matures, policy can increasingly encourage innovation, manufacturing efficiency and technology development alongside capacity creation.

Which technologies do you expect will define the next decade of Indian manufacturing, and how should manufacturers balance today’s commercial realities with investments in future technologies?

TOPCon is currently the dominant commercial technology because it offers a strong balance of efficiency, manufacturing maturity and cost competitiveness. At the same time, the industry continues to invest in emerging technologies such as HJT, back-contact architectures and tandem cells, each offering the potential to further improve module efficiency and performance as the technologies mature.

Manufacturers must remain agile, continuously improve manufacturing processes and be prepared to adapt as technologies evolve and become commercially viable.