REconnect Jaipur: Cluster-based Approach Key to Strengthening Domestic Solar Manufacturing
At the REconnect Summit 2025 in Jaipur, panellists highlighted Rajasthan’s growing prominence in India’s solar manufacturing ecosystem, supported by favourable policies, strong infrastructure, and strategic resource advantage, and called for policy-backed cluster-based manufacturing and backward integration to power India’s solar manufacturing surge.
June 03, 2025. By Mrinmoy Dey
To this end, the Jaipur edition of the REconnect Summit 2025, organised by Energetica India magazine held on May 30, focused on the topic 'Strengthening Rajasthan’s Solar Manufacturing Ecosystem’ in the first panel discussion.
The panellists highlighted Rajasthan’s rapidly growing prominence in India’s solar manufacturing ecosystem, supported by favourable policies, strong infrastructure, and strategic resource advantages.
Initiating the discussion, Nitin Agarwal, CEO of Rajasthan Solar Association (RSA) stressed the importance of strengthening domestic manufacturing. “In line with the central government vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, we are striving to make Rajasthan a solar manufacturing hub,” he said.
Navin Arora, Rtd. Managing Director, Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam said, “Rajasthan has vast land availability, especially in the Thar region, and receives consistent government support.” Citing Rajasthan’s renewable energy target of 125 GW by 2030, he emphasised the demand side push for solar manufacturing in the state.
He further highlighted Rajasthan’s advantage in raw materials like silver and feldspar, key inputs in solar cell manufacturing. “Silver accounts for 60 percent of the non-wafer cost in solar cell manufacturing cost, and Rajasthan has the largest reserves. It also has strong connectivity — rail corridors and highways — making logistics and integration feasible,” he said.
Agarwal reiterated ongoing efforts to boost local participation saying, “We’ve been asking the Rajasthan government for a 25 percent reservation in tenders for local vendors to strengthen domestic manufacturing.” He also praised Rajasthan’s policies for enabling growth in solar parks, infrastructure, and rooftop solar ventures.
Avinash Choudhary, COO, Intraglobe Green Energy Pvt. Ltd stated that the availability of land banks and higher solar irradiance make Rajasthan an ideal solar energy generation hub. The state has also seen related infrastructure like grid integration, RE evacuation and HVDC line at scale.
“Technology integration is the next step. We are moving toward advanced systems like battery energy storage and hybrid inverters. New innovations must align with policy support to ensure cost-effective and sustainable projects,” noted Choudhary.
Rajeev Khare, Sr. Vice President, Aatmanirbhar Solar stressed the importance of workforce development and backward integration to reduce dependence on China for solar manufacturing. “To ensure sustainable solar manufacturing, Rajasthan must invest in infrastructure and develop skill hubs. Structured training is essential,” he said.
Rajiv Ganju, Senior Vice President – Manufacturing and Global Supply Chain, Luminous Power Technologies pointed out that solar technologies are evolving rapidly — from PERC to TopCon and soon to perovskite. “There’s a real risk of technology redundancy. Policy support must include safety nets or incentives for companies investing in currently viable but quickly evolving technologies,” he said.
He recommended that Rajasthan adopt a cluster-based approach to manufacturing. “Backward integration is key — from foundries to ingots, slicing, and encapsulation — all should be in close proximity. China’s success lies in this clustering model, which drastically reduces logistics and energy costs,” added Ganju.
He also stressed the importance of water and energy availability for manufacturing. “We must ensure uninterrupted water supply and work towards reducing energy costs through renewables.”
Prateek Agrawal, Managing Director, Solar91 Cleantech stated that Rajasthan has done exceptionally well under the PM Kusum scheme — more than 500 MW executed and 1,000 MW commissioned. However, he flagged the steep pricing of DCR panels as a serious bottleneck. “Imported panels are priced at about INR 13,000, while DCR panels cost INR 22,000-24,000 — if they're even available. This disparity is hurting vendors and shaking customer confidence. The government must intervene in DCR pricing. A controlled, reasonable price point will make DCR viable and boost backward integration,” he said.
Agarwal of RSA highlighted that to tackle the issues RSA has put forward a proposal to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to create a centralised bank for DCR panels from where EPC players can procure. “This will certainly help relatively small-scale EPC players,” he said.
P. Venkat Reddy, National President, The Solar System Integrators Association (TSSIA) called for streamlining of processes and focusing on the development of clusters for strengthening the domestic manufacturing ecosystem. He also stressed the need for skill development in the solar sector.
Mahendra Bharaskar, Head of Business Development, Anand Ebeam Cables, said, “India’s cable industry has seen significant transformation, from relying on imports to building indigenous E-Beam technology and domestic component manufacturing. Yet, awareness and adoption of these standards, especially in regions like Rajasthan, remain critical for the industry’s future resilience and performance.”
Agrawal of Solar91 underscored the need for clear technology guidelines for BESS. “We keep talking about battery storage, but there’s no clarity on what cell technologies to adopt — LFP, NMC, LTO, etc. We’re still heavily dependent on China. India must take a technology-forward approach and build domestic capacity,” he said.
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