New Delhi: India could transform its solar manufacturing industry into a fully integrated global powerhouse by 2047, creating 32.3 lakh direct and indirect jobs and attracting USD 89 billion in manufacturing investment, a report by the Indian Solar Manufacturers Association (ISMA) said on Tuesday.
Titled Vision 2047: Solar Manufacturing from Polysilicon to Power Plant, the report presents a pathway for India to move beyond module assembly and set up manufacturing capabilities across the entire solar value chain -- from polysilicon and ingots to wafers, cells and modules, the statement said.
The transition could enable India to retain a significantly larger share of the value generated by every solar panel manufactured domestically while strengthening its position in global markets, it stated.
Under the Vision 2047 pathway, India's installed solar capacity could reach 2,275 GW by 2047, supported by manufacturing capacities of 3,266 GW in modules, 2,796 GW in cells, 2,479 GW in ingots and wafers, and 2,156 GW equivalent in polysilicon.
The report estimates that the entire manufacturing chain could meet domestic demand within the next decade, with every stage progressively scaling up to support India’s growing solar installations and exports.
The expansion could create a significant employment opportunity, with total manufacturing-related jobs rising from approximately 4.1 lakh currently to 8.1 lakh by 2030 and 32.3 lakh by 2047.
Direct employment within solar PV manufacturing plants could increase from around 1.4 lakh to 11.1 lakh. Notably, nearly 68 per cent of direct manufacturing jobs could be concentrated in upstream segments such as cells, wafers and polysilicon by 2047, reflecting the growing importance of deeper domestic manufacturing capabilities.
The report estimates that approximately USD 89 billion in new solar PV manufacturing investments could be required by 2047 under the Vision pathway, translating into an average investment requirement of around USD 4.3 billion annually between 2027 and 2047.
Nearly 70 per cent of these investments are expected to flow into polysilicon, wafers and cells.
The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme has already attracted approximately USD 8.4 billion in investments by June 2026, with every dollar of incentive drawing around four dollars in private investment.
A deeper domestic manufacturing ecosystem could also substantially reduce India’s dependence on imported solar components.
The report projects that the country's annual solar import bill could decline from approximately USD 4.4 billion currently to zero by 2041 under the Vision 2047 pathway. India could further account for 26.5 per cent of global solar module supply by 2047, compared to around 5.9 per cent under the current policy scenario by 2030.
Amit Manohar, Secretary General, ISMA, said, "Realising this ambition will require sustained policy support, a predictable demand pipeline, investments in upstream manufacturing and continued efforts to strengthen India’s global competitiveness".
The report identifies policy certainty, sustained domestic demand and timely implementation of manufacturing programmes as critical to realising this ambition.
It calls for maintaining firm timelines under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM), completing PLI-supported projects, expanding rooftop solar and agricultural solarisation programmes, and accelerating investments in upstream manufacturing.
It also highlighted the need to develop domestic manufacturing equipment, strengthen technical skills, promote advanced cell technologies, establish recycling frameworks and expand export markets.
The Vision 2047 pathway outlines a phased transition, with cells scaling up through 2030, wafer manufacturing expanding through 2035 and the complete solar manufacturing value chain becoming established thereafter.
This could position India not merely as a major solar deployment market, but as a trusted global supplier of solar manufacturing products and technologies.
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