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Solar panels are seen in Yarat village in Ladakh, India. Ladakh, as the roof of the world, is reportedly a region with huge potential for solar energy. (Allison Joyce/Getty Images)
In a major positive development, even as Indian dependence on imported solar modules and cells continues to be significant, the domestic industry's export of the same in the 2019-20 almost doubled from the figure achieved a year before, reports Hindu Businessline.
While in value terms the export of Indian solar cells and modules surged from Rs 847 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 1,506 crore in 2019-20, the volume growth was also robust, rising a remarkable 175 per cent over the same period, from 2.5 million units to 6.9 million units in the same period.
It should be noted that about a decade ago, India used to export much larger quantum of solar cells and modules in both volumes and value terms.
In 2008-09 when the solar movement was beginning in Europe, India had exported solar cells and modules worth $533 million. However, thereafter the Chinese players gained the foothold in the industry driven by their mega-factories which helped them bring down the prices dramatically, from around $1.2 a Watt-peak a decade back, to $0.18 in the present day.