Workers clean photovoltaic solar panels outside Fiotex Cotspin cotton yarn manufacturing factory at Rajkot, Gujarat, India, on April 14. | REUTERS
REUTERS
Jul 23, 2026
NEW DELHI/BEIJING – Indian makers of solar panels are being forced to shut factories as they face waits stretching up to eight months for domestic components to replace Chinese imports as the government pushes to beef up domestic manufacturing, industry sources say.
The disruptions, triggered by rules that took effect on June 1, threaten thousands of jobs and investment of nearly $4 billion, manufacturers and analysts said, while imperiling India’s 2030 target to boost solar energy capacity.
“We have suffered a lot due to the domestic cell unavailability for the past three months,” said Shailendra Shukla, chairman of Icon Solar, a module maker, who expects production to shrink sharply to about 1 GW from 3.2 GW.
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