Solar gear making can create up to 5 lakh jobs a year

Domestic solar power equipment manufacturing can offer up to 5 lakh jobs annually, industry players said on Friday while pressing for anti-dumping duty on import of these products mainly from China and Taiwan. 

“Government has envisaged producing 1,00,000 MW of solar power capacity by 2027 and to cater to that a manufacturing capacity of 10,000 MW is required every year,” ISMA member and Moser Baer Solar's CEO K N Subramanium told PTI on the sidelines of the industry body’s press briefing.

“We require 50 people for producing equipment for generating 1 MW capacity,” he added. The Indian Solar Manufacturers’ Association has said that indigenous solar power equipment manufacturing can generate 5 lakh jobs per year. ISMA members include Tata Power Solar’s CEO Ajay Goel, Indo Solar’s Managing Director Hulas Rahul Gupta and Moser Baer Solar's CEO K N Subramanium as well as its Chief Marketing Officer Vivek Chaturvedi. 

ISMA has said that anti-dumping duty should be levied on imported equipment to protect the domestic industry and provide it with a level playing field.

It has also pitched for giving tax breaks to individuals who produce solar power by installing roof top solar panels. “The government should give personal income tax breaks for adopting solar rooftops. This will encourage individuals to use solar power and also promote sun energy,” Chaturvedi said. 

Anti-dumping duty 

The Commerce Ministry, in May, had recommended levying anti-dumping duty on solar cells imported from the US, Malaysia, China and Chinese Taipei. The ministry had suggested restrictive duty in the range of $0.11-0.81 per watt.

The levy would be applicable on solar modules and cells assembled partially or fully, originating in or exported from these countries. Solar power producers, meanwhile, have asked for removal of this proposed duty saying that it will escalate power tariff. 

ISMA, however, said: “With the imposition of anti-dumping duty the price of solar power is expected to rise by only 6 per cent to 8 per cent.”