India is preparing a production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to support domestic polysilicon manufacturing as the government seeks to reduce import dependence and build an integrated solar PV supply chain.
Santosh Kumar Sarangi, secretary at India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), said at a Confederation of Indian Industry event in New Delhi today (7 August) that the proposed scheme could cover more than 10GW of polysilicon production capacity.
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The government has not disclosed the size of the financial incentive.
Polysilicon is a key raw material for solar PV manufacturing, and India currently relies entirely on imports from China. The proposed programme would extend India’s manufacturing incentives further upstream into a segment of the solar supply chain dominated by Chinese producers.
India previously allocated INR 240 billion ($2.52 billion) in manufacturing-linked incentives for solar module and cell production. The country currently has about 200GW of solar module, 33GW of cell and 2GW of wafer manufacturing capacity operating, but no domestic polysilicon capacity.
“The proposed PLI would mark a further push towards vertical integration of India’s solar manufacturing supply chain. Following the implementation of approved lists for modules and cells, and the proposed implementation of a similar list for wafers in 2028, the polysilicon PLI could support further localisation of the PV supply chain”, Ankita Chauhan, global supply chain and integrated power & renewables research analyst at Wood Mackenzie, told PV Tech.
India is also targeting at least 80GW of domestic ingot and wafer manufacturing capacity by June 2028.
The proposed polysilicon PLI comes as India seeks to close the gap between rapidly expanding downstream manufacturing and limited upstream capacity.
In December 2025, energy transition think tank the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) published a report, Assessing the Effectiveness of India’s Solar PLI Scheme, showing that as of June 2025, India had 3.3GW of polysilicon, 5.3GW of wafer, 29GW of cell and 120GW of module manufacturing capacity.
The report found that the PLI scheme had driven all of India’s polysilicon and wafer capacity at the time, while around 36% of cell capacity and 24% of module capacity originated from PLI allocations.
“The government’s focus is increasingly shifting from module assembly towards upstream value addition, with polysilicon representing one of the most strategically important stages still largely dependent on overseas supply. India’s proposed PLI scheme for domestic polysilicon manufacturing seeks to close a critical gap in localising the solar PV and semiconductor supply chains,” Charith Konda, energy specialist at IEEFA, told PV Tech exclusively.
“While downstream localisation in solar PV module assembly has been achieved, the focus now shifts upstream to indigenising value addition at the ingot and cell stages. Further, by incentivising polysilicon production, the scheme provides essential supply-side support to meet the ALMM List II mandate, strengthening India’s ability to build a resilient and competitive clean energy ecosystem.”
However, developing domestic polysilicon capacity will be both capital- and energy-intensive and require significant technical expertise. Polysilicon prices outside China are currently around 2-3 times higher, potentially increasing downstream module costs, Chauhan said. “The overall effectiveness of the scheme will depend on the level of support offered, which remains unclear in the absence of details on the incentive structure,” she added.
A dedicated incentive for polysilicon could help address the upstream manufacturing gap, but industry support measures will also be needed to ensure domestic producers can secure offtake.
Speaking to PV Tech, Prabhakar Sharma, senior consultant at JMK Research, said, “A dedicated PLI just for polysilicon is definitely a positive step to develop the most critical yet hardest part of the solar PV value chain. Separating polysilicon in the PLI, unlike previous iterations where it was clubbed with other components such as modules, cells and wafers, will enable the government to identify the incentive support needed.
“However, a commensurate demand-side measure should also be implemented, such as ALMM, in parallel. Without this, Indian-made polysilicon will be hard to sell and secure offtake, as in the initial years it will be more expensive than its imported counterpart.”
Sharma also said support should be provided to help manufacturers secure raw materials for polysilicon, which could be strengthened through India’s ongoing National Critical Minerals Mission.
According to Chauhan, a fully integrated solar PV manufacturing supply chain may not be competitive with imported wafers and polysilicon until there are measures in place to address lower-cost imports.

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