IMPACT OF POLICIES ON INDIA’S PHOTOVOLTAIC GLASS MARKET AND MAC GLASS SOLUTIONS

Introduction:
At COP26 in 2021, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made relevant commitments with the main goals for 2030 that India will produce 500 GW of non-fossil fuel energy and the power installation capacity of non-fossil fuel energy resources will reach 50%.

The statistics shows that by February 2025, India had achieved 222.86 GW, leaving a 270 GW gap—with approximately 130 GW expected to come from photovoltaic (PV) sources and average for each year with around 30GW solar power capacity needed to be produced.

Solar glass is base source for solar power. Globally, PV glass demands will exceed 100,000 tons per day by 2025; In 2023, global output totaled approximately 27.537 million tons, 90% of which came from China. As of July 2023, India’s PV glass production capacity stood at 1,000 tons per day, meeting only 15% of its 38 GW module manufacturing needs, with the remainder dependent on imports. There is a big gap among solar glass and solar module.

1、How policies from China and India influence the India solar industry
Recently years, there are several policies from China and India directly or indirectly affect the India solar glass industry.

I.China's Photovoltaic Policies (2022-2025)
1)Export Restrictions and Technical Control
Technical Export Restrictions: In February 2023, China included large-size silicon wafer technology and black silicon preparation technology in the Catalogue of Prohibited and Restricted Export Technologies, directly limiting India's access to key manufacturing technologies. This policy influences India to establish its local production chain.
Export Tax Rebate Adjustments: In November 2024, China reduced the export tax rebate for photovoltaic products from 13% to 9%, expected to increase export module prices by approximately 4% and raise India's import costs. While this measure aims to drive technological upgrades for Chinese enterprises, it intensifies the economic pressure on Indian photovoltaic projects in the short term.
2)Industrial Norms and Green Manufacturing
Upgrading of Environmental Protection and Technical Standards: In November 2024, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the Photovoltaic Manufacturing Industry Specification Conditions (2024 Edition), requiring new N-type battery efficiency to be no less than 26%, module efficiency no less than 23.1%, and strengthening green manufacturing and intellectual property protection. This policy consolidates its technological advantage in the global supply chain, and simultaneously exacerbates India's dependence on China's advanced technologies.
II. Indian Photovoltaic Policies (2022-2025)
1)Tariff Protection and Local Manufacturing Incentives
Import Tariff Barriers: Since April 2022, India has imposed basic customs duties of 40% and 25% on photovoltaic modules and cells, respectively. The government has repeatedly adjusted the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) to restrict Chinese modules from government projects.
Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme: Launched in 2020, the PLI Scheme offers subsidies of up to ₹400 per watt for module manufacturers and ₹150 per watt for cell manufacturers. However, by October 2024, it had only achieved 37% of the target output value, with less than 8% of subsidies disbursed.
2)Bidding and Project Support
Mandatory Procurement of Domestic Modules: In 2023, the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) launched a 1GW tender requiring both cells and modules to be domestically manufactured, promoting local capacity building. The 2024 PM Surya Ghar (Free Electricity Scheme) aims to provide solar subsidies to 10 million households by 2027, stimulating the distributed photovoltaic market.
Mandatory Energy Storage Policy: In February 2025, India required photovoltaic projects to configure at least 10% energy storage systems, with plans to increase this to 30%-40% in the future, aiming to address grid integration issues.
3)Trade Barriers and Investigations
Anti-Dumping and Tax Investigations: In October 2023, India launched tax evasion investigations into 40 Chinese photovoltaic enterprises, involving operational and invoice reviews, increasing compliance risks for Chinese companies in India. Additionally, India has initiated multiple anti-dumping investigations against Chinese photovoltaic products, such as imposing a 5-year anti-dumping duty on EVA film in 2022.
III.The influence on the India solar industry
1)Local Capacity Expansion and Technical Bottlenecks
Gap Between Capacity Targets and Reality: India plans to achieve 95GW of module capacity by 2025, but as of Q3 2024, it had only reached 65.8GW, with cell capacity standing at just 13.2GW, leading to severe supply-demand mismatches. Local enterprises have announced capacity expansions, but insufficient technical reserves and reliance on Chinese imports for upstream materials persist.
2)Rising Costs and Project Economic Challenges
Surge in Import Costs: Tariffs and China's export tax rebate adjustments have pushed up module prices, causing Indian photovoltaic project bidding prices to rise by 15-20% in 2023. Some projects were delayed due to excessive costs. The mandatory energy storage policy further increases project costs by an additional $20 million per GW.
3)Market Structure and International Competition
International Cooperation and Supply Chain Reconstruction: India has more chance to get cooperation with the U.S. and Europe.
4)Policy Uncertainty and Investment Risks
Fluctuations in Trade Barriers: Policy volatility, such as the suspension and restart of the ALMM and tax investigations, has increased investment risks for Chinese enterprises. In Q2 2024, India's module imports dropped 83% month-on-month, reflecting the impact of sudden policy changes on the market.
As above we can see that India has promoted the development of its photovoltaic industry through tariff protection and local incentives, while there is a still big gap for matching in this industry, such as solar glass with module.

2、MAC GLASS solution enhances clients to promote their capability for solar glass industry

MAC Glass is a global comprehensive solution provider in the photovoltaic glass industry. It has serviced for more than 90 countries with more than 20 years experience. MAC Glass integrates the world's top design institutes and equipment manufacturers to deliver turnkey projects for photovoltaic glass production. MAC Glass services cover the entire lifecycle, from factory layout design, furnace hot-end, cold-end, and deep processing design, to furnace construction, furnace baking, equipment installation and commissioning, technical training, and ongoing production guidance—encompassing both hardware and software support.
Tailored to each client's specific needs, MAC Glass offers customized and optimized production line layouts and capacity allocation, featuring fully automated deep processing. MAC Glass also equips clients with a plant-wide MES system for efficient management, standardizing and streamlining production processes to achieve full-factory automation, along with high-quality and high-efficiency production goals.
The core of India's photovoltaic glass solutions lies in the dual capabilities of "policy decoding + technology implementation", and MAC Glass can empower Indian photovoltaic glass manufacturers to lead the market frontier.