According to a Business Standard report, a significant portion of the recipients of India’s PLI scheme have identified suppliers and service providers from China.
Leading players in the renewable energy sector, including Reliance New Energy Solar, Tata Power, ReNew Solar, Avaada Electro, and Waaree Energies, have identified Chinese vendors as major suppliers.
For instance, Indosol (Shridi Sai), a winner in the initial phase of the solar PLI program, has listed 94 vendors, with 65 of them being Chinese. Similarly, Reliance New Energy has designated all 20 of its foreign vendors from China. However, Adani Mundra, the solar manufacturing arm of the Adani Group, has yet to provide any names to the government.
Tata Power Solar, the winner of the second phase of the PLI scheme, has named seven suppliers/supply chain partners, four of which have Chinese origins, while two are from Germany and one from Singapore.
Waaree Energies, a longstanding solar equipment manufacturer in India, has identified 17 supply chain partners for its PLI project, all of which are Chinese.
Other firms such as VSL Solar, AMPIN Solar, and Grew Energy have over 90% of their vendors sourced from China.
These firms have submitted their lists to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to facilitate the issuance of visas for foreign experts from these agencies.
Experts cited in the Business Standard report point out that Indian companies rely on China for factory equipment to establish assembly lines. Given that India’s solar module manufacturing capacity is still in its early stages, the supply chain required for setup is largely dominated by China.
The solar PLI scheme aims to enhance the domestic supply chain for solar power equipment and reduce reliance on imports. Currently, about 70% of India’s solar power generation capacity relies on solar equipment manufactured in China.
In 2021, the government announced PLI schemes for 14 sectors, including telecommunications, white goods, textiles, medical devices manufacturing, automobiles, specialty steel, food products, high-efficiency solar PV modules, advanced chemistry cell batteries, drones, and pharmaceuticals, with a total outlay of ₹1.97 lakh crore.
These schemes are designed to attract investments in critical sectors, promote cutting-edge technology, improve efficiency, achieve economies of scale in manufacturing, and enhance the global competitiveness of Indian companies and manufacturers.
The PLI scheme also targets critical minerals, aiming to bring together all stakeholders to exchange knowledge, experiences, best practices, and success stories, ultimately contributing to the successful implementation of PLI initiatives.
