India added 50.6 GW of solar module manufacturing capacity and 9.7 GW of solar cell manufacturing capacity in the first half of 2026, taking the country’s cumulative module capacity to 261.7 GW and cell capacity to 36.6 GW as of June, according to Mercom India’s State of Solar PV Manufacturing in India 1H 2026 report.
The expansion, however, has been uneven across the solar manufacturing value chain. Module capacity has grown faster than the commercially available supply of domestically manufactured cells, creating a constraint for manufacturers and project developers and tightening the availability of compliant modules.
Capacity covered under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) also expanded. Cumulative module manufacturing capacity under ALMM List-I stood at 225.5 GW, while solar cell manufacturing capacity under ALMM List-II reached nearly 35.5 GW.
Solar Cell Imports Rise As Domestic Supply Lags
The gap between domestic module and cell manufacturing was also reflected in imports. India’s imports of solar cells and modules increased 18 per cent in the first half of 2026 compared with the corresponding period of 2025. Solar cells accounted for 81 per cent of total imports, while modules made up the remaining 19 per cent.
Gujarat continued to dominate India’s solar manufacturing landscape, accounting for nearly 45 per cent of the country’s module manufacturing capacity as of June 2026. Rajasthan followed with 26.1 GW of module capacity, while Tamil Nadu had 23.4 GW.
Gujarat also held the largest share of India’s annual solar cell production capacity, accounting for 37 per cent. Tamil Nadu and Telangana followed with annual cell manufacturing capacities of 4.3 GW and 4.2 GW, respectively.
The module manufacturing market remained concentrated, with the country’s top 10 manufacturers accounting for 60 per cent of total capacity.
TOPCon, or Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact, was the dominant technology among modules listed under ALMM, accounting for 80 per cent of manufacturing capacity as of June. Monocrystalline PERC/TOPCon accounted for another 11 per cent, followed by Mono PERC at 4 per cent, heterojunction technology at 3 per cent and thin-film technology at 2 per cent.
India’s solar manufacturing industry also remained heavily dependent on the US export market. The US accounted for 92 per cent of India’s total solar exports during the first half of 2026.