India Explained
ImplementedINCManmohan Singh, coalition government

Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission

Mission launched 11 January 2010 under the National Action Plan on Climate Change to scale up grid solar power; the target rose to 100 GW, reached in January 2025, and capacity was about 171 GW in September 2026.

Renewables, Climate commitments

Facts

  • The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission on 11 January 2010 under the National Action Plan on Climate Change, with the aim of making India a global leader in solar energy [2].
  • The initial staged targets were 1,000 MW, 10 GW and 20 GW over 12 years; the 2015 Budget raised the final target to 100 GW by 2022, including 40 GW of rooftop solar [3].
  • Phase 1 (2010-13) targeted 1,100 MW, with NTPC's subsidiary NVVN bundling solar power with cheaper central-station power and developers selected by reverse bidding; tariffs fell across successive batches. Phase 2 (2013-17) used viability gap funding with a 10 GW target [2].
  • Cumulative installed solar capacity was 2,632 MW in March 2014, 34,627 MW in March 2020 and 105,647 MW in March 2025; two Wikipedia pages give different 2010 baselines (161 MW and 11 MW) [3][2].
  • The 100 GW target was reached on 31 January 2025, after the 2022 deadline, with rooftop solar below its target [3].
  • The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy reports installed solar capacity of 171,051.46 MW and total renewable capacity (including large hydro) of 299,246.53 MW in data dated 30 September 2026; the page heading carries a 31 August 2026 label [1].
  • Domestic content requirements applied to crystalline silicon projects, and the United States Trade Representative filed a WTO complaint against the Phase 2 rules; India said the rules build local capacity and reduce import dependence. The outcome is not verified here [2].

Why

Reasons given by those who did it

  • The Mission's stated aim, as summarised by secondary sources, was to make India a global leader in solar energy within the National Action Plan on Climate Change [2].
  • The Government of India said its domestic content rules were intended to build local manufacturing capacity and reduce import dependence [2].

Criticism of that reasoning

  • The United States argued the domestic content rules discriminate against US exports; developers preferred global supply and moved to imported thin-film modules [2].

Benefits and concerns

Benefits (2)

  • Very large expansion of installed solar capacity.2,632 MW (March 2014), 34,627 MW (March 2020), 105,647 MW (March 2025) [3]; 171,051 MW in MNRE data dated 30 September 2026 [1]. Falling costs, state policies and other schemes also contributed.
  • Competitive bidding lowered solar tariffs to levels comparable to or below coal-fired power.Grid parity was reached in 2017 at roughly Rs 4.34 per kWh, about 18% below the average coal-fired price; auctions later cleared at Rs 2.89 per unit (Gujarat, December 2018) and Rs 2.48 per kWh (Rajasthan, March 2019) [3].

Concerns (2)

  • Grid integration and geographic concentration limit how much solar output can be used.Curtailment of 0.9 TWh was reported in October 2025, about 90% of PV capacity sits in nine states, and midday solar output does not match the morning peak [3].
  • Targets slipped and the domestic content approach led to a trade dispute.The 100 GW target set for 2022 was reached in January 2025, with rooftop solar the main shortfall [3]; the US filed a WTO complaint against Phase 2 domestic content rules [2].

Evidence points

+13.5
points, mean of two scorers (scale −25 to +25)
+13 to +14
range between the two scorers' totals
Medium confidence
scorers agree within 1 point on every criterion
ReachHow many people did the action materially affect?
Mean +3.0A +3B +3
Outcome evidenceDo official or independent data show the intended result (or its opposite), compared with the era baseline and peers?
Mean +4.0A +4B +4
Cost and sustainabilityIs the fiscal cost proportionate, and is the effect durable?
Mean +3.0A +3B +3
Process and rightsWas it made with debate, consultation and legal soundness, and did it respect rights and court rulings?
Mean +0.5A +1B 0
DeliveryWas it implemented as announced, on time and at scale?
Mean +3.0A +3B +3

Positive meanNegative meanScorer AScorer B

Scorer A. Solar capacity rose from 2.6 GW in 2014 to over 105 GW in 2025 with tariffs falling below coal, though the target slipped and costs also fell globally.

Scorer B. Solar capacity rose from negligible to over 100 GW with auction tariffs below coal, though the 2022 target was reached late.

Context used when scoring

Era baseline
In 2010 grid-connected solar was negligible in India's power supply (cumulative capacity of between 11 MW and 161 MW depending on source), and solar module costs were far higher than coal-fired generation.
Lag before outcomes show
5 years
Shocks considered
global-solar-module-price-decline, covid-2020
Uncertainty
Medium confidence. Scorer totals are +14 and +13. How uncertainty is shown.

In depth

The National Solar Mission was one of the missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change adopted in 2008, and was launched in January 2010. Its first phase used a bundling model, in which solar power from developers chosen by reverse auction was sold together with cheaper power from central generation, and its second phase relied on viability gap funding. A later Budget raised the long-term target from 20 GW to 100 GW.

Installed solar capacity grew from a few hundred megawatts at most in 2010 to more than 100 GW by 2025 and about 171 GW in Ministry data for September 2026. Auction tariffs fell sharply over the decade. Contributors to that outcome include global module price declines, state policies and competitive auctions as well as the Mission itself, and this entry does not separate them.

Concerns include grid integration, curtailment and the concentration of capacity in a few states. The domestic content requirement was intended to support local manufacturing, drew a WTO complaint from the United States, and led some developers to use imported thin-film modules; the outcome of the WTO case was not verified for this entry. The 2010 baseline differs between the two Wikipedia pages used, and the Ministry’s page carries inconsistent date labels, so the latest figure should be checked against the Ministry’s current release.

Sources

  1. Physical Progress (Achievements), installed renewable energy capacity
    Ministry of New and Renewable EnergyOfficial data
  3. Solar power in India
    Wikipedia (citing MNRE data)Media

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