March 25, 2015: The mostly unexploited market in India for the off-grid solar products and equipments stands around Rs 40 billion to Rs 50 billion, said Tarun Kapoor, Joint Secretary of India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. He was speaking at a Solar Lantern Press Meet in New Delhi, as reported by Zee News. undermine
As per Kapoor more than 50 million households in India need the off-grid products. Open market will be helpful for taking ahead the cause of solar energy in the country. “We need to eliminate the kerosene lit lamps. Once the consumers start getting more choice in terms of products, not only will the market for solar products pick up but also make the products affordable,” he added while speaking at the conference.
Expressing distress over presence of substandard solar products in the Indian markets, Kapoor said such products attract large customers due to their low price. However these products are very poor in efficiency and quality, and subvert the advantages of such products to the consumers. “The government is on its part taking measures to arrest the spread of such products in the market through various steps,” he added.
“The new government envisions to harness solar power to enable every home to run at least one light bulb by the year 2019 as close to 400 million people in India lack access to electricity. The ‘100 thousand solar lantern project’ is a step toward resolving one of the existing social concerns,” he said.
