India’s Solar Power Capacity Touches Nearly 136 GW Milestone

India’s installed solar power capacity has reached nearly 136 gigawatts (GW), accounting for almost half of the country’s total renewable energy capacity, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi said on Thursday. Speaking at the Foundation Day celebrations of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in New Delhi, the minister highlighted the rapid growth of solar energy in India, attributing it to sustained policy support and innovation in the clean energy sector.

Joshi said the International Solar Alliance has played a significant role in advancing global solar adoption and strengthening cooperation among countries working toward sustainable development. According to him, the alliance has helped transform the promise of solar power into meaningful progress across many parts of the world.

“Over the past decade, the International Solar Alliance has helped turn the promise of solar energy into real, life-changing impact across the world. By advancing solar deployment where it matters most, ISA has played a catalytic role in shifting the global energy transition toward emerging and developing economies,” Joshi said.

Launched as a global initiative, the alliance has now grown into a coalition of more than 120 countries working together to accelerate the adoption of solar energy worldwide. Highlighting government initiatives aimed at expanding solar usage, Joshi pointed to flagship programmes such as PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, which supports households in generating their own clean electricity, and PM-KUSUM, which enables farmers to adopt solar-powered irrigation systems.

The minister also noted that the pace of solar deployment globally is accelerating. While it took nearly 25 years for the world to install the first 1,000 GW of solar capacity, the next 1,000 GW is expected to be achieved in a significantly shorter period.

He further observed that the centre of the global clean energy transition is gradually shifting toward the Global South, where growing energy demand and abundant solar resources present major opportunities for sustainable development.

The International Solar Alliance was jointly launched by Narendra Modi and François Hollande during the COP21 Paris Climate Conference in 2015.