"Domestic manufacturers in the Rs 1,000-crore industry say that
soon after the subsidy was suspended China increased export duty by 17% on glass vacuum tubes, a component that is used to manufacture solar water heaters for residential use and is not available in India. This will increase the price of the Indian solar water heaters further, they say
"Manufacturers have invested a lot in expansion and now we can't compete with the cheaper Chinese units. The existing manufacturers are in trouble, forget about new entrants. There is no 'Make in India' here," said M Ganesh Pai, director of Supreme Solar, which manufactured 40,000 units of solar water heaters in 2013-14. According to an
MNRE official, the ministry is aware of the situation.
"China has increased duty on tubes and removed all taxes on finished product, making them cheaper. We sent a reminder to the revenue department some time ago asking them not to make the finished product duty free," said the official, who did not wish to be identified."