An umbrella body of 28 solar water heater manufacturers has urged the Government to facilitate payment of unpaid subsidies worth Rs 350 crore for the previous two fiscals, failing which the industry will reach a financially critical condition.
The pending subsidy includes Rs 50 crore for 2012-13 and around Rs 300 crore for the last fiscal, according to Solar Thermal Federation of India (STFI).
“Our immediate concern is that the Government pay us this amount as the industry is on death bed. It is Rs 800-crore industry,” STFI Secretary General Jaideep Malaviya said in a press conference.
To promote solar energy, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) had launched a programme under which 30 per cent subsidy would be provided to solar water heater manufacturers for every unit sold.