Patanjali Ayurved Limited is planning to enter the solar power industry with a Rs 100-crore investment and a new factory in Greater Noida, Mint reported on Tuesday. Yoga guru Ramdev’s consumer goods company aims to further its “swadeshi [indigenous]” credentials by manufacturing solar power equipment locally.
“Getting into solar power is in line with the swadeshi movement,” Patanjali Managing Director Balkrishna told Mint. “With solar power, each household in India can have power supply, and we are here to make that happen.”
The company’s factory in Greater Noida is expected to begin operations in a few months.
Balkrishna said Patanjali wanted to use solar energy to run its factories, but while doing that, it realised that “most of the solar modules come from China, and there was no quality consistency even in India-made ones”. The company then decided to make its own solar panels.
Pantajali, founded by Ramdev and Balkrishna, has become a major competitor for multinational consumer goods companies within a decade of operation.
“The government has been working on the solar industry, and even offering sops,” Balkrishna said. “We will manufacture solar panels in India without compromising on quality. But we are not going to get into a price war with Chinese solar panels.”
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