Grandiose plan: India needs to frame a realistic solar power policy

India currently has an installed capacity of 12.2 Gw, but that still accounts for a negligible proportion of electricity generation

The inaugural summit of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in New Delhi over the weekend with 40 heads of state in attendance was an impressive showcase for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership of the global renewable energy agenda. The ISA is the outcome of an idea Mr Modi presented at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in 2015 and envisages the involvement of 121 countries situated (fully or partially) between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn — essentially Earth’s “sunbelt”.  The focus of the first summit was to discuss ways to make technology and finance available to meet