India's ambitious 100 GW solar target — first set for 2022, then revised to 2026 — has been missed a second time. As of March 31, 2026, India's installed solar capacity stands at 86.7 GW, according to the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy. The shortfall of 13.3 GW is equivalent to the annual solar capacity addition of the entire year 2023. The government has moved the goalposts again, targeting 300 GW by 2030 as part of India's Panchamrit commitments at COP26.
India Solar Capacity — State-wise Distribution (March 2026)
- Rajasthan: 22.1 GW (25.5% of total)
- Gujarat: 12.4 GW
- Karnataka: 9.8 GW
- Tamil Nadu: 9.1 GW
- Telangana + Andhra Pradesh combined: 16.8 GW
- Top 6 states: 81% of total national capacity
- 8 northeastern states combined: 0.3 GW (0.3% of total)
“The geography of solar capacity tells you everything about what is missing. Where land is cheap and sun is abundant in the east and northeast, we have almost nothing. The problem is transmission infrastructure, not solar resource.”
— Vibhuti Garg, Director of South Asia, Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis
86.7GW
Installed capacity (Mar 2026)
100GW
Missed target
300GW
New 2030 target
81%
Capacity in 6 states
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Kavitha Nair
Environment Correspondent
Kavitha reports on climate, environment and public health from Chennai. She has covered three COP summits.