Patanjali to make solar equipment manufacturing
Published on : Monday 30-11--0001
After making its mark in the FMCG sector, Yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved is set to make its foray into solar power equipment manufacturing, according to a report by Mint.
According to the interview, Acharya Balkrishna, managing director of Patanjali Ayurved, said: “Getting into solar is in line with the swadeshi movement. With solar, each household in India can have power supply, and we are here to make that happen.” The sector has witnessed heavy investments and imports from Chinese companies.
Entry into the solar equipments business would be Patanjali's first venture in the infrastructure sector and it comes at a time when it has gained success in the consumer goods market.
Patanjali is already competing with multinationals in consumer goods space. In the previous year, Patanjali's revenue grew five-fold to Rs 10,561 crore, from what was Rs 2,006 crore in 2014-2015, and it aims to cross Rs 20,000-25,000 crore in sales by March 2018, the report suggests. The government is considering a 30 per cent capital subsidy as part of a new solar manufacturing policy, the report said.
Earlier this year, Patanjali acquired Advance Navigation and Solar Technologies, which manufactures navigation aid equipment. Currently, the acquired company's facility has a manufacturing capacity of 120 megawatts.
Patanjali is planning to invest around Rs 100 crore in solar equipment manufacturing. Its factory in Greater Noida is expected to be fully operational within the next few months.
“This started with our plan to use solar as a source of power at all our factories. That time we understood (that) most of the solar modules come from China. And there was no quality consistency even in India-made ones,” Balkrishna added.