New Delhi, March 10 -- India is ramping up its efforts to break China's dominance in the solar supply chain with a $1 billion capital subsidy plan that's aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing of wafers and ingots-critical components in solar panel production.

While the country has made significant progress in solar module and cell manufacturing, wafer and ingot production remains a weak link, with only 2gigawatts (GW)of capacity compared to 71 GW in modules and 11 GW in cells.

The government's push mirrors its successful mobile phone manufacturing strategy, which attracted global giants such as Apple and Samsung with lucrative incentives. A similar approach in the solar sector could cut reliance on imports, lower production costs, an...