India, Aug. 4 -- India's distributed solar capacity has increased more than 17 times to 31.5 GW in financial year (FY) 2026 from 1.8 gigawatts (GW) in FY2018, according to a new report. This growth was driven by flagship government schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM KUSUM).

However, despite this surge, distributed energy resources (DER) continue to face regulatory, financing and implementation barriers, showed the report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

It compared India with Australia and Bangladesh, finding that all three countries have made progress in creating an enabling ecosystem for DERs, particularly r...