In a huge, ultra-modern factory in an industrial area on the outskirts of New Delhi, Moser Baer, a large producer of blank CDs and DVDs, is adding capacity for the newest product on its manufacturing line: photovoltaic cells to generate solar energy.

Moser Baer now cranks out 3,000 solar cells every hour, which over the course of a year adds up to enough cells to generate 80 megawatts of power – sufficient to supply 1m rural households. It also makes larger thin-film photovoltaic modules, enough in a year to generate 40 megawatts of power.