By Karan Sharma
Solar cables and connectors have emerged as critical components of solar power plants, particularly as the market shifts towards higher performance standards and stricter compliance requirements for balance-of-system (BoS) components. With the rapid increase in solar capacity additions, these components are gaining greater importance as larger projects and harsher operating conditions place increased emphasis on cable insulation and certification standards, which are becoming as important as the specifications of modules and inverters.
An overview of the solar cables and connectors market in India – its current status, technological advancements and outlook…
Current status
The Indian solar cables market was valued at $66.55 million in FY2025, and is projected to rise to $176.17 million by FY2033 at a CAGR of 12.94 per cent, as per Markets & Data. The segment’s growth has been driven by three parameters: strict safety and quality standards, growing local manufacturing activity and greater attention to life cycle quality. The Solar DC Cable and Fire Survival Cable (Quality Control) Order, 2023 mandated the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification for solar cables. The order helped bring uniformity and safety to the Indian solar cable market, and imposed strict quality norms to phase out substandard cables to some extent. Subsequent BIS guidelines issued in March 2025 introduced stricter compliance requirements for cables (IS 17293:2020 or IEC 62930 standards) and connectors (IS 16781:2018 or IEC 62852) in line with international safety benchmarks.
Technological advancements
While 1,500 V DC systems currently dominate, the industry is gradually moving towards 2,000 V DC-rated connectors because they can reduce cable and conductor requirements, lower transmission losses and improve inverter utilisation, shared Manjunath N. Reddy, founder and managing director, DhaSh Group of Companies, in a guest article in Renewable Watch’s January 2026 issue. These factors can help reduce the levellised cost and improve project economics. Hence, the market is shifting towards precision-engineered connectors designed to maintain consistent crimp-contact and mating length, lower electrical resistance, high ingress protection and mechanical stability.
In the solar cables space, the growing adoption of electron beam (e-beam) cross-linking technology has improved the thermal stability, ageing resistance, mechanical strength and outdoor durability of cable insulation.
Industry developments
Indian manufacturers are expanding solar cable production capacity and increasingly adopting e-beam technology to enhance product life. In November 2025, Orient Cables announced that it is setting up an e-beam irradiated cable facility at Unit II in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan, with the required approvals from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board pending. Several established manufacturers such as APAR Industries, Polycab, KEI Industries and RR Kabel are also strengthening their presence in the space, while companies such as Dynamic Cables are entering the market amid rising demand and growing investor confidence.
On the connector side, manufacturing is also scaling up. In January 2026, Stäubli invested $10 million to expand its manufacturing facility in Bengaluru. The facility features fully automated assembly lines for the production MC4-Evo1 and MC4-Evo2 solar connectors. As per the company, the connector assembly line is built to Industry 4.0 standards and is capable of producing up to 26 million connector sets annually.
Outlook
Strict quality enforcement, technological advancements and growing domestic manufacturing capacity have strengthened the country’s solar BoS supply chain. At the same time, several challenges persist. Low-cost imports dominate the market despite growing domestic manufacturing capacity, highlighting the need for stricter enforcement of BIS standards and tighter quality surveillance. Furthermore, raw material price volatility remains a key concern for manufacturers, as polymer prices are influenced by fluctuations in global crude oil markets and copper prices are linked to the London Metal Exchange, creating pricing uncertainty. To mitigate such risks, manufacturers are increasingly relying on supplier partnerships, localised procurement networks and manufacturing facilities located close to supplier hubs to reduce logistics and inventory costs.
Despite these headwinds, India’s solar cable and connector segment is steadily aligning with global benchmarks through investments in new technologies, advanced in-house testing infrastructure and compliance with international certifications. It remains to be seen whether the ongoing maturation of the segment can reduce import dependence and support the long-term reliability requirements of India’s solar sector.
