The amount of solar capacity added by India in 2020 reduced by 56 percent compared to the previous year, according to a report by Mercom India Research. The total solar capacity added by India in 2020 was 3,239 MW which is also the lowest addition in a period of five years, said the report.

"India added 3.2 GW or 3,239 MW of solar capacity in 2020, a 56 percent decline Year-over-Year (YoY) compared to 7,346 MW installed in 2019," it said adding that the country's total solar installed capacity was at 39 GW gigawatt (GW) as of December 2020.

The large-scale solar projects accounted for 78 percent of installations with 2,520 MW, registering a 60 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) decline. The addition of the remaining 719 MW rooftop installations was also down 22 percent compared to the installation in 2019. Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat were the top three states for large-scale solar capacity additions, representing around 51 percent of 2020 installations.

"India's solar installations in 2020 were the lowest in five years. While other top solar markets in the world have experienced positive growth, India, which had one of the most stringent lockdowns in response to the pandemic, took a while to get back up and running. However, we expect the industry to experience significant positive growth in 2021," said Raj Prabhu, Chief Executive Officer of Mercom Capital Group.