According to a new report, India's ambitious national solar programme is helping boost the growth in the solar energy market.

The report also says that it is helping reduce the price of solar energy and also shows that the government policy can stimulate growth in renewable energy markets. He competitive bidding under the National Solar Mission of the Indian government has helped reduce the prices for grid-connected solar energy close to the price of electricity from fossil fuels during the last two years.

The report released by the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC) and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) also showed that the total installed solar capacity in the country increased from 17.8 MW to over 500 MW. The figures were earlier discussed in "Laying the Foundation for a Bright Future: Assessing Progress Under Phase 1 of India's National Solar Mission."

Anjali Jaiswal, senior attorney for the India Initiative of NRDC, which is a US headquartered international nonprofit environmental organization, pointed out that India has sparked a powerful solar market in only two years.

"While the National Solar Mission still faces significant hurdles, India has already made important strides to attract new domestic and international players into the market, and lower the price of solar energy faster than most anticipated," he said.