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India launched a set of flagship global initiatives to accelerate the world’s transition to clean, equitable, and circular solar energy systems at the Eighth session of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) on October 28, 2025, in New Delhi.
Among the headline programmes unveiled were SUNRISE — the Solar Upcycling Network for Recycling, Innovation & Stakeholder Engagement; a dedicated One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG) initiative to drive cross-border solar grid interconnections; the Global Capability Centre (GCC), envisioned as a “Silicon Valley for Solar” in India; and an in-principle SIDS Procurement Platform developed jointly with the World Bank for Small Island Developing States.
Together, the initiatives mark a significant shift for the ISA from advocacy to implementation, strengthening the Alliance’s mission to make solar energy accessible, affordable, and sustainable across the Global South.
The SUNRISE platform will connect governments, industries, and innovators to unlock the value embedded in solar waste—turning end-of-life solar panels and equipment into engines of green industry growth, circular innovation, and skilled employment. By promoting recycling and upcycling, SUNRISE aims to make solar deployment truly sustainable.
Under the OSOWOG programme, the ISA will advance feasibility studies and regulatory frameworks for regional power grid interconnections. The plan identifies priority links between East Asia-South Asia, South Asia-Middle East, Middle East-Europe, and Europe-Africa, enabling clean energy trade and greater energy resilience over the next decade.
ISA also launched the GCC, a hub-and-spoke network connecting national research and training institutions under a new Solar Technology Application Resource Centre (STAR-C) model. The GCC aims to foster R&D, innovation, and digital capacity-building through the ISA Academy, an AI-driven learning platform that provides personalised solar knowledge access worldwide.
In a move to strengthen energy security and affordability in vulnerable island nations, ministers and heads of delegations from 16 SIDS signed an in-principle Memorandum of Understanding for coordinated procurement under the new SIDS Platform. Developed with the World Bank, the platform will pool demand, streamline financing, and build capacity for resilient solar systems across the Caribbean, Pacific, and Indian Ocean regions.
Delivering the keynote address, President Droupadi Murmu said India’s solar mission must inspire an inclusive global transformation.
“The next step must be deeper inclusivity—ensuring that no woman, no farmer, no village, and no small island is left behind in this solar revolution,” she said.
Murmu urged ISA members to view solar not merely as an infrastructure goal but as a people-centred movement that drives jobs, women’s empowerment, and sustainable livelihoods.
“Our progress should not be measured only in megawatts but in the number of lives illuminated and communities transformed,” she added, calling for stronger technology sharing and ecological safeguards.
Launched by India and France at COP21 in Paris, the ISA now counts 125 Member and Signatory Countries, driving projects on mini-grids, rural electrification, and solar financing. The latest announcements, coming just weeks before COP30 in Brazil, signal India’s intent to position the Global South at the centre of the solar revolution.
ISA Director General Ashish Khanna said, “It took 25 years to build the first 1,000 GW of solar capacity and only two years to add the next 1,000. Through these initiatives, ISA is helping nations move from pilots to scale — creating a solar-powered, inclusive, and regenerative future.”