India sees a future making solar panels for itself, and maybe the world

China, the world’s clean-energy juggernaut, faces a rival next door. And one of its top customers, no less.
India, a big buyer of Chinese solar panels and electric vehicle batteries, is using a raft of government incentives to make more green gear at home. It is driven not just by the need to satisfy the galloping energy demands of its 1.4 billion people, but also to cash in on other countries that want to China-proof their energy supply chains, not least the United States.

India remains a tiny and tardy entrant. Last year, it produced about 80…