The year 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of Solar PV activities in India. It was in 1975 that Central Electronics Ltd. (CEL) began its journey in the fabrication and deployment of solar PV. An oral paper entitled “Solar Deployment and Manufacturing in India: 50 Years of Experience” by Rajeewa Arya (Visiting Professor, NCPRE) and Juzer Vasi (Professor Emeritus, NCPRE) was presented by Dr. Arya at the 53rd IEEE Photovoltaics Specialists Conference (PVSC) in Montreal during June 9-13, 2025. The paper argued that the rapid advances in deployment of solar PV in India since 2012 and in solar manufacturing since 2023 were possible due to the availability of expertise and trained manpower in the country in both aspects, dating back to the early years of solar PV, during the 1980’s, 1990’s and 2000’s.