Competitive bidding adopted under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission is an appropriate process for megawatt-scale solar power procurement, given the changing prices of solar power and the limited paying capacity of India’s consumers and taxpayers. MW-scale plants may be useful to kick-start the solar photovoltaic industry in India. However, promoting such plants while photovoltaic costs are relatively higher than other renewable energy sources may not be financially and strategically prudent. India’s focus needs to be on the development of decentralised solar-installed capacity in rural areas where it will have the most social impact.