'œSolar power can be big in India'?

John Lyon, executive Director, Geographic Development, Dow Corning, spoke to BT’s Suman Layak on India becoming a manufacturing hub for solar power equipment that use silicon and also about silicones that go into almost anything we use today. Excerpts:

Is solar power viable in India?
If you think about lighting a bulb in a big city like Mumbai it may not seem so. But think about a village where there is no electricity. That is where solar power is attractive. We have solutions that can be used to run a fridge or charge a cellphone battery in such locations. We are in talks with Indian companies. India can be a major exporter of solar power equipment.

How popular is the application of silicones in India?
We have major customers in the auto and construction industries. Largely, we follow a business-tobusiness model as most of the applications of silicones are industrial. But we also have consumer applications like sealants where the Dow Corning brand appears alongside the marketer’s brand. Be it in hair gel or in the nipples of feeding bottles—a lot of silicones are in use today. The growth potential is huge in India.