<p>India is at a very critical juncture of its energy transition journey. Solar energy, in fact, has emerged as the major pillar of the country&#39;s s sustainable development strategy. This review focuses on the history of policy evolution, technology and future potential of solar energy development in India. The country is now capable of installing solar power generation capacity of over 90 GW, after the officials came up with the National Solar Mission (NSM), PM-KUSUM, Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme etc. This paper not only covers foreign solar energy partnerships, grid integration measures, financing instruments, etc. but also comprehensively studies the social and economic impact of solar energy deployment in urban and rural areas. Land acquisition problems, rudimentary grid infrastructure and weak supply chain are the major weaknesses in the solar energy sector, while favourable factors like a fall in PV module prices, green hydrogen introduction and monitoring systems are some of the solar energy development opportunities are discussed. Notwithstanding major achievements, India must have policy consistency, enhanced manufacturing capabilities and rural electrification to meet its renewable energy target of 500 GW by 2030.</p>