What is the result of the fragmentation of the market among manufacturers and suppliers?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question that follows.

The solar industry in India is still in its nascent stage and faces many challenges such as high costs of solar power generation. In India, cost of solar electricity produced on-grid is high mainly due to dependence on imports for silicon and solar wafers used for the manufacture of solar cells – about 80% of which comes through imports. Solar projects are capital intensive, and the lack of an effective financing infrastructure for these projects is another major factor impeding growth in this sector. Another challenge faced today is the disparity in solar potential across states.
Currently Research and Development (R&D) in this sector is on a slow track due to lack of collaborative and goal driven efforts on this front. Technological innovations that improve the efficiency of current solar energy systems are necessary to exploit the solar energy potential in India. In order to facilitate this, government has to frame comprehensive R&D schemes and provide incentives along with the current subsidy schemes. Another major factor restricting the growth of this sector is the lack of standards, resulting in the fragmentation of the market among manufacturers and suppliers. Standardisation of systems will lead to rationalisation of cost as companies can invest in R&D and newer technologies to meet common specifications. Facilitating closer industry – government cooperation and increasing consumer awareness about the benefits of solar energy are some of the other main challenges currently faced by the industry.