The solar power business is attracting the Tata Group. The tea-to-telecom conglomerate recently invested in Zurich-based solar technology developer Flisom, which raised capital for the third time. The group, through Tata Industries, is already a strategic investor in eight-year-old Flisom, which was spun off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

Flisom, which also has other investors, will use the proceeds to set up a 15 mw solar module plant in Switzerland. The Tata Group supports Flisom as it believes that the Swiss company's technology has the potential to make solar electricity affordable.

In 2011, the group bought out British oil major BP's 51 per cent stake in Tata BP Solar, a manufacturer of solar modules, and its access to BP's solar technology expires this year.