India's requirement that solar cells used in government-linked projects come from domestically listed manufacturers took full effect this month, barring module assemblers who rely on imported cells from the country's largest subsidized markets. According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), List-II of its Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) — covering cells rather than finished modules — is now mandatory for the PM Surya Ghar rooftop subsidy, state distribution-company tenders and all central government procurement, after four separate deferrals since the rule was first drafted in 2019.
The immediate effect has fallen hardest on module makers who built assembly-only lines during the years the cell mandate sat unenforced. Ahead of the deadline, Waaree Energies and Premier Energies invested in integrated cell capacity; both said in exchange filings that their order books for subsidized segments grew through July as competitors scrambled to qualify. Smaller assemblers that imported cells from China and Vietnam — still the source of an estimated 70% of India's cell supply as of the second quarter, according to the National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI) — are now excluded from that share of the market unless they secure listed cells from the roughly dozen domestic lines certified so far.
MNRE Secretary Prashant Kumar Singh said the ministry would not grant a fifth extension, telling reporters in New Delhi that domestic cell capacity had reached 25 gigawatts (GW) against a module capacity of nearly 100 GW — a gap the ministry wants closed through the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme's second tranche rather than further delay. In practical terms, that gap means roughly three-quarters of India's assembly capacity currently cannot source enough listed cells to run at full output for the government-linked segment alone.
The private commercial and industrial market, which is not bound by ALMM, remains open to imported-cell modules, and NSEFI estimates it now accounts for more than half of new installations — up from about a third in 2024 — as developers route around the mandate where they can. Citing the enforcement as the deciding factor, Adani Solar and Vikram Solar have both announced plans to expand cell lines by mid-2027, after years of treating cell manufacturing as optional.
The mandate follows a broader pattern across Indian renewable-energy policy of using procurement rules rather than tariffs to force localization, mirroring the module-only ALMM List-I enforced since 2021. According to industry participants who spoke to the Economic Times, a similar list for battery cells used in storage tenders is now under MNRE review, though the ministry has not set a timeline.