Centre sets June ‘28 as start date for solar ingot scheme

In a bid to boost domestic manufacturing of solar ingots and wafers - the constituents of solar cells that are then fitted on solar panels - the Ministry for New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has said that from June 2028, only ingots and wafers made in India would be eligible for domestic projects.

It did this by announcing the Approved List of Module Manufacturers (ALMM) List-III for Ingots and Wafers - a list of companies that make these components - on Wednesday. As of today, such an ALMM list exists for manufacturers of solar cells and modules. The Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) is a compulsory registration regime by the  MNRE, first issued in 2019. Only ALMM-listed modules can be used in government-funded, open-access, and net-metering solar projects such as PM Surya Ghar and PM Kusum scheme and Solar Energy Corporation of India tenders. Only domestic produce are eligible for Production-Linked incentives.

“Suitable grandfathering provisions have been built in to protect projects already in the pipeline. The current order of MNRE, extends mandatory sourcing requirements from ALMM lists, already in place for modules and cells, one step further up the solar supply chain to include the ingots and wafers, which currently remains heavily import-dependent,” the MNRE said in a statement.

India has targetted adding 280 GW of solar capacity by 2030 and has installed about 132 GW as of November 2025. While it has in recent years ramped up domestic manufacturing of solar modules to about 91 GW as of June 2025, India is heavily dependent on China for sourcing the solar cells. As of September 2025, there were only six manufacturers with a combined capacity of 13 GW. The manufacturing capacity for ingots and wafers is even lower at 3 GW.

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), in a recent report, said that sans new wafer projects and large polysilicon manufacturing before 2028, India’s solar ambitions could be thwarted. India has also recently been slapped with a 126% duty on its solar exports to the United States - its largest export market - making it harder for its domestic manufacturers.

Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi said on Wednesday  that this was a “decisive step” towards strengthening India’s solar manufacturing ecosystem. The introduction of ALMM List-III is expected to: drive investment into ingot and wafer manufacturing facilities in India; improve supply chain security and reduce vulnerability to import disruptions; ensure quality and traceability of solar components all the way from wafer to module; create skilled employment in upstream solar manufacturing, a press statement noted.