India has set a target of adding 280 GW of solar capacity by 2030 and has installed about 132 GW as of November 2025. Photo credit: KUMAR SS
In a bid to encourage domestic production of solar ingots and wafers – components of solar cells that are then mounted on solar panels – the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has said that from June 2028, only ingots and wafers made in India will be eligible for domestic projects.
It did so by announcing List-III List of Approved Module Manufacturers (ALMM) for Ingots and Wafers – the list of companies that manufacture these components – on Wednesday. To date, there is such an ALMM list for solar cell and module manufacturers. The Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) is a mandatory registration regime by the MNRE, first issued in 2019. Only modules listed on the ALMM list can be used in government-funded open access and net metering solar projects such as the PM Surya Ghar and PM Kusum scheme and the Solar Energy Corporation of India tenders. Only domestic products are eligible for manufacturing incentives.
“Appropriate backstop provisions have been built in to protect projects already in the pipeline. MNRE’s current order extends the mandatory sourcing requirements from the ALMM lists that already exist for modules and cells a step further up the solar supply chain to include ingots and wafers, which currently remain heavily dependent on imports,” MNRE said in a statement.
India has set a target of adding 280 GW of solar capacity by 2030 and has installed about 132 GW as of November 2025. While it has increased domestic production of solar modules in recent years to around 91 GW as of June 2025, India is heavily dependent on China for sourcing solar cells. In September 2025, there were only six producers with a combined capacity of 13 GW. Production capacity for ingots and wafers is even lower at 3 GW.
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) said in a recent report that without new wafer projects and large-scale polysilicon production before 2028, India’s solar ambitions could be thwarted. India was also recently slapped with a 126% tariff on its solar exports to the United States – its largest export market – making things difficult for its domestic manufacturers.
Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday said this was a “decisive step” to strengthen India’s solar power generation ecosystem. The introduction of ALMM List-III is expected to: encourage investment in ingot and wafer manufacturing facilities in India; improve supply chain security and reduce vulnerability to import disruptions; ensure the quality and traceability of solar components all the way from wafer to module; to create skilled jobs in solar manufacturing, according to a press release.
Published – 18 March 2026 20:05 IST
