The government is issuing draft ALMM standards for solar cells from April 2026.

New Delhi: The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) on Saturday notified draft standards for the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) for solar cells. The list is set to come into effect from April 2026, just like in the case of modules, which have been acting as a non-tariff barrier for domestic production.

The list of solar modules includes models and manufacturers from which project developers can purchase equipment.

According to the project, in connection with the expected significant increase in the installed capacity of photovoltaic (PV) cells in the country over the next two years, the government proposes to start issuing photovoltaic cells under the ALMM from April 2026.

The deadline for submitting comments on the draft guidelines is 6 October.

India’s cell production capacity is expected to cross 30 GW by the end of the current fiscal year, up from 7 GW currently.

In view of the rapidly growing demand for solar equipment in India, cells are mostly imported, with China being the main supplier. The government is encouraging domestic manufacturing of key energy transition equipment such as modules and cells. It wants to develop an integrated supply chain for solar equipment leading to wafers and ingots. All solar projects under the ALMM will have to source their solar modules from approved models and manufacturers, and the modules, in turn, will have to use solar cells from an approved list of solar cells, the government said.

Renewable Energy and Emerging Technologies Secretary Bhupinder Singh Bhalla told ET in July that the ministry would soon release a draft policy to ensure the quality and reliability of solar cells used in manufacturing modules to be deployed in India.

The order will exclude all projects for which bids are to be submitted before the order is issued.