India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has extended the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers framework to ingots and wafers from June 1, 2028, in an effort to scale up domestic manufacturing capability across the solar value chain, according to a memorandum dated March 17.
ALMM was introduced in 2019 as a domestic sourcing framework for government-supported solar projects, aimed at ensuring that solar equipment used in Indian projects meets rigorous domestic manufacturing and performance standards. It was first implemented at the module level under List- I in 2021 and is scheduled to extend to cells under List-II from June 1, 2026.
The latest amendment expands the framework further upstream under List-III, requiring covered projects from June 1, 2028 to use domestically manufactured or List I modules using domestically made or List II cells and List III wafers.
Unlike the earlier module and cell lists, the initial ALMM List-III for wafers is subject to threshold conditions. It will not be issued unless at least three independent manufacturing units, not under common ownership or control, are enlisted with a combined annual capacity of at least 15 gigawatts.
Manufacturers seeking wafer enlistment must also hold equivalent ingot manufacturing capacity.
The amendment includes grandfathering provisions for projects already in the pipeline. Projects with bids submitted before a cut-off date, defined as seven days after the initial List-III is published, will remain exempt from the wafer requirement regardless of commissioning date. The exemption also applies where a project owner has submitted a bid or signed a power purchase agreement before the cut-off date, even if supply tenders are issued afterward.
India is heavily import-dependent in upstream solar manufacturing. In announcing the measure, the government said India has limited domestic wafer manufacturing capacity and remains substantially reliant on imports.
Government data previously showed the country had roughly 2GW of ingot-wafer capacity, compared with about 172GW of ALMM-listed module capacity and 27GW of cell capacity.
Barriers to Upstream Manufacturing
The upstream gap reflects structural barriers, with capital intensity among the biggest hurdles. According to a December 2025 assessment by non-profit research organization Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, or IEEFA, capital investment for a 1GW wafer-ingot manufacturing facility in India is estimated at roughly INR 7 billion ($74.62 million), compared with about INR 1.7 billion for module assembly.
Upstream manufacturing also requires tighter process control. According to a manufacturer, small deviations in ingot-growth conditions can introduce crystal defects that raise breakage rates during wafering and may weaken downstream cell performance.
"Ingot pulling is almost a form of art when compared to module assembly," the manufacturer said, describing the complexity of the process.
Another manufacturer said: "Trial and error may help improve quality, but given the investment required and uncertainty [over returns], we will wait and see how the market responds first."
The challenge is compounded by reliance on imported Chinese equipment. "The further upstream production moves, the more critical Chinese expertise becomes for installing, operating and ramping the equipment," a manufacturer said.
However, visa restrictions on Chinese nationals previously limited access to those specialists, delaying timelines for government-backed upstream manufacturing projects, according to IEEFA.
Given these challenges, market participants expect Indian manufacturers to face higher barriers to enlistment under ALMM List-III. While downstream capacity has expanded rapidly in recent years, the higher barriers upstream are likely to concentrate competition among a smaller group of leading integrated players.
"In a couple of years, manufacturers with ingot and wafer facilities will be in a much stronger position," a leading integrated solar manufacturer said. "Only integrated players will be able to participate in most of the business the country has to offer."
Government Moves to Ease Barriers
The government has recently moved to address some of these bottlenecks. On March 10, the cabinet eased foreign investment rules for proposals involving investors from countries sharing a land border with India, setting a 60-day processing timeline for specified manufacturing sectors, including polysilicon and ingot-wafer production.
According to market participants, the move is expected to improve access to foreign capital and shorten approval timelines for upstream solar manufacturing projects.
India also introduced the B-4 Production Investment Visa in 2025 for foreign technical specialists involved in production-related activities and digitized the sponsorship-letter process. While the reform is not China-specific, industry participants said it could help ease delays for Chinese technicians needed to install, commission and ramp China-made equipment.
Under the existing ALMM framework, listed module capacity has grown from 8.2GW in 2021 to around 172GW, while cell capacity reached 27GW within seven months of List-II's publication. However, upstream manufacturing presents materially higher barriers, and whether similar policy support can deliver comparable growth in ingot and wafer capacity remains uncertain.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
--Reporting by Jun Won Lee, jlee1@opisnet.com; Editing by Mei-Hwen Wong, mwong@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 25, 2026 02:01 ET (06:01 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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