India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy or MNRE has ruled out a blanket extension to the June 1 regulatory deadline requiring solar cells and modules to be sourced domestically, according to an office memorandum dated May 25.
Under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers framework, net-metering and open-access renewable energy projects commissioned on or after June 1, 2026 must source solar modules from ALMM List-I and solar cells from ALMM List-II.
According to the memorandum, the ministry examined representations both seeking and opposing an extension before deciding that "no blanket extension" would be granted. MNRE said there was broad consensus that policy stability should be maintained to support long-term investor confidence in domestic solar photovoltaic manufacturing.
The decision comes amid continued industry concern over whether domestic solar cell supply will be sufficient to support the June 1 compliance shift, as covered projects will no longer be able to rely on modules made with imported cells.
While the cell-level compliance requirement will take effect as scheduled, MNRE will allow limited case-by-case time extensions for net-metering and open-access renewable energy projects, where developers can demonstrate that substantial investments had already been made or effective steps had been taken to ground the project before the deadline.
