Can India's energy transition story be written without China reliance?  

The government has issued a directive for only locally manufactured solar cells to be used in domestic rooftop and commercial and industrial solar projects, in a move to reduce Chinese dependence.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) diktat says that all “net-metering” and “open access” solar projects com missioned after June 1 will have to use domestically made solar cells.

These are rooftop solar installations under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, where consumers can offset electricity bills by supplying surplus power back to the grid while under open access, commercial and industrial consumers procure renewable power from project developers.

Initiatives such as the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM), Domestic Content Requirement (DCR), and Basic Customs Duty (BCD) have significantly accelerated investments.

Vinay Thadani, Director & CEO, GREW Solar says the policy focus is now moving upstream. The larger objective is not just reducing imports but building a globally competitive renewable energy manufacturing ecosystem.

The industry is now moving beyond module manufacturing and focusing on deeper backward integration to strengthen supply chain resilience and reduce long term dependence on imports.

Reliance, Adani, Tata Power, Waree, Avaada, Grew and Renew, among others, have entered into backward integration with focus on upstream solar value chain. Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd (TPREL) plan to invest Rs 6,500 crore to develop an ingot-wafer manufacturing capacity of up to 10 GW in two phases of 5 GW each.

A TERI paper emphasises that India should extend ALMM, which currently certifies module makers to the entire value chain. MNRE has already announced ALMM for cells from June 2026, now it is time to extend it to wafers and polysilicon starting a year or two.

“In parallel, to manage tariff impact, the cell and upstream ALMM transition should be ring-fenced to government and PSU-linked procurement, or to a defined annual allocation (for example, 25–50 GW), while open access and competitively tendered private projects retain flexibility to procure least-cost modules during the scale-up period,” it said.