The government is preparing a comprehensive plan to develop a complete Swadeshi solar value chain including wafers, ingots and polysilicon, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi said on Thursday. The government is also targeting indigenous solar cell manufacturing by 2028.
The minister said that the country is now advancing beyond modules to develop domestic capacity for wafers and ingots as well, ensuring that the entire solar manufacturing ecosystem is established within India.
While speaking at the State Review Meeting on Renewable Energy, Joshi said that the government has already given a target of 2026 for ‘swadeshi’ cells and has also finalized the trajectory for ‘swadeshi’ wafers and ingots. “We are finalising the target date for that,” Joshi added.
Extending ‘Make in India’ to the full solar ecosystem
The ministry of new and renewable energy is working on bringing out a similar list like Approved List of Models and Manufacturers for ingots and wafers used in making of solar modules in an attempt to boost domestic manufacturing of these products.
“With ALMM, we have built ‘swadeshi’ modules, ‘swadeshi’ cells, and now we can start thinking about ‘swadeshi’ ingots, and even ‘swadeshi’ polysilicon and we have already begun working in that direction,” Joshi said.
Official sources have earlier told FE that such a list is likely to be rolled out in the next two to three years.
“The government will give the same kind of trajectory for wafers, ingots, and for our polysilicon also. So the players are still in the process of setting up capacities (for wafers). Probably in the next two and a half to three years time, we would see capacities on wafer and polysilicon coming up. So we would probably align with that time frame in terms of if an ALMM has to come in,” the official source had said.
At present, the country’s domestic wafer capacity stands at just 2.2 GW with the country heavily relying on China for imports of such components.
ALMM is a list of the models and manufacturers from which solar project developers can buy required equipment from. Presently, ALMM has been imposed for solar modules and is to be implemented for solar cells starting June next year.
Progress and challenges in on-ground implementation
The minister also said that the country has already completed 20 lakh rooftop solar installations under PM Suryaghar Yojana and will reach 50 lakh installations in a month or so.
Joshi urged states and discoms to ensure strict quality compliance, finalise agreements without delay, and offer the best possible tariff credits to consumers.
On PM-KUSUM, Joshi noted that after initial reluctance, the scheme has now gained strong momentum across states, with demand for additional allocations from Chief Ministers. He announced that the second phase of PM-KUSUM will be launched after the present phase ends in March 2026.
The minister urged states to expedite power purchase agreements, resolve land-related issues, and ensure right of way availability to boost stakeholder confidence. “Timely action is the backbone of this system. If we keep delaying procurement on the expectation that tariffs will fall further, we are missing the bigger picture”, he said.
Joshi also highlighted the need to draw a perfect roadmap to achieve the remaining 250 GW of RE capacity by 2030 and work to resolve challenges like land availability, Right of Way issues, and expediting PPA signings.
New and Renewable Energy Secretary, Santosh Kumar Sarangi said that India’s green energy transition is vital for achieving net zero by 2070, with targets of 1,800 GW renewable capacity by 2047 and 5,000 GW by 2070.