Local procurement mandate for solar power projects may get stringent

Proposal comes amid rising solar imports despite regulatory, tax curbs

The Centre is planning to tighten the mandate on domestic procurement in solar power project development to further push indigenous products. In a recent circular by the nodal Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), it has been proposed to include solar cells (component of a solar module) in the ALMM (Approved List of Module Manufacturers) scheme, which till now was restricted to only solar modules (finished product). This comes at a time when solar imports have failed to slow down despite several regulatory and tax restrictions.

ALMM was floated in 2019 for a government-verified list of