The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has extended the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers framework to include solar ingots and wafers, two critical components at the heart of solar manufacturing. The new framework will come into effect on June 1, 2028. Once implemented, all solar projects, including net-metering and open-access projects, will be required to use wafers listed under the approved domestic framework.
Although solar panels are the most visible part of a solar installation, they are only the final stage of a complex manufacturing process. Polysilicon is first converted into ingots, which are then sliced into wafers. Wafers are transformed into solar cells, which are subsequently assembled into modules or panels.
India has made rapid progress in module manufacturing and has been expanding cell production, but wafers and ingots continue to remain a major vulnerability. This dependence has allowed China to maintain enormous influence over global solar supply chains.
China's dominance in the sector is unparalleled. According to the International Energy Agency, China controls more than 80 percent of global manufacturing capacity across every major stage of solar panel production, including polysilicon, ingots, wafers, cells and modules. The country has invested more than 50 billion dollars in solar manufacturing capacity over the past decade.
China's dominance becomes even more pronounced in wafer production. Industry estimates cited by global energy researchers indicate that China accounts for approximately 95 to 97 percent of global wafer manufacturing capacity, making it the undisputed leader in the most critical upstream segment of the solar industry.
China's vast manufacturing scale, low-cost financing, subsidies and integrated supply chains have enabled it to become the world's cheapest supplier of solar equipment. During the first half of 2024 alone, the country exported a record 120 gigawatts of solar modules after aggressively cutting prices.
India has made significant progress in reducing dependence on imported modules through the Production Linked Incentive scheme, basic customs duties and earlier Approved List of Models and Manufacturers requirements. Nevertheless, dependence on China remains considerable, particularly for cells, wafers and upstream materials.
A report highlighted by the India Brand Equity Foundation showed that China's share in India's solar cell imports fell to 56 percent and its share in module imports declined to 65 percent during the 2023-24 financial year. However, India remains heavily dependent on imported wafers because commercial-scale domestic wafer production has yet to emerge.
Official trade data also showed that India's imports of solar photovoltaic cells from China surged sharply during the 2024-25 financial year despite restrictions on imported modules. Imports of Chinese solar cells increased by 141 percent compared with the previous year, highlighting the continued dependence of the upstream supply chain on China.
Industry leaders believe the latest reform is not only about manufacturing but also about strengthening energy security.
Vinay Rustagi, Chief Business Officer at Premier Energies, said the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers-3 policy has been designed to break China's complete monopoly over the global ingot and wafer industry and enhance India's energy security.
Rustagi said investments worth as much as 50,000 crore rupees could flow into the sector over the next three years, creating nearly 80 gigawatts of wafer and ingot manufacturing capacity, enough to meet domestic demand. He acknowledged that domestically produced wafers may initially be more expensive than imports because Chinese manufacturers benefit from massive scale and state support. However, he said the price gap would narrow as India's ecosystem matures and that the long-term advantages of supply security, lower transaction risks and domestic capability creation would outweigh higher initial costs.
Hanish Gupta, Founder and Managing Director of Sunkind India Limited, described the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers-3 framework as the right policy in principle but warned that its implementation would be crucial.
Gupta said India had successfully established module manufacturing capacity and was rapidly expanding cell production, but wafers and ingots remained the weakest links in the country's solar supply chain. He said extending the framework to these segments sends a strong signal that India's clean energy ambitions must be supported by deeper manufacturing capabilities rather than simple assembly operations.
According to Gupta, the policy could attract fresh investments, technology partnerships and greater backward integration. However, he cautioned that India currently lacks sufficient commercial-scale wafer and ingot capacity to meet rapidly rising solar demand. He said building such capabilities would require substantial capital investment, access to technology, competitive manufacturing costs and policy stability.
Gupta warned that overly aggressive implementation timelines could lead to supply shortages, higher costs and delays in project execution.
The stakes are high as India pursues its target of achieving 500 gigawatts of non-fossil fuel power capacity by 2030, with solar energy expected to contribute a major share of that expansion. Securing the supply chain is becoming just as important as adding new generation capacity.
Previous government interventions helped create a domestic module manufacturing industry that scarcely existed a few years ago, and official data show that India's module manufacturing capacity has already surpassed 90 gigawatts.
By bringing wafers and ingots under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers framework, New Delhi has signalled that the next phase of India's solar expansion will focus not merely on assembling imported components but on building a fully integrated domestic manufacturing ecosystem, marking the beginning of a new battle to reduce China's influence over one of the world's most critical clean energy industries.
About The Author
Comment List