Revised 26 October 2026 · v1.0.0 · what changed

India’s approved list of solar-cell factories now totals 37,796 MW a year of enlisted capacity, from 19 company names running 21 units, according to my sum of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s (MNRE) 12th revision of ALMM List-II, dated 8 October 2026. That is the number that decides how many rooftop and open-access solar projects can be built with Indian cells. Under MNRE’s office memorandum of 18 July 2026, those projects can still commission without List-II cells until 31 December 2026. After that the list applies to them in full.

What the rule says, and what the July memorandum changed

The framework dates from MNRE’s memorandum of 9 December 2024. Modules must come from ALMM List-I, and those modules must in turn use cells from List-II. For net-metering and open-access renewable projects, the memorandum of 18 July 2026 recites that the rule bites on projects commissioned on or after 1 June 2026. It then does three things:

• It refuses a blanket extension of List-II for solar power projects.
• It gives net-metering and open-access projects a limited window to commission without List-II cells until 31 December 2026. In its words, such projects commissioned after 31 December 2026 “will be required to comply” with List-II.
• It supersedes MNRE’s memorandum of 25 May 2026 and four June memoranda (8 June twice, 15 June and 23 June).

The earlier 25 May memorandum was stricter. It also refused a blanket extension, but offered relief only case by case. A developer had to show that every module was already installed on site (Category I), or that “effective steps” had been taken (Category II). The second category needed at least 75% of the land, financial closure, a connectivity grant, approved electrical drawings and modules on site. Claims had to be filed on a National Institute of Solar Energy portal by 30 June 2026. The 18 July text, as I read it, lists no such conditions for the window. The test is the commissioning date. I could not confirm how states and distribution companies are applying it.

The list: 37.8 GW, with a long tail

List-II is published as a stack of revisions. The base list of 31 July 2025 and each later revision add or change entries. A note on every revision says the capacity shown against a unit replaces its earlier figure and is not added to it. I applied that rule unit by unit, and the arithmetic is in the companion notes. Twelve company names account for 86% of the total.

Two points about the table. First, Waaree and TP Solar together hold 26% of the list, and the five largest names hold 52%. Second, FS India Solar Ventures is on the list without a cell type or efficiency range. The list says it is “deemed to be eligible” because it is already enlisted on List-I, under paragraph 9 of the December 2024 memorandum, so I report it as type not stated.

Where the factories are

Gujarat holds 34% and Tamil Nadu 21%. Nine states appear. By technology, mono PERC is still 46% of the list and TOPCon 42%:

TOPCon accounts for 15.8 GW of the total, and the latest additions are TOPCon: Jupiter Solartech’s 1,297 MW (28 September) and Gopin Semicon’s 402 MW (8 October). The one HJT line is Reliance’s 1,238 MW at Jamnagar, listed on 13 April 2026.

How fast the list has grown

The list has roughly tripled in fourteen months, from 13,067 MW to 37,796 MW. The biggest single jump was the third revision (15 December 2025), when Waaree’s 5,251 MW went on. My running total for the ninth revision, 35,468 MW, is within 1 MW of the 35,467 MW that trade outlet Energetica India reports for that revision. That is a useful independent check on the method.

Cells are the narrow end of the pipe

Modules are far easier to build than cells. Energetica India, which tracks MNRE’s List-I, reports cumulative enlisted module capacity of 228,524 MW after the September 2026 update. That is six times the cell capacity: 228,524 divided by 37,796 is 6.0. A module line needs cells, so List-II is where the constraint would show first.

Compare the cell capacity with what India installs. JMK Research, citing MNRE, puts solar additions in FY2026 at about 44.6 GW, of which about 34.8 GW ground-mounted and 8.7 GW rooftop. Enlisted cell capacity of 37.8 GW is about 85% of the all-segment total and 4.3 times the rooftop figure.

What to watch before 31 December

• Whether the window moves again. MNRE issued five memoranda on the deadline between 25 May and 18 July, and the 18 July one itself records that the earlier dispensation ran only to 31 May 2026.
• Which plants ramp. The list shows capacity MNRE has enlisted, not cells delivered. Avaada’s entry went from 610 MW to 3,621 MW in a single month (22 July to 21 August).
• Geography. A developer in a state with no enlisted cell plant must buy from Gujarat, Tamil Nadu or Telangana, which together hold 67% of the list.
• Efficiency claims. The list carries manufacturer-claimed efficiency and wattage ranges, not tested values.

This sits alongside two earlier posts on the same industry: India’s battery storage boom and the solar panel recycling opportunity. All three turn on the same question of how much of the solar chain is made at home.

Sources: MNRE, ALMM List-II for solar PV cells, 12th revision with all earlier revisions (8 October 2026), PDF; MNRE O.M. No. 283/53/2026-GRID SOLAR, 18 July 2026, PDF; MNRE O.M. No. 283/63/2025-GRID SOLAR, 25 May 2026, PDF; MNRE O.M. No. 283/34/2026-GRID SOLAR, 6 July 2026, PDF; MNRE, ALMM List-I for solar PV modules, update of 3 August 2026, PDF; Energetica India, ALMM update, September 2026 (secondary, module total); JMK Research, India installs record 44 GW solar in FY2026, 10 April 2026 (secondary). The List-II totals are my own sum of unit capacities, not a figure MNRE publishes. Capacity is annual manufacturing capacity as enlisted, not production.

About this article: Researched, written and edited by Umashankar Triplicane Dwarakanathan, with AI research assistance; every figure is meant to trace to the primary source cited. See the Editorial Policy for how sourcing, AI use and corrections work.