ALMM List-II explained for rooftop solar

The Approved List of Models and Manufacturers, ALMM, is the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy's register of the solar equipment allowed in government-backed projects. List-I names approved solar module models and their makers; List-II names approved makers of the solar cells inside those modules. For net-metering rooftop projects commissioned from 1 June 2026, the cells must come from a List-II manufacturer. A consumer who consumers who give up the subsidy are exempt from List-II until 31 March 2027.

The practical effect for a home in Delhi or Noida is one extra question to ask before you sign: which cell manufacturer is inside the panel on the quote, and is that name on List-II today.

List-I and List-II

MNRE has kept the module list, List-I, for years. A manufacturer applies, its factory and its models are inspected, and the models are added to the list with their wattage. Government-supported projects must use modules from it. List-II does the same for the cell, the wafer of silicon that makes the module work. Until 2026 a module could be assembled in India from imported cells and still sit on List-I; List-II closes that gap by requiring the cell itself to come from an approved Indian maker.

This is why the two lists are usually mentioned together with the letters DCR. DCR is the domestic content requirement of the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana. The scheme's rule is that both the modules and the cells must be made in India. A DCR module is one whose cells and assembly are both Indian; a non-DCR module uses imported cells. From 1 June 2026, DCR in a subsidised rooftop system means, in practice, a module from List-I built with cells from List-II.

What changed on 1 June 2026

The ministry had set 1 June 2026 as the date from which List-II applies to rooftop projects under net metering, and it did not issue a blanket extension. Two clarifications followed in June, both reported by the trade press.

The one-month window. On 16 June 2026 MNRE opened a one-month window for net-metering rooftop projects that were physically installed before 1 June but not yet commissioned. To qualify, every module for the project had to be on site before 1 June, backed by GIS-tagged site photographs and documents such as invoices, daily installation reports and a self-certification. Applicants had to commission within one month of filing. The ministry described this as a limited transitional measure and said it did not amount to an extension of the deadline.

The Give It Up exemption. Residential consumers who choose the Give It Up option on the PM Surya Ghar portal, that is, who install under the scheme's process but forgo the subsidy, are exempt from List-II until 31 March 2027, the scheme's end date. They apply through the national portal and do not need a separate filing on the NISE DCR portal. The ministry said the relaxation is limited to that category and does not extend to other installations.

How we got here: a note from 2023

ALMM has been argued over since it was first enforced, and Verde Solaire's own position is on record. On 16 March 2023 Punit Singh, Director, wrote that the Government of India had, by an office memorandum dated 10 March 2023, kept the ALMM order in abeyance for one year, so that projects commissioned by 31 March 2024 were exempt from buying modules off the list. He called the decision a big relief for solar companies and developers.

His reasoning at the time is worth reading against today's rule. He wrote that ALMM and the 40% basic customs duty had together closed the door on imported panels, that Indian manufacturers did not yet have the capacity to meet demand, that panel prices had risen as a result and that paybacks for factory rooftops had stretched. He also wrote that many Chinese manufacturers sat in the tier-1 category while very few Indian companies did, and that the quality of the tier-1 imported panels he had in mind was equal to or better than Indian output. He expected the production-linked incentive scheme to bring Indian factories up to demand after a year or so.

That was an installer's view of a supply squeeze in 2023. The abeyance ended, List-I came back into force, and List-II followed in June 2026 with the cell requirement added. We publish the 2023 article rather than quietly deleting it because the argument it makes, that the list only works if Indian capacity exists to meet it, is the question a buyer should still ask: is the panel on my quote from a listed maker with the model actually in stock.

How to check a quote against the list

A quote that says "DCR panels" or "ALMM approved" and stops there cannot be checked. Ask for three things in writing and check them yourself.

1. The module manufacturer and the exact model name, including the wattage. Look the model up on the current List-I on mnre.gov.in. The list is a document, revised from time to time, so check the version dated closest to your commissioning date rather than a screenshot an installer sends.
2. The cell manufacturer. This is not always the same company as the module maker, and it is the name that has to be on List-II. If the installer cannot tell you whose cells are inside the module, the quote is not yet complete.
3. Which route you are on. A subsidised PM Surya Ghar system needs both lists satisfied from 1 June 2026. A Give It Up consumer is exempt from List-II until the scheme ends, and should have that route written into the quote so that the electricity board's inspection and the portal filing match.

Keep the invoice that names the module model and the cell maker. It is the document that proves compliance at inspection, and it is the one the ministry asked for when it opened the June 2026 window.

Verde Solaire is a registered PM Surya Ghar vendor in both Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, and the panel and inverter makes on its published projects are listed on the solar panels page. Whatever installer you use, the check above takes ten minutes and belongs in the same sitting as the vendor-list check and the questions to settle before you pay the advance.

What this does not change

The subsidy amounts, the nine portal steps and the state top-ups are unaffected; the subsidy guide sets them out with their sources. Net-metering rules for your electricity board are also unchanged, and the net-metering hub covers each licensee. ALMM is a rule about what goes on the roof, not about who pays whom or how much.