In August 2025, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) announced that India has achieved a historic milestone of 100 Giga Watt (GW) of solar Photo Voltaic (PV) module manufacturing capacity under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM), marking a significant increase from 2.3 GW in 2014.
- This achievement bolsters Government of India (GoI)’s commitment towards Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliance) and the target of 500 GW non-fossil capacity by 2030.
Exam Hints:
- What? Achieved 100 GW of Solar PV module Manufacturing Capacity
- Under: ALMM Order, 2019
- Increased from: 2.3 GW (in 2014)
- Announced by: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, MNRE
- Registration Granted by: Bureau of Indian Standards
- Registration Valid for: 2 years
About ALMM Order:
Introduced: MNRE issued the ALMM of Solar PV Modules (Requirements for Compulsory Registration) Order (ALMM Order, 2019) on January 02, 2019.
1st ALMM List: In March 2021, MNRE issued the 1st ALMM list for solar PV modules with an initial enlisted capacity of around 8.2 GW.
- Since then, the number of enlisted manufacturers has grown to 100 and now stands at 123.
Registration: In order to get enlisted on the ALMM list, interested manufacturers are required to get product and performance certificates from the Bureau of India Standards (BIS). This enlistment is valid for 2 years.
Applicability: ALMM is applicable to government-supported schemes such as: Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) and PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana; and projects from where electricity discoms procure electricity.
- However, it excludes the projects constructed under open access or as captive by private companies.
Suspension: The procurement of solar modules from ALMM Listed manufacturers was temporarily suspended in Financial Year 2023-24 (FY24).
Amendment : In December 2024, MNRE made an amendment to ALMM Order, 2019 and introduced ALMM List-II for solar PV cells under the ALMM framework.
- As per MNRE, all solar PV modules used in projects including government-supported schemes, net-metering projects, and open access Renewable Energy (RE) initiatives will be required to source their solar cells from ALMM List-II, from June 01, 2026.
About PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana:
Approval : In February 2024, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister(PM) Narendra Modi, approved the scheme with a budget allocation of Rs.75,021 crore, scheduled for implementation until FY 2026-27.
Objectives : The scheme aims to provide 300 units of free electricity per month to 1 crore households across India by March 2027.
Implementation Framework: At the national level, the scheme is executed by the National Programme Implementation Agency (NPIA), while State Implementation Agencies (SIAs) oversee its execution at the state level.
About Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE):
Union Minister- Pralhad Joshi (Constituency- Dharward, Karnataka)
Minister of State (MoS)- Shripad Yesso Naik (Rajya Sabha- North Goa, Goa)
