Temporary Relief, Permanent Transition: Will the Non-DCR Window Trigger a Rush in Open Access and C&I Solar Projects?

The next phase of India’s solar market will reward manufacturers who can deliver ALMM-compliant, high-efficiency, reliable products with predictable delivery and strong lifecycle economics. TOPCon is emerging as the technology platform of choice, and competitiveness will increasingly hinge on scale, cell efficiency, quality consistency, traceability and backward integration, not on List compliance alone.

October 30, 2026. By News Bureau

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India’s solar industry is entering a defining phase. The government’s decision to extend an exemption from ALMM List-II (domestic solar cell) requirements for Open Access and Net-Metering projects until December 31, 2026 offers welcome breathing space for projects already in the pipeline. But this should be read as a transition window, not a reversal of India’s long-term localisation strategy.

The direction of travel remains unchanged: India is building an integrated domestic manufacturing ecosystem, from modules to cells and eventually wafers. Today’s challenge isn’t demand; it is synchronising manufacturing capacity, technology readiness, pricing and project execution.

Market momentum backs this up. India added roughly 27 GW of solar capacity in H1 2026, with Open Access additions nearing 6 GW, up 42 percent year-on-year. C&I and Open Access buyers are clearly treating renewable power as a core lever in their energy-cost and decarbonisation strategy, not a peripheral choice.

At the same time, the supply chain is in transition. Module manufacturing capacity is scaling quickly, but ALMM-compliant domestic cell availability remains comparatively constrained. This is widening the price gap between DCR-compliant and non-DCR supply, and putting real pressure on project costs, delivery timelines and developer margins.

A Natural Rush, With Real Risks

The December 2026 deadline creates an obvious incentive: developers who can commission within the exemption window will move to lock in module supply now. Expect this to tighten availability of high-efficiency TOPCon modules and add further strain on domestic cell capacity through the remainder of the year. Buyers should plan procurement early and build schedule buffers, as a rushed market rewards those who move first, not those who wait.

Beyond the Window: Where the Real Opportunity Lies

The bigger story isn’t the rush; it’s what comes after it. The next phase of India’s solar market will reward manufacturers who can deliver ALMM-compliant, high-efficiency, reliable products with predictable delivery and strong lifecycle economics. TOPCon is emerging as the technology platform of choice, and competitiveness will increasingly hinge on scale, cell efficiency, quality consistency, traceability and backward integration, not on List compliance alone.

For C&I and Open Access customers, the decision calculus is also maturing. Buyers are moving past headline module price toward a fuller view: levelised cost of electricity, generation performance, degradation profiles, financing terms, delivery certainty and long-term warranty confidence. That shift is an opening for Indian manufacturers to compete on technology and total project value, not just on price.

Our Approach at Oswal Solar

We see the relief period as a bridge, not a destination. Our focus through this window is threefold: help developers clear eligible pipeline efficiently, continue strengthening our domestic cell and module capacity, and accelerate readiness on high-efficiency technology platforms like TOPCon, so that when the exemption lapses, we aren’t adjusting to compliance; we’re already ahead of it.

India’s solar journey is moving from simply adding gigawatts to building a globally competitive, integrated and resilient manufacturing ecosystem. The companies that prepare today for the post-relief market, not just the ones that move fastest during it, will be the ones that lead the next wave of growth across utility-scale, open access, C&I and distributed solar.

- Harish Valecha, President, Oswal Solar