Did you know your solar installation may not qualify for subsidies if the panels aren't ALMM approved?

ALMM stands for Approved List of Models and Manufacturers. It is a list published and regularly updated by India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) that specifies which solar panels and manufacturers meet the government’s quality standards—effectively, the list of MNRE approved solar panel manufacturers in the country.

The list is not just any general endorsement of a brand. It covers specific models, each of which has been audited and tested by recognized bodies. A manufacturer may produce multiple panel variants, but only those that have individually cleared the MNRE process appear on the list.

ALMM consists of two parts:
– List I covers finished solar PV modules, the panels installed on rooftops and in solar projects.
– List II covers solar PV cells, the components that go inside those panels, adding a second layer of quality assurance.

India’s solar expansion brought with it a significant influx of imported panels. While many priced attractively but no standardised quality assurance. Panels that degraded faster than specified, underperformed in Indian climate conditions, or came with warranties that were practically unenforceable in India were reaching rooftops and solar plants across the country.

The ALMM was MNRE’s direct response—a mechanism to ensure only quality-tested panels enter the market, support domestic manufacturers who had invested in building a reliable manufacturing capacity, and safeguard India’s long-term renewable energy goals. As the country scales towards its solar targets, the reliability of every solar panel installation over a 25-year horizon matters the most.

Subsidy eligibility is directly linked to ALMM

Under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana — India’s flagship solar subsidy scheme — the government offers a subsidy of up to ₹78,000 for residential rooftop solar. The condition is unambiguous, but panels must be from the ALMM List-I. An installation using non-ALMM panels will not qualify, regardless of system size or installer reputation.

For businesses participating in government-linked schemes or DISCOM tenders, the same applies. Non-compliant panels result in outright disqualification.

Compliance is also expected to extend further. Even if a panel holds a valid List-I certification, the solar cells inside must come from manufacturers on ALMM List-II, meaning verification is now required at both the module and cell level.

ALMM compliance is no longer limited to subsidized projects. It is now a standard requirement across all solar installations in India—open access, captive use, and unsubsidized rooftop included.

ALMM-listed manufacturers have cleared independent quality audits, been tested by MNRE-recognized bodies, and operate domestic facilities with legal accountability in India—the hallmark of genuinely ALMM compliant solar panels.

For a buyer, this directly translated into long-term reliability. ALMM-listed panels perform closer to their rated output and are backed by manufacturer warranties with real accountability. With non-ALMM panels, warranty claims are difficult to enforce and performance issues often go unresolved.

• Check ALMM compliance before signing a purchase for your solar panel installation; the complete and updated ALMM List-I is published at mnre.gov.in. Before finalizing any installation, request the specific panel model number from the installer and verify it against the current list. The list is updated regularly, so always check the live version.
• Ask the installer to confirm in writing that the cells inside the panels are sourced from an ALMM List II-approved manufacturer.

A few practical steps:

• Request the exact model number, not just the brand name—ALMM listings are model-specific
• Verify on mnre.gov.in before signing any agreement
• Confirm List-II cell compliance in writing. If an installer cannot provide this, treat it as a significant concern</li)

Once ALMM compliance is confirmed as the baseline, the next question is which manufacturer to trust with a 25-year asset. This is where Orb Energy stands out.

Orb Energy is an ALMM List-I enlisted manufacturer of ALMM compliant solar panels, with its modules eligible for subsidies and government-linked schemes. It has been manufacturing its own panels in-house at its Bengaluru facility since 2017, using European processing machinery and technical guidance from PI Berlin-Germany (now part of KIWA Global Group)—a level of process control that companies simply assembling or reselling imported modules cannot match.

In the Indian solar market since 2006, Orb Energy ranks among the top three rooftop solar companies in the country (JMK Research, FY2025), with over 400 megawatts installed and 175,000+ systems sold. Because manufacturing, installation, and after-sales service all sit under one roof, warranty claims and service requests don’t get lost between a panel brand and a separate installer—an issue that often surfaces with non-ALMM or imported-panel installations.

For buyers comparing Orb Energy solar panels against other options, the combination of List-I compliance and in-house manufacturing addresses both the compliance and reliability questions raised throughout this piece. As with any manufacturer, buyers should still confirm current List-II cell-sourcing status directly at the time of purchase, given how frequently the list is updated.

The panels commissioned today will be expected to perform for the next two to three decades. ALMM is the clearest available signal of product quality and manufacturer accountability in the Indian solar market, and choosing ALMM approved solar panels is the single most important decision in that process.

For homeowners, it determines subsidy eligibility. For businesses, it determines compliance with government procurement norms. For all buyers, it is foundational to making a solar investment that holds its value over time.

Before finalizing any solar installation, confirming ALMM compliance at both the module and cell level. It is the starting point of a sound investment decision.