MNRE: Solar Cells Made With ‘Blue Wafers’ Won’t Qualify As DCR

In a latest move, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) clarified that domestically manufactured solar cells which are produced using ‘blue wafers’ would not qualify under Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) norms. The ministry issued a formal notification today in this regard. Blue Wafers refer to diffused wafers, usually imported in India from other countries like China.

This comes at a time when the MNRE has already issued a timeline of mandating the mandatory use of only domestically produced solar cell for the production of solar modules in India. The ministry is set to start enlisting domestic solar cell manufacturers under its Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) from June 2026.

In its latest notification, the MNRE said that all steps involved in manufacturing solar cells—from the undiffused silicon wafer—be carried out entirely within India to qualify the DCR norms.

Manufacturing of Black & Blue Wafers

MNRE’s latest notification said, “A solar PV cell (based on crystalline-silicon technology) shall be considered domestically manufactured only if it has been produced in India using an undiffused silicon wafer (commonly called a ‘Black Wafer’). This wafer falls under Customs Tariff Head 3818.”

The new regulation also restricts the import of raw materials for solar cell manufacturing. MNRE clarified in its notification: “If a diffused silicon wafer (commonly called a ‘Blue Wafer’) is imported and used as a raw material for manufacturing solar PV cells in India, such cells will not qualify as domestically manufactured under MNRE’s schemes/programs that mandate the use of domestic solar PV cells.”

Domestically Manufactured Thin-Film Solar Modules

The notification also reaffirmed an existing rule, allowing the use of only Thin-Film Solar PV Modules manufactured in integrated factories located in India for deployment in projects. Under MNRE’s Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) provisions, projects requiring domestically manufactured modules must use solar cells produced within India.