DCR Compliance

Domestic Content Requirement — DCR — is the condition that decides whether your rooftop system gets the PM Surya Ghar subsidy at all. It is short, and it is unforgiving. From the scheme's operational guidelines:

Solar modules used in the installation must satisfy the Domestic Content Requirement condition i.e., domestically manufactured modules manufactured from domestically manufactured cells. This is an essential condition for the installation to be eligible for the CFA. Use of non-DCR modules in any form in the installation shall render the installation ineligible for CFA.

Two things follow from that sentence and are worth stating plainly.

DCR is about the module and the cell inside it — not the inverter. A module assembled in India from imported cells is not DCR. Inverters have their own obligations, covered further down, but they are not what DCR means.

There is no partial credit. If non-DCR modules appear anywhere in the array, the installation is ineligible — not reduced, not pro-rated. That is why the module make and model are settled before an order is placed, not after.

ALMM: the two lists that sit behind DCR

The Approved List of Models and Manufacturers is MNRE's eligibility register. The ALMM Order was issued on 2 January 2019; List-I, for solar PV modules, was first published on 10 March 2021; List-II, for solar PV cells, on 31 July 2025. ALMM applies to government projects, government-assisted projects, projects under government schemes and programmes, open access, and net-metering projects — which is to say, to your rooftop.

The PM Surya Ghar technical specification requires modules to adhere to the ALMM Order and its implementation memorandum, so List-I compliance is not optional for a subsidised system.

List-II is the moving part. MNRE's position as it stands:

• Net-metering and open-access renewable projects commissioned on or after 1 June 2026 were required to source modules from List-I and cells from List-II.
• By office memorandum dated 18 July 2026 (No. 283/53/2026-GRID SOLAR), superseding a series of earlier memoranda, MNRE decided there would be no blanket extension of List-II for solar power projects generally, but provided a limited window: net-metering and open-access renewable projects may commission with exemption from ALMM List-II until 31 December 2026. Projects commissioned after that date must comply with List-II.
• List-I is unaffected throughout. The July 2026 window is a cells relaxation only.

MNRE has issued several clarifications on this point in quick succession, and the lists themselves are revised every few weeks — List-I was updated on 6 July 2026 and the eighth revision of List-II is dated 22 July 2026. Treat any date here as current-to-publication and check MNRE's ALMM page before relying on it.

The scheme's DCR condition and ALMM List-II compliance are two separate obligations from two separate instruments. If your commissioning date is anywhere near the end of 2026, that interaction is a question to settle in writing before procurement, not after.

How DCR is actually proved

The proof is built into the panel. Under the scheme's technical specification, every module must carry an RFID tag laminated inside the glass, and that tag must record:

• the name of the module manufacturer;
• the name of the solar cell manufacturer;
• month and year of manufacture, separately for cells and for modules;
• country of origin, separately for cells and for modules;
• the I-V curve data — wattage, Im, Vm and fill factor;
• unique serial number and model number;
• the date of the IEC qualification certificate and the issuing test lab.

Separately, the unique serial number, model number, manufacturer name, manufacturing year, Make in India logo and module wattage must be visible inside the laminated glass.

That is what makes DCR checkable rather than declarative. The serial numbers go up with your system details on the National Portal, and the DISCOM physically inspects the plant before approving release of subsidy — signing the metering agreement and completing a checklist-based inspection on the portal. Subsidy is never processed before that inspection.

The rest of the specification the subsidy buys you

DCR is the eligibility gate. The same annexure sets the floor for everything else, and it is worth knowing because it is what you are entitled to.

Modules. Qualification to IEC 61215 / IS 14286, IEC 61853-Part I or IS 16170-Part I, IS/IEC 61730 Parts 1 and 2, and IS 17210 (part 1) or IEC 62804-1 for PID. Rated-power tolerance no worse than +3%. Minimum fill factor 75%. Temperature coefficient of power equal to or better than −0.4%/°C for crystalline modules. Output above 97% of nominal in year one, above 90% through the first ten years and above 80% through the next fifteen, with degradation below 0.5% per year. The manufacturer must warrant the module against manufacturing defects, material-quality defects and non-conformity for not less than five years from commissioning, with repair or replacement at no cost to you.

Inverter. Compliance with the Quality Control Order of 30 August 2017 for solar PV inverters, plus IEC 61683 / IS 61683, IS 16221 (Part 2) and IS 16169. Integrated maximum power point tracking. Minimum 20% overload capacity. Enclosure protection at least IP-54 indoors, IP-65 outdoors. Efficiency above 90% for units of 10 kW and below with in-built galvanic isolation. Harmonic distortion below 3%, power factor above 0.9, DC injection no more than 0.5% of full rated output. Islanding protection and under/over-voltage disconnection. An in-built SIM or dongle for data communication is mandatory.

Mounting structure. Hot-dip galvanised iron, aluminium to AA6063 T6, or hot-dip galvanised mild steel; steel to IS 2062:2011 with galvanising to IS 4759; all bolts, nuts and fasteners in SS 304 or hot-dip galvanised. Designed for the wind zone of the actual location with a minimum factor of safety of 1.5, and designed to withstand operating conditions for a minimum of 25 years. Minimum clearance of 600 mm at the lowest point above the roof surface. If the array sits on an elevated structure, that structure needs a minimum ground clearance of 8 feet at its lowest point for the installation to be eligible for subsidy at all.

Five years of comprehensive maintenance. The registered vendor owes repairs and maintenance free of cost for five years from commissioning, with non-performing or under-performing components repaired or replaced at no charge in that period, and the manufacturers' own warranties passed through to you.

Enforcement is real: MNRE, the implementing agency or a designated agency may inspect any installation, at least 1% of systems nationwide are third-party assessed, and vendors whose work fails the standard can be de-registered and penalised.

The alternative: Give It Up

If DCR modules do not suit the project, the scheme provides an explicit exit. Under the Give It Up option on the National Portal, a consumer may forgo the subsidy so the benefit reaches a wider set of households — and a consumer who installs without availing CFA is free to do so without using domestically manufactured cells or modules.

That is a real trade, and it should be priced as one: you give up up to ₹78,000 in exchange for a wider equipment choice. It is a calculation, not a loophole, and the rest of the regulatory stack — net metering, ALMM List-I, CEA connectivity and safety standards — still applies either way.