India may mandate locally made inverters, domestic battery components under next rooftop solar scheme

“The contours of Surya Ghar’s follow-up scheme are yet to be finalized,” Sarangi said. “Domestic manufacturing needs to be ensured, domestic manufacturing of solar inverters, mandatory use of battery and DCR (domestic content requirement) for batteries may have to be enforced. We have got several ideas and recommendations.”

India remains a net importer of batteries, with its supply chain heavily dependent on imports of materials such as lithium, cathodes and anodes. Policy initiatives, including production-linked incentive schemes, are aimed at supporting domestic battery manufacturing.

India had earlier imposed a safeguard duty on solar cells and modules imported from China and Malaysia, which expired on 29 July 2021. Following the expiration of the safeguard duty, India imposed steep Basic Customs Duty (BCD) of 20% on solar cells and 40% on solar modules starting April 1, 2022, to discourage imports and enhance domestic manufacturing.