Subsidy rooftops need Indian panels. Inverters and batteries may be next
The government is considering Indian-made inverters and batteries for the next phase of PM Surya Ghar, but the rules have not been finalised and the current phase is set to run to 31 March 2027. The inverter rule in force today is about data, not origin: makers had to confirm to REC, the scheme's national agency, that inverter data is stored in India, so ask your brand for that confirmation before your next subsidy quote.
What happenedMade-in-India inverters and batteries for PM Surya Ghar's next phase
The government is considering asking for Indian-made inverters and batteries in the next phase of PM Surya Ghar, the national rooftop solar scheme. TaiyangNews reported on 12 October 2026, based on a Mint report citing Renewable Energy Secretary Santosh Kumar Sarangi, that the inverter and battery requirements are “still under consideration”. On 13 October KNN India reported that MNRE is examining proposals to require Indian-made solar inverters and to set a minimum share of local content for batteries, and that the rules “have not been finalised”. Neither report gives a start date, a local content threshold or how origin would be checked.
The proposals are for the next phase. The scheme guidelines say the scheme runs through the 2026-27 financial year, and TaiyangNews says the current phase is scheduled to end on 31 March 2027, with the next phase expected to follow it. Today the same guidelines ask for panels, including their cells, made in India: the DCR rule that our 13 October story covers. For inverters, they set quality rules, not origin: inverters must meet the government's 2017 quality control order for solar inverters and BIS or IEC test standards. As KNN notes, today's domestic content rules mainly cover panels and cells.
One inverter rule is already in place. On 17 August 2026, MNRE's Rooftop Solar Division told inverter makers supplying the scheme to keep their monitoring software, control servers and real-time generation data in India, SolarQuarter reported on 21 August. Makers had 30 days to send a written confirmation and undertaking to REC Limited, with a copy to MNRE. REC is the agency the scheme guidelines name to run the scheme nationally, including the national portal. Makers that miss the deadline “will not be permitted to install” under the scheme, the report says. The same directive asks that the data logger be covered by the inverter warranty, and that makers keep sending daily generation data to the national portal, linked to each inverter's serial number, until state-level servers are fully running.
Batteries start from a smaller base. TaiyangNews cites Wood Mackenzie: India had 2 GWh of commissioned battery-cell manufacturing capacity in 2026, less than 1 per cent of the roughly 260 GWh of demand in competitive tenders that year.
What our tracker showsRooftops added across India, 10 to 17 Oct 2026
Our readings cannot see inverters. The public counter on the national portal shows applications, rooftops and their capacity. It does not show which inverter brand went on a roof, where it was made, or which makers sent their confirmation to REC.
What it does show is how many rooftops are being added. On the 17 October reading, India had 52,90,718 rooftops under the scheme, 18,699 more than the day before. On the 10 October reading it had 51,72,635, so 1,18,083 rooftops were added in seven days, about 16,900 a day.
Our own assumption, not a portal figure: every rooftop needs at least one inverter. On that assumption, at least 1,18,083 inverters went onto scheme rooftops in those seven days. Rooftop capacity went up from about 18,092 MW to about 18,464 MW in the same days, about 372.5 MW, or an average of about 3.2 kW for each new rooftop, our arithmetic.
At this week's pace, that is about how many new inverters a week any future rule for the scheme could touch.
Source: Solentra's daily readings of the PM Surya Ghar national portal (pmsuryaghar.gov.in), 10 to 17 October 2026. 52,90,718 minus 51,72,635 is 1,18,083 rooftops in seven days, about 16,900 a day. One inverter for each rooftop is our own assumption; the portal does not record inverters.
See the numbers
| Reading | Rooftops |
|---|---|
| 10 Oct 2026 | 51,72,635 |
| 11 Oct 2026 | 51,87,843 |
| 12 Oct 2026 | 51,93,484 |
| 13 Oct 2026 | 52,12,116 |
| 14 Oct 2026 | 52,32,058 |
| 15 Oct 2026 | 52,51,885 |
| 16 Oct 2026 | 52,72,019 |
| 17 Oct 2026 | 52,90,718 |
What it could mean for IndiaWhat an inverter and battery rule could mean for rooftop solar
If a rule like this is adopted, the inverter and the battery could become the next parts of a subsidy job that need checking for where they were made, as panels already are. Since the reports give none of the details, what would count as Indian-made is not yet known, and the final rule could look different from the proposals.
Batteries could be the harder part. On Wood Mackenzie's figure, India's battery-cell capacity running in 2026 was a small fraction of tender demand, and KNN says local content rules could raise costs at first if Indian capacity falls short of demand. As KNN reports it, the proposal for batteries is a minimum share of local content.
The August data rule could show how a change like this arrives: makers were given 30 days to confirm, and SolarQuarter reported that any maker that did not would not be permitted to install under the scheme. For an installer, a brand on the quote could stop being usable on subsidy jobs at short notice if its maker misses a filing, which is why the paperwork may matter as much as the product.
Our counter might not show any of this directly, because it counts rooftops, not inverters. If a new rule slowed jobs while installers changed brands, it could show as a dip in the daily count, but that count also moves with festivals, weather and DISCOM work.
What it means for youInverter data localisation: the REC confirmation to ask for
If you are an installer: before your next subsidy quote, ask your inverter brand for a copy of its confirmation to REC Limited that its inverter data is stored in India, and keep it with the job file. Check that the data logger is covered by the inverter warranty, as the August directive asks.
If you are quoting a job now: the proposals are for the next phase, and the current phase is set to run to 31 March 2027. Jobs until then follow today's rules unless MNRE issues a new order, so check MNRE's website for new scheme orders before you sign.
If you are an installer or dealer choosing brands to stock for 2027: ask each brand where its inverters are made, and for batteries, where the cells and packs are made. Nothing has been finalised, so treat the answers as information for planning, not as proof that a product meets a future rule.
If you are a homeowner applying under the scheme: nothing in these reports changes your application today. If you take the subsidy, your panels must be DCR, made with Indian cells. Ask your installer which inverter brand they plan to fit, and whether that brand has sent REC its confirmation that inverter data is stored in India. The reports are about where batteries are made, not a rule that homes must fit one.
Solentra distributes SolarYaan inverters and sells battery storage for businesses and industry, Powered by UnityESS.
Sources
- TaiyangNews, India May Mandate Local Inverters, Batteries For Rooftop PV, .
- KNN India, India Considers Local Manufacturing Mandate For Solar Inverters, Batteries, .
- SolarQuarter, MNRE Mandates Domestic Data Storage For Solar Inverters Under PM Surya Ghar Scheme, .
- Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Operational Guidelines for Implementation of PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana for the component “CFA to Residential Consumers”, .
- MNRE, National Portal for Rooftop Solar, PM Surya Ghar national portal, read daily by Solentra since 29 Aug 2026, .
The Solar Brief puts public reports in our own words and reads them against Solentra's own daily record of the PM Surya Ghar national portal. Where we say what something could mean, that is our reading, not a forecast. Nothing here is financial, loan or legal advice.
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