India has a large solar module manufacturing base, nearly 200 gigawatts (GW) per annum.One-and-a-half month after implementing mandatory domestic cell sourcing mandates for all domestic, commercial and industrial solar projects, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) on Saturday exempted these projects from the mandatory cell sourcing requirement till December 31.In a memorandum, the ministry said the decision has been taken after detailed deliberations with various stakeholders of the solar industry to ensure a smooth transition to mandatory domestic cell sourcing mandate. India has a large solar module manufacturing base, nearly 200 gigawatts (GW) per annum.But the manufacturing capacity of cells, the primary constituents of these modules, is far lower at around 30 GW. This means much of the module manufacturing capacity has been built upon imported cells.Even though the mandatory domestic cell sourcing mandate is aimed at reducing India’s dependence on imports and strengthening the domestic solar manufacturing ecosystem, it could disproportionately affect smaller solar module manufacturers which, unlike larger companies, may not manufacture their own cells. The exemption comes after the government had said on May 25 that there would be “no blanket” relief for domestic cell sourcing mandates despite developers seeking an extension of the deadline. The present exemption effectively extends the May 31 deadline to December 31, giving these projects an additional seven months to commission without complying with the mandatory domestic cell sourcing mandate.