The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has floated a draft proposal to assign a uniform 14-digit alphanumeric model code to solar cells manufactured in India and listed under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers List-II. The proposal was issued through an office memorandum seeking stakeholder comments on a standardised nomenclature to replace diverse proprietary naming conventions. The ministry said the absence of a common naming system has hindered uniform identification of technical characteristics across manufacturers.

Under the draft framework the 14-digit code would embed key technical information within the model identifier, improving product identification and traceability across the manufacturing value chain. The first three characters would indicate the origin of wafer, ingot and polysilicon used in production, distinguishing between domestic and imported materials. Subsequent characters would denote cell technology such as Mono PERC, TOPCon, HJT or Back Contact, followed by wafer size, the number of busbars and a manufacturer-specific identifier for product variant or revision.

The ministry provided illustrative examples of how the proposed coding structure would be interpreted and invited technical feedback from industry participants. Officials expect the standardised nomenclature to facilitate enrolment under ALMM List-II and to serve as a common product identifier for regulatory and commercial purposes. The framework is also intended to complement Bill of Materials disclosures required under ALMM and to help trace the origin of key upstream materials.

Feedback can be submitted to azmal.mnre@gov.in by 13 August 2026 after which the ministry intends to finalise the naming framework. Stakeholders were encouraged to comment on the draft structure and on any implementation issues relating to manufacturing records and labelling. The move is presented as an effort to strengthen transparency and uniformity in the domestic solar manufacturing sector.