The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has directed all government agencies handling renewable energy tenders to cancel and reissue bids that provided unusually short timelines for the procurement of locally manufactured solar cells.

The advisory, issued on Friday, follows instances in August where certain agencies released tenders with procurement windows as short as seven days, which, according to the ministry, appeared to circumvent MNRE’s Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) mandate for solar cells.

The ministry did not specify how many tenders or projects would be affected, but the order applies to Renewable Energy Implementing Agencies, the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), NTPC Ltd, SJVNL, and other public sector units and government bodies involved in renewable energy project tendering.

“All agencies are requested to strictly comply with existing rules and regulations when issuing bids,” MNRE stated. “Any bids with short procurement timelines, issued without adhering to General Financial Rules (GFR) and Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) guidelines, must be cancelled if necessary and reissued in full compliance with these provisions.”

The ministry has also instructed the concerned agencies to submit an action report within 15 days, outlining the steps taken in response to the advisory. It emphasised that adherence to the Finance Ministry’s procurement rules and CVC’s vigilance norms is critical to maintaining financial integrity, transparency, and accountability in public procurement.

The ALMM policy, implemented by MNRE, is designed to promote quality assurance and reliability within India’s solar manufacturing ecosystem. Under this policy, all solar photovoltaic (PV) modules commissioned after 1 June 2026 must be manufactured using solar cells listed in the ALMM List-I, ensuring greater domestic sourcing and consistency in product standards.

This move is part of MNRE’s broader effort to curb irregularities in solar project tendering, strengthen domestic manufacturing, and safeguard the transparency and credibility of India’s fast-growing renewable energy sector.