In a recent communication to the finance ministry, the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) said lenders should prefer manufacturers complying with standards laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) while financing solar projects, instead of following the Bloomberg Tier-I list, which mostly includes foreign players, or large Indian manufacturers such as Tatas and Adani Solar.
Having noted that the current procedure favours Chinese suppliers at the cost of Indian players.
Last year, MNRE made it mandatory for manufacturers or sellers of PV modules in India to obtain BIS registration. Following several extensions, the order will be effective January 1, 2019.
Prior to implementation of BIS certification as a compulsory requirement, there was no uniform means to ascertain quality of modules supplied in India, the ministry noted.
Industry experts say that while tier-I certification looks at bankability of solar projects, the BIS certification focuses on the compliance to norms related to raw material used in developing solar modules.
It would be an ideal combination for a manufacturer to possess both certifications as they add credibility and help build the market in India and globally.
Even Chinese companies can have BIS certification.
Reference- ET, Mercom India