The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has approved the continuation of its Human Resource Development (HRD) Programme for the financial years (FY) 2026-27 to FY 2030-31, with a financial outlay of Rs 2.59 billion. The programme aims to develop skilled manpower to support the expansion of the renewable energy sector and India’s target of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030.
Of the total outlay, Rs 2 billion will fund new initiatives, while Rs 588.3 million will meet committed liabilities from earlier HRD programmes. Under the programme, MNRE targets around 700,000 man-days of training per 12,500 trained manpower. Existing programmes such as Suryamitra for solar energy, Vayumitra for wind energy, Varunmitra for solar pumping, Jal Urja Mitra for small hydro and Biomitra for bioenergy will also be expanded nationwide. The programme will also provide 165 national renewable energy fellowships for higher education and research. It will support hyper-localised training in 100 districts and provide grants of up to Rs 10 million for laboratory upgrades at ten higher education institutions. A digital learning platform modelled on the iGOT platform will also be developed.
Earlier, in August 2026, MNRE issued clarifications on the applicability of the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) list-II for solar photovoltaic (PV) cells, which came into effect on June 1, 2026. The ministry clarified that projects awarded through competitive bidding will be exempt from the requirement to use ALMM list-II-listed solar PV cells if the last date of bid submission was on or before August 31, 2025, provided the bids were live on July 28, 2025.
