India’s Aditya-L1 mission, launched on September 2, 2023, and positioned at the Sun-Earth L1 point on January 6, 2024, has entered a pivotal phase with ISRO announcing the first Announcement of Opportunity (AO) cycle on January 5-6, 2026. Indian solar physicists are invited to submit proposals via the ISSDC’s ALPPS portal by February 6, 2026, prioritizing VELC and SUIT payloads for observations scheduled April-June 2026, leveraging over 23 TB of publicly available data and peer-reviewed findings. This initiative, reviewed by the Aditya-L1 Time Allocation Committee (ALTAC), bolsters India’s strategic autonomy in space-based solar monitoring, enhancing space weather forecasting critical for national satellite assets, power grids, and aviation security amid rising solar activity. By prioritizing domestic PIs while enabling global data access, it positions India as a heliophysics leader, fostering self-reliant scientific innovation and geopolitical leverage in space domain awareness.