The Ministry of Heavy Industries signed a Programme Agreement with Reliance New Energy Battery Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for advanced chemistry cell (ACC) on February 17.
This agreement awards Reliance New Energy Battery Limited a 10 GWh ACC capacity, following a competitive global tender process, and makes it eligible to receive incentives under India's Rs 18,100-crore PLI ACC scheme, the ministry said.
With this signing, a cumulative capacity of 40 GWh has been awarded to four selected beneficiary firms out of 50 GWh capacity. In the first round of bidding conducted in March 2022, three beneficiary firms were allocated a total capacity of 30 GWh, and the Programme Agreements for that round were signed in July 2022.
Ministry of Heavy Industries officials said the PLI ACC Scheme is designed to boost local value addition while ensuring that the cost of battery manufacturing in India remains globally competitive.
The Union Budget 2025-2026, in tandem with the PLI ACC scheme, introduced several measures to accelerate domestic battery manufacturing and to support the growth of the e-mobility ecosystem in the country. It exempted 35 additional capital goods used for EV battery manufacturing from basic customs duty (BCD). This is set to boost the production of lithium-ion batteries within India.
"The Ministry of Heavy Industries remains committed to creating an enabling environment for innovation, fostering a robust domestic supply chain, and attracting significant Foreign Direct Investment—all crucial elements in advancing India's strategic vision for sustainable development and self-reliance. This initiative of Government of India has acted as a catalyst for Indian cell manufacturers to setup cell manufacturing facilities," a statement from the ministry read.
Apart from the PLI beneficiary, more than 10 companies have already started setting up 100+ GWh additional capacity, it added.
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