In February 2025, the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) signed a Programme Agreement(PA) with Mumbai (Maharashtra) based Reliance New Energy Battery Limited(RNEBL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC).
- This agreement grants Reliance New Energy Battery, a 10 GigaWatt hour (GWh) ACC manufacturing capacity, making it eligible for incentives under India’s Rs.18,100 crore PLI ACC scheme.
- The signing is a critical milestone in the implementation of the technology PLI Scheme on the “National Programme on ACC Battery Storage,” approved by the Union Cabinet in May 2021, with a total outlay of Rs.18,100 crore to achieve a total manufacturing capacity of 50 GWh.
Key Points:
i.Under the agreement, a cumulative capacity of 40 GWh has been awarded to 4 selected beneficiary firms out of the targeted 50 GWh.
ii.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(PA) for that round were signed in July 2022.
iii.This initiative aims to supports the electric vehicle (EV) and renewable energy(RE) storage sectors by allowing beneficiary firms the flexibility to adopt the most suitable technology and associated inputs for establishing state-of-the-art ACC manufacturing facilities.
About Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI):
i.PLI Scheme was launched in March 2020, aiming to boost domestic manufacturing and reduce import dependence.
ii.The scheme was initially targeting 3 industries: mobile and allied components, electrical components, and medical devices, and later expanded to 14 sectors.
iii.The 14 sectors are: mobile manufacturing, manufacturing of medical devices, automobiles and auto components, pharmaceuticals, drugs, specialty steel, telecommunication & networking products, electronic products, white goods (Air Conditioners,ACs and Light Emitting Diode, LEDs), food products, textile products, solar Photovoltaic (PV) modules, ACC battery, and drones & drone components.
iv.PLI offers financial incentives based on incremental with specific criteria for certain sectors: ACC Batteries, Textile Products, and Drones sales for over 5 years, encouraging research and development (R&D).
v.In the PLI scheme, Domestic and Foreign companies receive financial rewards for manufacturing in India, based on a percentage (%) of their revenue over up to 5 years.
Points to Note:
i.Along with the PLI ACC scheme, the Union Budget for financial year 2025-26 (FY26) introduced key measures to boost domestic battery production and support the growth of electric mobility in India.
- These steps aim to strengthen the local battery manufacturing industry and expand the electric vehicle sector.
ii.Notably, the Budget exempted 35 additional Capital Goods for EV battery manufacturing from Basic Customs Duty (BCD), a targeted initiative designed to boost the production of lithium-ion batteries within India.
About Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI):
Union Minister- HD Kumaraswamy (Constituency- Mandya, Karnataka)
Minister of State (MoS)– Bhupathi Raju Srinivasa Varma (Constituency- Narasapuram, Andhra Pradesh, AP)
