Dull battery cell manufacturing a blot on India’s renewable energy growth story
More than five years after India launched an ₹18,100-crore production-linked incentive scheme to establish 50 GWh of advanced chemistry cell capacity, the Ministry of Heavy Industries said in February that only 1 GWh of the 40 GWh awarded had been installed, at Ola’s Krishnagiri plant. No beneficiary had claimed an incentive under the scheme, according to the ministry’s reply to Parliament. In July the ministry issued a tender for large battery systems, and the bid deadline was extended to November 10.
Why it matters: The slow installation record illustrates how industrial policy targets for battery cells can outpace domestic supply-chain capacity.