Lok Sabha Question No. 2624 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-16
Subject: Demand for Lithium-Ion Batteries
Ministry: HEAVY INDUSTRIES
Asked by: Ms. S Jothimani

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEAVY INDUSTRIES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2624

ANSWERED ON 16.12.2025

## DEMAND FOR LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES

## 2624.  MS. S JOTHIMANI:

## Will the Minister of HEAVY INDUSTRIES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has mapped the current and projected demand for lithium-ion batteries in the country across electric mobility, consumer electronics and grid-storage sectors;
- (b)  the  status  of  domestic  lithium-ion  cell  manufacturing  capacity,  including  operational  Giga factories and those under construction;
- (c) whether the Government has taken steps to secure critical mineral supply chains, particularly lithium, through overseas mineral agreements and domestic exploration;
- (d) the measures in place to ensure safe disposal and recycling of end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and the progress made under the Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022; and
- (e)  whether  the  Government  proposes  any  incentives  in  2025-26  to  promote  indigenous  cell chemistry innovation and reduce dependence on imports?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR HEAVY INDUSTRIES (SHRI BHUPATHIRAJU SRINIVASA VARMA)

- (a): As per the NITI Aayog report 'Advanced Chemistry Cell Battery Reuse and Recycling in India' published in May 2022, the projected annual demand for lithium-ion batteries for 2025 is 40 GWh and is expected to reach about 210 GWh by 2030.
- (b) : The Ministry of Heavy Industries is administering the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme  namely  'National  Programme  on  Advanced  Chemistry  Cell  (ACC)  Battery  Storage,' approved  in  May  2021  with  a  total  outlay  of  ₹18,100  crore  to  establish  50  GWh  of  domestic Advanced Chemistry Cell manufacturing capacity.

Under the PLI ACC Scheme, the Government is supporting the establishment of 50 GWh ACC capacity.  Besides the PLI ACC scheme applicants, at least 10 manufacturers have announced a cumulative capacity of about 178 GWh in the country over the next five years.

Under the PLI ACC Scheme, the beneficiary-wise details of their projected and current cell manufacturing capacities are as under:

| Sl. No.   | Beneficiary firms under PLI ACC Scheme   |   Projected Manufacturing Capacity (in GWh) |   Current Manufacturing Capacity (in GWh) |
|-----------|------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|
| 1.        | ACC Energy Storage Pvt. Ltd.             |                                           5 |                                         0 |
| 2.        | Ola Cell Technologies Pvt. Ltd.          |                                          20 |                                         1 |
| 3.        | Reliance New Energy Battery Storage Ltd. |                                           5 |                                         0 |
| 4.        | Reliance New Energy Battery Ltd.         |                                          10 |                                         0 |
|           | TOTAL                                    |                                          40 |                                         1 |

(c): As per the information received from M/o Mines, M/o Mines has taken several steps to secure critical  mineral  supply  chains,  including  Lithium,  through  domestic  exploration  and  overseas mineral agreements, which inter alia include:

- i. The  Union  Cabinet  approved  the  establishment  of  National  Critical  Minerals  Mission (NCMM) on 29 th  January 2025, with a financial outlay of ₹16,300 crore from FY 2024-25 to 2030-31.  The NCMM aims to secure India's critical mineral supply chain and to strengthen all stages of the value chain, including mineral exploration, mining, beneficiation, processing, and recovery from end-of-life products.
- ii. Geological Survey of India (GSI) intensified exploration of critical and strategic minerals. GSI took up 195 critical mineral exploration projects in 2024-25, and 230 projects in 2025-26 across  the  country.  Additionally,  National  Mineral  Exploration  and  Development  Trust (NMEDT) has sanctioned 62 projects for exploration of critical minerals during 2024-25 and 36 projects during 2025-26.
- iii. M/o Mines has successfully auctioned 34 blocks of critical minerals.
- iv. M/o Mines has successfully auctioned 7 blocks of Exploration License, out of which, three are of critical minerals.
- v. Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) is a Joint Venture Company under the aegis of the M/o Mines, has acquired five lithium brine blocks in the Catamarca province of Argentina for exploration and development.
- vi. M/o Mines engages in various multilateral and bilateral platforms such as Minerals Security Partnership (MSP), India-US Strategic Mineral Recovery Initiative, Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), and India-UK Technology Security Initiative (TSI), etc. for strengthening the critical minerals value chain.

(d): As per information provided by M/o Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC), the MoEFCC has notified Battery Waste Management Rules (BWMR), 2022, dated 24 th  August 2022, to ensure environmentally sound management of waste batteries.  The rules cover all types of batteries, including Lithium-Ion batteries. Under the rules, the producers, including importers, have been given mandatory Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) targets for collection and recycling or refurbishment of waste batteries.

A  Centralized  online  EPR  portal  has  been  developed  for  registration  of  producers  and recyclers/  refurbishers,  to  facilitate  the  exchange  of  EPR  certificates  between  producers  and recyclers/  refurbishers  and  filing  returns  by  producers  and  recyclers/  refurbishers.  So  far,  3,391 producers of lithium-ion batteries and 43 recyclers of lithium-ion batteries have registered on the portal.  Around  15,370  tonnes  of  lithium-ion  battery  waste  has  been  recycled  till  date  since  the notification of the Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022.

(e) : The PLI ACC scheme is technologically agnostic, which ensures that superior technologies receive  higher  incentives.  The  scheme  is  designed  to  attract  substantial  investments,  promote research and development, and reduce dependency on imports for ACCs.  Further, under the scheme, expenditures incurred by beneficiary firms on Research and Development are permitted to meet investment criteria, allowing them to integrate the latest technology in the implementation of their projects.

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