More than five years after India’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) battery manufacturing was approved, no beneficiary company has claimed incentives under the programme, the Ministry of Heavy Industries has said. The update was provided by Minister of State for Heavy Industries Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
The ACC Battery Storage PLI scheme was launched in May 2021 with a budgetary outlay of ₹18,100 crore to establish 50 GWh of domestic advanced battery manufacturing capacity. While beneficiary companies have made investments and progressed with project development, incentive disbursements under the scheme have not yet started.
According to government data, companies selected under the ACC PLI scheme had collectively invested ₹5,180 crore and generated 1,277 direct jobs as of May 31, 2026. However, none of the participating manufacturers has claimed incentives so far.
The delay in incentive claims is linked to the performance-based structure of the programme. Unlike upfront capital subsidies, the ACC PLI scheme provides financial incentives only after manufacturers commission their production facilities and meet specified production and domestic value addition requirements. The government has indicated that large-scale commercial manufacturing capacity under the programme is still in the commissioning phase.
Against the overall target of 50 GWh, the government has awarded 40 GWh of ACC battery manufacturing capacity across four projects in three states. The allocated capacity includes 5 GWh to ACC Energy Storage Pvt. Ltd. in Karnataka, 20 GWh to Ola Cell Technologies Pvt. Ltd. in Tamil Nadu, and a combined 15 GWh to Reliance New Energy Battery Storage Ltd. and Reliance New Energy Battery Ltd. in Gujarat.
Earlier government updates indicated that Ola Cell Technologies was the only beneficiary to have commissioned 1 GWh of manufacturing capacity, while the other projects were yet to commence production.
Under the scheme’s framework, companies must commission their manufacturing facilities and achieve commercial production before becoming eligible to claim incentives. The incentive mechanism is linked to performance over a five-year period and is designed to encourage domestic manufacturing and value addition across the battery supply chain.
The ACC PLI scheme is aimed at reducing India’s dependence on imported advanced chemistry cells and establishing a domestic manufacturing ecosystem to support electric vehicles (EVs) and stationary energy storage applications. Despite the focus on domestic production, the government currently does not impose restrictions on imports of ACC batteries.
The latest figures highlight the contrasting progress of two major manufacturing incentive programmes administered by the Ministry of Heavy Industries. As of March 31, 2026, the PLI Scheme for Automobiles and Auto Components had attracted ₹44,326 crore in investments, generated 67,820 jobs, and resulted in ₹2,386.36 crore in incentive disbursements.
In comparison, the ACC Battery PLI scheme has attracted ₹5,180 crore in investments and created 1,277 direct jobs, but is yet to record its first incentive claim. The government expects the commissioning of additional manufacturing capacity to be a key milestone in unlocking incentive payouts and accelerating India’s domestic advanced battery manufacturing ambitions.
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