Critical Minerals & Battery Manufacturing — PLI, KABIL & Net Zero 2070

CURRENT AFFAIRS | MARCH 2026

Introduction: The Critical Minerals Imperative

India’s ambition to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2070 and build a globally competitive clean energy manufacturing sector rests on a foundation of critical minerals — elements whose supply is essential for advanced technologies but whose extraction, processing, and trade are concentrated in a few nations. The convergence of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage, the evolution of KABIL into the National Critical Minerals Mission (NCMM), and the emergence of sodium-ion battery technology creates a complex but opportunity-rich landscape for India’s industrial strategy.

This analysis examines the interconnected policy architecture — from mineral security to battery manufacturing to end-use applications — that will determine whether India becomes a battery manufacturing powerhouse or remains an assembler of imported cells.

PLI for ACC Battery Storage: Rs 18,100 Crore

The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage, approved with an outlay of Rs 18,100 crore, is designed to catalyse domestic gigafactory-scale battery manufacturing. The scheme targets establishment of 50 GWh of ACC manufacturing capacity in India, with incentives tied to achieving prescribed value addition, energy density, and cycle life benchmarks.

The PLI scheme’s structure incentivises both production scale and technological advancement. Companies receive higher incentive rates for achieving greater energy density (measured in Wh/kg) and longer cycle life, creating a built-in technology push. Crucially, the scheme is technology-agnostic — it covers lithium-ion, sodium-ion, solid-state, and other advanced chemistries, providing flexibility for manufacturers to pursue the most commercially viable technology for Indian conditions.

Ola Electric’s 1.4 GWh facility in Tamil Nadu represents the first tangible outcome of the PLI scheme. While modest by global standards (CATL’s single largest factory in Ningde has 150+ GWh capacity), it establishes India’s first large-scale cell manufacturing capability and provides the foundation for scaling to the 50 GWh target. The facility’s Tamil Nadu location leverages the state’s established electronics and automotive manufacturing ecosystem, port access for material imports, and skilled workforce availability.

From KABIL to NCMM: Institutional Evolution

India’s institutional approach to critical mineral security has undergone significant evolution. KABIL (Khanij Bidesh India Limited), established in 2019 as a joint venture of three central PSUs (NALCO, HCL, MECL), was created to identify, acquire, and develop overseas critical mineral assets. KABIL’s mandate included sourcing lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements from countries like Argentina, Chile, Australia, and the DRC.

In 2025, KABIL was integrated into the broader National Critical Minerals Mission (NCMM), reflecting a recognition that mineral security requires a comprehensive national strategy rather than a single procurement agency. The NCMM encompasses domestic exploration and mining of critical minerals, overseas asset acquisition (KABIL’s original mandate), mineral processing and refining capacity within India, strategic stockpiling of critical minerals, recycling and urban mining of end-of-life electronics and batteries, and research and development of alternative materials (including sodium-ion technology).

The Pax Silica Declaration: Multilateral Mineral Security

India’s participation in the Pax Silica declaration represents a multilateral approach to critical mineral security. This framework — involving like-minded nations seeking to diversify critical mineral supply chains away from Chinese dominance — emphasises transparent and sustainable mining practices, supply chain diversification across multiple geographies, investment in mineral processing capacity outside China, shared geological data and exploration cooperation, and environmental and social governance standards for mining.

The Pax Silica framework aligns with India’s broader foreign policy orientation of “friend-shoring” and supply chain resilience, while providing diplomatic cover for mineral acquisition activities in resource-rich nations. India’s bilateral mineral agreements with Australia (Critical Minerals Investment Partnership, 2023), Argentina (lithium exploration MOUs), and African nations (DRC, Zambia for cobalt and copper) are executed within this multilateral framework.

Hard Carbon from Agricultural Waste: India’s Unique Advantage

Perhaps the most strategically significant development in sodium-ion battery manufacturing for India is the potential to produce hard carbon anodes from agricultural waste. Hard carbon — the preferred anode material for sodium-ion batteries — can be synthesised through pyrolysis (high-temperature carbonisation) of biomass precursors including rice husk and rice straw (India produces ~140 million tonnes annually), coconut shells (available extensively in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka), sugarcane bagasse (major availability in UP, Maharashtra, Karnataka), and crop stubble (whose burning causes severe air pollution in northern India).

The economics are compelling. Agricultural waste that currently has near-zero or negative value (farmers pay for removal or illegally burn it) can be transformed into hard carbon worth Rs 50,000-80,000 per tonne — a value multiplication of 10-15x. This creates a new agricultural value chain: collection → pre-processing → pyrolysis → purification → battery-grade hard carbon. India’s existing biomass pelletisation and briquetting infrastructure can be adapted for this purpose with modest capital investment.

BIS Standards for Batteries: Quality Assurance Framework

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has been developing comprehensive standards for battery technologies to ensure product safety, performance reliability, and consumer protection. The emerging standards framework covers performance testing protocols (energy density, cycle life, charge/discharge rates, temperature performance), safety testing (thermal abuse, overcharge, short circuit, mechanical impact, immersion), manufacturing quality management, and labelling and consumer information requirements.

BIS standards are particularly important for sodium-ion batteries, which are entering the market as a new technology category. Without clear standards, consumers and OEMs lack the benchmarks to evaluate product claims, creating risks of substandard products flooding the market and undermining confidence in the technology. India’s proactive standard-setting for Na-ion batteries — ahead of most other countries — can position Indian standards as the de facto global reference for this emerging technology.

Two/Three-Wheeler EVs: The Ideal Na-Ion Application

India’s unique vehicle mix — dominated by two-wheelers (80%+ of registered vehicles) and three-wheelers (the workhorse of last-mile transport) — creates an ideal market for sodium-ion batteries. These vehicle segments have moderate range requirements (80-150 km per charge), extreme price sensitivity, high daily utilisation (often 2-3 charge cycles per day for commercial three-wheelers), and need for safety in dense urban environments.

Sodium-ion batteries’ lower cost, safety advantages, and adequate energy density make them a superior fit for these segments compared to lithium-ion. The EV two-wheeler market in India is already the world’s largest by volume (sales exceeding 1 million units annually), and three-wheeler electrification is accelerating rapidly. If sodium-ion batteries capture even 30-40% of this market, domestic demand would reach 10-15 GWh annually by 2030 — sufficient to justify multiple gigafactories.

Conclusion

India’s battery manufacturing strategy — encompassing PLI incentives, critical mineral security through NCMM, agricultural waste-to-anode innovation, BIS standards, and targeted application in two/three-wheeler EVs — represents a coherent industrial policy architecture. The integration of sodium-ion technology into this framework adds a dimension of resource sovereignty that lithium-ion alone cannot provide. Success requires sustained policy commitment, private sector investment, and the institutional capacity to execute complex, multi-stakeholder industrial strategies across a 10-15 year horizon. For UPSC aspirants, this topic bridges industrial policy (GS-III), energy security (GS-III), environmental governance (GS-III), and international relations (GS-II mineral diplomacy).

Source: UPSC Essentials, The Indian Express — March 2026

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