The government will exempt import duties on 14 additional critical minerals, including cobalt powder, lithium-ion battery waste, lead and zinc. This follows earlier exemptions in July 2024, when duties were removed on 25 minerals not available domestically.

As part of its push for domestic battery production, the government will exempt duties on 35 additional capital goods for electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing and28 for mobile phone battery production.

The goal is to reduce India’s dependence on imported lithium-ion batteries and encourage local supply chain development.

Saket Mehra, partner, Grant Thornton Bharat: “Lower customs duties on lithium will cut battery costs and strengthen India’s EV sector.”

Nirmal K. Minda, chairman, Uno Minda, said: “The government’s focus on EV battery manufacturing will help build local capabilities and reduce reliance on imports.”

The government also unveiled a National Manufacturing Mission in the budget to support small, medium, and large industries.

The initiative will provide policy support for manufacturers; execution road maps to streamline production; and a governance and monitoring framework for central and state-level coordination.

A key focus of the mission will be clean tech manufacturing, including the production of solar PV cells, EV batteries, wind turbines, high-voltage transmission equipment and grid-scale batteries.

In a bid to improve electricity distribution and financial stability of power companies, the government will allow states to borrow an additional 0.5 per cent of their Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) if they implement power sector reforms.