JSW Group, which is in talks with MG Motor India to enter the EV space, is also working on a parallel plan to make its electric vehicles, chairman Sajjan Jindal said on Friday.

Discussions are underway with MG Motor, Jindal said.

“We are extremely serious about entering the EV space. MG would be our preferred choice. If it happens, otherwise we are also working parallel to develop our own EV cars,” he said on the sidelines of B20 Summit India 2023.

EV is an area that the JSW group must enter as it is the future and this is an excellent time to make a foray into this space, Jindal said.

In January, the then JSW group chief financing officer Seshagiri Rao told PTI that manufacturing of electric vehicles was being discussed actively at the group level.

The group was looking to manufacture electric four-wheelers, Rao had said.

The JSW group has a significant presence in sectors such as steel, energy, infrastructure, cement, paints, venture capital and sports.

Clarifications sought

Electric two-wheeler makers body SMEV on Friday sought clarifications from the ministry of heavy industries about its claim for refund of subsidies from some OEMs which did not comply with the phased manufacturing programme (PMP) norms.

Pointing out that the basis for refund would only mean that the processing of subsidies and the official reimbursement was done faultily, it has asked for the ministry to clarify if it intends to cancel all subsidy claims during this period for all OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers), the SMEV said in a letter to heavy industries secretary Kamran Rizvi.

The letter also sought the legal basis for the refund amounts since they do not conform to any stated mechanism in the rules.

The SMEV had earlier offered a solution to the issue through recovery from customers directly.

“The ministry is in debt to OEMs to the tune of Rs 1,200 crore. If their demand for refund of earlier paid subsidies to the tune of Rs 469 crore is actualised, it would have recovered Rs 1,669 crore in all making its budget of Rs 2,000 crore for the E2W sector almost undisbursed,” a SMEV spokesperson stated.