PLI ACC Battery Storage Scheme — ₹18,100 Cr Subsidy for Giga-Scale Plants — Frequently Asked Questions

The scheme carries a total outlay of ₹18,100 crore, disbursed over 5 years. What an individual beneficiary receives depends on the applicable subsidy rate per kilowatt-hour of cells sold, the domestic value addition it achieves, and its actual ACC sales — but the subsidy is capped at 20% of the ACC sale price, net of GST.

The scheme is listed as rolling and always open, but the practical entry point is a Request for Proposal issued by the Department of Heavy Industry. Applications are prepared and filed during a live RFP window, so the thing to watch for is the release of that RFP.

A firm becomes eligible by being selected through the RFP and being allotted ACC manufacturing capacity. It must then commit to a facility of at least 5 GWh, commissioned within 2 years of the award, invest at least ₹225 crore per GWh, and meet domestic value addition targets of 25% within 2 years and 60% within 5 years. Manufacturing has to happen in India as defined under the GST Act, producing an HSN change at the 6-digit level. Both domestic and foreign investors can take part.

No. The support is structured as a direct cash subsidy paid to the beneficiary firm, so it is non-dilutive — no stake in the business is handed over and nothing has to be repaid.

Neither DPIIT recognition nor MSME registration appears among the stated eligibility conditions. Entry into the scheme happens through the RFP route, and the criteria that matter are the committed manufacturing capacity, the investment per GWh, the value addition targets and manufacturing in India under the GST Act.

The subsidy is worked out using the applicable rate per kilowatt-hour, the share of domestic value addition achieved and the volume of ACCs actually sold, subject to a ceiling of 20% of the ACC sale price net of GST. It is paid every quarter for 5 years, beginning after the facility is commissioned and sales commence, and it continues only while the value addition targets are being met.

Applications go through a Quality and Cost-Based Selection process in which a Technical Bid and a Financial Bid are both evaluated. The parameters considered are the manufacturing capacity the applicant commits to, the domestic value addition targets it proposes, and the subsidy it has asked for.

A beneficiary firm has 2 years from the date of award to establish the ACC manufacturing facility. The incentive period of 5 years begins only after the plant is commissioned and sales of cells start.

The programme envisages 50 GWh of ACC manufacturing capacity, plus an additional 5 GWh dedicated to niche technologies. That capacity is what applicants compete for through the RFP.

Yes. Firms receiving incentives under this PLI scheme are not restricted from availing incentives under other government schemes, such as FAME-II or the PLI for Automobile and Auto Components.

Wait for the Department of Heavy Industry to release the RFP, then download the document from the official platform. You prepare a Technical Bid and a Financial Bid following the RFP guidelines and submit both through the designated online submission system within the stated timeline. The bids then go through the QCBS evaluation, and successful applicants are allotted ACC manufacturing capacity as Beneficiary Firms.

PLI ACC Battery Storage Scheme — ₹18,100 Cr Subsidy for Giga-Scale Plants is offered by Ministry of Heavy Industries, a government body. It is provided as non-dilutive funding.