Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Union Budget introduced targeted customs-duty exemptions to boost domestic clean-energy manufacturing, focusing on solar components, lithium-ion batteries, and battery energy-storage systems. The Budget reduced the basic customs duty on sodium antimonate from 7.5% to zero. Sodium antimonate is used in making solar glass, a key part of India’s solar-component supply chain.
The government also exempted specified capital goods used to manufacture lithium-ion cells for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) from customs duty. This aims to lower equipment costs for domestic battery-cell production. Duty exemptions were extended to several components essential for nuclear power projects, including controller and protector absorber rods.
These measures seek to lower manufacturing costs, encourage domestic investment, and reduce import dependence across key clean-energy and power-sector supply chains. They support India’s broader efforts to expand renewable energy and strengthen capabilities in battery storage, solar manufacturing, and other clean-energy technologies.
